Disney CFO Hugh Johnston laid out the company’s parks strategy at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Monday, March 2, 2026, and his message was clear: Disney’s theme parks have more demand than they can handle, and $30 billion in new investment is on the way to change that.
Parks Are Running at High Capacity
Johnston told investors that Disney’s parks are already operating at high capacity utilization, leaving limited room to grow attendance at current levels. That changes as new attractions and expansions come online over the next several years.
“As we add more and more through ’27 and ’28 and ’29, I would expect some balance of price realization along with attendance growth is what’s going to drive that business,” Johnston said.
$30 Billion in New Experiences Investment
When asked about the confidence behind the massive capital commitment, Johnston pointed to demand and returns.
“If I look at demand and capacity utilization for our experiences assets, whether it’s cruise ships or whether it’s parks, capacity utilization is super high, and there’s more demand than there generally is supply,” Johnston said. “I know we can fill the capacity if we build it.”
Johnston described the return profile on new Experiences projects as strong and said the segment carries more competitive advantages than almost anything else in Disney’s portfolio.
“The scale of those operations, the characters and the IP, the quality of the service and execution – it’s pretty well unmatched,” he said. “So I’m super, super optimistic on where that can go.”
International Visitation Down, but Disney Has Adapted
Johnston acknowledged that international visitation to U.S. parks has been softer for a couple of quarters. Disney has responded by shifting marketing efforts toward domestic audiences.
“We’ve actually pivoted our marketing more to a domestic audience, and by virtue of doing that, we’re doing a good job really filling up the park and finding other sources of demand,” he said. He expects that approach to continue through 2026.
D’Amaro Transition and Leadership
Johnston also addressed the upcoming CEO transition. Josh D’Amaro, currently head of Disney Experiences, is set to take over as CEO, with Dana Walden moving into the chief creative officer role.
Johnston described the board’s selection process as spanning about 18 months, covering internal and external candidates. He said the internal reaction has been positive and noted that the entire existing leadership team is staying in place.
“Both of those leaders have tremendous followership, and they work incredibly well together,” Johnston said. “I think it’s going to be a fantastic combination, and we’ll have a lot of fresh eyes on what we do.”
Business Outlook
Johnston said Disney is tracking well against its guidance of double-digit earnings per share growth for fiscal 2026 and 2027. On the Experiences side, he said revenue is expected to grow around 5% in Q2, with operating income up modestly. Some one-time costs tied to new cruise ship launches are affecting Q2 margins.
The company also bought back $7 billion in stock this fiscal year and expects strong cash returns to shareholders to continue.
Johnston highlighted the planned merger of Disney Plus and Hulu into a single app by year-end, noting Disney Plus is approaching 200 million global subscriptions.
Source: The Walt Disney Company Investor Relations
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