After months of speculation, the Walt Disney Company finally named its next Chief Executive Officer. Former Disney Experiences Chairman, Josh D’Amaro, is set to take over lead duties at the House of Mouse effective on March 18, 2026, following the company’s annual meeting, following the resignation of two-time CEO Bob Iger.
D’Amaro is a familiar name to Disney park fans, given his previous leadership role as the former Chairman of Disney Experiences. In this role, D’Amaro oversaw their entire parks and resorts portfolio along with the ever-evolving Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, and even the Storyliving by Disney initiative.
As head of Parks and Resorts (and even serving as President of Walt Disney World and Disneyland before that), D’Amaro was one of the main leaders of several ambitious projects of the past decade that included creating two versions of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park), the addition of Fantasy Springs to Tokyo DisneySea, the overhaul of EPCOT, and countless additions to the cruise line fleet featuring the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and most recently, the Disney Destiny.
However, D’Amaro’s tenure as Chairman of Disney Experiences was not all rosy, as several divisive additions (and removals) occurred under his watch. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney shifted away from several “free” offerings that were often guests’ favorites, including Disney’s Magical Express and FastPass+, which not only led to more guests spending, but also further complicated the planning process of a Disney vacation.
Additionally, during his leadership of the experiences division, guests had to say goodbye to many fan-favorite long-standing attractions, including The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom, Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the entirety of Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
However, while the closures were more recent changes, the addition of Genie+ (which eventually became rebranding to Lightning Lane Multi/Single/Premier Pass) and the removal of several perks, like Tables in Wonderland, and the previously noted Magical Express, occurred during the leadership of then-CEO Bob Chapek and may not have been D’Amaro’s personal business decision.
While Disney fans may enter the 2026 calendar year with a bit of optimism, with new leadership set to take over and the beginnings of the massive $60 billion “supercharge” investment into the parks and resorts starting to take shape, there is still a significant portion of the fanbase that needs to see more progress before turning the corner.
With a clean slate ahead of him, D’Amaro has the perfect opportunity not only to begin writing his own legacy as the next CEO, but, more importantly, to win back the fans lost in the Chapek/Iger 2.0 era.
How can D’Amaro win back the fans and kick-start his own Disney Decade?
Return of Disney’s Magical Express
Let’s start off with a slam dunk. In fact, the groundwork for the eventual return of Disney’s Magical Express (or a similar variation) is already in the works. Through a third-party system known as BagCheck, guests staying at select particpating resorts (Disney’s All-Star Music, Disney’s All-Star Movies, Disney’s All-Star Sports, Disney’s Pop Centruy Resort, and Disney’s Art of Animation) would have the ability to drop off thier luggage at their home airport and it would meet them at their resort, skipping the need to go to baggage claim at Orlando International Airport.
However, this program is available only through Southwest Airlines and offered at select value resorts, which does not make it accessible to all guests.
Additionally, in 2025, Disney announced that the Minnie Van service would now transport guests from MCO (Orlando International Airport) to their respective resort and also offer transportation on their checkout day back to the airport. However, this program is only available to book for guests staying at select deluxe or Disney Vacation Club resorts, and costs $199 for a one-year trip or $398 for a round-trip.
While guests can choose either of these offerings, depending on which resort they are staying at, restarting the general Magical Express offering would provide a full-circle Disney experience as soon as they depart for MCO and head to their Walt Disney World resort.
Beginning your trip directly with Disney not only provides visitors with a sense of comfort and familiarity but also brings them to their destination in the easiest way possible.
Additionally, from a business perspective, Disney would immediately see the benefits. Guests would not use a rental car service or a similar reservation system and would instead remain in the “Disney Bubble” throughout their stay. The Walt Disney Company would see financial benefits from this, as guests would be more inclined to spend more time on the property than to visit other similar attractions down the road, including a new multi-billion-dollar theme park that opened its doors last year.
Improving Guest Experience in the “Disney Bubble”
Speaking of the “Disney Bubble”, D’Amaro has the perfect opportunity to begin his tenure as CEO and reinforce what made Disney stand out among its competitors.
While the potential return of the Magical Express will pick up from the airport and bring them back home within the Disney umbrella, how about once they set foot into their resort? As Chairman of Disney Experiences for over five years before being named CEO, D’Amaro has seen firsthand how much Disney vacations mean to guests.
By creating a more memorable experience that would not only make lasting memories but also encourage them to return, Disney would secure lifelong customers.
A recurring complaint among current Disney fans is the addition of paid FastPasses. When the program was first launched, these were included with your park ticket. While the initial launch of the program required guests to physically visit the attraction to pick up a FastPass for later in the day, the service eventually allowed guests to reserve up to three FastPasses per stay weeks before setting foot in the parks, as it underwent many updates.
For any reader who remembers the stampede to the Toy Story Mania! kiosk during its opening year to secure the coveted FastPass, the ability to pre-book reservations was a welcome surprise.
During this time, the Disneyland Resort continued to use the paper return system rather than the FastPass+ transition that occurred at Walt Disney World.
However, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort, then-CEO Chapek opted to launch an entirely new system. Instead of a free skip-the-line service, guests would be charged per day for the new Disney Genie+ service.
The removal of free FastPasses sparked massive outrage, and the Genie+ system was eventually redesigned into the previously mentioned “Multi-Pass” system, which still exists today.
While the current system in place is quite similar to FastPass+, it is not free and has become yet another monetization attempt at the parks. From a business perspective, it will be hard to see Disney ever completely remove the paywall from this system, given its near-guaranteed revenue.
