AVATAR WORLD 

One can confidently conclude that the theme park industry is a lucrative business and one that continues to play a big role in developing tourism.  The theme park industry is now a $4 billion/year business with an annual attendance of about 130 million visitors at the 42 largest parks in the United States.  The attendance of half a million to a million visitors per year is estimated to add another $600 million in revenue.11  The total revenue for the United States theme park industry is about $4.5 billion, making this a booming business that is always in need of growth and innovation.  Avatar World will be not only be a financially feasible project for Walt Disney World, but one that will be profitable.  Construction for Avatar World is estimated to be about $500 million dollars and projected to take about 5 years to design and build.  Disney World’s financial track record speaks for itself, and the addition of Pandora World will only highlight this strength. 

 

In addition to Avatar setting a global box office record, it has been dubbed one of the most innovative and visually stunning movies ever produced.  Therefore, this new venture complements well with Walt Disney Parks & Resorts’ strategic efforts and displays promise in increasing attendance.  It is estimated that an increase in Animal Kingdom attendance will increase Disney World’s net income over a 4 year period after the addition Pandora World. This data is modeled if construction were to begin in 2016 and completed in 2021.  After the first operating year for Pandora World, there is a miniscule difference between the total revenue and net income for Disney World.  Therefore, an increase in operation cost and depreciation will have little effects on the net income even after the addition of a new park in Animal Kingdom.