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Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

Disneyland Resort has just announced a proposed reopening date.

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle

If the reopening proposal is approved by the state and local governments, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will reopen on July 17th. Disney World will also begin their park reopening around this time — Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will reopen on July 11th, with Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios following on July 15th.

Following the announcement regarding Disneyland’s reopening proposal, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, has shared a message.

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

©Disney

He began the message by pointing to the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland, Disney Springs, and several Disney stores, and indicated that there are more exciting announcements on the horizon. He also acknowledged that Disney has been slower to reopen than other theme parks by saying the company is, “purposefully taking baby steps during this very intentional phased approach.”

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

©Josh D’Amaro

He said that Disney is taking the health and safety of guests, Cast Members, and local communities very seriously, and the efforts are, “guided by a talented team of professionals who’ve helped us implement a variety of new health and safety measures reflecting the guidance of local health and government authorities.”

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

Magic Kingdom

D’Amaro acknowledged that while the guest experience will be different when the parks reopen, Disney is still striving to maintain the magic. “While certain aspects of your visit may change, I assure you the quality of our storytelling, magic of our experiences and the caliber of our cast members has not. We recognize the trust that you have in the Disney brand, and we will continue to earn your trust every day.”

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

Spaceship Earth

He also pointed to the successful reopening of Shanghai Disneyland. “Guest satisfaction has been extremely high, and we will continue to make sure that as we bring back experiences, our attention to promoting your safety, maintaining your trust, and providing unique ways for you to come together with family and friends to create new memories remains high as well.”

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

©WaltDisneyImagineering on Instagram

D’Amaro thanked loyal Disney fans as well as all of the people working hard behind the scenes to make the reopenings possible. “I want you to know how eternally grateful I am for all of you who have made Disney parks, stores, hotels, cruise lines, guided tours and vacation properties part of your lives, as well as for the cast members, crew members, Imagineers, and employees who have brought them to life for the past 65 years.”

Chairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro Shares a Message On the Reopening of the Disney Parks

Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival merchandise ©Disney

He wrapped up the message by sharing how excited he is to see everyone return to the parks upon reopening. “I look forward to hearing the laughter and seeing the joy of families making memories together…and I can’t wait to see you when the magic returns to all of our parks and resorts.”

As the reopenings of Disney World and Disneyland come closer, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for additional information about what to expect in the early stages!

Do you plan to visit the parks when they first reopen? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Animal Kingdom, disney california adventure, disney parks, Disney Springs, disney’s hollywood studios, Disneyland, Epcot, Featured, magic kingdom, News, Chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Products, Disney World reopening, Disneyland reopening, health and safety, josh d’amaro, shanghai disneyland

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Chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Products Josh D’Amaro issues a statement on reopening of Disneyland

Chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Products Josh D’Amaro issues a statement on reopening of Disneyland josh d'amaro

We are getting closer to the Disneyland Resort reopening as Disney proposed a phased reopening beginning July 9th. Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Products, issued a statement today. Check it out below:

“With the announcement of the proposed reopening dates for the Disneyland Resort, we are one more exciting step closer to reopening all of our Disney parks and experiences around the world. Throughout the past few weeks, we have reopened Shanghai Disneyland, Disney Springs and several Disney stores, and set dates for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, with more announcements coming soon.

We are purposefully taking baby steps during this very intentional phased approach. As one of the first major theme parks to close our operations and the last to reopen, we have been deliberate about keeping the health and safety of our cast, guests and local communities top of mind. And as we look forward to bringing our cast members back to work, and welcoming you back as cherished guests – we know it will take all of us working together responsibly to recapture the magic.

We’re fortunate to be guided by a talented team of professionals who’ve helped us implement a variety of new health and safety measures reflecting the guidance of local health and government authorities. These are designed with both the cast and guests in mind for the unique environments of each of our parks, resorts and stores.

While certain aspects of your visit may change, I assure you the quality of our storytelling, magic of our experiences and the caliber of our cast members has not. We recognize the trust that you have in the Disney brand, and we will continue to earn your trust every day.

