Josh D'Amaro | |
---|---|
Chairman of Disney Experiences | |
Assumed office May 18, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Bob Chapek |
President of Walt Disney World Resort | |
In office November 2019 –May 18, 2020 | |
Preceded by | George Kalogridis |
Succeeded by | Jeff Vahle |
President of Disneyland Park | |
In office February 2018 –November 2019 | |
Preceded by | Michael Colglazier |
Succeeded by | Rebecca Campbell |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1971 Medfield,Massachusetts,U.S. |
Education | Georgetown University |
Josh D'Amaro is an American businessman who has served as Chairman of Disney Experiences since 2022. [1] Prior,D'Amaro was employed with The Walt Disney Company for 22 years in roles specialized in the company's resorts sector.
In 1993,D'Amaro graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. [2] [3] He began his career in the finance department of The Gillette Company based in Boston before joining The Walt Disney Company in 1998. [3] [4]
For the first 10 years of his career at Disney,D'Amaro held various leadership positions. From 1998 to 2008 he was vice president of sales and travel trade marketing. [5] During that time he was also director of business planning and strategy development from 2005 to 2006. In 2008,he became chief financial officer of Disney Consumer Products Licensing business and held the position for two years.
In 2010,he was promoted to vice president of Adventures by Disney based in Celebration,Florida. This position meant he oversaw all group guided tour operations to various U.S. and international destinations.
From 2013 to 2014,D'Amaro served as vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ultimately,D'Amaro was vice president as the theme park planned its major expansion to include Pandora - The World of Avatar,the joint venture between Disney and James Cameron and the largest expansion in its history. [6] After the expansion of Disney's Animal Kingdom began construction,in the September 2014,D'Amaro became senior vice president of Resort &Transportation Operations at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida,working in this position until February 2017.
From 2017 to 2020,D'Amaro's positions within Parks,Experiences and Products changed quickly. In 2017,he was promoted to CCO of the Walt Disney World Resort,a higher position that he held for a year before taking on the role of president of Disneyland Park in Anaheim,California another role he held for a year and a half,before returning to Florida to become president of Walt Disney World Resort. [7]
In 2020,Bob Chapek succeeded Bob Iger as CEO of The Walt Disney Company. On May 18,2020,D'Amaro succeeded Chapek as chairman of Disney Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] The chairmanship means D'Amaro is responsible for the management of attractions,cruise ships,merchandise and retail of all six theme parks in California,Florida,France,Shanghai,Hong Kong and Tokyo. [8]
On September 29,2020,during the COVID-19 pandemic,Disney was forced to cut 28,000 employees from its theme parks. [9] Despite the phased reopening of many Disney resorts around the world during the summer of 2020,Disneyland Resort in California was unable to reopen its theme parks and furloughed cast members and staff. [10]
In the beginning of April 2021,as Covid restrictions were being lifted,D'Amaro had set about reopening certain Disney parks and services to the public. On April 30,2021,Disney reopened Disneyland Park in Anaheim, [11] which was the final Disney resort to reopen after the initial closure. Disneyland Paris reopened on June 17 after the second closure on October 30,2020,making it the final Disney parks and resorts to be reopened overall and one of three Disney resorts to close,reopen,and close again due to local government restrictions,the others being Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. [12]
The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando,Florida,United States. Opened on October 1,1971,the resort is operated by Disney Experiences,a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres,of which half has been developed. Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for an extended stay,including four theme parks,two water parks,four golf courses,conference centers,a competitive sports complex and a shopping,dining,and entertainment complex. Additionally,there are 19 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property,and many other non-Disney-operated resorts on and near the property.
The Tokyo Disney Resort (東京ディズニーリゾート) is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu,Chiba,Japan,just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company,which constructed and designed the resort and its various attractions through its Imagineering research &development arm.
Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim,California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The 72-acre (29 ha) park is themed after Disney's interpretation of California,by the use of Disney,Pixar and Marvel properties. The park opened on February 8,2001,and is the second of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort complex,after Disneyland.
