A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse is in a garden in front of the Cinderella castle in the Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World on April 3, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty images
For decades Disney National theme parks were the engine of tourism growth, job creation and tax revenue in southern California and center of Florida.
On Thursday, the company revealed its broader impact on the United States – reporting a national economic impact of $ 67 billion each year.
“Disney defines the themed entertainment activity in America, and our presence is felt across the country,” said Josh of Amaro, president of Disney Experiences, in a statement. “Our destinations create savings far beyond the doors of our parks, and when we invest in revolutionary experiences that only Disney can offer, growth follows.”
The new report comes from Tourism Economics economists, an Oxford economy company, which combined data collected on Disneyland's impact in California and the impact of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida as well as additional national expenses stimulated by the company.
Disney's economic impact on the heels of its announcement of a new development of theme park in Abu Dhabi and the opening of its rival Universal Epic universe in Florida. It also follows a recent meticulous examination on the prices of the company's tickets, which, according to some criticisms, have evaluated potential parkgoers.
The company has examined the direct economic impact, including on -site expenses in Disney parks as well as locally expenses for restaurants, hotels and transport, as well as indirect impacts such as goods and services purchased from local businesses to support parks. The study also took into account the induced impacts, which largely means on which Disney employees spend their own pay checks.
The tourism economy determined that Walt Disney World Resort had an economic impact of $ 40 billion in the state of Florida during the year 2022, Disneyland Resort had an impact of $ 16 billion in southern California during the year 2023, and combined the amount of parks with an annual economic impact of $ 10 billion.
“With a national impact of nearly $ 67 billion, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are key economic engines, not only in their respective regional economies, but also in the national economy,” said Michael Mariano, head of economic development with the tourist economy and the economy of Oxford.
The report also determined that Disney supports more than 400,000 jobs at the national level, noting that 1 job out of 20 in the County of Orange, California, and 1 employment out of 8 in the center of Florida can be awarded to the company.
“One way I often think of these studies is that we are trying to measure what would be lost in the absence of these attractions and the many activities associated with attractions,” said Mariano.
“So, a way of looking at these results is what we would lose if we did not have Disneyland Resort in the region of southern California and Walt Disney World Resort in the state of Florida?”
Disney has more expansion plans, with $ 30 billion in interior capital expenses expected until 2033.
This includes the largest extension of the Magic Kingdom, including a reworked border section and new lands on the theme of Disney. A new tropical land of the Americas arrives at Animal Kingdom, featuring attractions based on “Incanto” and the Indiana Jones franchise. And Hollywood Studios obtains a “Monsters Inc.” land.
In California, the Avengers campus in California Adventure should double and attractions based on “Coco” and “Avatar” are planned for Disneyland.
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