Disney just named only its ninth CEO in more than 100 years. And days later, I found myself on a video call with Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amaro. And in this week's episode, I share what the on-the-record conversation revealed about Josh's leadership style, vision for Disney, and commitment to remaining accessible to fans and cast members. And even as his role expands, we also break down the pairing of Josh as CEO and Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer and what may be one of the most important structural decisions Disney has made in decades. We also talk about what this leadership shift means for parks, storytelling, technology, cast members and the Disney fan community. It's an honest, thoughtful look at the Josh Tomorrow CEO leadership vision and why it could redefine how how Disney shows up as one unified company hello my friend and welcome to WW Radio, your guide to the Disney parks and experiences from around the world. I am Lou Mungelo and this is show number 856. And whether this is your first time listening or you've been with me for all 20 years since the very beginning, welcome home. Please don't forget to be part of the community and conversation over in the Clubhouse at WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse join me this and every Wednesday night. You can watch and chat for WDW Radio Live Every Wednesday at 7:30pm Eastern on Facebook and YouTube and get your weekly dose of Disney, everything you missed and exclusive content and contests in your inbox by subscribing to my free weekly email newsletter. And when you do, I will send you a free gift over@www.com newsletter and when you're ready to plan your next Disney vacation, trust in the people who I have trusted for more than 18 years. My friends over@m MouseFanTravel.com for completely free expert planning from the team that I've relied on not just for my family's vacations, but trusted to recommend for yours as well. You can visit them over@m MouseFanTravel.com and I'm going to skip this week's regular trivia contest question and answer for two reasons. One, because I really want the conversation and focus to be on Josh and Dana and the announcement and our conversation. And two, I'm getting ready. And by getting ready I mean I am frantically packing to head on down to Fort Lauderdale for our WDW Radio Super Bowl party and then get on the Disney Destiny on Monday for our WW Radio group trip. And I invite you to follow along and connect with me on social. I'll be sharing a lot of stories and reels and posts over on Instagram @Instagram.com/LouMongello. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn as well as on Facebook. And as always, my friend, and you are my friend, whether we have met yet or not, all I ask that if you enjoy the show, please rate, review and more importantly, share it with a friend. Thank you again for being here. So for now, sit back, relax and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show. This week marks an incredible milestone in Disney history as Disney named just its ninth CEO in its hundred year history. And just days after the announcement, I was invited to speak with Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amaro. And as part of a very, very small group of longtime creators, I was incredibly grateful and fortunate to be part of that call and video conversation. And what we discussed in this very open and very honest and on the record conversation I think gives incredible insight into, I think, who Josh is as a leader, what his vision is for Disney and why so many of us in the Disney community are so genuinely excited about this moment in the company's history. Joining me to discuss not just that conversation, but really the appointment of Josh as CEO and Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer is my CTO, my Chief Travel Officer, Becky Manken of Mei and Mouse Fan Travel.

I am so happy that we're here to talk about this today because it's so exciting on so many levels. So thanks for having me on.

Yeah. And before, you know. Well, it's funny, we, we, we sort of got the news while we were away recently and you know, I want to talk about the, the timing of it and before, before we even get into sort of the announcement. And my, my call with Josh, you know, this, this announcement, Becky, was not necessarily one that was unexpected. There was a lot of speculation as to who might take over for CEO. We've had a lot of conversations about this both on the show and in person and over food and beverages. But the timing, I think just from the, from the out, I think the timing was fascinating. Just a day after the Q1 earnings call and with Bob Iger's contract running out at the end of the year, this happening at this time and so fast, I just think is, is interesting. And, and speaking of timing, like just a couple of weeks ago on our Disney in or out segment, I sort of posed the statement that Bob Iger's shoes are, quote, unquote, too big for one person to fill and Disney should be led by two people instead of one. Which sparked a lot of conversation and debate and more passionate replies than I think is expected. So I think the timing of this just in the very beginning is fascinating.

Absolutely. It is amazing because we all. It makes sense that they want a little bit of time while Iger's kind of still there and still participating to help onboard this new CEO role. But this is a lot earlier than I anticipated whatsoever. I thought that we would probably see it in their Q3 instead of, or our Q2 or I mean Q3. So having it comes this early was a really special surprise.

Yeah, I think we can, we could speculate, you know, why they felt now was the time. Now was the best time to do this because I think tomorrow is taking over as Disney is, is navigating this. You know, I think we forget, Becky, this is a very big, wide and deep and complex entertainment landscape with streaming and theatrical and technological, technological advancements and the parks. But you know, I was thinking about Josh, not necessarily just Josh the, the, the CEO, but Josh the person. And based on the number of people on the day of this announcement who posted photos, who posted their photos with Josh, myself included, we all feel like we know Josh, the front facing leader of parks and Resorts. But I also, but I want to sort of, before we get into the announcement, I want to take a look back like who is Josh D' and how I think his background is going to shape and impact his and in turn our future with him in the new CEO role. Because I think a lot of people know him from his current role or soon to be former role in Parks and Resorts, but he actually came to Disney in Life Before Disney. He worked in the finance department of Gillette before going to Disney in 1988. And he's had such a. We'll use a Mr. Toadism, a very wild ride starting at Disneyland. And I love the fact that he started, went through a number of different iterations and then sort of almost ending on the ground floor of park operations. Right. For 10 years he was vice president of sales and travel trade marketing. He did a lot of business planning and development. From 2005 to 2006, he was CFO of Disney Consumer Products Licensing for a couple years, then promoted to vice president of Adventures by Disney. From 2013 to 2014, he was the Vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Keep in mind, during a Time of major expansion with Pandora and the joint venture with James Cameron, really sort of ushering the largest expansion in that park's history. He then became senior vice president of resort and transportation operations at Walt Disney World until 2017, when he became CCO of the Walt Disney World Resort before taking on the role of president of Disneyland, another role he held for a year and a half before returning to Florida to become president of Walt Disney World. 2020, Bob Chapek succeeds Bob Iger as CEO and Josh Tomorrow succeeded Chapek as Disney experiences again. Keep in context 2020 during a time of COVID 19. And what that means sort of putting a pin in this role, Becky, is that as chairperson, he is responsible for the management of the attractions, the cruise ships, merchandise, retail, not just domestically, but all six theme parks around the world. And I think it was important to list all these things because it matters. Because I think a lot of Josh now at his current level and the next level of CEO, I think a lot of his decisions and his instincts are, I think, are shaped by asking the question, like, how does this feel to a guest? Not how does this look on a spreadsheet?