The Disneyland Resort is an entertainment resort in Anaheim,California,United States. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division and is home to two theme parks,three hotels,and the Downtown Disney shopping,dining,and entertainment district.
The Walt Disney Travel Company is the company name for the services The Walt Disney Company employ to help guests book tickets and reservations for the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world. Travel agencies currently book their vacation packages through the Walt Disney Travel Company.
Walt Disney Studios Park is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée,France. which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Upon opening,it was dedicated to show business,movie themes,production,and behind-the-scenes,but in the 2010s,in a similar manner to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida,it began to distance itself from the original studio backlot theming and entered a new direction of attraction development inspired by iconic Disney stories. The park is represented by the Earffel Tower,a water tower with Mickey Mouse ears similar to the one formerly located at Disney's Hollywood Studios,which in turn was inspired by the water tower at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank,California.
The World of Disney is the flagship chain of specialty retail stores owned and operated by the merchandise division of Disney Experiences,a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Currently,there are four locations that sell Disney products.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research &Development,Inc.,commonly referred to as Imagineering,is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company,responsible for the creation,design,and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties,from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland,it was originally known as Walt Disney,Inc.,then WED Enterprises,from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney",the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale,California,Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers",who are illustrators,architects,engineers,lighting designers,show writers and graphic designers.
Disney Experiences,commonly known as Disney Parks,is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1,1971,exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
The Disney International Programs is an international internship program operated by the Disney Programs division of The Walt Disney Company at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista,Florida,in the United States. These programs recruit participants and college students from outside the United States and its territories for year-long cultural exchanges with paid positions and summer-long paid internships,working at the Walt Disney World Resort. The programs are designed to attract international workers and students and share many similarities with the US-based Disney College Program and its philosophy of Living,Learning and Earning.
Ronald Logan was an American businessman who served as executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment. After retiring from the company in 2001,he was formally a professor at the University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando,Florida,United States.
"I'm going to Disney World!" and "I'm going to Disneyland!" are advertising slogans used in a series of television commercials by The Walt Disney Company that began airing in 1987. Used to promote the company's theme park resorts in Florida and California,the commercials most often are broadcast following the Super Bowl and typically feature an NFL player shouting the phrase while celebrating the team's victory immediately after the championship game. These commercials have also promoted champions from other sports,athletes setting records,and winners of non-sport competitions such as American Idol.
Edward Arthur Grier is the dean of the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business. Before coming to SCU,he was the dean at VCU,and before that he was an executive at The Walt Disney Company.
Disneyland is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim,California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney,and opened on July 17,1955.
Shanghai Disney Resort is a themed resort in Pudong,Shanghai,China. The resort opened to the public on June 16,2016. It is the first Disneyland in mainland China. It is also the sixth Disney resort worldwide,after Disneyland Resort,Walt Disney World Resort,Tokyo Disney Resort,Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. On December 20,2023,Shanghai Disney Resort officially opened Zootopia,Disney's first Zootopia-themed area.
The Disney College Program (DCP) is a United States national internship program operated by the Disney Programs division of The Walt Disney Company,located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando,and formerly at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. The program recruits college students of all majors for a semester-long paid work experience program at either the Orlando or Anaheim resorts,with the option of extending to almost a full year.
George Anthony Kalogridis is an American corporate executive. Kalogridis is the former president of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista,Florida. Kalogridis became president of Disney Segment Development and Enrichment for Disney Parks,Experiences and Products in November 2019.
runDisney,is the road race division of Disney Sports Enterprises,a unit of Disney Experiences,a segment and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The division is designed to get runners to plan a "runcation",a vacation planned to coincide with the race they signed up for.
Robert Alan Chapek is an American businessman and former media executive who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from 2020 to 2022. He joined Masimo's board of directors in 2024.
The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries have been variously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic;the company has business interests in areas that involve mass gatherings and isolation.