International numbers at Disney US theme parks continuing to ‘face headwinds’

Disney continued to face “headwinds” in international visitor numbers to its US theme parks in the most recent quarter of 2026.

However, the entertainments giant saw global holidaymakers across its experiences division grow 4% while attendance at US parks grew 3% year on year in the three months to June 27.

Revenue for the segment, which also includes Disney Cruise Line, was up by 10% to $9.9 billion.

This came as overall revenues increased by 7% in the third quarter of the company’s financial year to $25.2 billion to give a pre-tax profit up 14% to $3.6 billion.

The release of Toy Story 5 on June 19 has already surpassed $1 billion in box office sales, bringing the franchise’s lifetime global box office to more than $4 billion.

Walt Disney World in Florida had a “stand-out” quarter, with healthy core attendance increases from US domestic tourists and annual passholders.

The company said: “We continued to face headwinds from international attendance at our domestic parks, but as expected, those headwinds moderated relative to the year-over-year impact observed in fiscal Q2.

“We also saw strong attendance growth at Disneyland Paris following the opening of World of Frozen.

“Forward bookings at Walt Disney World remain robust and we expect another quarter of global guests growth in fiscal Q4, despite consumer softness in Asia.

“Fiscal Q3 was the first full quarter with our two newest cruise ships, the Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure.

“Together, these ships increased stateroom capacity by approximately 50% compared to the prior-year quarter and we remain encouraged by current occupancy and forward bookings.

“We are looking forward to bringing additional cruise capacity online in the years ahead.”

Disney Believe, the next ship in the fleet, is due to enter service in late 2027, followed by the 11th and 12th vessels in 2029 and another by the end of 2030.