Disney CFO addresses rising ticket prices and future ride expansions

Image via Disney.

Walt Disney Co.’s CFO Christine McCarthy is defending rising theme park ticket prices, saying the increases “are pretty much around inflation.”

McCarthy made the comments in a sweeping talk where the executive highlighted Disney’s popular cruises and gave insight on how Disney+ helps the company plan ride expansions.

McCarthy spoke during a question-and-answer session at SVB MoffettNathanson Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

People are spending more at Disney not just because of admission prices, but because of merchandise and buying Instagram-worthy themed food from Star Wars or Marvel areas, McCarthy explained.

“It’s part of the experience overall,” McCarthy said.

Disney has occasionally faced criticism from fans who say their vacations have become too expensive and Disney is out of touch for the average consumer.

McCarthy also brought up Genie+, the new Disney initiative where people pay to jump the lines that’s also drawn some complaints from its fan base.

“Yes, you pay for it,” McCarthy said. “Some people, they have a limited amount of time, they’re not going to be back for X amount of months or years, so they want to get as much in as they can. So that’s also driving those per caps up, but that’s consumer choice. When they’re in the gate, they’re spending their money as they choose to.”

In her talk, McCarthy gave insight into how the company decides where to build more rides.

With its streaming service Disney+, the company knows what franchises connect with customers and what they watch over and over, data that guides Disney when it looks to expand the theme parks, McCarthy said.

“That better informs our creatives and our Imagineers to lean into things that we can really exploit in our theme park business where we know if something is truly resonating,” McCarthy said. “Now with new franchises and strong intellectual property, we can also incorporate that consumer data to know how deep it is, and what parts of the world it’s most significant.”

A week earlier, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company has “a number of other growth and expansion opportunities at our parks, and we’re closely evaluating where it makes the most sense to direct future investments” during the company’s earnings call.

McCarthy also said the Disney Cruise Line’s rebound has surpassed her expectations after ships were docked during the height of the pandemic.

“I would use the words snapped back this year,” McCarthy said. “It’s very, very strong and that’s a contributor to our parks business as well.”