Allen R. "Al" Weiss (1954) is an American businessman who served as President of Worldwide Operations for ''

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

'', a division of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

Career at The Walt Disney Company

Weiss began his Disney career as an 18-year-old

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

cast member in 1972. His first job was a "z-runner", a financial analyst who zeroed out cash registers at the end of shifts. He received an associate degree from

Valencia College Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college was founded in 1967 as Valencia Junior College and changed its name in 2010 because the academic scope of the school had expanded to i ...

, a bachelor's degree from the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in 1976, and an MBA from Rollins College in 1981. After serving in multiple roles, Weiss was named president of the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located ...

, starting in 1994 a role which he held until 2005.

Meg Crofton Meg Gilbert Crofton (born Mary Elizabeth Gilbert in 1953) is an American businesswoman, who served as president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in the United States and France. She was named to the position on August 7, 2006, replacing Al Weiss, w ...

succeeded Weiss as president of Walt Disney World Resort in 2006. He was appointed President of Worldwide Operations, ''

'' in November 2005. On June 22, 2011, Al Weiss announced his plans to retire from the Disney company effective November 1, 2011. This ended his 39-year career at

. In December 2011, he had a shop window dedicated with his name on Main Street U.S.A. in the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

at Walt Disney World.

Florida and Business Interests

Weiss served as the 2004–2005 chairman of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, and served as a trustee at both University of Central Florida and

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

. He served on the founding Board of Directors for the ''Corporation for Travel Promotion'' starting in 2010, after it was created by the

Travel Promotion Act of 2009 The Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (, Sec. 9) is a law creating the Corporation for Travel Promotion (d.b.a. Brand USA), a public-private partnership tasked with promoting tourism in the United States. To fund the Corporation's activities, the Act pr ...

. In 2018, as Chairman & General Partner of ''Global Blockchain Ventures'', he launched a $100 million fund to invest in blockchain technology.

Personal

He is divorced from his ex-wife, Doreen, who lives in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

, and is now married to Brea Barnes Weiss. They live in

Windermere, Florida Windermere is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,030. It is part of the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A Post Office opened at Windermere in 1888. The Post Office ...

. He is also a co-founder of Vision360, an Orlando organization that builds multidenominational Christian churches.

References

Living people University of Central Florida alumni University of Central Florida Trustees Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people Disney executives 1954 births {{disney-stub