Gerard Devan is a Group executive and Regional Director who works for Walt Disney

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Disney's AI Revolution IN APAC

The Walt Disney Company's AI design resourcing in the APAC region by Gerard Devan - Group Executive and Regional Executive Director describes AI in Content Creation, Production &amp; Media within the Disney entertainment industry in APAC region.

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND AI TECHNOLOGY -BY

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND AI TECHNOLOGY: BY GERARD DEVAN - Group ExecutiveIn recent years, Disney has increasingly integrated artificial intelligence (AI) across its diverse businesses from theme parks to streaming, advertising to production in order to boost efficiency, personalize experience, expand creative possibilities, and defend its intellectual property. Rather than treating AI as a side-project, Disney appears to be embracing it as a core part of its future strategy across media, experiences, and operations. As of 2025, this shift reflects both the challenges and opportunities facing legacy media and entertainment companies in an evolving technological and competitive landscape.This document explores the main ways Disney is deploying AI, the strategic rationale behind it, and some of the trade-offs and risks involved.

Disney Technology

AI in Theme Parks &amp; Immersive ExperiencesOne of the most visible and recent examples of Disney’s use of AI is in its theme parks — bringing characters to life in new, more interactive ways.<ul><li>In November 2025, Disney’s R&amp;D wing Walt Disney Imagineering unveiled a next-generation robotic version of the character Olaf (from the “Frozen” franchise), powered by AI-driven “reinforcement learning.” This allows Olaf to walk untethered, express emotions, move his eyes/mouth, and respond in a lifelike, dynamic way. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/robotic-olaf-marks-new-era-of-disney-innovation/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Disney Parks Blog+2Vulture+2</a></li><li>Unlike older forms of robotic or animatronic characters (which largely relied on pre-programmed sequences), this new approach lets robots learn motion — adapting to their environment and reproducing natural movement in a fraction of the time it would take human engineers to manually program every gesture. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="https://www.vulture.com/article/disney-olaf-robot-ai.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Vulture+1</a></li><li>The aim is not just “gimmick” but storytelling: Disney frames these AI-driven characters as a way to make beloved animated figures “real” and to deepen guest engagement. In its announcement, Disney emphasized that the design starts with the story and character, and that technology serves the creative intent of artists and Imagineers. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/robotic-olaf-marks-new-era-of-disney-innovation/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Disney Parks Blog+1</a></li><li>More broadly, Disney’s AI push in parks fits within a larger investment in immersive experiences spanning 2025–2035. According to tech-industry coverage, Disney is using AI (and mixed reality) to expand immersive, interactive experiences across its parks worldwide. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="https://www.ai-daily.news/articles/disneys-ai-revolution-transforming-entertainment?utm_source=chatgpt.com">AI Daily+1</a></li></ul>Why this matters: For Disney, theme parks are not just about rides, they are about storytelling, nostalgia, and emotional experiences. By using AI, Disney can make those experiences more dynamic and scalable. For example, reactive characters (vs static animatronics) can adapt to guest interactions, making each visit unique. This can help Disney differentiate its parks in an increasingly competitive leisure market, drive guest satisfaction, and strengthen the value of its intellectual property (IP).