My confidence comes in part from all of the hard work our teams have been doing behind the scenes in the past few months… as well as by the early successes we have seen at Shanghai Disneyland, the first of our theme parks to reopen. Guest satisfaction has been extremely high, and we will continue to make sure that as we bring back experiences, our attention to promoting your safety, maintaining your trust and providing unique ways for you to come together with family and friends to create new memories remains high as well.

Walt Disney once said that it takes people to make the dream a reality, and as we prepare ourselves to reopen his original park, I want you to know how eternally grateful I am for all of you who have made Disney parks, stores, hotels, cruise lines, guided tours and vacation properties part of your lives, as well as for the cast members, crew members, Imagineers, and employees who have brought them to life for the past 65 years.

I know this has been a difficult year due to the impacts of COVID-19, but I can’t help but feel a great sense of hope and optimism. And like many of you, I look forward to hearing the laughter and seeing the joy of families making memories together… and I can’t wait to see you when the magic returns to all of our parks and resorts.

Be well,
Josh”

Who else is super excited for Disneyland Resort to reopen?!

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Disneyland, Parks & Resorts, COVID-19, Disney Parks Experiences and Products, Disneyland Reopening, Disneyland Resort, Josh D’Amaro

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Josh D’Amaro congratulates Disney Springs Cast Members

Congratulates Disney Springs

After a period of two months, Disney Springs made a triumphant return with its first phase of reopening this week. The current President of Walt Disney World Resort, Josh D’Amaro, congratulates Disney Springs cast members for both their hard work and contributions to the grand reopening.

Many visitors were thrilled to see the return of Disney Springs and went to its reopening on May 20, 2020. Being the first phase, only certain third-party retailers and restaurants were operating for guests this week. Josh D’Amaro made a special appearance to greet both visitors and the cast members who made this reopening possible. He congratulates Disney Springs cast members in a special message on his Instagram. You can read the post below here.

View this post on Instagram

 

Congratulations to the Disney Springs Cast and the whole Walt Disney World team on the spectacular reopening of Disney Springs this week. It was a special moment and one I will never forget as I move onto my new role. To all of the Cast Members who have warmly welcomed me into the Walt Disney World family….Thank You. To all of our guests that have stopped to say “hello” to me….Thank You. While my time here at WDW was relatively short, it was incredibly special. Our Resort will now be in the caring hands of @jeffvahle …an incredible leader and an amazing person. I will miss you all greatly. Please take care. #ThankYou #DisneyCastLife #DisneyParks #WaltDisneyWorld #magichasaname

A post shared by Josh D’Amaro (@joshdamaro) on May 21, 2020 at 6:45pm PDT

Of course, this was a special personal occasion for Josh D’Amaro as well since he recently received a promotion to being Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. He operated as President of Disneyland Resort in 2018 and was named President of Walt Disney World Resort in 2019. It’s been an amazing journey for Josh D’Amaro at the Walt Disney Company and he eagerly awaits the next step in his new role.

We look forward to seeing the next phase of reopening at Disney Springs!

Source: Disney

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney Springs, News, Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney World, Cast Members, Castmembers, Josh D’Amaro

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News! Analyst Downgrades Disney’s Stock Rating Due To Leadership Changes

We reported yesterday that The Walt Disney Company shifted around their executives to form a new leadership team.

@joshdamaro on Instagram

This change-up moved Josh D’Amaro to the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, and named new presidents for both Disney World and Disneyland. Former Disneyland President, Rebecca Campbell, is stepping into the role of Chairman for the Direct-To Consumer sector and analysts shared their concerns with this recent change.

Campbell is taking over the chairman role previously held by Kevin Mayer. However, Mayer recently stepped down to become the CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent company.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Loop Capital analyst, Alan Gould, downgraded his rating of Disney from “buy” to “hold.” He explained by stating, “we believe the bounce-back from the pandemic will take longer than the Street is currently estimating, the stock is approaching our price target, and the uncertainty is exacerbated by the loss of Kevin Mayer.”

