As Disney pledges to implement $5.5 billion in cost-cutting measures, Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro said his department will also make cuts, but will not cut any frontline positions in the process.
“What I won’t do is cut frontline personnel,” D’Amaro said. “I want to make sure our frontline cast members continue to serve our guests and create that real Disney difference, but there are opportunities for us to continue to look at using technology in a more progressive way to cut costs, enhance the guest experience to simplify. and save costs along the way.”
Speaking at an investor conference Monday, D’Amaro also spoke about the news that Disney will not be building a new campus in Lake Nova, Florida, reiterating that it was due to new leadership and changing business conditions. He added that the “political situation” in Florida has not yet affected the parks’ operating results.
The executive said scrapping plans for the campus also hasn’t affected the $17 billion CEO Bob Iger has said Disney will spend in Florida over the next 10 years.
That $17 billion investment includes the transformation of EPCOT, a new Star Tours attraction, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
“We’re thinking pretty aggressively about where we can take things in Florida,” he said.
On the news that Disney is closing Star WarsWith the Galactic Starcruiser hotel in September, D’Amaro called it a “pretty stunning asset” and received high ratings from guests.
“We decided that despite the fact that this was a never-before-seen experience, and I think it raised the bar from a creative perspective for where we can go next, we thought it was time to do this in early September to end. ,” he said.
Whether Disney might be interested in creating smaller parks in a similar vein to Universal, D’Amaro objected.
“I think, you know, it should be interesting to them. For us, we think we should spend most of our opportunities focusing on our core assets,” he said.
