Iger calls Star Wars ‘the biggest lands that we’ve ever built’
Disney Chief Robert Iger hinted at the impact of “Star Wars” lands slated to open in California and Orlando next year, saying they are the biggest attractions the company has ever built and that demand could be dramatically high.
“We think they are going to have a major impact,” Iger said Thursday during an earnings call after Walt Disney Company posted a strong fourth quarter that beat Wall Street expectations.
Spurring the exchange, an analyst had asked Iger if he thought Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be “bigger than Pandora? Is it as big as Cars Land?”
“These are the biggest lands that we’ve ever built in both cases — not only are they big in size and scale, they are huge in ambition,” Iger said.
Star Wars’ popularity in Disneyland could pose “some interesting challenges on our hands to manage that demand, but that’s a good problem to have,” said Iger, calling Star Wars “clearly the biggest thing we’ve ever done at Disneyland since it opened in 1955.”
In Orlando, Disney is looking to boast attendance at Hollywood Studios and Star Wars will help, Iger said.
“We’ve aimed to actually grow the attendance to that park, which has lagged a bit over the last number of years because we haven’t invested anything that’s even this close to size or scale or compelling nature of it,” Iger said.
The lands will each have two attractions — one where visitors pilot the Millennium Falcon, the other where they are on a Star Destroyer.
Iger described the rides as immersive and “innovative, we believe, compelling and exciting Eticket attractions.”
Iger’s theme parks are already performing strongly financially.
Revenue for Disney parks and resorts skyrocketed 9 percent to $5.1 billion for the fourth quarter compared with last year when Hurricane Irma hit the state of Florida and cost Disney $100 million, the company said in its report.
The company generated $14.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 12 percent from the same time period in 2017 and beating analysts’ estimates of $13.73 billion, Reuters reported.
Disney reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.48 for the quarter. Analysts had expected $1.34.
Fueling the results were Disney studios as well as its parks and resorts, according to Disney.
At Disney’s U.S. theme parks, attendance was up and people were spending more because ticket prices, food and beverages as well as hotel rates increased.
Much of the discussion during Thursday’s call centered around Disney’s plans to compete with Netflix and start its own streaming service.
Iger said Disney+ will be released in 2019 and will feature Disney movies and original content, such as new Star Wars and Marvel series. He also announced Thursday a live action series, starring Diego Luna, that will serve as a prequel to the 2016 movie “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”