News Disney names D’Amaro as Chairman Disney Parks Experiences and Products

YodaMan

Well-Known Member
Josh came in and almost immediately he approved and began work to re-do some of the worst breakrooms on property. He didn’t have much time in the WDW role but it was obvious that he was present and listened to the cast and was willing to implement changes and that’s why cast positively latched on to him so quickly. He will be missed in Florida but hopefully he does well in his new role.
 

A Noble Fish

Well-Known Member
Not sure if this was posted yet, but Kevin Mayer head of streaming is leaving Disney. Disney also named Rebecca Campbell (previously head of Disneyland) to replace Mayer and named Josh D’Amaro as head of Parks and Consumer Products. Not sure what this means for WDW, Josh was only there for a short time.

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS I HAVE HEARD IN SO LONG THANK YOU CORONA
 

DoleWhipDrea

Well-Known Member
Josh absolutely deserves this promotion and IMHO this is excellent news.

As someone that used to visit Disneyland quite a bit up until more recently, Josh’s tenure saw Disneyland at the absolute best that it had ever looked. Every attraction was well-maintained, smart quality upgrades were implemented around the resort, and he openly expressed his pride and care for the DLR, the CMs and guests. He was highly regarded on the west coast, and has been highly regarded on the east coast. I had hoped that WDW would have gotten him a little while longer, but I think it could be argued that with his new position, WDW will benefit significantly more.

As someone else commented earlier, he seems to just “get” it. He seems to genuinely care about the parks, their history and what makes them special. He has been open and caring with CMs, making them feel respected and heard. And finally, he has been seen about the parks, being generous and friendly with guests.

I would much rather have a Head of Parks, Resorts and (yes) Merchandise that doesn’t have their first instinct to just hide inside a corporate office and be completely separated from the employee and guest experience. He has the right attitude, and a lot of executives could learn something from him.

BTW, I loved that Instagram photo op with him, Mickey and Minnie announcing M&MRR for Toontown.
 
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Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Josh came in and almost immediately he approved and began work to re-do some of the worst breakrooms on property. He didn’t have much time in the WDW role but it was obvious that he was present and listened to the cast and was willing to implement changes and that’s why cast positively latched on to him so quickly. He will be missed in Florida but hopefully he does well in his new role.
D'Amaro did mention while at WDW in an interview that he wanted to make the cast cafeterias to have more healthy options. With 3/4 of our country being overweight, he has got a good point. One reality is if he is down the road considered for the CEO role but does not have Board of Directors full support, he will go the same route , Mayer, Staggs, Rasulo did- resign.
 
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Joemldrm

New Member
One of the biggest challenges the parks division has now is to reopen, and by having Josh now in charge of that, Disney has someone who is excellent in the media. Having Josh now being the person who is dealing with the press for that and basically being the face of the division allows Bob C to focus on the day to day. D’Amaro arguably has the same Public perception as Iger so is the person the company would want to role out.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
I personally know a handful of Cast Members and they have all talked to him, and they expressed how interested he was in their roles.

I don't think there were cameras rolling either.

He's a real nice guy. Sometimes, it's just as simple as that.
Without knowing that much about D'Amaro's work history, it does seem a good sign that he has been preoccupied with cast morale. Not just shooting nice videos for Instagram, but also practical initiatives such as renovating break rooms. That suggests that he understands at least on some level that the quality of the parks depends on some more intangible things such as whether CMs are happy to be there and take pride in their work.

I also think getting out into the parks and expressing enthusiasm for them is at least a start. A lot of recent Parks executives have struggled to do even that. It has actually been nice to see little updates from within the parks from D'Amaro during the current crisis. To me, they're probably some off the best PR Disney has done to keep customers engaged.
 

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Not sure if this was posted yet, but Kevin Mayer head of streaming is leaving Disney. Disney also named Rebecca Campbell (previously head of Disneyland) to replace Mayer and named Josh D’Amaro as head of Parks and Consumer Products. Not sure what this means for WDW, Josh was only there for a short time.

Tic Tok, a Chinese owned company has been looking for American executives to run their up and coming company. They gave Mayer an opportunity he could not refuse.
 

mikejs78

Well-Known Member
Why did Kevin Mayer chose to be the CEO of all things, TikTok? That thing is a fad and will likely decline in popularity when something new pops up. Does anyone here enjoys watching or even doing Tiktok vids?

I don't personally, but I've learned never to call a tech company a fad. Also considered fads at one point: Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat. It may be a fad, but it may not.

D'Amaro did mention while at WDW in an interview that he wanted to make the cast cafeterias to have more healthy options. With 3/4 of our country being overweight, he has got a good point. One reality is if he is down the road considered for the CEO role but does not have Board of Directors full support, he will go the same route , Mayer, Staggs, Rasulo did- resign.

Maybe he doesn't want the CEO role... Maybe he's more interested in parks as that's where he's spent a good deal of time and he seems to really enjoy it.
 

DDLand

Well-Known Member
Josh absolutely deserves this promotion and IMHO this is excellent news.

As someone that used to visit Disneyland quite a bit up until more recently, Josh’s tenure saw Disneyland at the absolute best that it had ever looked. He oversaw the 60th anniversary, which arguably became a bigger deal than the 50th. Every attraction was well-maintained, smart quality upgrades were implemented around the resort, and he openly expressed his pride and care for the DLR, the CMs and guests. He was highly regarded on the west coast, and has been highly regarded on the east coast. I had hoped that WDW would have gotten him a little while longer, but I think it could be argued that with his new position, WDW will benefit significantly more.

As someone else commented earlier, he seems to just “get” it. He seems to genuinely care about the parks, their history and what makes them special. He has been open and caring with CMs, making them feel respected and heard. And finally, he has been seen about the parks, being generous and friendly with guests.

I would much rather have a Head of Parks, Resorts and (yes) Merchandise that doesn’t have their first instinct to just hide inside a corporate office and be completely separated from the employee and guest experience. He has the right attitude, and a lot of executives could learn something from him.

BTW, I loved that Instagram photo op with him, Mickey and Minnie announcing M&MRR for Toontown.
The president of Disneyland Resort during the 60th was actually Michael Colglazier. D’Amaro took over as Disneyland in early 2018. In a little over two years Josh has gone from a Disney World Vice President to head of the whole division.

He has no accomplishments. He’s not been allowed to stay in one place long enough to give us a feel of his leadership. His tenure as president of Disneyland Resort saw Disneyland enter into one of its most challenging periods since Disney California Adventure launched.

This is not to say he his a bad executive. He seems like a nice guy who may care. But we don’t have a clue.
 

FigmentFan82

Well-Known Member
The president of Disneyland Resort during the 60th was actually Michael Colglazier. D’Amaro took over as Disneyland in early 2018. In a little over two years Josh has gone from a Disney World Vice President to head of the whole division.

He has no accomplishments. He’s not been allowed to stay in one place long enough to give us a feel of his leadership. His tenure as president of Disneyland Resort saw Disneyland enter into one of its most challenging periods since Disney California Adventure launched.

This is not to say he his a bad executive. He seems like a nice guy who may care. But we don’t have a clue.
Big companies are very good at identifying people who will excel in leadership roles. Fast tracking them is nothing new
 

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