Tokyo Disney Resort Profits Down 6% Amid Typhoon, Soaring Opening, Rising Labor Costs

Spencer Lloyd

Updated on:

Tokyo Disneyland Main Entrance SIgn

Tokyo Disney Resort Profits Down 6% Amid Typhoon, Soaring Opening, Rising Labor Costs

While we all love Disney Parks, the fact is they are businesses. Of course, businesses need to make money to sustain themselves, and provide us with better Guest experiences. The Oriental Land Company, owner and operator of Tokyo Disney Resort, is no exception. But it may have been a tough year for OLC this year, according to analysts.

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According to the Nikkei Asia Review, the Oriental Land Company is set to report a 6% decline in profits during April-December 2019, the first in three years. OLC is also forecasting a 16% drop in annual operating profit over fiscal year 2018. However, the fiscal year 2019 doesn’t end until March 31st. How the next two months turn out may depend in part on the coronavirus situation in China. Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland have already announced indefinite closures due to the outbreak.

Group operating profit has fallen to Â¥100 billion, or $915 million. The Tokyo Disney Resort and its related operations make up almost all of the Oriental Land Company’s business. Growing labor costs, such as transitions from part-time to full-time employment, also contributed to the drop. Typhoon Hagibis, which forced the closure of both parks for a day and a half during a holiday weekend, and inclement weather in December are reportedly also major factors. Fiscal year attendance numbers are traditionally released on April 1st, with financial results later in the month. Fiscal year 2018 was a record high in both attendance and profits for Tokyo Disney Resort due largely to the 35th Anniversary celebration and associated new special events. The opening of Soaring: Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea this July has in part sustained otherwise declining attendance.

After the New Fantasyland expansion opens in April, nothing new is really slated for the resort, save for a minor event in Tomorrowland, until January 2021. We can only wait and see how OLC reacts regarding 2021 and beyond in a post-New Fantasyland, post-Olympics environment.

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