By Sabela Ojea


Disney Experiences made four senior executive appointments to support what it called an ambitious plan to largely expand its cruise line and boost theme parks globally.

Ken Potrock, a 30-year company veteran, was appointed to the newly created role of president of The Walt Disney Company Major Events Integration, the company said Thursday. He will be responsible of maximizing large-scale sports, entertainment and tourism events such as the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Joe Schott was named president of Disney Signature Experiences, which offers family travel and leisure experiences beyond theme parks, including Disney Cruise Line and the Disney Vacation Club. He has more than 40 years of experience with the company and has led the Shanghai resort since 2019, the company said.

The Shanghai Disney Resort's new president and general manager will be Andrew Bolstein, and Thomas Mazloum was tapped to be president of Disneyland Resort. That unit includes two theme parks, three resort hotels and the Downtown Disney District.

Disney discloses certain financial metrics for its cruise business, but doesn't provide full financial details. For the year ended in September, Disney reported a 5% increase in revenue for the Experiences division, which includes cruises, driven in part by higher average ticket prices.

Cruise travel surpassed prepandemic levels in 2023, attracting 31.7 million passengers, up from 29.7 million in 2019, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, a trade group.


Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-23-25 1747ET