Hurricane Irma Ended Up Costing Disney $100 Million Due To Closures And Cancellations

The effects of Hurricane Irma are still being felt by cities, states, and whole countries, as people try to recover from the damage and destruction the immense storm caused. Irma brought along some unexpected and unprecedented occurrences, which included Walt Disney World keeping its doors closed for just the fifth time in history. Now, the numbers are finally starting to come out and the house of mouse took a huge hit with the closures and cancellations to the tune of $100 million.

On Thursday, Disney filed their fourth quarter earnings report for 2017, which had some pretty good signs for the company, but Irma’s impact was bigger. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the two-day closure had a lot to do with the $100 million loss and 3 percent decline in U.S. park attendance year-over-year.

Overall, attendance at the U.S. parks increased by 2 percent in the fourth quarter and new attractions contributed greatly to that. The new Pandora: The World of Avatar land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! attraction at Disney California Adventure are said to have helped.

Still, the effects of Hurricane Irma were felt in a big way by The Walt Disney Company.

Not only were the parks of Walt Disney World shut down, but Disney Cruise Line had to make a number of changes as well. Two sailings had to be shortened, while three others ended up being cancelled entirely due to the hurricane and its path.

Walt Disney World lucked out as far as damage from the hurricane, as it was quite minimal across the parks and resorts in Central Florida. One of the biggest problems ended up being cancelled vacations after guests couldn’t even get into Orlando by way of flights, as all major airports had also been closed.

Something that helped out considerably is that Disneyland Paris and Shanghai Disneyland both saw jumps which helped increase park revenue by 6 percent to $4.7 billion. Overall, Disney Parks and Resorts elevated to $746 million which was an increase of 7 percent in the fiscal year’s fourth quarter which ended Sept. 30, 2017.

While some people may say that a company such as Disney can afford the loss, $100 million is a lot of money for anyone. Walt Disney World closing its parks, the damage from Hurricane Irma, and Disney Cruise Line cancellations all contributed to the financial losses for the company. Other parks around the world helped pick up the slack, but Disney is truly hoping that the numerous upcoming projects will help find the lost revenue.

[Featured Image by Danny Cox]