Custom Firefly Foundry models allow Disney Imagineering engineers to compress creative design processes that once took months into hours and days, while Disney retains full ownership.
Details of the multi-year agreement and building custom models on Firefly Foundry
Starting with theme parks before expanding to Studio Lab and ESPN
Expanding previous experiments with Frozen and Moana characters to cut months down to hours
Cost-cutting pressures at Disney and assurances that creative jobs will not be replaced
Frequently asked questions
Details of the multi-year agreement and building custom models on Firefly Foundry
Disney and Adobe have signed a multi-year partnership agreement to co-develop custom generative AI models for the global entertainment giant, aiming to deploy AI tools across Disney’s theme parks, its film studio, and the ESPN sports network, according to Reuters and Channel NewsAsia’s report on the agreement on November 9, 2026.
These models will be built on the Adobe Firefly Foundry platform, which enables enterprises to build and deploy their own models. They will be trained exclusively on Disney’s intellectual property, designed to produce production-ready outputs while remaining private and fully owned by Disney.
Starting with theme parks before expanding to Studio Lab and ESPN
Practical work will begin in the Disney Experiences sector—which manages theme parks, resorts, and cruise lines—with the goal of shortening project development timelines. It will also be used for early visualization work within Studio Lab, the innovation center at Walt Disney Studios. At ESPN, Adobe will help increase fan engagement and bring more of the network’s archive to viewers.
The Walt Disney Imagineering design and research division already uses a custom image generation model and a model that turns hand-drawn sketches into fully realized artwork. Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president of research and development technology and engineering at Disney, told Reuters: “What Adobe Foundry has enabled us to do is compress a creative process that used to take months so that we are now able to accomplish that in hours and days,” adding that faster iteration helps the company avoid costly revisions after construction begins.
Expanding previous experiments with Frozen and Moana characters to cut months down to hours
This deal expands a smaller partnership that began last June when Adobe announced a collaboration with the Walt Disney Imagineering R&D division. That pilot project included a custom image model trained on popular franchises including Frozen, Moana, Lilo & Stitch, and Cars, alongside a tool that converts 2D designs into detailed 3D prototypes.
Adobe has touted the Foundry platform as an alternative to models trained on open internet data because it is built on licensed and proprietary materials, and Disney was later listed among Adobe’s top quarterly enterprise wins in its earnings documents.
Cost-cutting pressures at Disney and assurances that creative jobs will not be replaced
The agreement comes as Disney searches for broad financial savings. Bloomberg News reported earlier in November that Disney is considering eliminating thousands of jobs and has asked certain managers to target 20% annual cost savings.
This financial backdrop has made the company’s statements regarding job security more sensitive, with Laughlin emphasizing that these smart tools are “by no means intended to replace” job roles within the Imagineering division, but rather to accelerate early creative development.
The multi-year agreement between Disney and Adobe provides a benchmark model for how major media and entertainment empires approach generative AI technologies. Building private and fully owned models via the Firefly Foundry platform accelerates visualization and engineering design stages in parks and studios while strictly protecting intellectual property rights—even as the balance between lowering operational costs and preserving creative talent remains under close scrutiny. The results of this collaboration across Disney’s theme parks, studios, and ESPN in the coming years will serve as a practical test of whether models trained exclusively on licensed corporate archives can meet the rigorous technical standards of global cinematic and entertainment production.
Frequently asked questions
Question: On which platform will the joint AI models between Disney and Adobe be built, and who owns them?
Answer: They will be built on the Adobe Firefly Foundry platform, trained on Disney’s proprietary intellectual property, and will remain private and fully owned by Disney.
Question: Which Disney divisions will benefit from the new custom models?
Answer: The rollout begins in the Disney Experiences sector for parks, resorts, and cruise lines, extending to Studio Lab in the film studios and the ESPN sports network.
Question: How did Walt Disney Imagineering benefit from the previous pilot phase?
Answer: It used a model to turn hand-drawn sketches into artistic visualizations and 3D models for franchises like Frozen, Moana, and Cars, reducing creative phases from months to hours and days.
Question: What did Disney management say about the impact of these tools on designers’ jobs?
Answer: Senior Vice President Kyle Laughlin emphasized that the tools are not intended in any way to replace employees, but rather to accelerate creative iteration and avoid costly changes during construction.