Do the Theme Parks Make Money?

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Ok, my BF and I are having an argument. He doesn't think that the parks make any money (he says something about they are there because they are a huge advertisement for Disney) because they have so much going on (fireworks every night, shows every night at Epcot/MGM, all those employees, and the upkeep of everything).

I think the parks make a ton of money. A regular cup (not a collector or special cup) costs about 5 cents (and they all come packaged together so the shipping is not so much) then that cup is sold for what, $5? So an employee sells two regular sized sodas in an hour and earns their salary. What with all the stuffed animals and $70 sweatshirts in the gift shops, that must pay for the fireworks real quick.

Does anyone have any numbers or statistics on what the parks earn? I don't even know if Disney releases anything like that, but I want to show him proof that the parks earn money out the wazoo.

 

[KittieKat]

All I have to say...is that Disney makes a poopton of money every day. I'm sure you could find info online if you go searching around. Even if you don't find anything...make up some number and figures and prove him wrong anyways haha!

 

[DOOM1001]

I don't have stats but last I heard the theme park division of Disney is one of their most profitable divisions.

 

[DOOM1001]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2007-08-01-disney_N.htm

Quick search turned up this!!

 

[Poohbear123]

LOT of money....mostly from ME!

 

[IHEARTNY]

LOT of money....mostly from ME!

Easily tens of thousands from my family and my in-laws each year.

Me thinks your BF is a little wacky. They make tons and tons of profit off the hotels, souvenirs and restaurants ALONE.

Charging people to simply enter the theme parks?

A meal for two at Narcoossee's that probably cost them $15-20 to actually make costs my DH and I $120!

 

[centurythree]

The parks are a huge profit center for the company. There was even a time in the 1980s when the parks were the only profitable part of the company.

 

[wilde_oscar]

Goto school, learn accounting, Check the annual report.

 

[wilde_oscar]

the short answer is the parks made about 1.7 billion in profits.

 

[deej696]

From Bloomberg RE: last quarters profits.....

Parks Growth

Theme parks have been Disney's fastest-growing segment for four years. Iger, who turns 57 this month, stoked demand with marketing tied to Disneyland's 50th anniversary. Sales rose 18 percent in two years to $10.6 billion.

Parks profit probably rose 6.4 percent to $430.9 million in the quarter ended Dec. 29, estimates JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Imran Khan in New York, who recommends buying Disney shares and doesn't own any. Sales probably climbed 6 percent to $2.64 billion.

Mind you these were quarterly numbers, not annual, which would be much higher.....

 

[netposer]

Ok, my BF and I are having an argument. He doesn't think that the parks make any money (he says something about they are there because they are a huge advertisement for Disney) because they have so much going on (fireworks every night, shows every night at Epcot/MGM, all those employees, and the upkeep of everything).

I think the parks make a ton of money. A regular cup (not a collector or special cup) costs about 5 cents (and they all come packaged together so the shipping is not so much) then that cup is sold for what, $5? So an employee sells two regular sized sodas in an hour and earns their salary. What with all the stuffed animals and $70 sweatshirts in the gift shops, that must pay for the fireworks real quick.

Does anyone have any numbers or statistics on what the parks earn? I don't even know if Disney releases anything like that, but I want to show him proof that the parks earn money out the wazoo.

Why would the parks be a loss leader? A better argument is with the Disney Resorts. You could argue Disney loses money on the resorts to get you to buy tickets to all 4 theme parks and all the other not-free activities. But I'm pretty sure their resorts rake in the cash too.


From August of 2006:

Overall, Disney's theme-park segment saw an 11 percent increase in revenue to $2.7 billion for the quarter, and a 26 percent increase in operating profit, to $549 million.

Based on this, each park makes about $1.5 million profit per day.

 

[boomhauer]

Pretty easy to figure out really.

On the average day, there are 45,000 paying guests in the Magic Kingdom. The average guest to WDW had a 5 day pass, costing about $300. That averages out to $60 per guest, per admission. That alone, is $2.7 million dollars.

How much do you think each person is spending a day on food? If you want to figure low, you'd have to say $25 per person. That's an additional $1 million.

Souveniers and those that DO spend more than $25 a day on food - Forget it. If the Magic Kingdom made anything less than $5 million a day, I'd be shocked.

Think about how small their payroll is in comparison to that. How many people work in the Magic Kingdom at one time? 1,000? Maybe 2,000. Let's say it's 2,000. 2,000 employees times, what, $10 an hour, tops, equals $20,000 per hour. If they had that many employees in the park for 24 hours, payroll would be $480,000. Let's say Wishes costs $20,000 per night. That's $500,000. That still leaves $4.5 million left over.

Granted, all these numbers are made up and VERY rough guesses, but I think you see the point.

 

[boomhauer]

Based on this, each park makes about $1.5 million profit per day.

I could be wrong, but I think that $549 million is a quarterly number. If so, that number would actually be $6 million per day.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

I've read that they sell enough turkey legs each day to pay for the fireworks.

 

[Queenie122]

I've read that they sell enough turkey legs each day to pay for the fireworks.

For some reason this just cracked me up!

I would imagine that if they weren't making money they would have closed down long ago. The prices are so high (we're paying for that Disney magic!) I just can't imagine them not making money.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Tell him to spring for the tickets and park costs for the next few trips and see what he thinks then.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

I've always said I would love to have the money from my local Wal-mart's profits on just ONE Saturday night.

And I would love to have the profits made just before rope drop at MK on any given day.
Either way, I'd be set for life.

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports/2007/fr/part2.html



http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports/2007/pr/part1.html

Make sure to click links in left column.

They are quite profitable.

 

[pearlieq]

Tell him to spring for the tickets and park costs for the next few trips and see what he thinks then.

Brilliant! That should but the debate to rest once and for all.

 

[netposer]

I could be wrong, but I think that $549 million is a quarterly number. If so, that number would actually be $6 million per day.

But there are 4 parks.

$549/4 = $137.25 million per park for the quarter (not that all parks are equal of course)
$137.25/90 = $1.525 million per park per day (90 days in the quarter)

So each parks rakes in about $1.5 million of profit per day