Disney Just Dropped 5 HUGE Announcements!

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Get ready, folks — Disney has just dropped some MAJOR NEWS, and you need to know about it!

Cinderella Castle

On May 7th, 2025, the Walt Disney Company held its Earnings Call and released its Earnings Report for the 2nd quarter of fiscal year 2025. Disney has dropped updates about streaming with Disney+, the Disney theme parks, and MORE. Let’s dive into all the news right here.

1 — Financial Results Overview

First, let’s look at the overall financial results for this latest quarter when it comes to the Walt Disney Company. For Q2, Disney revealed that revenues increased 7% for Q2 to $23.6 billion from $22.1 billion in Q2 fiscal 2024.

Toy Story Land

In addition, segment operating income(1) increased 15% for Q2 to $4.4 billion from $3.8 billion in Q2 fiscal 2024, while diluted earnings per share (EPS) for Q2 improved to $1.81 from a loss per share of $0.01 in Q2 fiscal 2024.

That’s a look at the big picture numbers, but now let’s look at how each of the Company’s different divisions is doing.

2 — Disney+

We’ve seen several updates related to Disney+ in the past few months, including talk of an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series in the works for the streaming service, new additions to the service — like Moana 2, and even series cancellations.

But what about subscriber numbers and revenue? Disney previously shared that they expected a “modest decline” in subscribers for this quarter. Has that expectation become reality?

Well, Disney has revealed that at the end of the 2nd quarter for fiscal year 2025 that Direct-to-Consumer operating income increased $289 million to $336 million. There were also 180.7 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, an increase of 2.5 million versus Q1 fiscal 2025.

If we’re talking about just Disney+ subscribers, the company saw an increase of 1.4 million versus Q1 fiscal 2025 to 126 million. Additionally, Linear Networks operating income grew 2%; year-over-year growth includes a comparison to $89 million of operating income in Q2 fiscal 2024 from Star India

Disney+ Signs

Compare this to the previous quarter (Q1 of fiscal year 2025), where Disney+ had 178 million Core and Hulu subscriptions.

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston previously indicated that while Disney+ pricing will steadily increase over a period of years, Disney is not planning to dramatically increase its prices. Current pricing is expected to be in place for the next several months…but, of course, things are subject to change. We’ll keep an eye out for updates.

Did you know that Disney will be LEAVING the Fox Studio lots by the end of the year? Click here to learn more.

3 — Disney Experiences — Theme Parks, Cruise Line, & Merchandise

Next, let’s talk about the Disney Experiences division, which covers Disney Cruise Line, the Disney theme parks, and merchandise.

During Q1, Disney discussed how domestic results were impacted by 2 hurricanes, and domestic operating income declined. At that time, they also revealed that bookings were up for the summer. So what did Disney have to say about its theme parks, cruise lines, and more during the Q2 earnings call and report?

Pandora in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney has revealed a segment operating income of $2.5 billion, an increase of $0.2 billion versus Q2 fiscal 2024. The Domestic Parks & Experiences operating income grew 13% to $1.8 billion, while Consumer Products’ operating income grew 14% to $0.4 billion.

EPCOT

There are still some MAJOR changes coming to the theme parks and beyond in 2025. Test Track is set to reopen in summer 2025 with a massive retheming, a new nighttime parade is set to open this summer in Magic Kingdom, a new Zootopia show will open in Animal Kingdom this year, AND 2 new shows are set to open in Hollywood Studios this summer too.

And with Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe opening on May 22nd, it’ll be interesting to see just how Disney’s theme parks do in the upcoming quarters. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Click here to learn about ALL the new rides and attractions coming to Disney World in 2025 (and beyond)

4 — ESPN

There’s quite a bit of work going into things over at ESPN, with the service set to launch its own standalone streaming service (called “Flagship”) in the fall of 2025. Meanwhile, Disney’s acquisition of a 70% interest in Fubo has reportedly come under the scrutiny of the Department of Justice.

So what else is happening with ESPN? For Q2, Disney announced a segment operating income of $687 million, a decrease of $91 million versus Q2 fiscal 2024. According to Disney, this was due to higher programming and production costs, primarily due to airing three additional College Football Playoff games and an additional NFL game

©Disney

Overall, Sports revenue increased 5%, reflecting 7% Domestic ESPN revenue growth, and domestic advertising revenue growth of 29%, reflecting a 16 ppt benefit from a change in format of the College Football Playoff and airing additional College Football Playoff and NFL games.

Check back with us for more updates on ESPN as the fall approaches and more changes hit this division.

5 — More

The biggest announcement revealed in the May 7th earnings call is that a brand-new, seventh Disney theme park is being built in Abu Dhabi! 

Disney Imagineers will lead creative design and operational oversight, and the new resort will be fully developed and built by Miral. Miral has developed other attractions in Abu Dhabi, such as SeaWorld Yas Island, Warner Bros. World Yas Island, and more.

The Walt Disney Company and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences, announced an agreement to create a landmark Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The waterfront resort will be located on Yas Island, a world-class destination for entertainment and leisure, connecting travelers from the Middle East and Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and beyond. This seventh Disney theme park resort will combine Disney’s iconic stories, characters and attractions with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture.

In terms of other updates, Disney CEO Bob Iger shared, “Our outstanding performance this quarter—with adjusted EPS(1) up 20% from the prior year driven by our Entertainment and Experiences businesses—underscores our continued success building for growth and executing across our strategic priorities. Following an excellent first half of the fiscal year, we have a lot more to look forward to, including our upcoming theatrical slate, the launch of ESPN’s new DTC offering, and an unprecedented number of expansion projects underway in our Experiences segment. Overall, we remain optimistic about the direction of the company and our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.

That’s it from this earnings call, but we’re constantly on the lookout for more Disney news, so be sure to stick around for all the latest.

Booking a trip to Disney World and not sure where to start? Reach out to our friends over at Small World Vacations for a FREE quote! They can help you book the trip of your dreams, and their services are free of charge.

Stay tuned for more updates!

What’s Changing at Big Thunder Mountain While It’s Closed for a Year in Disney World? Click here to find out.

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What do you think about Disney’s latest news drop? Tell us in the comments.

The post Disney Just Dropped 5 HUGE Announcements! first appeared on the disney food blog.

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