Why Disney's parks business could boom this year despite the Iran war rocking the economy
Handout/Getty Images
- Disney's Experiences arm could get stronger this year, despite economic turbulence and the Iran war.
- Attendance at Disney's US parks slipped slightly last year.
- However, analysts and travel agents expect park visit numbers to rebound.
Disney's parks and cruises business has become its financial backbone — and Wall Street doesn't think travel chaos and economic uncertainty will throw it out of alignment.
Analysts say Disney's parks will remain money-printing machines, and there are signs that attendance at Disneyland and Disney World will rebound after a slight dip last fiscal year.
Under now-CEO Josh D'Amaro, Experiences generated eye-popping revenue growth, largely driven by price hikes. The Mouse House raised US park ticket prices for a fourth straight year in 2025. Visits fell by 1% in its 2025 fiscal year, which ended in September. Overseas, attendance inched up 1% in its last fiscal year after rising by 9% in fiscal 2024.
Disney's US parks will see attendance grow this fiscal year, analyst Ric Prentiss of Raymond James forecast this week, adding that he expected visits to international parks would rise by 7%.
That forecast may come as a surprise, given that, as Prentiss noted, international visits tend to be more affected by economic uncertainty and conflicts like the Iran war. If people are anxious about the economy or a conflict in the Middle East, it could cause them to postpone or cancel their travel plans.
However, Prentiss believes new attractions, such as the highly anticipated "Frozen" exhibit at Disneyland Paris, can offset any chilling effect that geopolitics could pose.
Disney's parks will also squeeze more money from each guest, as Prentiss projects that per-person spending will jump by 4% in the US, in line with 2025's 5% rise.
Disney financial chief Hugh Johnston said last summer that Disney World's per-capita spending was "up very, very solidly," despite competition from Universal's new theme park.
Stronger attendance and per-person spending will drive Experiences revenue 6% higher to a record $38.4 billion in fiscal 2026, Prentiss wrote.
Other analysts also expect growth. Robert Fishman and Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson see Disney's parks and cruises revenue leaping nearly 7% to $38.6 billion this fiscal year, saying it will be "supported by two recent cruise launches and several new theme park attractions."
Disney travel agents tell Business Insider they think the parks will be bustling this year.
Jennifer Novotny of Upon a Star Travel, a Disney-focused planning service, said her team sent 816 families to US Disney parks last year, down about 4% from the year before. She said this year is on pace to top 2025.
For D'Amaro, Disney's parks are just what he needs: a mostly drama-free, cash-gushing powerhouse.
In his first two weeks as CEO, D'Amaro has already dealt with several headaches. A long-awaited "Bachelorette" season was spiked at the last minute, and a high-profile OpenAI deal was canceled, leaving Disney+ without the AI-generated clips it believed could boost streaming engagement.