Exactly. Now, the intriguing thing for me is this. This follows the same pattern that a lot of Disney management goes through, where they get a little bit of experience in different areas of the company. Right. And it's great to see that he does have both sides of the coin. He is a financial guy, but yet he's an experienced guy. And usually you have. If you're a financial guy, you are the bean counter and you're looking at the money only. And you may not take in consideration what's happening on the very front lines. He's got both sides equally. And if you talk to anybody that's met him, he is such a charismatic person that talks to you no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing, no matter who you are. If he's speaking with you, he's looking at you, he's engaged with you, he's asking questions about you. And for me, it's really exciting to have somebody that has that travel industry sales side. Because he gets what I need and what my guests need. I can have intelligent conversations with him about the travel industry. And I have. I will say one of the most exciting things for me is I got to know him or I met him first when he was vice president Adventures by Disney. And I was really excited to meet him. But it wasn't just to meet him. He seeked me out because there was a problem we were having an issue with Adventures by Disney at the time and he was very interested in what the issues were and didn't just look at me and say, okay, we'll look at it and walk off. He sat down and had a long conversation with me about how this impacts our business, how the guests are, are viewing this, the situation. He took full responsibility for it. He did not just posture. And that was when I really got intrigued about him and his career. Because when you have someone that is high up on the ladder, that will engage anybody on any level, that's what's really impressive to me. And I think that all of that experience that you just laid out is going to have a direct impact on how we experience the company going forward.

Well, and your story speaks volume because we talk about Josh as a leader and a leader towards guests, a leader towards cast, a leader towards partners like in the travel industry. But I think all these things sort of go back to Josh's literal and figurative boots were on the ground. He understands things like guest crowdflow and cast member morale and the day to day operations and more importantly, I think the frontline logistics that most CEOs and it's not for their fault that I think most CEOs probably never experience. So when we hear about Josh being a Parks person, he's sort of like parks native, right? And the fact that he is native to that, he understands it from a very personal, very frontline. We all sort of have our Josh sort of interaction stories, not just on a personable level, but on a leadership, management, guest relations, cast relations perspective. And it's not just here domestically in the theme parks. I think the fact that he had leadership roles in Adventures by Disney, Hong Kong, Disneyland consumer products strategy means he has personal experience and touch points. So for example, Adventures by Disney is a great example. It's boutique, it's premium, very high touch experiences. So Josh understands that he's not selling travel and attractions. He's selling this idea of, I sort of call adventures by these sort of like luxury storytelling because it's what they do, I think really, really well. By going to Hong Kong, he understands the international operations, the opportunities and challenges with cultural adaptations and global branding and the delicacies and intricacies of those global government partner relationships. He's got the consumer product side strategic planning over at Disneyland. So he's thinking long term. He's thinking also a little bit as a finance guy, that sort of capital allocation. So he's not just the quote unquote, parks guy. And that's Why I wanted to take time. He really is seeing all the different ways Disney creates stories, shares them with guests and then turns those stories into revenue, which, you know, we need to keep in mind. You know, Disney at the end of the day is a company and revenue is clearly very important, not just to Disney, but their shareholders.

And that's important because you have a board now to contend with. So not only do you have all the creatives and all the financials and the, the other roles that you have to, to partake in, the people you have to answer to, he also has the board now. And that's going to be a whole nother set of challenges.

And I think it absolutely bears mentioning he also has unique experience from any of the other nine CEOs because he became chairman of Disney Experiences in May 2020 during the pandemic, without question, you know, the most difficult moment in Park's history. So now he also has the experience of managing very difficult things like closures and reopenings and labor and health protocols and pent up demand from guests and cast and pricing resets and new technology. You know, think about this is when Lightning Lane and Genie and park reservations and the relaunch of the cruise. And speaking of, you know, the, I think the early days of the major expansion planning was happening. So he's also had experience running Disney during crisis mode. So he's got that sort of, you know, battle tested leadership which is not theoretical. Like he literally lived through it.

Yes. And to have that type of experience, the real world experience as it has the touch point in all the different corners of this company, which means there's a lot to manage, there's a lot of people, a lot of projects, a lot of creativity, a lot of things that are going on in every different corner. And looking back at his resume, when you compare it to others that are in the company, he probably has the most experience. So I'm really happy at this choice. Obviously I was a little, we had these discussions where I'm like, but he doesn't have that entertainment, that movie side and how are they going to do that? And I think we, I think you talked about on, on the other show. But do they do co present when. How do they do this? Is it two people? And I know that we'll touch on this in a bit, but I love the solution that they came up with.

Yeah, I think Dana is the perfect solution. We'll, we'll talk about her and her role and how she's going to work with Josh because was I as I thought back to Josh's past. We all have our sort of. And I love the fact that all of our stories about Josh are about personal interactions with Josh. We're not talking about the things he did or things he implemented. We're talking about the relationship based, the cast member based, the guest based stories that we're sharing first.

Right. And one of the things, like I said when I had that conversation with him, and he probably doesn't remember it at this point, but then he's.

I bet you he does.

But when we were talking, he. One thing that drives me crazy about some executives that I've worked with in the past is when you're sitting in a room with them and you're talking to them, they always kind of seem to be looking past you to see who else is in the room or what else is going on. When you're talking to him, he is talking to you. He. He has your eyes locked. And sometimes it's a little uncomfortable sometimes because you're thinking, oh, my gosh, He. I actually have his attention. Which is a really cool feeling. Right. When somebody is truly listening to you. And.

But you're the only person in the room, right. No matter how many people are around. Right.

100%, which was so cool. And what I loved is that when this problem came up, and I do speak to a lot of senior executives, when these issues come up and they kind of deflect or they might say, well, I'm going to have you talk to this person over here. He didn't. Again, he cared. He took full ownership. He. He had that. Just taking the responsibility. He had a real impact on me as a leader, and it's something I've tried to model in my own business ever since. It's a powerful reminder that how you show up in those hard moments really matter, and you can set the tone. So he does that. And I've watched him walk around the park and talk to people, and he'll talk to a custodian and say, hey, how is your day? How is your job? How is. How are the. The guests today?

And it's not performative, Becky. It's not performative. He's doing that. That is a genuine, like, I just want to walk the parks and make sure my finger is on the pulse of what is going on here from a guest and a cast perspective.

And that is so rare for a leader because you. You do sometimes get. Obviously, you can't get too far in the weeds when you're operating at that level, but if you do have your finger on the pulse to at least know and not rely solely on what others are telling you. Because that way you can, you can balance it. Because everybody in a corporate structure has their own agenda. So when you're coming at it from the CEO position and you do reach down to the front line to fully understand what's happening on the front line without getting in the weeds, that is a true telling of a effective leader.

