Disney’s most recent earning call — for the 3rd quarter of 2022 — provided several interesting insights about The Walt Disney Company. We learned that Disney+ gained 14 million subscribers in the previous quarter, bringing the total number of subscribers to over 152 million. We also learned that revenue from the Disney parks increased by $4.3 billion. But not all of the reports were in Disney’s favor.
Disneyland
Although many parts of The Walt Disney Company seem to be reporting increased profits and steady demand from their respective audiences, there was one area where Disney fell short of its expectations.
In the Q3 Earnings Call for 2022, Disney stated that Walt Disney World saw an “increase in average per capita ticket revenue,” which is “due to the introduction of Genie+ and Lighting Lane.” This increase, however, was “partially offset by an unfavorable attendance mix at Disneyland Resort.”
Disneyland entrance
But what exactly is an “unfavorable attendance mix”? Although Disney did not specify the meaning in the earnings call, we can assume that “unfavorable” in this situation is referring to profits.
Entrance to Disneyland
Many different kinds of people go to the Disney parks, from annual passholders to one-time visitors, locals to international guests. In this earnings call, Disney stated that the company generally makes the most money from international visitors, who tend to stay longer and spend more money while they’re visiting.
Disney California Adventure Entrance
In the context of profits, Disney likely makes less money from guests who hold annual passes. These passes — called Magic Key passes for Disneyland — allow people to purchase a single pass for the year and then visit the parks free of charge (except on blockout dates) during that time.
©Disney
Magic Key holders may be less profitable guests for Disney for a number of reasons. Of course, they don’t have to purchase a park ticket each time they want to visit, so Disney may not make as much money on entrance fees. In addition, Magic Key holders often live nearby, which means they likely don’t need to pay for a hotel in order to visit Disneyland. Because Magic Key holders generally visit Disneyland more often than guests who don’t have a Magic Key pass, they could also be less likely to spend money on new souvenirs and extra experiences.
In a 2020 earnings call, Disney said that “different guests, depending on where they’re coming from, have different relative values in terms of their contribution as a guest to the park.” They stated that “someone who travels and stays for five to seven days is marginally more valuable to the business than someone who comes in on an annual pass” because those with an annual pass may “stay a day or two and consumes less merchandise and food and beverage.”
Welcome Magic Key Holders!
Recently, Disney paused the sale of all Magic Key passes, and they have yet to announce when or if those sales will resume. People who have a Magic Key pass are also not able to renew their pass at this time, and there is also no word on when renewals will resume as well. This may be due in part to the current lawsuit against Disney regarding blockout dates for the highest tier of Magic Key passes. You can learn more about that lawsuit here. It’s also possible, however, that Disney doesn’t make as much money from Magic Key holders, and that could have attributed to the pause in pass sales.
Welcome back, Magic Key Holders! This lounge is just for you!
We’ll continue to watch for more updates on the situation with Magic Key passes in Disneyland, so stay tuned with DFB for all the latest news.
Click here to learn more about Magic Key passes in Disneyland.
Want to Learn More About Disneyland?
Check Out the Links Below!
DFB Disneyland Restaurants Guide
Disney Genie and How to Use it in Disneyland
What You Need to Know About the Theme Park Reservation System for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure
Closures and Construction at Disneyland
Learn All About Disneyland Park
See What Marvelous Stuff You’ll Find at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure
Learn About Pixar Pier in Disney California Adventure
Get All the Details About the Disneyland Mobile App
Everything You Need to Know About Mobile Order in Disneyland
Learn More About Disneyland’s Magic Key Program
Full Details About the Holiday Season in Disneyland
Full Details About Halloween Time at Disneyland
Get Some STRANGE Tips for Disneyland
Click HERE to Check Out Lots of Other DFB Posts About Disneyland
Join the DFB Newsletter To Get All the Latest Disney News Delivered Right to Your Inbox! Click here to Subscribe
Are you a Magic Key pass holder in Disneyland? Let us know in the comments.
