In the summer of 2023, I knocked off a key parenting milestone: my wife and I took our son to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
The last time I went was in the late-1990s with my parents.
So it was definitely a full circle moment that made me appreciate my parents a ton more. They did it with four kids. Completely outnumbered. A 1:2 ratio. My wife and I were reversed. A 2:1 ratio.
It was still a zoo, though.
We waited in long lines. We got scorched by the sun (I didn’t do us any favours by being hungover). We bought overpriced bottles of water and random swag (hello, $30 Misting Spray Fan). And I legit chuckled every time a Disney employee rang up a bill, as I did the gross margin calculation in my head (comically high).
I want to revisit the trip because Disney recently named a CEO.
Josh D’Amaro officially succeeded Bob Iger for the top job on March 18th.
This was the second time Iger has passed the baton. The first time was to Bob Chapek in February 2020. Iger handed the business off to Chapek literally as COVID was kicking off. That’s Texas Hold ‘Em equivalent of getting dealt 2-7 off-suit. It was a fraught relationship and Iger came back in November 2022.
A through line between Chapek and D’Amaro is that both led Disney’s theme park division, which has become the undisputed cash cow for the company.
The trip I took to Disneyland coincided with a flippen-ing of Disney’s entire business model between four key pillars: Parks & Experiences (including Cruise Ships), Studio Entertainment (Film), Media Networks (ABC, ESPN, Disney Channels, FX etc.) and Direct-To-Consumer (aka Streaming aka Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+).
Over the past decade, Disney’s Parks & Experiences division has gone from 18% to 57% of Disney’s operating profit. In 2025, that was nearly double the combined operating profit for cable TV, streaming and film at 32% (the remainder was Consumer Products aka merch aka you’re probably drinking from a Marvel or Star Wars coffee mug rn) .