Right? And that's why, you know, I looked at his. I wanted to look at Josh in terms of his recent and distant past, to sort of set contextually what his experience has been and look at him as we have been telling stories about where he is in the present. But looking forward, you know, what kind of CEO we can only speculate is Josh likely to be. I think the fact that he is so very guest experience fluent, he understands, you know, that that emotional ROI matters. It's not just about dollars and cents. It is about the emotions. It is about how we feel. You know, as you were talking, I remembered, which I had completely forgotten about. This is years and years ago. I had an opportunity to speak with Josh one on one. We were up at the Attic, which is above Jelly Rolls, may you rest in peace. Above Jelly Rolls on Disney's boardwalk. It was a very small event. Josh was there and he and I sat on a couch and just had a very long, very informal conversation. And I remember walking away from that as we were talking about some of the 30,000 foot and even sort of more minute conversations. The details matter, right? To him. It made me think of the Michael Iserism that everything speaks. He gets that he is very like operationally obsessed and has a very clear picture and more importantly, understanding of how things work. And I think that ties into not just a dollars and cents, but I think he is a culture first and will continue to be not just executive. He won't. It wasn't just a culture first executive. I think he's going to be able to be a culture first CEO because you see that how frequently he is spending time with guests, more importantly spending time with cast members. Not in boardrooms, but on Main street, in Disney's Animal Kingdom, wherever it might be. He understands the product. The quote unquote product is not a cruise, it's not a vacation, it's not a resort reservation. Disney Magic is the product. Right. I think he's very much going to be a guardian of the brand, as it were, that we know and he loves because he has that on the ground credibility with cast members. I have yet to hear a cast member say a bad word about Josh, and that speaks volumes. He has the relationship on a micro and macro level with guests. He understands the guest experience from a physical standpoint. What. What does the guest flow look and feel like? He walks into the parks. I want to see what it feels like in the summer. I want to see what it feels like on a party day, whatever it might be. And I think he is able to take that and turn those guest experiences, those guest moments, that guest satisfaction into revenue in a variety of different ways and teams and complex systems.

You hit something there that I sometimes I forget about and I shouldn't, is that Disney is a very complex product, a complex company, because it. I can't think of another company that carries such a burden of emotion as well as corporate and financial and profitability. Because you do have the storytelling, you do have the founders. And Walt Disney and Roy have stories of who they were and how they intended to run this company and what it was for from the very beginning. And to champion that and to shepherd it from the beginnings in 1923 to now and beyond that is a unique challenge because you're balancing the P and L sheets with the guest satisfaction and cast, because cast own have such an ownership over what they do for this company as well. And it's so emotionally tied. And when I think of any other company out there, I can't think of any one that really reaches the level that Disney does. So you have to balance all of this very carefully. And I think given what I've seen in this man and how he works with people and how he genuinely cares about people, that's why I really feel it's such a great choice. Because if anybody's going to be able to balance all of this crazy, it's going to be him.

Well, and I think balance is the perfect word and the perfect segue because balance is going to be critical. It's not just for the force, but also for the company. Because I also tried to think what are some potential, like, for lack of a better word, potential blind spots for him in this new role? Is it in, you know, M and A and Wall street deal making? Is it that he does not come from the studio content side? Is it more about, you know, he understands clearly the real life in person, experiential investments, maybe, versus the streaming and theatrical. Which is why nice segue. Dana Walden makes perfect sense. You talked about Walt and Roy and Michael and Frank, like Dana Walden. Again, maybe not a name that people have heard before. Her conversation, she sort of became part of the conversation about next CEO, next coo. She's currently the co chairperson of Disney Entertainment alongside Alan Bergman, who now she's going to become the Chief Creative officer on Disney March 18 when this takes over. So she's going to add oversight of film and TV production to her purview. So she's going to continue to lead Hulu and Disney, the Walt Disney Company marketing. She has signed a contract extension to 2030, which I think also speaks volumes about just how much confidence they have in her. ESPN is going to remain under Jimmy Pitaro, who also was one of the names that was thrown around as a potential CEO. And I think her and Josh and I think, and I'm mentioning these other names, Becky too, because I think even like Assad Iaz about him being the first chief, the first ever chief marketing and brand officer means Ayaz and Petaro are going to report directly to tomorrow as well with Dana. And she too has a very impressive leadership bio. Right. She joined Disney in 2019 after the Fox acquisition. She came as part of the Fox TV portfolio. So right off the bat, you know, she has that traditional Hollywood studios, not Hollywood studios, the place like the Hollywood movie and TV studios DNA as opposed to the theme park DNA. So there is the balance we were talking about. So she also understands story creation, but at scale, in a different platform and in different ways of delivering those stories. Right. She also led Disney Television studios, ABC Entertainment. So she also understands development and green lighting and showrunning and talent. She understands franchises, but she also understands creative risk as well.

Right. And I love this. I love this for her. I am excited. Girl power. I think that it's really great that they are going to work together. Like you said, the Walton Leroy, I love the fact that this will create that healthy balance between the teams that create the IP and the teams that actually bring it to life in the parks and the cruise ships and all the experiences that we love so that the whole ecosystem can kind of feel more coordinated and, and cohesive. So maybe they'll. It seems like they are going to work kind of hand in hand to, to create from the very beginning and pull it together from all of the different corners of the company. And I see this as such a positive move rather than try to put two people at the same level, trying to sort of to pull together those two areas of the company. How they came up with this as a solution, I think is brilliant.

Yeah, Right. Because again, it goes back to that balance. Now. Josh doesn't have to try and learn and I'm sure he's still very well versed in it. But learn that side of the business because now Disney sort of recognizes the importance of content consistency among and I'm sort of very broadly dividing sort of, you know, the balancing of the, the in person sort of creative storytelling versus the on screen. And again I sort of think the same things. What kind of leader is she going to be? What does she bring? I think she brings a ton of strength to this role. Right. She has clearly the creative credibility in Hollywood. She's got the talent trust, she has experience in terms of project development pipelines from ideation to iterations of it. And I think she understands more importantly the economics of traditional TV versus streaming as well as the movies. So she's got this long term clearly history and I think forward facing vision of franchises and stories and I think she is that. And I don't want to sort of compare or contrast to the names we mentioned earlier, but I think she does bring that sort of balance in terms of experience and prioritization as well.

And I love that. Again, it's the whole Hollywood ecosystem. I don't know a lot about the inner workings of it. But what I do know, I know it's complicated and I know it's a lot relationship based and it's the nose knowledge pieces and it's not something that one person can easily carry, let alone trying to carry the other side of the parks and resorts and so forth. So for them to have found somebody who is so well versed, has so many accomplishments in her career and can bring all of that experience to the table, I, I just see this as being nothing but a positive motion forward for us.

Yeah. And I think we talked about, oh, could it be a co CEO type thing and we talk about the pros and cons and challenges of that. But I think what Disney has essentially done is split the leadership into Josh demaro who has the experience in where the stories and the magic happens physically. Right from in the parks and adventures by Disney and Cruise Line and Walden, where the magic is creativity and storytelling and putting those stories on screen. So you have experiences and story coming together. Like that's the perfect black and white cookie man. That is Disney's business model. This is not just about sort of succession. It is incredibly smart and strategic organizational design. Like is this the Walt Roy Eisner Wells scenario that we hoped for? Yeah, I think it is. You said this is the perfect combination. It is. It's peanut butter and chocolate peanut butter.

