Today, May 7, 2025, Disney presented its regular live earnings call. That Park Place was following along and posting updates LIVE throughout the call.
Watch and listen along live with the Valliant Renegade YouTube Channel in the player below.
8:07 am EST: Pre-Market trading for Disney ahead of the earnings call was up about 6.87%
8:33 am EST: Bob Iger touted the announcement of a new Disney park in Abu Dhabi. Bob was in the UAE for the call. He said that Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be “authentically Disney.” He claimed that the park will combine “classic Disney stories and characters” with “the cultures and tastes” of the Middle Eastern region. Disney will oversee design and license the IPs while Miral will foot the bill. He said that Imagineering is already working on the new park.
“Our focus must always be on building for tomorrow,” he claimed.
8:38 am EST: Bob touted the success of the Disney Experiences division, crediting domestic offerings with much of that success.
The Thunderbolts uniting in Marvel’s Thunderbolts – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
8:40 am EST: Iger bragged about the success of Thunderbolts, stating that it’s the number one movie in the world. However, Thunderbolts had a lackluster opening weekend box office of $74.3 million that put it behind even noted flop Captain America: Brave New World.
8:43 am EST: Iger opened the meeting to questions. A Morgan Stanley representative questioned the company’s streaming strategy. He asked if the company is seeing benefits to its broader content strategy within Disney+. Iger stated that the presence of Hulu imbedded in Disney+ with the addition of sports content was having a positive impact. He claimed that churn was down as a result. Iger also called it a fully integrated experience between Disney, Hulu, and live sports. He called it “unrivaled” in terms of variety.
8:48 am EST: A Wells Fargo representative asked how Disney settled on Abu Dhabi as the location for the new Middle Eastern Disneyland. Iger claimed Disney studied the region very closely and called the selection an endorsement of the region. Iger noted that trips to Disney’s other six locations were lengthy for people in the Middle East, and said that Disney wanted to bring the experience to that region.
On Valliant Renegade’s livestream, That Park Place’s Jonas J. Campbell said “This fell into his lap and he’s pretending it was his idea.”
Concept art for the new Disney theme park in Abu Dhabi – Disney
8:50 am EST: Bob said that of all the places Disney could choose for its new theme park, there was no place better than Abu Dhabi. He referred to it as the right choice.
8:53 am EST: Iger was asked how confident he was about the company’s upcoming slate and whether Marvel could continue to be a major player for Disney in the wake of Thunderbolts. Iger ran down the upcoming slate for the next two years. As it pertains to Marvel, Iger said that in their zeal to flood streaming with more content, he learned that quantity does not mean quality. He admits that Marvel lost something over recent years but the company is committed to enhanced quality for Marvel films.
8:54 am EST: Iger was asked if Disney was merely licensing out its IP for the Abu Dhabi theme park. Iger admitted that Miral is footing all the capital and that Disney will be making a royalty. He said that he’s not concerned about the company’s commitment to quality. He called it a “licensed arrangement” but noted Disney will be there to ensure the quality that people “are used to.”
A screenshot from UFC 313 on ESPN+ – YouTube, ESPN MMA
8:57 am EST: Iger noted that next week there will be an announcement regarding a new name and pricing for the ESPN “Flagship” service.
“Eventually I’ve got to stop using that word,” Iger said.
9:01 am EST: A question was asked about the demand in the U.S. market for Disney experiences and how that’s changed since the last quarter (Of note, the market is currently being upended by Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando). Disney claimed that the outlook for experiences is strong and touted resort bookings for the third and fourth quarter. They claimed attendance was still good. Disney declined to comment on projections for 2026.
They were asked about the “softness” of Disney’s theme park market in China. They claimed attendance was still good, but per capita spending was down.
9:02 am EST: The Disney Earnings Call continued with a question about the international market coming into Disney’s domestic theme parks. Company representatives stated that the number has not gotten back to pre-lockdown levels but that it’s still in “double digits.” They said they’re more than making up for it with domestic attendance and described attendance at the parks as being “terrific.”
Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World at Magic Kingdom during a clear Orlando day – Photo Credit: M. Montanaro
9:04 EST: Iger was asked about additional international locations for Disney Parks. He said that he’s not ruling out the possibility of another location but noted there are no immediate plans for an eighth park. He claimed that they were investing $30 billion in Florida and California experiences. Valliant Renegade wondered aloud on his livestream whether that Florida investment included cruise ships.
9:07 am EST: The final Disney earnings call question was on the $30 billion expansion, specifically how it will drive attendance and improve the guest experience. Iger claimed that the guest experience is most important to them. He noted that they’re looking to add capacity so they can let more people in without sacrificing the experience. He noted that there’s a lot of land and a lot of IP, but then touted the announced Walt Disney World and Disneyland expansions (Villains Land, Pandora) which don’t use much additional space. Most of the announced areas will use existing land, tearing down classic attractions like MuppetVision 3D and Rivers of America.
How do you feel about what was said in the Disney earnings call? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
Corpo types call this PR. I call this BS. Now I have to take a shower because I think I’ll get pink eye from all the fecal matter Iger spewed.