Euro Disney Associés Financial report - Is DLP now a success?
So I’ve taken this report from The Guardian, which has taken a negative spin on their headline (Disney racks up $4.2bn deficit on Paris parks) but this seems to, in my view bury the lede
>>Before the festivities, the resort’s parent company, Euro Disney Associés (EDA), posted sparkling results. They showed that in the year to 30 September 2025, the introduction of dynamic pricing led to EDA’s revenue rising 8.4% to a record $4bn (€3.4bn), which beat every other Disney resort outside the United States. It gave a magic touch to Disney’s theme parks division, which produced nearly 40% of the company’s $94.4bn revenue and 57% of its $17.6bn operating income last year.
>>EDA’s net income surged almost threefold to an all-time high of $304.2m (€260m), though this was still a drop in the ocean compared with the red ink that the company spilled in its first 25 years.
Bear in mind that these results probably don’t include the second gate’s reboot, and the rest of the article is about the billions dunno into the resort that haven’t been recouped… but does this mean DLP has finally turned the corner?
Replies (2)
Agreed on the needing to understand the local market. Starbucks essentially flopped in Australia because they didn't understand the local market (Australians actually like Coffee, rather than coffee flavoured sugar water) but is one of the best markets for McDonalds because it was so good at intergrating Australians almost forget its American origins (And also sell what Australians think is a good coffee).
I think DLP is in an interesting situation, because while they may be turning a corner, Disney plowed billions into this resort, and are in the process of investing even more in an effort to correct prior mistakes. The reality is that Central Europe is a very mature theme park market, and Disney thought they could just roll in like they did in Tokyo and claim dominance, because they're "Disney". This is something that I think Universal needs to understand as they embark on their own European adventure in England, because they new resort needs to truly differentiate itself from the existing competition if they want to see the success needed to offset the massive costs to build a brand new theme park in this market.
Ultimately, I think DLP is seeing success finally because they've committed to differentiating their parks from others in the region, but are also seeing those parks stepping up their game, particularly in delivering high-quality thrill rides (Walibi Belgium just announced an RMC conversion coming next year). The reality is that Disney needs to continue to invest in this resort if they want to maintain their momentum, and they will need to accept lower ROI than they would from other markets given the competition.