BREAKING! Disneyland Getting New President & Other Leadership Changes at Disney Theme Parks

Disneyland and some of the other divisions of Disney Experiences (the current name for the Disney theme parks and consumer products division) just announced a shuffle of leadership. As part of this change, Disneyland is getting a new president.

Typically a change of the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Presidents happened like clockwork every three years. That hasn't happened since the parks came out of the lockdown closures.

Now, we have seen the Disneyland President role change. Below is the news followed by our commentary on why this happened and why it matters for the parks.

Disney Experiences Leadership Changes Announced Today

Current Disneyland President Ken Potrock will take on the newly created role of President, The Walt Disney Company Major Events Integration. In this role, Potrock will be responsible for developing comprehensive, cross-company plans to maximize the value of large-scale sports, entertainment and tourism events ranging from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to the 250th Anniversary of the nation.

Potrock joined Disneyland Resort in 2020 and led the successful post-pandemic reopening, and recently secured the approval of DisneylandForward, which unlocks opportunities for expansion and investment in Anaheim for the next 40 years. During his tenure, he also oversaw the opening of Avengers Campus, the reimagining of Pixar Place Hotel, the expansion of the Downtown Disney District, and the continued expansion of Disney California Adventure – including the recent announcement of two new attractions coming to Avengers Campus, and new attractions inspired by Avatar and Coco. Potrock will continue to report to D’Amaro, with accountability to Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman ESPN.

Thomas Mazloum, the current head of Disney Signature Experiences which includes the Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, and Adventures By Disney will take on the role of the President of Disneyland.

In this role, Mazloum will lead more than 36,000 Cast Members and oversee the operation of two theme parks, three resort hotels, and the Downtown Disney District, and will guide Disneyland Resort through a new era of growth with the recent approval of DisneylandForward. Under Mazloum’s recent leadership of Disney Signature Experiences, Disney Cruise Line secured investments and development plans to double its fleet size by 2031. Prior to his time at Disney Cruise Line, Mazloum held various leadership positions at Walt Disney World, overseeing Operations, Resorts, Transportation, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Club 33, Disney Springs and more. Mazloum will continue to report to D’Amaro.

“Thomas is an innovative and inspiring leader with immense operational expertise, a deep passion for our cast and guest experience, and a strong sense of community,” said Josh D’Amaro. “He will guide Disneyland Resort through an exciting new era of growth with the recent approval of DisneylandForward, unlocking opportunities for expansion and investment in Anaheim for the next 40 years.”

“With the launch of the 70th Anniversary celebration later this year, the addition of new experiences underway and the opportunities for growth, there couldn’t be a more thrilling time to take on this role,” said Mazloum. “I am honored to be asked to lead the incredible Disneyland Resort team and remain committed to upholding the culture and legacy of Walt’s first park, while building the future.”

As Disneyland Resort president, Mazloum will lead 36,000 cast members and oversee the operation of two theme parks (Disneyland and Disney California Adventure), three resort hotels and Downtown Disney District.

Now, some key commentary on this first big change. I have personal experience interacting with both Ken and Thomas so wanted to call out a couple of key items here.

All of these moves are related to the fact that we are a little less than a year out from a far more notable major leadership change at Disney. At the beginning of 2026, Disney CEO Bob Iger's successor will be announced. They won't take that role until January 1, 2027. Right now the leading internal contenders are Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro and Disney Entertainment Chairman Dana Walden.

Regardless of who becomes CEO, we anticipate that Josh will leave his current role and leave that spot open. The reality as we've seen it play out in the past at Disney during the first CEO successor process is that if Josh doesn't get the CEO job he will likely leave the company altogether and if he does get the CEO job then obviously his current role will become open. The theme park leadership moves right now are to position who will take the Disney Parks Chairman job next.

Ken Potrock has been a great Disneyland President who was awesome to interact with as a guest and as a member of the media. He was honest and seemed to really care about the future of the parks. He was the perfect person to lead the charge with getting the zoning for the massive DisneylandForward project approved. I always appreciated his thoughts and clear passion for developing Disneyland into a true resort destination.

Ken told me as recently as August, at a reception during D23, that he planned to remain with Disneyland as long as he could. He said he wanted to see through the expansion plans that he had in motion both for DisneylandForward and the big changes coming to Downtown Disney.

