Is Disney Using AI To Mine Your Data?

Is AI going to impact Disney fans in a major way? It certainly seems like it.

During Disney’s November 2025 earnings call, CEO Bob Iger spoke about the company’s dialogue with companies in the artificial intelligence space, and about how those relationships may be leveraged everywhere from Disney+ to data collection within the company’s theme parks.

Iger’s first major AI reveal on the call was that Disney was planning to introduce the ability for Disney+ users to create their own short-form AI content using Disney’s intellectual property (IP). Specifically, according to the CEO, “The other thing that we’re really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content — mostly short-form — from others.”

Later in the call, Iger stressed that during their “interesting” conversations with IP companies, Disney stressed that it was imperative that they protect their IP, but that they were also “seeking opportunity to use (the companies’) tech to create more engagement with consumers.”

AI discussion on the call went beyond potential Disney+ content, however, as during the Q&A section, Iger was asked by a shareholder about how AI could help drive cost efficiencies. Disney’s head honcho responded in part that he could see opportunities in efficiencies not just in production, but also with Cast Members and guests in terms of the collection and mining of data.

For those unaware, data mining is defined by IBM as the “use of machine learning and statistical analysis to uncover patterns and other valuable information from large data sets.” In the case of Disney, for example, it involves gathering as much data as possible about guests, their demographics, their movements in the park, spending habits, eating habits, etc.

While gathering said information can help streamline park operations, many have privacy concerns about just how much information Disney has — or needs — about its guests, and if said guests truly understand just how much information Disney gathers through things like MagicBands.

In a paper Dangerous Data at Disney, published in 2022, Berkeley researchers spoke about some of Disney’s methods of data collection, including the aforementioned MagicBands, as well as Disney’s apps, as well as lesser-known technologies like one that allows Disney to “identify and track individual guests using scans of their shoes.” Disney claims that this method of guest identification and tracking is less invasive than biometric tracking methods such as facial recognition, though some privacy experts argue it’s equally invasive.

The researchers conclude that “For now, Disney’s exploitation of personal data in their parks is often brushed aside. After all, who cares how personal data is collected, processed, used, and disseminated as long as it’s being used to improve the guest experience? We’ve trusted Disney to provide a safe, comfortable theme park experience since 1955 – why stop now? Here’s the bottom line: as big data collection and processing become more sophisticated and as the Disney park experience seeks to enhance personalization, data collection will assuredly become more invasive. Ethical concerns like beneficence, personal identification, data aggregation, and other issues will only become more prominent as the volume of exploited data at Disney continues to proliferate.”

They then stress that Disney should “take steps to become advocates and practitioners of strong data ethics,” utilize “greater transparency, improved contextual consent, and reduction of unnecessary data collection,” and that the company should “strive to operate on the forefront of data ethics and privacy as well!”

Suffice to say, concerns about Disney’s data collection and data mining have existed for a bit, and are only going to be exacerbated if Disney begins working with leading AI companies to “supercharge” their data mining apparatus to gather and analyze even more information about guests and their behaviors.

As of their most recent earnings call, Disney has confirmed that they’re in conversation with major AI companies to integrate their technology into operations, from Disney+ content to data mining. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney’s work with AI.

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How do you feel about Disney using AI to further their data mining efforts? Let us know in the comments below.

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