One of the biggest complaints about both Walt Disney World and Disneyland is crowds. There is the perception among fans that the parks are always packed, there’s no such thing as an off-season, and wait times are always so bad that buying Lightning Lanes is non-negotiable.
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston addressed this issue at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in March 2026. This year’s event revolves around the transformational impact of AI and new frontiers of innovation, covering the most important themes shaping the technology, media and telecom industries.
Prior to tackling Disney’s supposed supply vs. demand imbalance at the end of the Q&A, the above is mostly what Johnston discussed during the TMT conference. He explained how AI is a game-changing technology that’s exciting to Disney, and the company is exploring 5 relatively straightforward AI platforms: video creation, more personalized guest experiences, Cast Member management, connecting better and more personally with consumers in the streaming service, and making the back office function more efficiently and effectively.
During the interview, Johnston also explained how the world’s largest entertainment company is evolving its approach to streaming and movie-making. He spent the bulk of the interview discussing the company’s integrated streaming services, mergers & acquisitions, the value of ESPN, Disney’s partnership with the NFL, plus a bunch of other things. There was also an emphasis on Zootopia 2, and how that had a “multiplier effect” for the Disney flywheel, benefitting everything from consumer products to parks.
Johnston also spoke highly of the company’s succession planning, which was a multi-year process that was undertaken meticulously, pushing hard on a number of internal and external candidates.
Here’s an excerpt of what he said about the leadership change, new CEO Josh D’Amaro and President/CCO Dana Walden:
“You have Josh, who’s a terrific growth-oriented executive. You have Dana, who’s a terrific growth-oriented executive on the creative side. The fact that not only do we have Josh in place and looking forward to his leadership, but we have the entire team staying together is something that’s a little bit unusual for corporate CEO successions. And frankly, inside the company, both of those leaders have tremendous followership and they work incredibly well together. So I think it’s going to be a fantastic combination, and we’ll have a lot of fresh eyes on what we do.
People [inside Disney] are excited. Because both people really do cut across businesses and they do have strong followership, not just within their own businesses, but more broadly, there’s a lot of energy there in terms of people being excited about Josh, being excited about the fact that this process was also handled so smoothly. You all know some of the history of Disney and CEO successions going all the way back to Michael Ovitz. This couldn’t have been more different than that. It was a really smooth, well-run process with minimal drama.”
It’s not surprising that Johnston would say something like this. What’s he going to do, answer that he’s disappointed about who was chosen as CEO? I nevertheless wanted to share this because it mirrors what I’ve heard from people inside the company.
It’s not the same sense of excitement as when Iger returned to replace Chapek, but there’s definitely a lot of optimism about the future and perhaps equal parts relief that Disney didn’t bungle succession planning yet again. The prevailing point of view seems to be that this was the best possible (realistic) outcome.
Honestly, most everything else covered during the panel was a retread of what Iger or Johnston have said during other recent interviews or during earnings calls. And even what’s new probably isn’t all that relevant or interesting to you. But if you want to hear about ESPN’s fantasy football business, consider listening to the whole panel.
Relevant to our purposes, as teased at the top, is crowds, capacity, and Disney’s supposed supply and demand imbalance. An imbalance that I’d agree exists, albeit not in the direction claimed.
Johnston was asked about how AI has pushed people to gravitate even more towards real experiences, and to talk about what makes Disney’s Experiences segment unique within the broader experiential marketplace? And why putting $60 billion of capital into it is a good thing?
Here’s his response:
The reason I have confidence that the incremental capital going into the Experiences business is actually going to pay back successfully is 2 things. Number one, if I look at demand and capacity utilization for our Experiences assets, whether it’s cruise ships or whether it’s parks, it’s super high. There’s more demand than there is supply…So I know we can fill the capacity if we build it.
The second reason is the return profile of the entire Experiences business. The returns are quite high in that business. And if I look at the return profile of the projects that we’re initiating, that puts us in a place where I’ve got high, high confidence that this notion of turbocharging experiences is something that’s going to pay back for not just years to come, but probably a couple of decades to come.
In particular, there’s just so much demand outside the U.S. for Experiences. And then inside the U.S…people are seeking more in-person physical experiences. And there’s really nothing like a Disney park or a Disney cruise ship. The scale of those operations, the characters and the IP, the quality of the service and execution, it’s pretty well unmatched. So in terms of layers of advantage, I would argue that these have more layers of competitive advantage than almost anything that exists within the Walt Disney Company. So I’m super, super optimistic on where that can go.
Right now, because of the nature of the capacity situation we have, there’s less opportunity for attendance growth because we’re filling up the parks pretty well. That said, as we add more and more through 2027 and into 2028 and 2029, I would expect some balance of price realization along with attendance growth is what’s going to drive that business.
One of the constraints that we’ve had this year, and we talked about it on our recent earnings call is international visitation to domestic parks has been a little bit softer than what we’ve previously experienced. But as a result of that, and that’s been going on for a couple of quarters already, 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. I do expect that will persist through 2026. Beyond that, I’m hopeful that things will somewhat renormalize.
This will undoubtedly resonate with many fans described in the opening who feel that the parks are overcrowded, that there’s no such thing as an off-season, and so forth. I disagree. My take is that this is largely spin. It sounds good to Wall Street, but falls apart with even the slightest bit of scrutiny.