And chocolate is pretty darn good.

Right?

Right, exactly. And again, I can see that a lot of thought went into this, a lot of really deep diving into how the skill sets of the different people who were up for these roles came together. And it makes perfect sense. There's no real questions for me. There's not anything like, well, why would they have done this? Why did they choose this? Going down, all of the experience for both of them, it just makes perfect sense from where they're trying to go. Because again, right now we're looking at things like the technology and the, the $60 billion that have to be allocated over the next years to, to expand and all of the things that they've already put on their to do list are very, very challenging. And to find two people who can come together and work together with their skill sets to accomplish these, it's, it's really exciting.

You know, and I thought, I've been thinking a lot, Becky too, about this transition from Bob Iger to Josh tomorrow. And I, you know, jokingly sort of metaphorically talked about stepping into his, into someone else's shoes. And that's not what's happening here, you know, And I think when we start to talk about Bob Iger and the more time and distance and reflection happens, the more we'll, we'll get a better picture. But when we start thinking about Bob Iger's legacy, you know, if I had sort of put it into, you know, one, you know, it's, it's, it's the deal making, right? He was the deal making CEO. Look at his legacy of acquisitions and mergers.

He bought our childhood, basically.

And I'm, and I am there for it. Like if he just get, I told, I used to say, I used to say, look, if he just gets McGilla gorilla, I'm all set. That's it. That's all I needed from my Saturday mornings. But what, what as, as this torch is being passed from the deal making CEO and it's, again, that's a very broad stroke. He's obviously done so much more. But to somebody who is a lived operations CEO, he's literally walked the parks before. Guests get there while guests are there. He knows what operations feel like when they're working and when they don't. Like he understands what broken operations feel like. More importantly in real time, not reading it on a sheet or hearing it in a boardroom, I think that shifts priorities a little bit. And I am, again, we're all obviously speculating, but I expect more attention to be put into the Parks and ensuring that guest satisfaction goes off the charts. Right. Where some might argue it once was and maybe isn't not there anymore. I think there will be maybe fewer finance only decisions because he does sort of understand it's less about the spreadsheets and more about the storytelling.

Well, right. Because parks and experiences have been Disney's profit engine. Right. For recent years. That's really driving the company, which means he has to keep those margins healthy. But he also knows that you can't cut your way into the magic. Right. You can't slice and dice to make the balance sheet look really, really good, but still nourish the business you're trying to build. Especially with the emotional connection that you have to have in this company.

Right. The things that don't show up on a spreadsheet are feelings and love and, you know, things like that. You can't necessarily, you could ma. You can measure, you know, guest satisfaction from surveys, but you can tell when the feeling is just different.

Right. And the other thing that I really appreciate about this and my hopes because, yeah, there's some challenges. There's been some guest feedback about how pricing is a little bit of a challenge, how, you know, all the things that, that are going on. But he knows it. He's stepping into the role, knowing where those issues are so he can hopefully kind of hit the ground running with all of the experience and knowledge he has already without having someone come out from the outside or from a different part of the company stepping in and going, okay, I don't understand why everybody is screaming about this or this. He is well aware and hopefully in the back of his mind already has some areas that he can start working on from day one.

Right. Because we've seen for so long, even before this conversation about Iger's exit and who was, who was going to follow in his footsteps that Bob and Josh were, were together. Right. They were out there like milk and cookies. As long as I'm doing sweet based, you know, metaphors, they were always out there together. So I think succession is a little bit of the subtext here. Right. If you look in recent history, there has been, you know, some might argue whether it's on Wall street or from a guest perspective, the transition from Iger to his first successor was not, was maybe a little troublesome and did not go as, as well as planned. Iger will be staying on for a while, which I think is an asset and a benefit. I don't think that there is a. I don't think that Iger staying on Casts a shadow. I don't think that there's any risk with that. I think keeping him on as an advisor is not risky. I think it is stabilizing because his presence there is not going to prevent this new era from starting. I think this baton has sort of been being held to a certain degree, metaphorically by the two of them as this, this it is being passed. So I think it's going to be a much smoother, easier transition where, well, Bob Iger will be there to help as needed, but not Josh will not be standing in his shadow, if that makes any sense.

And I think that's why this, this timing thing that kind of blows us away at the very beginning is brilliant because he's there to help with that transition rather than just saying here's one day, here's another day. I'm out, peace, out, gone. They've these, these two new leaders in these two areas can have him as a resource to go to to figure out how the dynamic is going to work. They've got somebody there for the next few months who can really kind of guide them in their decision making processes and frankly help them understand each other. I think that there's a great deal of value of having Bob Iger there to help match the two together and help them understand each other's side of the coin too.

Yeah. When this announcement came out again, very unexpectedly, we were both on the Disney Destiny as we were preparing for our WWE Group cruise. We leave tomorrow for the Destiny again. And when we got together and started chatting, I said to you, I said, becky, like we're talking about this. A question that I'm not hearing anybody asking yet. And that was, you know, who takes over Josh's role? Because we've been so concerned about who's taking over Bob Iger's role. Well, now we've got this gaping hole, especially emotionally, of who is going to take over the role of Josh. Right. You, you know, there's only one Josh. But who is going to be potential candidates? We've heard a lot of different names thrown around. One that I've heard and I think makes sense is Joe Schott. He is the Disney Signature Experiences president. He has had experience at Disneyland, Shanghai resorts where he left Takeover Signature Experiences. So he went from the parks to cruise line to the parks. He's got a little experience. He's been there with the company for 40 years. He starred as a frontline cast member in Ops as a Jungle Cruise skipper. So, you know, he's got a great sense of humor. But he too is very much that quintessential Disney Parks guy. I think there's also a Disney Parks gal. If I could say it in French, I would figure out how to do it, but. Natasha Rafalski from Disneyland Paris. She's been president of Disneyland Paris since 2018. I think she's intriguing. I think her time with the company started in the mid-90s. Again, she had a financial background in Disney's greater China region. She oversaw corporate treasury and financial negotiations for Shanghai. She moved over to Disneyland Paris in 2017 as Senior VP of Business Strategy and finance. And during her time there, I mean, if you sort of think back to recent and slightly longer history over there, Disneyland Paris has undergone this remarkable, unprecedented transformation. And they're currently in the midst of this 2 billion euro expansion plan for Walt Disney Studios Park. I think she too brings a lot to the table. But all that to say if I was to sort of. Not that there is like, well, I'm sure, who knows, Vegas might have odds on who's going to take over if I was to shove my chips in my guess, my bet. And maybe the person that I would almost suggest would be Thomas Masloom, who, yeah, again joined Disney in 1998 as hotel director for Disney Cruise Line. So he has a very early foundation in hospitality guest experience, that very sort of personal connection. With that. He moved over to Epcot as general manager of food and beverage and special events. So he has again the in park experience in terms of high volume event execution, large scale dining operations. Leaves Disney for a little while, goes over to Crystal Cruises, comes back as vice president of operations for WALT Disney World. 31 hotels, Disney Springs, ESPN Transportation, one of the largest on property operational portfolios in the entire company. And now as president of Disney Signature Experiences, he leads cruise line Vacation Club Adventures by Disney, Nat Geo Aulani, Golden Oak Disney Institute Story Living by Disney. And in his time there, right. He has helped secure plans to double the Cruise fleet by 2031. There's been a second private island added in the Bahamas for Disney Cruise Line. He's expanded global itineraries, expanded global ports and has also, you know, has work, has done the work in Disneyland where he led, what is it, 36, 37,000 cast members, oversaw the anniversary, oversaw the expansion strategy for Disneyland Forward. So I think he is sort of, from a Parks guest experience perspective, may have one of the most well rounded and just from a personal perspective, any and all of my interactions with Thomas have been in alignment with the interactions I've had with Josh. Every Time I see Thomas, my first thing is, I know you don't remember me. And he says, yes, Lou, I do. And I look down to see if I have like a name on my lanyard or something. And I'm like, no, he just remembers. And I'm like that. It's not about me. He does that with everybody. He's got that same type of thing, the same. When I meet you, I'm not just sort of nodding my head, I'm paying attention, I'm listening to you. And I genuinely care about what you have to say.

