Disney Headlines for February 24th, 2026
This past week, Josh D’Amaro slagged a popular Disney ride.
Also, Hannah Montana announced her big comeback, and Woody showed his bald spot.
Oh, and we got our first Cotino sales count. So, this is a fascinating week of Disney Headlines.
It’s True, But You Shouldn’t Say It
As we speak, Disney is currently determining who will be the next Zenia Mucha.
When Bob Iger ran the company the first time, Mucha prevented him from making PR mistakes.
Photo: PR Week
Mucha’s acumen is an unheralded key in Iger’s ascent into the upper ranks of media CEOs.
Iger’s successor, Josh D’Amaro, will need someone of similar skill to Mucha, as we just learned.
Let’s just say that D’Amaro’s honesty and eagerness to please may get him into some trouble.
In a Harvard Business Review interview I have parsed like it’s the Dead Sea Scrolls, D’Amaro said the following:
“Guests like it, but they don’t love it.” The “it” in question is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Photo: Disney
As a general rule, when you take over control of an entire company, you shouldn’t start by trashing the product.
D’Amaro can get away with such behavior because his heart is in the right place.
He’s just like you and me in that he cares about the theme parks an intense amount.
And he’s right in that we all know the deal about Smugglers Run. The setup is amazing.
But What He Said Was Right
Photo: Matt Stroshane, photographer
Everyone has a picture where we’re sitting at the checkerboard round table just before the ride.
As for the ride experience itself, well, here’s how HBR describes it:
“Only one person—the pilot—truly controlled the adventure. The other two—the gunner and the engineer—were less active.”
The new version of Smugglers Run will “give each person agency—the chance to influence the outcome, demonstrate skill, and feel part of the story.”
How much does that matter? Well, it’s a six-person ride, and only two people can be pilots.
So, Disney was arbitrarily negating most of the fun for two-thirds of the riders.
D’Amaro knows this and said as much, but here’s the thing. The CEO of Disney cannot do that.
As the Chairman of Disney Experiences, D’Amaro sounded passionate about his job with such comments.
Photo: Disney
Now that he’s the boss, he needs to talk up all the amazing parts of existing rides.
Then, when he knows he’s being a bit disingenuous, which sadly comes with the job, he knows what to do.
Photo: Jeff Vahle on LinkedIN
He should work behind the scenes to fix the problem, just like he’s doing with Smugglers Run.
He just can’t say it because it’s a huge Headline everywhere from this point forward.
A good PR person can and will save D’Amaro from himself, but until he hires one, it may get a bit messy.
The Return of Miley Stewart
Something I love about tween comedies is how ridiculous the premises oftentimes are.
For example, we’ve seen enough pop divas to know that every second of their lives gets scrutinized.
Getty
Disney Channel superstar graduate Olivia Rodrigo lived out this oddity just a few years ago.
But then we have Miley Stewart, kindly student by day who somehow becomes Hannah Montana without anybody knowing.
Photo: Disney
She’s like Musical Superman in that a wig disguises her look just as glasses do for Clark Kent.
For whatever reason, the timing in this 2006 series proved astonishing.
Disney had an even bigger hit on its hands than it realized, something that became crystal clear in 2008.
That’s when Disney released Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in theaters.
Photo: Disney
I was covering the box office side of the story at the time, and it absolutely blew my mind.
I wasn’t alone, as Disney famously called in an entire team of executives for an all-hands meeting.
Photo: Disney
The focus of that meeting was to maximize the value of the Hannah Montana brand.
Let’s just say that Disney accomplished that goal to the nth degree.
To this day, an episode of Hannah Montana is the most-watched basic cable telecast ever.
When we talk about the glory days of Disney’s Linear Networks success, it was then.
Photo: Billboard
Cyrus has since become the youngest Disney Legend ever, which tells the whole story.
Now, many of those fans from 20 years ago are parents themselves, and you know what that means.
Photo: Variety
Disney is serving up some nostalgia with a Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special in March.
Don’t be surprised if it sets some records as well. The announcement itself has already earned 123 million views!
This show is the Friends of Gen Z.
The Cotino Update
When Disney announced its entrance into the real estate market, nobody was surprised.
The company had tested the waters with a local play at Golden Oak at Walt Disney World.
Photo: Four Seasons
However, selling people homes right by a Disney theme park is shooting fish in a barrel.
Convincing them to pay more than $1 million for a Storyliving by Disney home is entirely different.
Photo: Penta
These planned communities reside nowhere near theme parks, which makes them less desirable.
So, we’re all naturally curious about how well the first new Disney neighborhood is selling.
Photo: Caldwell Banker
Well, I’m surprised to say that we have some actual numbers thanks to a bit of excellent reporting.
Reporter Tom Coulter at the Palm Springs Desert Sun did a bit of digging.
Coulter combed through public records to uncover the information Disney has kept hidden.
According to his research, “several dozen homes have been built so far, with about 30 sold.”
That may not sound like much until I remind you that prices start in the mid-$1 million range.
Some cost substantially more, reaching $4 million in a few instances.
New restaurant Elevare will be among the first tenants at Cotino Bay Beach, Dining and Shops when it opens in fall 2026.
So, 30 homes sold suggest revenue of at least $45 million and likely over $50 million.
And here’s the thing. Disney is just getting started. As Coulter notes in his report:
Photo: Disney
“(This) project has city approval to eventually include nearly 2,000 homes and condos, and an initial phase features about 300 homes.”
Cotino will likely make Disney $50+ million annually for the next several years.
Photo: Disney
Don’t be surprised when the company announces several more Storyliving neighborhoods.
The money’s too big for Disney to ignore.
Woody Needs to Wear More Cowboy Hats
I’m running long this week, but I’d be remiss if I ignored one of the week’s biggest Headlines.
The full Toy Story 5 trailer is here, and it’s a joy to behold. And one moment is wildly popular.
Speaking as someone with a formerly high crown on my head that’s now a barren wasteland on top, I laughed so hard at this.
The Pixar team deserves all the credit in the world for finding a joke that would resonate.
All the kids who spent the past 30 years growing up on Toy Story are now the ones with similar bald spots.
There’s no quicker, easier way to reinforce the fact that Woody has got some miles on him.
Also, a dinosaur reacting to potential extinction by saying “Not again!” is a perfect ten joke.
Photo: Pixar
This is the kind of trailer that sells tickets. I suspect Pixar has another $1.5 billion hit on its hands.
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Feature Photo: Disney
