Disney is bringing back two fan favorites in order to “improve the guest experience” at its Florida parks, the company said.
Starting Jan. 9, 2024, date-based tickets, the Walt Disney World Resort’s standard ticket option, will no longer require guests to make an additional reservation at specific theme parks. Currently, guests undergo a two-step process when buying standard tickets, which involves purchasing admission to the resort on a specific day and making an additional reservation to enter a specific theme park.
However, a theme park reservation may still be required for other admission types, including non-dated tickets, Disney said.
Additionally, beginning Jan. 9, 2024, Disney is bringing back its popular dining plan option for guests who stay at Disney Resort hotels and purchase vacation packages with the company.
“We know our guests — and families in particular — have missed dining plans, which offer guests the convenience and peace of mind of pre-paying for their meals and snacks,” Disney said in its announcement.
This comes as Disney reports its fiscal second-quarter results, which revealed revenue generated by its parks, experiences and products division increased by 17% to $7.7 billion during the quarter. Theme parks accounted for about $5.5 billion of that revenue.
What this means for investors
Disney reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the bell on May 10, and ended the trading session down about 1% to close at $101.14 per share. During after hours trading, shares slipped.
For the quarter, Disney reported revenue of $21.82 billion, which slightly beat the $21.78 billion anticipated by analysts, according to Refinitiv. The company also reported adjusted earnings per share of 93 cents, which was in line with analysts’ expectations.
Here’s how much money you’d have as of May 10 if you had invested $1,000 in the company one, five and 10 years ago.
If you had invested $1,000 into Disney a year ago, your investment would be worth about $939 as of May 10, according to CNBC’s calculations.
If you had invested $1,000 into Disney five years ago, your investment would have increased slightly to $1,023 as of May 10, according to CNBC’s calculations.
And if you had put $1,000 into Disney a decade ago, it would have grown to about $1,655 as of May 10, according to CNBC’s calculations.
When it comes to investing, do your due diligence
Remember, the market is unpredictable and there’s no guarantee that high-performing stocks will continue to do well in the future. For most investors, a more hands-off strategy tends to make sense, rather than attempting to select individual stocks.
If you’re interested in beginning your investment journey, a popular place to start is with the S&P 500, which is a market index that tracks the stock performance of about 500 large, publicly listed U.S. companies.
To do this, experts typically recommend investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or a mutual fund that aims to mirror the performance of an index like the S&P 500. This can be a great way to introduce diversity to your portfolio and spread your investment across a wide variety of companies.
As of May 10, the S&P 500 declined by around 3% compared with its value 12 months ago, according to CNBC’s calculations. On the other hand, the index has surged by nearly 52% since 2018 and increased by about 153% since 2013.
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