And that is the thing that's so.

Impressive to me are people like that, that can understand and listen and empathize and um, and really take a care and consideration for what others are, are doing, are feeling, are what's on their task list and what challenges do they have and how can we maybe change something that will make it a better experience for the guests or the cast? When you have that type of personality, those are the ones that make the best leaders. So I think you're onto something there.

Yeah, I think, you know, if he moves into the CEO of and again, it's parks and experiences and products, he has that guests first. He has a guest first. Motivation, intentionality. He understands the financials. He's able to lead casts of tens of thousands. Right. So he can lead cast at scale. And he has experience not just in parks and resorts, but cruise and travel and real estate and vacation club. So I think he uniquely checks sort of all of the, the, the boxes. And as he checks them as not just a theoretical strategist, but as an actual operator. He's run the hotels, he's done F and B, he's done the cruises, he's done the, the expansion. Not just as a sort of a corporate leader, but like again, boots on the ground operationally. And I think very few executives and all due credit to the other two to Joe Shot, who I've met and I liked a lot. I've never met the Disneyland Paris president. I think this is exactly what this role demands in terms of large scale people, focused leadership, as well as the touch points in a part of the market that's very important to Disney from a financial perspective, which is the luxury and premium guest market as well. We talked about, you know, whether it's Adventures by Disney Story, Living by Disney, et cetera.

Yeah. And coming from that signature area that helps you understand where your growth may be, helps you to kind of envision where other markets and other channels and other opportunities may lie. Because you know, not a lot of people were thinking about things like Story Living or Adventures by Disney back in the day. And to have those creative brains that are coming together with, hey, I've done this over here, maybe we can take a piece of what was successful in this corner and bring it here and see if we can find another revenue channel that no one ever thought of or explored. So, yeah, I'm, I'm all on board with that one for sure. But go ahead.

Now, I think, I think to your point, I think it shows the trust in that he's been consistently put in charge of some of the most operationally complex businesses. You know, and these are businesses that are running 24, 7. They don't turn resorts and cruises and transportation and vacation properties. Adventures by Disney and Story Living by Disney. They don't have, you know, operational stop starting times and days. They are going 24, 7, 365. And I think these sort of mechanics, you know, are seamless. And I think this, this is sort of the, the, the muscle and the muscle memory that he has built up over time that he would potentially bring into that role especially. And also in terms of understanding the overall guest journey, because you want somebody who may start as a park guest to move to cruise line, to move to Adventures by Disney to buy into story living. He understands the holistic view of the guest.

Yeah. And as, as you're speaking about him, I can almost forget that you're speaking about him and you're actually talking about Josh because that exact same journey was how Josh got to where he is now. So that is a natural stepping stone. I mean, going back to Adventures by Disney, it was, it was flailing when he came along. It was a great idea and they started to put it together, but it, it was under his leadership that it really started taking off and getting some teeth. So, yeah, they parallel each other quite well.

Right. Because I think they both have never been about. It's not about selling a ticket. It's about the holistic understanding of the lifetime guest value. It's not single visits, it's building ecosystems. And the things that he has been given are not just things that guests keep coming back to, but they are expansions of the business, expanding the fleet, new destinations, new islands, new. A new park over in Anaheim. So there is that risk management and strategy and forecasting. And I think, you know, well, we don't like to see anybody leave the company. But the fact that he came back and had some time over at Crystal Cruises is probably important because he's seen how other luxury brands operate, maybe what they do well, maybe what they don't do well, and he might be able to bring in some other external best practices. I do. I think he, like you said, mirrors Josh in a lot of not just being a sort of quote unquote, president of the theme parks, but this holistic hospitality, you know, executive.

Yeah, sorry. There's so much to think about here and I, I get excited about the opportunities, the possibilities as you're talking through them and what, what's ahead.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's, it's, it's not just a parks resume, it's a full hospitality resume. And that's exactly the kind of operator that you want stepping into Josh's shoes. So now all that to say, Becky, I was fully prepared to have this conversation with you. We were going to do it on the ship either last week or potentially this week. When the news broke on Tuesday, like I said, we were on the Disney. We had chatted a lot about the announcement, the people and impact, and I was planning on recording something after giving it. And I'm happy we had a little more time to sort of sit and let it breathe and think about it. And then something else happened, completely out of the blue and relatively. Long story short, I was invited to join in an online call on this past Friday and where I just thought I was going to catch up with someone from the company. And much to my surprise, when I entered the virtual online room, who was sitting there but the person who reached out and Josh tomorrow. Very much unexpected, Ben. I very quickly had to process just how meaningful this moment and opportunity was, because Josh was no longer Josh. Josh was now the incoming chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, Josh tomorrow. Which was not lost on me at all. So I'm like, all right, Mongello, just be cool. Look Josh straight in his on camera eye. But oh, so subtly, like without him seeing, grab a crayon or something to write with and start scribbling notes just in case, you know, the conversation is more than just a hey, how are you? And I am very glad that I did. And those notes I use in air quotes is. It was a combination of chicken scratch and stenographer shorthand that I learned a little when I was an attorney because I didn't want to miss any part of the conversation. But I sort of have to preface anything by saying that what we all know and love, what we talked about over and over again, Becky, about Josh is the guest interactions that we have with him in the Parks At Aulani, I have a friend who metaphorically, maybe in real life, like, rode the lazy river and chatted with Josh while he was on vacation at Denny Way. Like, you know who Josh is on stage is who Josh is backstage offstage. It's not an act, a character, a show or performative at all. Like he genuinely cares. More importantly, he remembers. He recalls specific details, which is wild. And he shows that not only to me, but some of the. There was just a couple other folks who were in this conversation. He did the same thing as well. And we talked for about 20, 25 minutes or so. And during that time he shared, sort of unprompted and through conversation, his leadership philosophy, his vision for the future of Disney, which I thought was fascinating, and more importantly, his commitment to maintaining accessibility despite his new and obviously very elevated role. As I tried to read my notes and thought back onto that conversation, I want to start off by what I think we all know and you know, in, in the best sort of ways, what I think we love about Josh is that personal touch. I think that is what it is. The thing that separates Josh from so many other executives. He doesn't, he doesn't do like meet and greets and things like that. Like, he just has like very natural, organic interactions. And he generally remembers people, he remembers conversations. And you know, I experienced like on this call, as we were talking, he referenced back to the conversation we had at D23 Expo two years ago, which real. That's what I said. I was like, you know, it's awesome when you have nearly a quarter of a million cast members and millions and millions of guests. The fact that he remembers individual moments speaks volumes not just about his character, but about his priorities. And it's one of the things we talked about earlier because I think there's a trickle down effect from that. I think he realizes and I think the people who work for and with him realize that these small moments, that's what matters. It's what matters. And I think he's instilling that and leading by example to cast members all over the world with those personal touch points.