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

He referred to Mayer as “”the architect of the Disney+ launch” and Bernstein analyst, Todd Juenger, referred to Mayer’s successor, Campbell, by stating, “She joins the business at a moment where the already thin original content pipeline has dwindled to essentially ‘nothing.’”

He continued, “There are also vitally important strategic decisions to be made on the future of Hulu…She will not have the luxury of time to contemplate most of these tough decisions.”

@rebeccacampbelldisneyland on Instagram

Jeunger also posed questions about the changes including “Why put somebody from parks in charge of the future of streaming? Given the crucial and transformative role of streaming to Disney’s future, many investors were surprised that Disney didn’t name someone from the streaming side as CEO. Now, Disney hasn’t even named someone from the streaming side to be in charge of streaming.”

©Disney

Juenger continues to explain that if Disney had looked for someone with a deeper streaming background, the “very short list” would have been expensive individuals who are not looking to change jobs right now. He stated this was a “cold comfort for nervous investors who now have a surprise departure and unfamiliar replacement in charge of the division most associated with Disney’s future.”

©ESPN

Juenger explained that investors are already concerned about a new risk that they are unfamiliar with. He expressed concern with Disney’s limited “visibility” for roles apart from CEO and CFO, so he is hoping Disney will work to connect Campbell with investors to help ease their uncertainty during this transition.

What do you think of the new Disney Company transitions? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, disney parks, Disneyland, Featured, News, Disney, Disney Company, disney plus, disney streaming, Disney World, disney world president, disneyland president, Disneyland Resort, espn, Hulu, josh d’amaro, kevin mayer, Rebecca Campbell, streaming, the walt disney company, walt disney company, Walt Disney World

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News! Former Disney Chairman Named CEO of TikTok

Today, Disney announced a new leadership team including Josh D’Amaro in his new position as Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.

@joshdamaro on Instagram

Other members include Rebecca Campbell, Jeff Vahle, Kareem Daniel, and Thomas Mazloum. Campbell took on the position of chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International, which was formerly held by Kevin Mayer. However, Mayer is moving on to a position with a popular video service.

According to Variety, Mayer stepped away from The Walt Disney Company to assume the role of chief executive officer at the “short-form video platform,” TikTok. He will also be taking on the position of chief operating officer at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

ByteDance CEO stated, “Kevin’s wealth of experience building successful global businesses makes him an outstanding fit for our mission of inspiring creativity for users globally. As one of the world’s most accomplished entertainment executives, Kevin is incredibly well placed to take ByteDance’s portfolio of products to the next level.”

Mayer will support ByteDance by overseeing TikTok, music, gaming, Helo, and other new ByteDance businesses. He is scheduled to start officially working with the company in Los Angeles on June 1st.

Disneyland Main Entrance

Mayer spoke out on his new position by stating “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the amazing team at ByteDance. Like everyone else, I’ve been impressed watching the company build something incredibly rare in TikTok — a creative, positive online global community — and I’m excited to help lead the next phase of ByteDance’s journey as the company continues to expand its breadth of products across every region of the world.”

Epcot Monorail

Kevin Mayer started working with Disney in 1993, but left in 2000 to become the CEO of Clear Channel Interactive. He returned to Disney in 2005 as EVP of corporate strategy. Most recently, Mayer oversaw Disney’s launch of Disney+ and ESPN+.

©Disney

Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, stated “Kevin has had an extraordinary impact on our company over the years…He has done a masterful job of overseeing and growing our portfolio of streaming services, while bringing together the creative and technological assets required to launch the hugely successful Disney Plus globally.”

Former Disneyland President, Rebecca Campbell, will take on Mayer’s previous role at The Disney Company.

Which streaming platform is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Featured, News, Disney, Disney Company, disney plus, Disney World, Disneyland, espn plus, Hulu, josh d’amaro, kevin mayer, Rebecca Campbell, streaming, the walt disney company, tiktok, walt disney company