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
I’m a magic key holder from Nor Cal so I only go 2-3 times a year. I think Disney should cancel the passes and not sell anything like that. They could sell value packs – like 10 or 20 days a year, but the daily price should never go below $50 per day or they are clogging up the park with people who paid too little to be there. They should reserve the park capacity for people who pay more per ticket and keep it a good experience for people who travel and stay at local hotels and eat all their meals there. I spend a ton of money every time we go. Locals should not get such cheap access and make the park so crowded. It’s like Disney has no financial analysts looking at this — I’m sure they have grossly underpriced and oversold the magic keys. Locals would still go to disneyland – they’d just have to pay more like the rest of us – but they still save on hotels and food.
International revenue is higher because guests don’t have a choice but to buy 7 days or more for tickets. A guest from Europe who only wants to stay for 4 days still needs to buy the 7 day ticket. We discovered this when we were on a cruise and the Disney World website defaulted to the UK site on our ship. We were trying to buy a single day to Epcot on debarkation day. When I got home I set my VPN to London and sure enough it only allowed me to select from 7 or 14 days.
This is what I’ve been saying for years. Traveling guests are more important to Disney.
Only to have AP holders yell and scream that they have been and will always be the most profitable customer!
It’s good to have Disney directly tell its shareholders the reality. Maybe AP holders can stop acting so entitled now and understand they are secondary and actually more of a drain on the system.
I’m a Magic “Believe” Key holder, Disneyland fanatic, and full time resident on the Big Island of Hawaii. I’ll typically find a way to be in the parks about three times a year. Usually for 3-5 days each time we visit. And ALWAYS staying on property, 97% of the time at the Grand Californian Hotel. Other times at Disneyland Hotel or across the street, if I didn’t plan well enough in advance.
Given a “per day” cost analysis, and the fact that I may need to purchase single-day park hoppers on block-out days, my Magic Key doesn’t really save me much money AT ALL. But I do like the discounts, Magic Key Terrace, events, etc…
Given my senseless “shut up and take my money” way of traveling to Disneyland, I’d appreciate some other way of Disneyland recognizing repeat high-dollar spenders. Like a points or rewards system of some sort. That may be a great way of keeping this particular consumer happiest instead of the current Magic Key. Make it like Vegas: the more you play, the more we “give” you. Like how about more frequent auto upgrades at Hotels? Or more of and more diverse member’s only lounge-ish or special event opportunities…. just awarded to us based on how many dollars we funnel into that place annually. With the app now, it CAN’T be hard to track each and every penny.
I don’t think as many people are traveling to CA.
I am an international visitor who has stayed at WDW over 30 times. My family and I are also AP holders. We enjoy the benefits of AP and ,previously TIW) which meant we spend more on Disney property. This year during a 21 day stay we could not get TiW cards and so we ate ( and drank ) more off property, Using UBeR was easy and we had a great time. Disney Execs misguided view point has lost more in good and beverage than they know. Many of our friends are doing the same thing. Sure it’s better to encourage us to stay on property to eat and drink by offering better perks.
I’m an out of state passholder for WDW. I got 1-2 times a year, stay at a Disney resort, eat food in the resort, stay about 6-10 days and buy merchandise. Why am I less valuable?
People aren’t saying in the resorts because they are so expensive, there are virtually no perks and you have to do your own housekeeping. Who wants to pay $600.00 to $800.00 for a room that they have to clean themselves? So people don’t stay on site as much which is why they lose revenue. I can stay across the street for a 1/3 of the price. The passes are less, but they don’t come with ANY of the perks they used to come with. I could add what is now Genie plus right to my pass before, I could have photopass with my annual pass too. I could get into the parks an HOUR early when I stayed onsite, Used to be when I stayed at Disney Resort, I would get a couple complimentary fast passes for staying there. You don’t get any of those things anymore, so the passes aren’t worth as much anymore, as is staying onsite. I live in NorCal too, so the passes are the only thing that makes more than one trip a year feasible.
Can only agree with those who commented above. Disney may be a magical place, but it is first a business that expects to make money.