Yeah, I mean, I, thinking back, the conversation I had with him was probably 2012. And you're right, he probably does remember a piece of that conversation. I would hope so. And again, when I said that, it was uncomfortable looking in his eyes. And in a good way, in all the best ways, because again, like you said, all of a sudden you're talking to CEO of, of Disney as opposed to the last time. And the. What he, what his title was last time he talked to him, but now he's just the same guy with a little bit more responsibility. But I don't see him changing. I see him being that same person that is going to talk to the ticket taker and the custodian and.

At.

Ride ops and the, the parade people. He's going to still have those same meaningful conversations. Which is why again, I'm so elated at the choice because that means this company is still going to have the heart that I love about it, the emotional tie, the, the love, the respect the family feel. It's still going to live on because there's somebody at the helm who understands why this matters, not just the dog.

And I think that's, I think that's what part of, you know, the half joking concern was. Like, I don't want Josh to be CEO because he's perfect where he is, right? We don't want to lose those touch points. So when, you know, Josh spoke for a few minutes and they said, well, does anybody have any questions? I like, I quickly spoke up like, I'm going to shoot my shot right here. And I talked about how much we all love, not to speak for all Disney fans, but I certainly speaking for myself, how we, how I love how accessible he is. And I wondered and I, you know, this was like I said, it was, it was, it was meant to be and very much was a very frank and open conversation. And I, I talked about how accessible he is and I wondered how and if that would change in his new role because he's going to have a bit more plate on his daily Rolodex and calendar. He very quickly and very explicitly addressed that becoming. So I said, is there going to be a distance, right? Is there going to be this distance between him and fans? And he talked and started telling stories the same way we tell stories about Josh, Josh tells stories about us. He talked about walking through Disneyland on Christmas Day and walking through the parks with no handler, no name tags, which obviously probably freaks his security people out. And he's like, I'm committed to doing that. Like, I'm going to continue to walk the parks. I'm not just going to be, you know, an executive high up in an office tower. The stage might be a little bit bigger and broader. But he said, I'm going to continue to be accessible. And he sort of made that as a promise. And knowing Josh, just from what I have seen and what I've heard, just my, like, I believe him. He said something I'm paraphrasing He sort of gave us this permission, like, hey, when you see me, like, grab me, metaphorically, grab me and come over and say hello. And to me, that wasn't corporate speak. It was a personal promise. Not to the people who are in the room, but I think, and I hope one that he wants us to disseminate out to all Disney fans. Like, continue to. When you see Josh, he is accessible. You can go up, you should go up and see him and shake his hand and thank him and tell him the story because he still wants to listen.

Yeah. And I love that. I love hearing that. And thank you for sharing that because the one thing that I loved when the announcement happened, I think you mentioned earlier, but just the amount of selfies that people were posting of a picture of themselves and Josh, because those were, those were one on one special moments that everyone had to walk up to this, this big guy that we know and say, hey, can I get a selfie with you? Or have a conversation. And just the amount of people that posted shows you how many times he's been stopped and talks and takes a picture and smiles and, and really shows.

Who this person is at his core.

Yeah, the Josh meet and greet. Another Josh will be out in 15 minutes.

He needs a piece of cheese. Yeah, Josh needs a piece of cheese.

And I, and I do I believe him. I think we're going to continue to see Josh no matter how busy he is, no matter how big his plate is. And that's, that's something else that came up too. Becky was, you know, leading a destination theme park, leading all parks and resorts and experience is a lot. But now you're talking about a company and do you remember ever seeing there's a modern version and there's an older version of the Disney company and all of the different aspects of the company that there are. And I don't think I'm gonna find that graphic and I'm gonna, I'll share it on social and I'll share it in, in the clubhouse on Facebook. I think we sometimes forget just how big this company is. It is not just Disney and Marvel. It's film and television and music and radio and gaming and finance and theater, consumer goods, property, publishing. It's Marvel, it's the studios, it's music, it's Fox Entertainment, it's abc, it's espn, it's studio services, it's Pointed Vista, it's Steamboat Ventures. Like they own GoPro. Like there's. There are hundreds of major and minor companies domestically and internationally. You know, direct to consumer and B2B companies that he is now going to be in charge of. And I think sometimes, and he specifically sort of talked about this in response to a question. You know, it feels like there's a lot of sort of disparate companies and he has this vision for unification of a very large company and he doesn't want to see the company as this organizational chart. He wants the opposite. I think that he has sort of felt that maybe the company has almost felt a little bit too siloed. You know, parks are doing their thing and streaming's doing their thing and ESPN is off doing their thing. His vision is that every touch point should just feel like Disney and more importantly, all of these different things should be interconnected. And I don't remember specifically, but he made references to everything from Fortnite to park vacations to ESPN and Disney. All sort of having ways that they remain will start to be interconnected. And I wonder if. I think he clearly does have a vision of transforming how we experience this brand overall. Not about seeing Disney in its wonderful little parts or big parts, but as a holistic view of Disney in all caps as a whole.

When, when you were hearing those comments, did it kind of feel like a Day One agenda or did it, it's. Is it something that he is meaning to step into right away or is this something that is more of a 30,000 foot level over time?

