Walt Disney World is poised for an ambitious era of expansion as huge projects are under construction in its theme parks. Newly appointed leadership will guide the vacation destination into this next generation of theme park experiences. This follows the recent transition of Disney’s CEO.
Disney World announced its new President, along with other new leadership across Disney’s theme parks. We have details on these new executives, their previous Disney experience, and what they’ll be in charge of as Disney World’s exciting new attractions open. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including new restaurants coming to Disney World and how Disney is cracking down on a popular offering as demand skyrockets.
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New Disney World President and Other Leadership Changes
Jeff Vahle, currently President of Walt Disney World, recently announced his retirement after 36 years with Disney and six years in the President role.
Disney announced Vahle’s successor as the new President of Walt Disney World will be Joe Schott, far left in the photos above.
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Schott is among Disney’s most experienced international operators, with more than 40 years of leadership across world-renowned destinations in Asia, Europe, and beyond. Most recently, he served as President of Disney Signature Experiences, where he oversaw the launches of two new ships, the Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure.
Before that, as President and General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort, Schott led the resort through a major expansion phase, including the opening of the Zootopia-themed land, contributing to the resort surpassing 100 million guests in under a decade. The resort continues to grow with a new Spider-Man attraction and two additional hotels currently in development. Prior to Shanghai, Schott served as Chief Operating Officer of Disneyland Paris for five years and earlier as executive Managing Director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan, supporting the growth of Tokyo Disney Resort. It is a fitting return to the resort where Schott began his Disney journey as a Jungle Cruise Skipper.
We map out the big projects on Schott’s plate in his new role as President of Walt Disney World at the end of this story.
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Replacing Schott as President of Disney Signature Experiences is Natacha Rafalski, who was most recently President of Disneyland Paris.
In this new role, Rafalski will guide the next phase of Disney Cruise Line’s historic fleet expansion, growing from eight ships today to 13 vessels by 2031, with each new ship designed to serve as a powerful ambassador of the Disney brand — extending storytelling, service, and innovation to families around the world.
Rafalski brings to this role a unique blend of financial discipline, strategic vision, and a deep understanding of what moves guests. As President of Disneyland Paris since 2018 — leading more than 20,000 Cast Members across two theme parks, seven themed hotels, and Disney Village — Rafalski spearheaded the resort’s €2 billion transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park into Disney Adventure World, roughly doubling the park’s footprint and adding franchise powerhouses Marvel Avengers Campus and the recent opening of World of Frozen to the resort’s footprint. Disneyland Paris has welcomed hundreds of millions of guests as Europe’s leading tourist destination.
Rafalski also played a key role in the development of Shanghai Disney Resort and negotiated one of the most consequential theme park development agreements in the company’s history, before serving as Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company Greater China from 2013 to 2017.
Succeeding Rafalski as President of Disneyland Paris is Christophe Murphy.
Murphy is an experienced operational leader with more than 35 years at The Walt Disney Company, originally joining Disneyland Paris in 1991 during the resort’s pre-opening phase. He has risen through every dimension of resort operations, including theme parks, Disney Village, hotels, entertainment, merchandise, food and beverage, and franchise integration.
In 2021, Murphy was appointed Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney Attractions Japan, where he worked in close partnership with Oriental Land Company at Tokyo Disney Resort — partnering on quality standards, guest experience, and expansion strategy. Murphy returned to Disneyland Paris in 2023 as Senior Vice President, Operations, overseeing all operational strategy for the resort, including the delivery of the major expansion that introduced Disney Adventure World and World of Frozen to guests in March 2026. Christophe also brings valuable experience from Disneyland Paris Marketing & Sales, further broadening his perspective across the guest journey.
All leadership will assume their roles by the end of July 2026.
“Disney Experiences is in the midst of an unprecedented expansion with more new projects underway across our global portfolio than at any other moment in our history,” said Thomas Mazloum, Chairman of Disney Experiences, the company’s theme parks division. “These appointments reflect the depth of leadership talent driving Disney Experiences. Joe, Natacha, and Christophe have a deep appreciation of the guest experiences, possess extensive financial and operational expertise, and [have] a proven ability to deliver at scale. I have complete confidence in each of them to build on the remarkable momentum underway across these businesses and to write the next chapter of Disney’s story.”
Mazloum, who was previously President of Disneyland Resort, replaced Josh D’Amaro as Chairman of Disney Experiences when D’Amaro became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in March 2026. Jill Estorino replaced Mazloum as President of Disneyland Resort.
What’s Coming to Disney World
As President of Walt Disney World, Joe Schott will lead the resort through a period of major new attraction openings.
Just a few of the large-scale projects on deck include a Tropical Americas land with Encanto and Indiana Jones rides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the new Disney Lakeshore Lodge hotel, Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Villains Land and new Cars rides at Magic Kingdom.
In the short term, some of the final new attractions opening under Vahle’s domain will be Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, Soarin’ Across America, and Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station, all of which open on May 26, 2026.
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