Disney World’s New President Takes Over Next Month

We’re now nearly four months into the new leadership regime at the Walt Disney Company and the Parks & Resorts or Experiences segment, but arguably the biggest change for DTB readers is still on the horizon: Joe Schott officially taking the reins as President of Walt Disney World Resort.

Speaking of leadership changes, we passed the symbolic 100 days milestone for new CEO Josh D’Amaro and his team late last month. The Wall Street Journal had an interesting-ish piece, “Josh D’Amaro Is 100 Days Into His Mission to Make Disney Faster and Fiercer” that might be worth reading.

What stood out to me is a bit of color commentary in the opening: more than 100 days into Josh D’Amaro’s tenure as Disney’s Chief Executive Officer, the walls of his office are still bare. Obviously, the fact that the new CEO hasn’t redecorated is hardly stop-the-presses news, and we’re not trying to manufacture something out of that. I’ve lived or worked in places for far longer than 100 days without hanging photos. But for me, this feels emblematic of the D’Amaro era to date…

At least from the perspective of the parks, Josh D’Amaro’s first 100 days as CEO have been entirely uneventful. If you read that WSJ piece, you’ll notice that the only references to the theme parks are in passing. D’Amaro visited Shanghai Disneyland for its milestone 10th Anniversary, is trying to improve efficiency and synergy across segments (including parks), and that sort of thing. For better or worse, the metaphorical walls are bare for parks fans who were hoping for D’Amaro to quickly make his mark on the company.

To be sure, D’Amaro has had some messes to clean up and early tests during his tenure. He’s already having to fight with the FCC, navigate layoffs that were initiated under the Iger regime, deal with the fallout from the Sora deal falling through (also an Iger-induced issue) and Epic Games struggles. And of course, there’s the obligatory streaming and sports stuff.  But nothing of note involving the theme parks.

There have been significant parks announcements since Josh D’Amaro became Disney CEO. This includes but is not limited to the Carousel of Progress timeline shift, Disney Springs parking restrictions, Grand Floridian gingerbread house retirement, and more. But all of this news was either set in motion before D’Amaro took the helm or is below his pay grade. (The Carousel of Progress changes likely can be attributed to D’Amaro, but as Parks & Resorts Chair.)

There have not been any signature shifts or announcements along the lines of those we covered in 11 Great Changes Josh D’Amaro Could Make at Walt Disney World for Big Wins. Those would’ve been welcome ways to score wins with theme park fans, and we haven’t really seen anything even along those lines.

While I’d obviously like to see more consequential improvements that are attributable directly to Josh D’Amaro, the “bare walls” approach is certainly miles better than the Chapekian catastrophes, which was negative news, cuts and chaos on a near-daily basis. I will happily take a comparatively quiet first 100 days over the palace intrigue and series of unfortunate events that defined the Chapek era.

The one “change” for which I would give Josh D’Amaro a degree of credit is improvements in Cast Members. Anecdotally my perception as a guest is that morale has improved on both coasts, and it seems likely this is a direct result of the leadership change, and having a parks person at the top who is beloved by Cast Members. We saw something similar happen when Bob Iger replaced Bob Chapek back in late 2022, too.

Beyond it still being the honeymoon period during which Cast Members feel energized and optimistic about the leadership change, I would also add that part of this is probably just the natural progression post-COVID.

A couple of months ago, we covered Disney’s Ongoing Guest Service Recovery After 60% of Cast Members Were Hired for Reopening, which discusses how Disneyland, specifically, is still getting back to normal with Cast Member training improving. That, in turn, should result in a better guest experience and higher service standards. It’s likely a similar story at Walt Disney World, with the added wrinkle of the College Program and International Program.

Joe Schott Becomes WDW President on August 3rd

This brings us to the next change that’s still on the horizon, which is Joe Schott taking the helm as President of Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney Experiences has confirmed via an update to his official bio that Joe Schott will officially become President of Walt Disney World Resort on August 3, 2026 (previously, he was to assume the new position by the end of July). Schott will replace Jeff Vahle, who has been President of Walt Disney World since 2020 and is retiring after 36 years with the company.

Joe Schott is among Disney’s most experienced international operators, with more than 40 years of leadership experience. Most recently, he served as president of Disney Signature Experiences, where he oversaw the launches of two new ships, the Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure.

Before that, Schott spent 15 of the last 18 years working outside of the United States. He led Walt Disney Attractions Japan in support of the Tokyo Disney Resort for three years during the 25th anniversary. Schott then spent 5 years on the revitalization effort of Disneyland Paris as Chief Operating Officer.

Following that, he served six years as President and General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort. During his tenure in China, Schott led Shanghai Disneyland through a major expansion phase, including the opening of the Zootopia-themed land, the resort surpassing 100 million guests in under a decade, and navigating the COVID closures.

This well-rounded experience is very much an asset, especially given how pivotal those periods were for each of those parks. Schott also has plenty of experience in the domestic parks, beginning his career as a frontline Cast Member in Operations as a Jungle Cruise skipper in Magic Kingdom.

Suffice to say, I’m very optimistic about Joe Schott taking the helm as President of Walt Disney World on August 3, 2026. For the first time in my lifetime, the Florida parks feel more like Disneyland, and it seems like the working relationship between Operations, Facilities Asset Management, and Walt Disney Imagineering is better than it’s ever been.

Schott has extensive experience leading the international parks through positive periods, and he truly seems like another parks person who “gets it.” There’s every reason to believe he can continue the ‘singles and doubles’ strategy that has been gaining momentum in the last year-plus, if not accelerate and improve upon it. If he can combine that with some of the magic from his tenure in the Asian parks, it could be a recipe for success.

Beyond Schott, we remain encouraged about Disney’s new era under Josh D’Amaro, Thomas Mazloum, and the rest of the new Disney Experiences/Parks & Resorts leadership team. Even though the new team hasn’t taken any early “big swings” it’s fair to point out that change at the Walt Disney Company can take time, with streamlining the bloated bureaucracy being one of D’Amaro’s key initiatives. It’s also worth noting that the 2026 D23 Expo is only one month away, and it’s entirely possible that marquee event is why things have been relatively quiet over the last few months. Stay tuned!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the leadership changes? Excited for Joe Schott to be the next Walt Disney World President starting August 3, 2026? Are you optimistic that he can continue the collaborative relationship between Ops, FAM and WDI? Think the ‘singles & doubles’ strategy can maintain its momentum? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!