Universal CEO’s Epic Universe prophecy fulfilled as Disney reports quarterly earnings
Disney theme parks’ revenue is growing, thanks in part to the aim of Epic Universe to “lift all of Orlando.”
Disney Experiences, the division of The Walt Disney Company encompassing its global portfolio of theme parks and cruise ships, reported a quarterly revenue of $10.0 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. (The quarter’s dates were Sept. 28 – Dec. 27, 2025. Some companies frame this same time period as the fourth quarter of 2025.) Disney reported the data on Feb. 2, 2026.
Disney Experiences’ quarterly revenue represents a 6% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Disney attributes the growth to its two additional cruise ships in commission since then — the Disney Treasure and the Disney Destiny — as well as the “adverse impact of Hurricane Million in the prior-year quarter.”
Photo by Matt Stroshane / Disney
For the same quarter, Universal Destinations & Experiences reported a revenue of $2.89 billion, a 21% increase year-over-year for the same quarter. Universal’s growth is thanks to the recent grand opening of its new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, Fla.
For its domestic theme parks — those located at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida — Disney Experiences reported $2.1 billion in revenue this quarter, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
Last week on Universal’s earnings call, co-CEO Mike Cavanagh remarked of Epic Universe, “The point of it was to lift all of Orlando, and that’s in fact what it’s done.”
Photo by Blake Taylor
Looking ahead to its 2026 prospects, Disney called out the new Disney Adventure cruise ship and the renamed Disney Adventure World theme park as opportunities for further growth.
Walt Disney World hotel room bookings for 2026 are “pacing up 5%, weighted to the back half of the year,” according to Disney.
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