4 reasons why Iger believes Disney Parks and Resorts will remain strong

Physical growth and popularity of Disney-owned characters are just two of the four reasons why the Disney Parks and Resorts business of the Walt Disney Co. will continue to grow, the Disney CEO said Tuesday.

Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger was asked during the second quarter earnings call what factors will drive the continued growth of the Disney Parks and Resorts division. He said there are four areas:

First, expansion.  “As you know, we are building out all of our parks, including the Toy Story Lands” (one already open in Shanghai and the second opening in Florida later this month)  “the cruise ships, the two Star Wars lands, multiple hotels around the world” and new lands in places like Paris and Tokyo.

The second is the intellectual property – the characters. The more popular the IP the more in demand in the parks and that will help growth.

Third is pricing. Building out quality experiences in terms of scope and scale, as well as the use of technology to do things like book attractions in advance helps the company determine better pricing. “We believe that gives us pricing leverage that comes from simply delivering a better experience.

Fourth is that the division “has been great at running under very, very efficient circumstances.”

“While we’re not going to promise continued margin expansion,” Iger said. “We certainly believe that that opportunity exists. So we feel, overall, great about the future of this business, particularly by the way as we get to build out some of the newer parks.”