A masked family walks past Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
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Disney‘s theme parks are on the rebound after the coronavirus pandemic shutdown its domestic and international locations in 2020.
Revenue is growing for Disney’s parks, experiences and products division and the company is seeing steady increases in attendance, occupied room nights and cruise ship sailings.
During its most recent earnings Disney touted that its new Genie+ and Lightning Lane products helped boost average per capita ticket revenue during the quarter. These new digital features were introduced to curate guest experience and allow parkgoers to bypass lines for major attractions.
The company said it has been able to bring back in-park experiences such as character meet-and-greets, theatrical performances and nighttime events at Disneyland, which has allowed it to increase capacity at its parks, CEO Bob Chapek said at the time. Disney has placed caps on attendance since it reopened after the initial round of pandemic closures in early 2020 and instituted a new online reservation system to control crowds.
The company continues to add new features and attractions to its theme parks and cruise lines, which Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s parks, experiences and product division, outlined Sunday at its D23 Expo.
Disneyland Resort
D’Amaro welcomed Jon Favreau, executive producer of “The Mandalorian,” on stage to announce that the Mandalorian will appear with an animatronic Grogu in Galaxy’s Edge as part of its in-land costumed characters available for meet-and-greets and interactions. He will arrive in November.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed on Friday that the California-based Disneyland would be getting a third attraction at its Avengers Campus. The ride is based on the multiverse and rider will battle against villains from different universes, including King Thanos.
Head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige appeared in person while Mark Ruffalo, who portrays the Hulk, appeared via video to reveal that Hulk will be in the park as a meet-and-greet opportunity. The version of Hulk was developed as part of Project Exo and will arrive in the park next week.
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