Josh D’Amaro Takes Over and Disney Names Its New Ship

The Walt Disney Company just hosted its Annual Shareholder Meeting, and this year’s event was a slick broadcast. Disney needed everything to work seamlessly to assuage any concerns about the passing of the torch. 

With Bob Iger finally stepping down as CEO of Disney, fans and investors alike were curious about the new regime. Disney took this opportunity to reveal some news and reassure everyone that the company we love is in good hands. Let’s discuss this eventful day, as Josh D’Amaro takes over, and Disney names its new ship.

Disney Has a New Leader

Disney livestreams its shareholder meetings. So, many fans watched the event and quickly appreciated the changing of the guard. Disney fittingly provided Bob Iger with a hero’s sendoff, expressing gratitude for his saving the company after the missteps of Bob Chapek’s brief tenure. 

Then, Josh D’Amaro took over, first with a pre-produced presentation and then later with a Q&A session. During both segments, D’Amaro demonstrated the skills that earned him the title of Disney CEO. He’s clearly a diehard fan of the company, albeit one with exemplary business savvy. 

D’Amaro expressed his gratitude and excitement over becoming CEO at Disney. He also announced release dates for several exciting Disney films. In case you’re curious, here are those dates:

• Lilo & Stitch 2 – May 26th, 2028
• The Incredibles 3 – June 16th, 2028

D’Amaro also reminded fans that The Bluey Movie arrives next year, which is music to the ears of its diehard fans. Then, the Shareholder Meeting began in earnest.

Shareholders Reject Most Proposals

Horacio Gutierrez, Disney’s Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer, announced the seven proposals up for shareholder votes. Disney recommended that shareholders vote for the first three but against Proposals 4-7. Notably, those suggestions came from shareholders. Here’s a quick description of each outside proposal:

• Proposal 4 – “Report on How the Employee Gift-Matching Program May Impact Risks Related to Religious Discrimination Against Employees”
• Proposal 5 – “Report on the Expected and Potential Return on Investment from Climate Commitments”
• Proposal 6 – “Adopt Cumulative Voting for Board Elections”
• Proposal 7 – “Independent Review and Report on Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Practices”

In an unusual move, Proposal 5’s nominee withdrew from the vote. So, while you as a shareholder likely received the proposal, it never came up for a vote. Meanwhile, voters soundly rejected the other three outside proposals. None of them received more than five percent of the vote. 

Proposal 4 garnered only one percent of the vote, while Proposal 6 claimed a modest three percent. Disney had worried the most about Proposal 7 gaining support, but it didn’t. While the most successful of the three, it still earned only one out of every 20 votes. Long story short, the shareholders are squarely aligned with the new Disney under Josh D’Amaro.

Disney Holds a Q&A Session 

As part of the meeting, D’Amaro answered 13 questions, most of which were quite good. History will remember that the first question he ever answered was about an EPCOT attraction. I guarantee that you would never guess which one, though. A fan wanted to know whether Disney would ever update the offerings at the Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival. An amused D’Amaro said he’d think about it, but nothing is in the offing.

Another shareholder wondered how D’Amaro would weigh Walt Disney’s legacy and ideals while plotting the company’s future. To no one’s surprise, the new CEO stated that “this one is really important to me.” D’Amaro said he thinks less about “preserving something from the past and more about carrying forward the innovative spirit.” That’s exactly the answer Disney fans should want him to give.

Many of the other questions centered on the parks and Disney stories, ranging from general ones to oddly specific queries. One person wanted an explanation about why Lightning Lanes differ at Walt Disney World from Disneyland. Since D’Amaro has run both parks and, later, Disney Experiences, he emphasized the nuance of both parks.

Long story short, D’Amaro never once hesitated with any of his answers, nor did he say anything that should have caused anyone to roll their eyes. Since his return, Bob Iger had been guilty of that many times. D’Amaro presented himself as polished, knowledgeable, and confident. 

Meet the Disney Believe 

I recently booked a Disney Destiny cruise for this fall. I’m mentioning this for three reasons. The first is that I rushed due to the high demand for upcoming Disney cruises. The company’s sailing business has become so lucrative that many of its 2026 itineraries are already at or near capacity. 

Then, we have the more depressing concern of elevated fuel costs. You may not realize this, but fuel is one of Disney Cruise Line’s (DCL) biggest operating expenses. So, I wanted to book now as a safeguard against the possibility of higher prices later. If you’re on the fence about a Disney cruise, I’d encourage you to do the same. 

Finally, we have the main reason I’m discussing DCL today. Disney just confirmed the name of its next ship, which is arriving sooner than you may think. For the body of 2020s, we’ve all anticipated the three Wish-class vessels. With the Destiny’s maiden voyage at the end of 2025, they’re now in operation. In fact, the Disney Adventure, an even larger ship, just embarked on its first sailing as well.

So, this seemed like a brief respite between new cruise ships…but it’s not. One of Josh D’Amaro’s first announcements as Disney’s CEO is that the next Wish-class ship is the Disney Believe. It currently has a target launch date of late 2027, which is just around 20 months from now. 

You may have heard that Disney would go smaller with its next cruise ships, and that’s at least partially the plan. The vessels planned for 2029, 2030, and 2031 will be smaller in size than the Wish-class ships. However, the Disney Believe will offer similar scale and amenities to the Destiny and the Treasure, both of which have slightly one-upped the Wish. 

By the time this ship debuts, the Disney Believe could feasibly become the crown jewel of DCL. Stay tuned for additional information about the ship’s theme and amenities, which Disney will likely announce soon.

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