Disney has laid out new details on how it’s building artificial intelligence into park design and operations. The details came in Disney’s fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings materials and on the accompanying earnings call. CEO Josh D’Amaro described several AI tools already in active use at Disney Experiences, from an internal knowledge assistant for Imagineers to AI-driven trip planning for guests. Here’s what Disney shared.
Disney Details AI Tools in Use Across Imagineering and Parks
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Disney says its J.A.R.V.I.S. AI tool is now used by more than 2,000 Imagineers
- Digital twins and simulation tools are being used to design and stress-test new attractions, including for Abu Dhabi
- Disney’s 2026 Accelerator program shows AI investment spreading well beyond Experiences
J.A.R.V.I.S. Now in the Hands of Imagineers
In the shareholder letter accompanying the earnings results, Disney said it made its J.A.R.V.I.S. AI tool available to Imagineers earlier this year. The tool gives more than 2,000 Imagineers instant access to over 70 years of institutional knowledge, according to the letter. Disney framed the rollout as part of a broader AI approach. That approach, the letter said, is meant to enhance a creative process that stays human-centered and artist-driven.
D’Amaro echoed that framing on the earnings call. Disney uses AI “first and foremost, to enhance a creative process,” he said. That process, he added, will “always be human-centered” and “artist-driven and creator-led.” D’Amaro also pointed to Disney’s design and production history as a competitive edge. The company has “cultivated the world’s richest portfolio of IP and production experience across now a century of filmmaking,” he said. That’s an advantage, he added, no new entrant could quickly replicate.
Disney has previously signaled interest in building out AI infrastructure for its design teams. Walt Disney Imagineering posted a listing earlier this year for an Executive of AI Platform Engineering. That role would build what the company called an AI-first platform meant to change how Imagineering creates. Disney also recently began working with Adobe on a separate set of generative AI tools, custom-trained on Imagineering’s own design catalog to speed up concept art and prototyping for future attractions.
Digital Twins and Simulation Tools for New Attractions
The shareholder letter said Disney is using AI-powered digital twins and simulation tools to design and stress-test new attractions before they’re built. It specifically named the planned Abu Dhabi park as one project already using these tools. That park remains in the planning stages.
On the earnings call, D’Amaro said Imagineering teams “are using AI tools that let our Imagineers design more ambitious, more exciting experiences for fans around the world.” He added they’re doing so “a lot faster than they could do it before.” Disney’s research and development labs are also working on next-generation robotics, he added. Those robots are designed to interact with guests “in personal and emotional ways, not just in functional ways.”
Digital twin technology lets Imagineers model an attraction’s systems and layout before construction begins. That process can catch engineering problems earlier in design. Disney hasn’t detailed which attractions or systems at Abu Dhabi have used these tools so far, or how far along that testing is.
AI for Guest Booking and Cast Member Tools
Beyond design and engineering, Disney said it is applying AI to simplify the booking and planning journey for guests. The company also said it’s equipping cast members with AI-assisted tools meant to help them serve guests better in the moment. D’Amaro said Disney is “using AI to reduce some of the complexities that come along with planning and booking a trip to one of our parks”. The goal, he added, is “tailoring that experience to what guests want”.
D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston first previewed this push in May. They offered an early look at Disney’s AI plans for theme parks during that quarter’s earnings call. Johnston described a “precision labor demand forecasting” initiative meant to better predict staffing needs across the parks. The goal is a better guest experience, a better employee experience, and more effective cost management all at once.
Disney hasn’t specified which systems guests or cast members are using today, or when a wider rollout might happen. At least one AI tool has already been tested at Walt Disney World. Cast members began testing AI-powered search on the Walt Disney World website in July. That feature returns natural-language answers to guest questions rather than a never-ending list of matching pages. A public debut is still coming later this year, Disney has said, with no confirmed date yet.
AI Investment Extends Beyond the Parks
D’Amaro told analysts Disney is “using AI strategically across not only our studios, but across the whole enterprise.” The goal is efficiency, speed, and unleashing creativity, he said. He pointed to the studio’s production pipeline as one example. AI is helping expand the number of titles Disney can release in 3D, he said. It’s also speeding up processes like rendering and denoising. On the streaming side, D’Amaro said AI is helping personalize recommendations on Disney+. ESPN, he said, has built AI into fan features like SportsCenter For You, plus new ad formats and live captioning.
D’Amaro was direct about the intent behind that investment. “AI amplifies what our storytellers can do,” he said. “It doesn’t replace them.” Efficiency gains free up capital, he added. His teams can reinvest that capital in new content, next-generation guest experiences, and technology infrastructure meant to keep Disney at the front of the entertainment industry.
Disney Accelerator Doubles Down on AI and Robotics
Disney’s AI push extends well past Experiences and into a formal investment pipeline for outside startups. On July 31st, Disney announced its 2026 Disney Accelerator lineup. Five growth-stage companies were selected, working across robotics, generative AI, and data synthesis. Bonnie Rosen, general manager of the Disney Accelerator, said this year’s participants are “approaching some of the most complex technical challenges with unmatched optimism.”
Two of the five companies, FieldAI and Physical Intelligence, build foundation models for general-purpose robots that operate in unpredictable environments without pre-mapped routes. A third, Promise, is an AI-native studio building GenAI tools into film, series, and visual effects production. OpenArt focuses on generative AI for fan-created content. Simile is building AI-based simulation models grounded in real human behavior, aimed at giving companies consumer insight before they make decisions.
Now in its 12th year, the Disney Accelerator has run more than 60 companies through its program since 2014, including past participants like Epic Games and ElevenLabs. Companies receive investment capital over a four-month program and the chance to collaborate directly with Disney’s business units. This year’s cohort will present its work at a Demo Day on the Walt Disney Studios lot in early November.
Taken together with the AI tools already running through Imagineering, guest booking, and Disney’s studios, the Accelerator news points to a company betting heavily on AI across nearly every part of its business. That appetite hasn’t been without setbacks. Disney struck a three-year licensing deal with OpenAI in December, agreeing to a $1 billion equity investment tied to letting Sora generate content using more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. OpenAI shut down Sora in March, and Disney exited the deal as a result. The company said at the time it would keep looking for other ways to responsibly use AI.
Framing AI as an Advantage, Not Just Efficiency
Disney emphasized in the letter that its approach to AI isn’t primarily about cutting costs. The company said it’s investing in teams across Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar, Disney Research Studios, and Walt Disney Imagineering. Those teams, the letter said, have long pushed the boundaries of storytelling. A century of filmmaking experience gives Disney an advantage, the letter said. So does the industry’s richest library of intellectual property, one it believes competitors and new entrants can’t quickly replicate.
D’Amaro summarized the company’s broader push in similar terms on the call. “We’re focused on becoming a more effective, a more agile, more innovative company,” he said. Technology, he added, is “the connective tissue” tying that effort together across Disney.
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