I don't think, you know, as soon as he's done unpacking his pictures and putting them on his desk, there's going to be a switch that is flipped. My feeling, and it's only feeling, is that these are probably conversations that he and Bob Iger have had for some time and that this vision is probably in alignment and in agreement. And these are things that obviously have to take place over time. But when you mentioned some of the specifics and for some reason Fortnite stood out because it was sort of maybe the last thing I expected to hear. I think there very much is a roadmap and a plan. Maybe not a blueprint, but I think that there is a roadmap that he probably has in terms of this, we'll call it a vision for unification of the company and the brand.

That's very cool.

And of course I know that he's always had a very, on some of the other interviews that I've seen them do since the announcement, talking about AI and the technology that's available out there, which of course would help with that alignment, all of these technologies that we're Stepping into now. So that seems to make a lot of sense.

And technology was very much a part of the conversation as well. And it's funny, I remember conversations that have taken place over the past number of years with Bob and Josh using words like turbocharging. I kept talking about turbocharging. Turbocharging. Well, now the thing, the word that he used when he was talking about, and I think he used this at D23 as well, was he repeatedly used the word. And I remember writing it down as I didn't know what it said when I was like, oh, that word means he used boundless to describe his vision. And he wants to leverage technology for more immersive experiences everywhere, not just in the parks, but every platform and every touchpoint. So to me that means, yeah, we clearly are looking at AI, AR, VR and probably other technologies that we have not imagined yet. You can see the things that they're doing over at Imagineering. And so the question and the wait and see has to become how does Disney utilize and leverage technology to enhance the storytelling without losing the human touch that makes Disney special? You know, we see some of the things that they are doing in terms of bringing on user generated content onto Disney, the investment into Sora. And I think because of Josh's emphasis on the cast member and guest relationships and personal connections, I'm really very optimistic that he's going to strike that balance between technological advancement and people and storytelling.

Yeah, again, because that technology is the thing, like you said, makes it impersonal and not what the company needs to do.

So a balance.

Once again, there's a lot of balls in the air for, for this new CEO to try to figure out how to keep everything in line because there's.

A lot of different agendas here.

I think one of the most fascinating parts of this conversation we had was about the creative process itself and something I did not expect Josh to say because it doesn't align with things I've heard about other CEOs and the way they've done things. Did you know that Bob Iger and Josh would meet every two months or more for full day creative reviews at Walt Disney Imagineering? They discussed everything, not just expansion of global parks and adding on a different land. He talked about the franchise choices and IPs and technology and color palettes and Abu Dhabi and cruise ships. He even talked about, oh, he told about. He's like, oh. He talked about Napa Rose. And he's like, oh yeah, Napa Rose just opened. You guys need to go check it out because I was intimately involved in the redesign, from the table settings to the lighting to the layout. And I was like, whoa, wait a second, like, don't. You're burying like a very important lead right here. Because we don't envision. Right. And look, I've talked about. It's a very different vibe and feel that I got than the conversation I had with a former Disney CEO whose also name happened to be Bob, whose last name rhymes with apac, where there was this admitted and understandable, I got a better understanding of what the CEO role really entailed. But there was a disconnect from a lot of those details that are so important to us as guests. This is a very different mindset and I think there's going to be a very different outcome. I think the next. I think the level of detail oriented leadership on the micro macro scale at this level is remarkable. And it's not. I don't look at it as micromanaging, Becky. I look at it as caring about a standard of excellence and meeting and exceeding guest expectations in every single detail. And the first thing I thought of was like, this is the Walt Disney approach. Like, you sweat the small stuff because the small stuff really matters. And he is going to continue that. You know, again, his schedule's gonna be busier. Like, I understand, but I love the fact that those little details, and much as Walt did, he was that bumblebee that pollinated, he is going to make sure he continues to have those touch points. That was a very eye opening and reassuring moment that in the conversation we had.

And thank you for sharing that because I would have had no idea that they were down to the weeds of that type of detail. But you're right, everything that you look at when you're. I mean, right now I am sitting in a Disney World hotel and every single little piece, all the way from the flooring to what I'm looking at on the artwork to the color palette.

It all tells a story.

And all of that is combined together to create a guest experience in this room. So to know that the CEO level has that care and concern all the way down to those details, to make sure the story is accurate, is really.

Exciting because he understands it matters. I feel like Josh knows what it feels like to be a guest. So he talked about without any details or specifics, I have nothing to break here. And just to be clear, I'm not speaking out of school. Like, this was an on the record conversation. So he talked about Villains Land and he's like, it's gonna blow you away. Like, just wait until you see it.

Hi, Bar.

But the point that he made was not about, I think you were going to be blown away by this. He talked about and sort of confirmed that when they get together in development meetings, the first question that he and they are asking is, what do the fans want? It's not just about dollars and cents and algorithms and guest throughput. It's about heart and it's about feeling and it's about listening to guests. And that validates that our voices matter. Like, I don't mean our voices as content creators and podcasters, but we as guests are part of the conversation that they are having when they're designing these experiences. They are not being built to. In these, you know, silos away from what guests experiences and what guest feels matter. The first questions they're asking is, what do the fans want? You know, what would they say about it? And I don't think he was saying that because he was in a room of people who are going to talk about this conversation. I think this is like genuine because we keep going back to it. It's that genuine engagement that he has with the community. I think when you have these conversations with Josh, he's listening and not just sort of flushing them out as he moves to the next person. I think he takes them back with him and says, all right, like, maybe this is. This might make sense on a drawing board or it might make sense in a spreadsheet. But what I'm hearing from guests is different. How do we make sure we satisfy and blow away guests that when they see this? Because we know from experience and conversation that their expectations are so high.

Yeah, that is, that's putting it lightly. Especially now.

Everybody comes here, especially the fans that, the loyal fans that they do appreciate so much. We have opinions, we have thoughts, we have opinions, we have feedback, we have.

We have. We have very loud voices online. Right.

You know, very loud voices online.

Exactly. And to know that he's not. And they won't posture again, as you were saying, if he's not just saying that to try to. To you, it's to counterject. You're not just saying that, or he was not just saying that to you so you could turn around and feel that way. It felt genuine to you, which tells me that again, that hope. And I pray that we have some of the. The people actually listening. And it sounds like that's what we're getting from your conversation.

Yeah, yeah, I was, I was very. I was optim. I was optimistic before I was very encouraged hearing because I don't feel like he was saying the things that he thought we wanted to hear. Like, I believe it because Josh believes it. And we talk, you know, again, to use a Waltism, when you believe in a thing, you gotta believe in it unquestionably. Because if you don't, how can you get the people who work with you and for you and below you and next to you to believe in it as well? How can you get us as guests to believe in it? I believe the things that he was saying. And even as you talked about. Go ahead.

I was gonna say what speaks volumes to me is he did this call. I mean, he's a little busy right now. He's trying to get ready to take the reins over for a major company. And he took time out to speak with fans, with people who speak to fans. This tells me a lot right there.