This is something we’ve already covered at length in our list of the “Top” 10 Ways Walt Disney World Fans Are Wrong About Crowds. But suffice to say, there are definitely big differences in crowd levels, and you should plan accordingly. No matter how hard Disney might try, there are certain times that travel is slower. School schedules, weather, seasonal festivities, youth sporting events, conventions, and other factors all play a huge role in crowd levels at Walt Disney World.
As far as “evidence” of this goes, Disney’s own 10-K showed that attendance was down 1% year over year at the domestic theme parks for the last fiscal year, which should offer a ‘sneak peek’ at next year’s version of the annual theme park attendance report (see Walt Disney World Attendance Rises Slightly as Universal Orlando Deepens Drop).
Speaking of that report, it reveals that Walt Disney World attendance is still far below 2019 levels. In fairness, a lot has been said about overcrowding during that period, and by all reasonable accounts, Disney has ‘recalibrated’ to reduce crowds in order to increase guest satisfaction, spending, etc. They are optimizing differently, and the approach has largely been vindicated. Still, if we’re talking about demand supposedly exceeding supply, attendance being millions of guests below 2019 is fair game.
If you need more proof, just look at park reservations for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, which are almost always available, the lack of capacity closures, etc. Some fans may perceive crowds as being too heavy for their liking, but they are not objectively bad by historical standards. There is excess bandwidth in the parks. Comfort is a different story, but that’s a subjective one. The surplus capacity does exist.
Failing that, look at all of the ticket discounts that Walt Disney World has offered in the last year-plus. By carefully taking advantage of the discounts that were available over the summer on tickets & resorts, we saw the lowest prices for Walt Disney World vacations in over 6 years. (See How to Get the Cheapest Walt Disney World Trip Since 2019.)
It’s a near-certainty that these deals will return for Summer 2026, especially with the above-referenced international slowdown. Speaking of which, if demand is outpacing supply, why would the international slowdown even matter? There’d be no need to pivot and find other sources of demand if demand exceeded supply.
We’d also add that Disneyland is currently offering its best ticket deal in a decade to California residents. Disneyland arguably does have more supply constraints, but even those are manufactured–the result of deliberate decisions concerning discounts, operations, and the (high) tolerance of locals to put up with the reservation system.
Walt Disney World is offering these discounts precisely because demand is down and there’s unutilized supply, which is a perishable good. Don’t listen to what they’re saying, look at what they’re doing. The Walt Disney World parks do have excess bandwidth most of the year, which is why there’s been greater discounting–to help fill that available space.
If demand was exceeding supply, Disney would have no reason to incentivize guests by offering aggressive discounts. As was the case during the pent-up demand period. I would argue that what Disney is doing is more effectively leveraging its existing capacity with pricing and discounting, especially on the hotel side where occupancy continues to climb.
If anything, the hotel side of the business does more to prove Johnston’s point, as occupancy reaches historic highs and resorts are sold out much of the time. Again, they’re using discounts to accomplish that. Which isn’t a bad thing–it’s a win-win for guests and Disney! But it’s not the same as organic demand exceeding supply.
It’s also worth noting that there’s been a purposeful throttling of capacity. Disneyland crowds can be crazy, but there are multiple theaters sitting empty, reduced atmospheric entertainment, no daytime parade, etc. There are examples like this with almost all of the parks; the #1 issue at Walt Disney World would be shorter hours. There are ample opportunities for the overnight introduction of crowd-absorbing capacity without picking up a single shovel.
In other words, the current crowds and pricing are choices that the company has elected to make, not something unavoidable. And it’s arguably a good business decision, as a requisite level of crowding helps sell Lightning Lanes, VIP tours, etc., and ensures a minimum length of stay. If sky-high demand exceeding supply were truly an issue, the simple solution would be much more aggressive price increases than what we’ve seen in the last 2 years, along with reduced discounting. But it isn’t an actual issue.
The current crowds are a feature, not a bug. And in fairness, this is a delicate balance that Disney has actually achieved pretty well (record results from earnings calls reinforce this). But once again, that’s absolutely not the same as acting like there’s this overwhelming demand that Disney just cannot keep up with. That’s pure spin, aimed at investors and analysts who haven’t visited Walt Disney World between May and October.
This isn’t to say Tropical Americas, Monstropolis, Piston Peak and Villains Land won’t increase attendance. They absolutely will! That’s the whole reason Disney is building them! As a general matter, new attractions induce demand, and to a greater extent that they add capacity.
It’s not a matter of helping absorb the crowds that are already coming. It’s about attracting a new audience and increasing guest spending, etc. If the company were concerned primarily with building out capacity to absorb current crowds, they’d focus on high-capacity attractions on par with the Little Mermaid dark ride or a flurry of flat rides, as opposed to marketable blockbuster additions.
Frankly, the follow-up that I wish Johnston would’ve been asked is about his line that there’s especially strong demand for Disney Experiences outside the United States. There are a number of directions that could’ve been taken, from how the company currently feels about its plans for Disneyland Abu Dhabi (my bet is that the park still happens, but that it quiets down as part of the D’Amaro succession narrative) to how the cruise ships factor into this to plans for new gates around the globe. Given the success of Shanghai Disneyland and this year being its 10th Anniversary, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a second gate announcement there soon.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Disney CFO Hugh Johnston’s comments during the Morgan Stanley conference? Thoughts on anything he said–or didn’t say? Thoughts on his comments about AI or ESPN? What about the notion that demand exceeds supply at the parks? Do you feel that the parks are overcrowded, or is there excess bandwidth? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!