During the upcoming winter break (President’s Day week in the United States), Magic Kingdom’s Premier Pass, the most expensive tier, has sold out eight days in advance. Given the high profit rate, it is highly unlikely Disney would ever walk back on this program, but D’Amaro could add a slight adjustment to it at the beginning of his tenure.
Guests staying on WDW property could be granted one “free” experience redemption, or, to make this perk even more enticing, it could be reserved only for deluxe hotel guests, which could drive hotel sales even higher.
Disneyland has begun experimenting with this trend by removing early entry and instead granting resort guests a free Lightning Lane. Disney World could take this modification a step further by granting each guest one free Lightning Lane per day of their stay, or by offering a discount on the Multi-Pass/Premier-Pass service altogether.
Adding a handful of free skip-the-line passes can go a long way, especially for a first-time visitor who wants to hit many of the must-do attractions.
Let’s now shift our focus to Dining. While Disney has begun offering promotions for free Dining Plans, back in the pre-COVID days, there was a program called Tables in Wonderland. This program was offered to Florida residents, DVC members, and Annual Passholders, providing them with 20% off all food and beverage (with alcohol) at most table-service locations (and even some discounts at counter-service locations). However, like many of the previously discussed offerings, this program was shut down following the COVID-19 shutdown and has never returned.
While DVC guests and passholders can still receive 10% off at most table-service locations now, and even up to 40% at special limited-time locations through V.I.Passholder Days, the Tables in Wonderland program was the perfect ticket for repeat visitors to expand their dining horizons. With a prominent discount, guests would be more willing to reserve table-service dining and even try some of the most exclusive locations they may have overlooked without the membership.
The final note on how to improve the guest experience has been overlooked for several years, but is now emerging in management decisions. In a previous article I wrote for the DIS, I outlined the importance of “plussing” current attractions and explained that its sole purpose is to improve guest satisfaction, not to sell more Lightning Lanes.
Earlier in February, EPCOT reopened Frozen Ever After after a brief refurbishment, adding entirely new state-of-the-art animatronics. Over in Magic Kingdom, guests will be able to experience an entirely new version of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that will feature new effects, ride vehicles (for Space Ranger Spin), and even new ride scenes.
Attractions like Frozen Ever After did not need the update to sell Lightning Lanes. However, this update was done solely to bring these iconic characters to life in the most realistic way possible.
D’Amaro and his team should immediately begin looking at other attractions that could use a little pixie dust and give them a much-needed update.
The Official Revival of The Muppet Show
This might be the easiest task on this list for Mr. D’Amaro to accomplish. In fact, the project may already be greenlit behind the scenes.
While Muppet fans had to say goodbye to Jim Henson’s final work last summer, they were rewarded with a back-door pilot for a potential revival of the iconic show, The Muppet Show. In this special, Kermit the Frog and the gang put on a classic variety show with an iconic special guest (and former Disney Channel star), Sabrina Carpenter.
This one-off was well received, earning a 98% Tomatometer and 98% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. Additionally, according to Disney, this special drew an eye-catching 7.58 million views across its platforms, further suggesting a full revival of the legendary show is possible.
With the Muppets set to take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Summer 2026, greenlighting a new version of The Muppet Show could bring much more attention to this iconic IP, which has often been misused during its time under Disney.
D’Amaro himself has even said he wants more Muppet content in the parks. The revival of the classic show would bring this IP to an entirely new generation and make integrating it into the park quite seamless.
Updating Journey Into Imagination with Figment
If the return of The Muppet Show seemed like an easy way to get the fans on your side, announcing a long-awaited refurbishment to Journey Into Imagination with Figment would result in a standing ovation at the D23: The Ultimate Fan Event later this August.
At the last D23 Expo (in 2024), D’Amaro announced many of the massive changes currently underway across the globe at parks, including the first-ever Villains Land, a Monsters Inc.-themed area, and Piston Peak, which will be home to two new original Cars-themed attractions. While this year’s expo will likely feature more concept art and in-depth discussion of these projects, do not be surprised if he has a few tricks up his sleeve, especially since it will be his debut as CEO in front of the fans.
Given how the updated Test Track “3.0” drew inspiration heavily on the original attraction, The World of Motion, Disney could look to its roots when updating the Imagination Pavilion.
Figment is the mascot of EPCOT, and guests can typically find his merchandise throughout the park and even in seasonal toparies for various festivals.
An updated attraction inspired by the original’s message, with modern special effects and ride design, could give that side of the park another e-ticket, balancing the two e-tickets in World Discovery (Test Track and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) and the nearby Frozen Ever After.
The Disney parks, and especially Walt Disney World, have changed a lot over the past decade. Bringing a fan-favorite character like Figment and an honorable attraction inspired by one of the great creations Walt Disney Imagineering has ever designed would be a home run not only for EPCOT but for D’Amaro.
The Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster has been a fan rumor/wish on the DISBoards for nearly 15 years, and it has finally come to fruition. Now it’s Figment’s turn.
D’Amaro would gain the trust of long-time fans. While the company is looking to use newer IPs to inspire attractions, like Encanto in Animal Kingdom and an Avatar-themed area in Disney’s California Adventure, this would show they are also listening and will invest in the “non-IP” experiences. This would be the perfect curtain call to the D23 Expo, sending fans home feeling immense optimism and excited about the future of his tenure.
The $60 billion investment into the parks division has fans more excited than ever. By improving the quality of experiences and perks within the “Disney Bubble” and by showing that you are listening to the fans by fixing preivous poorly made management decisions, guests will be more inclined to extend their vacations and, more importantly, make a trip to a Disney resort a yearly tradition.
