During Disney's third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call, CEO Josh D'Amaro offered one of the most detailed public looks yet at how artificial intelligence is shaping the company — and what it could eventually mean for Walt Disney World guests. Two Wall Street analysts pressed D'Amaro on the subject, drawing out specifics on everything from filmmaking to theme park planning tools.
On the creative side, D'Amaro emphasized that AI is being used to speed up production and expand what's possible — helping get more films into 3D, adding visual effects to shots that would have been too expensive to do manually, and accelerating technical steps like rendering and denoising. He was clear, though, that the human element isn't going anywhere: "That creative process, by the way, will always be human centered. It'll always be artist driven and creator led."
For park fans, the most forward-looking comments came around two areas. Disney's R&D labs are developing next-generation robotic characters designed to interact with guests in personal, emotional ways — building on work that has included free-roaming Star Wars BD-style droids tested at Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge as far back as October 2023. Separately, D'Amaro said Imagineering is already using AI tools to help design more ambitious park experiences more quickly.
D'Amaro also highlighted AI-assisted trip planning as a specific priority, with the goal of cutting through the complexity of booking a Disney vacation — think dining reservations, Lightning Lane choices, and resort decisions — and tailoring the experience to each guest. No specific Walt Disney World announcements were made, but D'Amaro's comments indicate both smarter planning tools and new in-park robotics are actively in development. A broader data unification push aims to connect information from parks, streaming, studios, and consumer products into a single system.
The strategy builds on several milestones since 2023, including an internal AI task force, a since-ended licensing deal with OpenAI's Sora platform, a published patent for a machine-learning ride-restraint safety system, and a partnership with Adobe Firefly Foundry to bring AI design tools into Imagineering's concept art workflow. Details on today's earnings call were reported by WDWMAGIC.
