Why Disney is plowing cash into a Cruise Line expansion

HUDSON RIVER, N. Y.—Strains of “When You Wish Upon a Star" drifted across lower Manhattan on a recent November evening, echoing from Disney’s newest cruise ship on its path south down the Hudson River toward Florida. When Disney announced plans last year to “turbocharge" investment in its Experiences division, which includes theme parks, resorts and consumer products, the company said 20% of the $60 billion over the next decade would go toward its cruise business and other projects that haven’t been announced yet. In the year ended in September, Disney said a 5% increase in revenue for the Experiences division that includes cruises was driven in part by higher average cruise line ticket prices. “Passenger cruise days," the number of passengers aboard Disney ships multiplied by the days they spend on voyages, rose 14% in the company’s 2023 fiscal year and 32% the previous year. At Disney’s busiest cruise port, Port Canaveral, two of the line’s ships launched 157 voyages that were on average 92.4% full in the year ended in September, publicly available port information shows.