My family have been pass holders for almost 20 years. During the pandemic we made a point to go to DTD to support Disney buying lunch dinners gifts etc. I always pay for our passes in full not payments and I waited to receive my refund when they paused the annual passes. We chose not to get the new passes and opted for several special events and a multi day trip with the family. We have spent a lot of consistent dollars with Disney over the years. To say pass holders don’t spend enough and they would rather have out of towners is short sided. Who was there during the recession ? And the pandemic ? Passholders. We may not spend as much per visit but we certainly spend way more per year. I have been a Disney fan for years and right if they don’t think my business is worth it then I will spend my money elsewhere. Spent less going on a trip to France than I spend at Disneyland every year.
I have been a passholder for 6 years. We go roughly 6 times a year and usually stay 3-4 day. As for getting in free… I pay almost 200.00 a month for my AP. Where does that equal free. I am paying every month weather I go or not. I also buy shirts, hats, backpacks, food.. and the list goes on. I also go to special ticketed events that I pay extra for. As AP we Use to get the honor of buying special passholder merchandise. And the perks were great. Now it appears that we are no longer valued. If we can not renew our AP we will no longer be spending our money at Disney. It’s that simple. We love Disney BECAUSE they made us feel special. Now it appears they don’t feel like they need us so maybe it’s time to go somewhere where they do appreciate loyalty.
As a UK resident who has been to DW 10 times if we do go back it’s unlikely we will stay on site again. All the perks have been removed, they charge you to park your car and make you pre book attendance.
When Universal open their third park Disney are in trouble. Guests will attend the area just to go to Universal. I get they are a business and need to make profits but I hope their greed makes them crash and burn.
My family usually goes once a year but I may not be going any time soon it is way to crowded that I don’t enjoy Disney anymore
Disneyland has always been more of a “locals” park. Sorry, but I think that’s the truth. Of course, there are the guests who come from out of town, Anaheim has built its economy around those guests. For SoCal people primarily, Disneyland is a place we think of for a fun date night, a place to take our kids when they have a day off school, or a place to celebrate a special occasion. We work hard earning a living. Disneyland is where we choose to relax, decompress, and experience some of the Magic after a hard week of work. The locals are what kept Downtown Disney in business during the shutdown. It stands to reason there are more of us in the Park and with an Annual Pass. For many of us, we didn’t have to plan to go to Disney, we just showed up on a whim. It’s been like that for years. It’s not that we’re entitled, it’s what Disneyland chose to give us.
As an Annual Passholder for over 20 years I’m saddened that Bob Chapek thinks that we are part of an unfavorable mix in the Parks attendance. Of course, not all Passholders spend tons of money on each visit, but over the course of a year we still spend. We buy the spirit jerseys, sippers, Wishables, t-shirts and other souvenirs just like the out-of-town guests do. We eat corn dogs and fried chicken in the park and dine in specialty dining restaurants just like out-of-town guests do. We buy the caramel apples, Candy Canes, and churro toffee. Do we do it all in one visit? Of course not, but we still spend. We just might not stay on or near property as the out-of-town guests do. So, my question for Mr. Chapek is why is the $7000+ that we’ve spent at Disneyland this last year any different that the $7000 dollars that a family from out of town spent? They may only be able to come once in a lifetime, or perhaps every few years, but Disneyland Annual Passholders have spent thousands and thousands of dollars over and over since the Passholder program started. So, Mr. Chapek, you feel our loyalty is an unfavorable mix in your attendance numbers? That’s truly disappointing.
I’ve been a Disney kid since 1955. For years now, we’ve lived on the East Coast& go to WDW often. We always stay and eat on property but the hotel prices are getting untenable with virtually no perks. Pay for parking at your hotel, no early admission or late stay unless you stay at at a deluxe resort. Mr. Chapek needs to get in touch with the real world. We’d all love his salary and bonuses. This is not passed down to his employees. I think Walt would be appalled. His niece is the only one who sticks up for the rest of us. I’m a stockholder but everyone deserves a living wage. Profit is not everything. Walt knew that.