Yeah, yeah. It's been. He talked about, you know, because he didn't get. He didn't get this call, you know, he didn't. This is not something that he has known for months. He got the call, like three days before this happened. So it has been a wild week for one Josh tomorrow. And the fact that he took a half hour out of his time to talk with us again, I think speaks volumes. He did talk. I'm just sort of looking at my notes. He did talk briefly about the partnership with Dana Walden. I think that maybe was even the word that he used. And he talked about how it was one that was going to be complimentary and very honest and very, I think, transparent. Not just in the. When he's. And I wrote down the word transparent because I think he meant it in terms of not just transparent between the two of them, but transparent to us as guests as well. And I'll be very curious to see how much we see of Dana at events and in the parks and how much we sort of get to know Dana Walden a little bit. He also let me just sort of see. Oh, we. We talked about his successor. Again, he didn't give any sort of timeline, any sort of name. He just said that there are, you know, great, wonderful, dynamic leaders, but came back to reiterate the fact that, yes, there is going to be somebody who's willing to take his role, but he is not going anywhere. He is still going to be somebody that you are going to see in the parks, and he's going to keep the same level of involvement that he's had before in the parks and resorts and espn. He's Very much going to be a hands on CEO. And I just think the last thing that they took away was his. I sort of wrote down again the words limitless and turbocharged and opportunities. And I think after so many years of challenges that the company has faced internally, externally, and for all the different reasons, I think that Josh is, for lack of a better word, I think he's inheriting a company that really is on very, very solid footing and foundation and that there is a Runway that was already in place that he can continue to build upon. He doesn't need to repair it. It's already there. And I think again, sort of that handing off of the parenthetical torch from Bob to Josh is rooted in a very, very strong foundation that is already there.

Wow.

And this is the point where I want to start making my Christmas list to send to him. Here's the 20 things I love for.

You to look at.

But you know, clearly he's got other things on the agenda. Again, I'm so impressed that he took the time out to do this, this call to begin with, to, to really kind of set the stage, so to speak, of what, what we can expect of him. Because those of you who have had those wonderful chances to interview him, like when we were there at D23 and other places, I'm sure that there was some thoughts in the back of your head of am I ever going to.

Get a chance now?

Since he's now been elevated, are we going to have that opportunity to talk to him again? And to know that he took the time and specifically spoke to that to kind of set the expectation of who he's going to be speaks volumes about.

The man that he is.

I think he's trying to say right off the bat, like, look, things are not going to change. I'm going to prove it to you right now. Like, I've been in this position was announced, you know, the ink is still wet. And the first thing I want to do is have continuing conversations with you. And you know, Becky, I think the thing that struck me most about the call was not necessarily the news or the announcement or even his answers. It was about tone. It was not corporate, it was not stage. He still was in like, you know, Josh has, has his look. You know, he was not in the suit and tie. Like Josh was just being Josh. He was so relaxed. He was so very genuine and clearly like excited for and energized by this opportunity. And like you said, I think the fact that he did this, I think speaks volumes about him. It shows that he values relationships and I think that tells you everything you need to know about his leadership style and the CEO he's going to be. He values accessibility, he values the fans voice, he values the conversations that he has and he takes those and integrates those into what he has as a very clear vision for Disney's future. That I think goes very far beyond the parks and streaming. It goes back to this idea of this unified, very powerful, very beloved, very loyal fan base based brand everywhere you encounter it and you know, he understands there's going to be challenges up ahead. Everything is not going to be perfect. He acknowledged that Disney is not always perfect, which I again, I appreciate that, you know, saying yes, everything is not perfect. There are, you know, chinks in the armor sometimes. But we, we recognize that, we acknowledge it. And I'm going to work with the team, with the community.

What told me that was D23, when they did the whole parks presentation and Deadpool was allowed to come out and kind of parody all the things that Disney didn't quite get right. So that was a mark to me that the company is listening and can poke a little fun at itself, which I love that personality of the company. I love to see that shift. And I think a lot of that is because Josh was in that role. So maybe we will get that transparency and a little bit more realism at this point. But I remember seeing that and laughing with it. We were all laughing together. It wasn't that we were saying things or joking about the company.

It was, we were acknowledging it and.

Seeing it all as one, which hopefully we'll have that kind of communication style going forward.

You know, I was excited by this news, but I left this call feeling genuinely optimistic about Disney's leadership and the direction and that we as Disney fans and enthusiasts and you who might be listening as a cast member, are not gonna lose sight of or the connection to Josh. And I believe them. And you wanna know why? Because my favorite part of the call at the very end, and if I could have stood up and applauded like I would have, again, it was not performative, it was not script. At the very end of the call, Josh said as casually and coolly as Josh says, hey, I'll be seeing you guys in the parks. And when you see me, grab me and say hello. That is not corporate speak. He left with the promise. And I for one cannot wait to take him up on it. I am, I am very, very encouraged by what I heard. And I have to say, I have to thank you. Not just you Becky, you, my friend, who's listening for this opportunity, it does not happen without you listening and being part of this show and community and family and supporting and sharing. And if you enjoy this conversation, I ask you to continue to do the same. Share it with your fellow Disney fans. Who knows, maybe I can get Josh back on the podcast again soon.

Great.

He, look, he said the stage is broader now, which means there's more fans to connect with, but I'm holding them to that and looking forward to seeing him and you in the parks and hopefully on the show again. And Becky Mankin from Mami and Mouse Fan Travel, thank you for being part of this conversation. I am excited for what is ahead and I'm excited to watch Josh's continuing journey and trajectory as he takes the reign and with Dana to lead this company to what is coming next.

Thank you for having me. This is an important conversation. I really, really appreciate with all kinds.

Of gratitude being part of it.

And yeah, I'm going to start that Christmas list, so I'm going to hand.

It to you and then you can.

Hand it to him when you see him.

And I absolutely want to hear from you, my friend, who's listening sort of sitting at this virtual table with us. What do you think about the announcements? What do you think about sort of our conversations? What do you think about Josh as CEO? Come be part of the community and conversation over in the clubhouse@www.com clubhouse better yet, if you want to call the voicemail at 407-900-9391, that's 407900, wdw1. I will play your voicemail on the air and maybe we will discuss this again. I'm sure we will on an upcoming Wednesday Night Live show. Becky, thank you again so much. Josh, tomorrow, thank you for everything that you have done for the conversation we got to have and congratulations again on the future moving forward as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Thank you once again for listening and more importantly, for being part of the WDW radio community and for family. I am so sincerely grateful to and for you and I hope that you found some magic and got as excited as I am for the announcement of Josh and Dana taking over the reigns of the Walt Disney Company. If you enjoy the show, and I hope that you do, please help spread the word, share the show and tell a friend. So until next time, remember to be kind, choose the good, be the good, set an example for others. More importantly, have an amazing day and even better tomorrow, I love and appreciate you see ya. Well, it sounds pretty good... In fact, that's just the right spirit.