I usually don’t write much about Walt Disney Co. Their financial structure is usually well insulated from the performance of the cruise line. There’s no better example of this than Q4 2012.
For the last 3 months of 2012, the Walt Disney Co. made a profit of $1.4 billion off of revenue of $11.3 billion.
During their earnings call, Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, singled out the excellent performance of their newest ship, the Disney Fantasy. Along with her sister, the Disney Dream, they are sailing with a nice premium.
However its not all good news for them. Their experiment in Texas, with the Disney Magic, has been a disaster. Disney cruises traditionally carry a nice premium with them. For the sole purpose of getting to cruise on the Disney brand (and to make up for loss of drink sales and no casino), they command a markup of at least 50% more than the competition.
It appears Texans aren’t ready to pay that premium. Disney has already agreed to cut their losses and are sailing the Magic at heavy discounts. Completely unorthodox for the brand.
Disney has stated that their experiment with Texas is over. The ship will transfer back to Florida at the beginning of 2014.
via Orlando Sentinel