The recent Disney Third Quarter, 2011 earnings updates have provided us an opportunity to comment on some of the more recent company developments. The fiscal third quarter for the company ended July 1, 2011. President and CEO Robert Iger detailed Disney’s business results by operating segment. The Disney resort parks newsworthy tidbits included:

• International Disney resort park attendance up 2% before the adjusted Easter 2011 “holiday shift” effect
• 2011 Domestic park attendance outshined the Disney international park attendance including post-earthquake Japan
• Per guest spending patterns were up 8% which was the major driver of this segment’s overall results
• Disney Chariman Iger portended some of the parks management strategy by indicating that he would accept lower occupancy by conversely enacting higher room rates

From an Orlando-centric viewpoint, the latter statement does concern us. It essentially portends a potential plateau in overall guest flow to Central Florida or more specifically Disneyworld . However, a lagging growth pattern at the Disney parks could be offset by a robust attendance growth curve for Universal.

Second, Mr. Iger did focus some of his comments for company performance on the expansion of Orlando’s Fantasyland at Disney Magic Kingdom®. This is the first major enhancement of Magic Kingdom in 40 years. Some of the highlights of this expansion include Belle’s Village, Under the Sea : Journey of the Little Mermaid, an additional carousel at the Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction, and a new rollercoaster called the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Additional details indicate that these new attraction enhancements will be opened incrementally throughout 2012.

Vacation rentals near the Magic Kingdom and other major Orlando attractions are a great choice for anyone visiting Central Florida. Our resort reviews include distances to these major resort communities along with other important Disney details. Click on the individual community reviews section of our home page.