By Dawn Chmielewski
ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) -Walt Disney will build a new 'Avatar' experience at its Disney California Adventure theme park, based on the second film in the science fiction franchise, “Avatar: The Way of Water", the company said on Saturday.
This is the first in a series of anticipated announcements at the D23 Disney fan club event being held this weekend revealing how the company will begin deploying $60 billion in capital investments.
Disney has said it would deepen its investments in the parks, nearly doubling its spending over the next decade, as it re-imagines attractions at its 12 parks around the world and increases the capacity of its cruise line.
"Everything that we’re going to share with you tonight is in active development," said Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro. "This means that plans are drawn. This means that dirt is moving. I just want to be clear with all the fans out there. This isn’t blue sky."
D'Amaro then yielded the stage to a 70-piece orchestra performing Disney musical numbers as images of the company's theme parks flashed across the screen.
Disney's parks have become a reliable profit engine, helping to cushion the impact of declines in traditional television and losses in its video streaming business, which last quarter turned a profit.
The experiences unit, which includes parks, cruise ships and consumer products, contributed 60% of the company's operating profit in the most recent quarter - up from 30% just a decade ago.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the company planned to spend $17 billion over the next decade at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
These investments would build on such recent attractions as Tiana's Bayou Adventure - inspired by Disney's animated movie "The Princess and The Frog" - the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster, and the Tron Lightcycle/Run.
The company faces intensifying competition in central Florida from rival Universal Studios, which plans to open Epic Universe next year, adding 750 acres (303.5 hectares) to be populated by Harry Potter, dragons from the Viking world of "How to Train Your Dragon," classic Universal movie monsters such as Frankenstein and Nintendo's Donkey Kong.
In Anaheim, California, Disney earlier this year won approval for a development plan that clears the way for a $2 billion investment in the Disneyland Resort.
The company has yet to offer any details, beyond saying it is seeking the flexibility to blend hotels, shops and attractions within the same themed world, as it has in Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea Park.
"We have an obligation to continue to develop these huge businesses and amazing experiences that we have here in California and in Florida," D'Amaro told Reuters in June. "And we will invest aggressively and heavily and intelligently."
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Anaheimm, California; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christian Schmollinger)
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