Around that same time, the Walt Disney Imagineer who previously led the Tokyo Disney projects was brought in to run the Disneyland portfolio. That was an exciting move for fans, but also one that demonstrated Disney Parks leadership felt they needed a different set of eyes at the resort to be ready for this huge phase of construction of all the new Disneyland rides coming.

From that moment I've wondered if, Ken's time was almost done at Disneyland despite his hopes to remain. There is typically about a three-year clock on these roles. We are at almost the five-year mark for Ken. Josh D'Amaro, the head of the theme parks, and Disney CEO Bob Iger seem to have decided that Ken isn't going to be the next head of the theme parks when Josh moves out of the role. That meant that they couldn't keep him where he was and any existing leadership role they could give him would be a step down. They had to create this leadership position to give him a next step. I'm curious to see how much Disney actually does for the LA Olympics as it is broadcast by their competitor NBCUniversal. I am hoping that we still get to see Ken stage some awesome events around this that go back to his early days of directing the Super Bowl halftime show for Disney.

Now, turning to Thomas Mazloum. The positives are that he is a fast-rising executive who has worked all over Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line. He also has spent time outside of Disney at Crystal Cruises where he worked his way up to Chief Operating Officer. Disney Cruise Line is known to have the highest guest rating of any experience offered by Disney and the guest service is truly impeccable.

The only question mark here for me is that my understanding is that he has never spent time working at Disneyland which is a very unique theme park destination. The guest expectations are so different than those at Walt Disney World. He'll have lots of experienced hands around him, but I personally just hope he understands how special Disneyland is and how differently it needs to be handled than Disney Cruise Line or Walt Disney World. The other worry is that Thomas could be here for a quick stop before becoming parks chairman. With something to prove, I am curious to see how much Thomas will leave his mark on Disneyland in that one year.

When I talked with Thomas during the christening of the Disney Treasure cruise ship, I was impressed and walked away feeling like he had more that he was going to accomplish within Disney. It looks like today that is the case. I would not be surprised if we see Thomas as one of the top contenders for the Disney Experiences Chairman job after Josh moves on.

Interestingly we are still waiting to see if there will be a similar shuffle at Walt Disney World where Jeff Vahle has also been President for a long time. We like Jeff, but also really love Natacha Rafalski the current President of Disneyland Paris. Besides Thomas, she is the other one that I am watching most closely for the chairman job as this shuffle continues. Typically all these shuffles happen at the same time so we may not see a change at Walt Disney World.

Thomas, if you read this coverage welcome to Disneyland. We are excited to spend more time with you. My brief wish list for you that stops short of fixing Tomorrowland – restore a show to the Hyperion Theater and/or Fantasyland Theatre, bring back Steakhouse 55, and consider adding an updated version of “Remember…Dreams Come True” back into the fireworks lineup.

Ken, I am thinking of you and wish you the best of luck on your next role at Disney. We'll miss seeing you in the parks.

Other Key Changes For Disney Experiences

Here are two other changes coming to the division.

Joe Schott has been appointed President of Disney Signature Experiences (DSE), a division of Disney Experiences that offers family travel and leisure experiences beyond theme parks, including Disney Cruise Line (DCL), Disney Vacation Club, Aulani – a Disney Resort & Spa, Adventures by Disney, Storyliving by Disney and more. Schott’s Disney career spans 40 years, and since 2019 he has led Shanghai Disney Resort as President and General Manager.

Under his leadership, Shanghai Disneyland expanded to include the successful Zootopia-themed land, new attractions and entertainment, and in development, a third hotel and a new Spider-Man themed attraction. Prior to his role in Shanghai, Schott led operations at Disneyland Paris and was Executive Managing Director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan at Tokyo Disney Resort. Schott’s vast experience in global markets and his extensive knowledge of our international operations will be pivotal as Disney Cruise Line expands its fleet to new destinations worldwide. Schott will now report directly to D’Amaro.

Andrew Bolstein is promoted to President & General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort. Bolstein was part of the opening leadership team at Shanghai Disney Resort, working hand-in-hand with Imagineers as the park took shape. His 30-year career started at Walt Disney World and included leadership roles in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and nearly 13 years in Shanghai. Bolstein brings deep operational knowledge, passion for the Cast and surrounding community, and strong relationships with key government, business and industry partners. Andrew will report to Jill Estorino, President and Managing Director of Disney Parks International.

Congratulations to both Joe and Andrew who continue to advance here. This isn't a big surprise as Andrew has been at Shanghai since the beginning and was the clear next leader there.