Bigger bills coming due for Disney’s new cruise ships
Featured, Jason Garcia, News — By Jason Garcia on December 4, 2009 at 10:21 am
A rendering of the Disney Dream. (Courtesy of Walt Disney World)
Payments for ship construction helped drive capital spending at the Walt Disney Co.’s domestic theme- park division to more than $1 billion during the company’s 2009 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 3. That was up 31 percent from last year and led to the highest overall capital spending at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2001, according to regulatory filings.
Disney hasn’t said how much the new ships, the Dream and the Disney Fantasy, will cost. But the price tag is believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 billion each.
In addition to the new ships, Disney said spending on the expansion of Disney’s California Adventure at Disneyland also contributed to the higher capital costs in 2009.
Executive say they expect capital spending to climb again in 2010, as more cruise payments come due, the California Adventure overhaul continues and work begins on the Fantasyland expansion in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The elevated cruise bills will continue for the next three years, until the Fantasy is finished in 2012.
Tags: Disney Cruise Line, Disney World, Magic Kingdom, News, Walt Disney Co.
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10 Comments
I would have thought that costs would be down given the global recession. I guess they’re built overseas and paid for in deflated US dollars.
I don’t feel comfortable with going to Disney Cruise that costs one billion dollars…
Have fun going to a Disney Cruise; that is, if you want to break your bank…
Sorry I sounded like a whiny kid, but I really do felt like saying it. :p
It’s an absolutely amazing experience. You should give it a try. It’s definitely worth the money. I’ve gone on three, and each time was better than the last.
Pretty much all of the new ships are at least 700 million dollars in cost and the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cost them about 1.5 billion dollars. I enjoy cruising and Disney will continue to get a portion of my vacation dollars for their ships every year.
i agree disney is really starting to be too expensive and cheap!! you can go on a better ship for a portion of the price which is royal carribean or celebrity cruises!!
A billion dollar cruise ship would cost around 2 billion to build in the US. That’s why there are no US cruise ships. It is much cheaper to build in Europe, crew foreign, and flag in the Bahamas. But, it’s also the reason no Florida cruise ships can go from US port to US port without stopping in a foreign port first. Called the Jones Act.
NCL has 2 U.S. flagged vessels sailing in Hawaii. That requires them to ensure most of their crew are U.S. citizens (or carrying green cards). The Pride of America’s concierge told me that as a result, their labor expenses are five-times that of any non-U.S. flagged ship. You can see the effect in every facet of the voyage (food quality, service, wear & tear). All other ships (including DCL) register with other nations to avoid the bureaucracy and taxes. It’s a good example of how the U.S. government has, through short-sighted legislation and taxation, denied itself any income at all.
Wrong Clown-boy! The DCL Magic Stops in Key West from Port Canaveral on the Western Caribbean itinerary.
Haahaa, burn!