Disney4me Posted September 22, 2025 Report Posted September 22, 2025 The next set of Walt Disney World ambassadors has been selected, and both members of the duo can trace their journey to the Disney College Program. Phelicia Blake, who currently is a guest-experience manager at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, and Kylee Withers, who works in merchandise finance, will be the 2026-2027 ambassadors. They will represent the resort’s 80,000 employees in a range of settings from attraction openings to in-house celebrations. Withers, who is from Fort Worth, and Blake, a Connecticut native, both had stints with the Disney College Program before becoming full-time cast members at Disney World. Their appointments were announced at a ceremony at Epcot. Ambassador candidates wade through multiple rounds of interviews. “It was several rounds over a span of a couple weeks, but we had one final interview – and then, and then the ceremony happened,” Blake said. “I’ve gone through a number of job interviews before, but the ambassador interview process is hands down the most fun process,” Withers said. “All five final candidates were dynamic. They all had their own unique strengths, skills, abilities,” said Steven Miller, leader of the Walt Disney World Ambassador Program as well as an ambassador for 2001-2002. “We hire individually for ambassadors. It ends up being great that the pairs just work out really well.” The ambassador program was established by Walt Disney in 1965 to help him promote Disneyland in California. The first Walt Disney World ambassador was appointed in 1970, the year before Magic Kingdom opened. The number of annual ambassadors and lengths of terms have varied over the decades. Withers and Blake are the 83rd and 84th WDW ambassadors. Forty former ambassadors attended their Epcot ceremony. “It was pretty amazing to see the level of support for this beloved tradition and how much it means to the cast,” Miller said. “I think that’s something that just speaks volumes to why for 60 years it’s existed.” Blake and Withers step into the roles held by Serena Arvizu and Shannon Smith-Conrad for the past two years. Among the first big events will be the arrival of “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the theme park where Blake first worked. Its opening is Nov. 7. “That is where I began my Disney journey. So I get to go back to my first home and see just a new attraction open for all of our guests,” Blake said. New Legoland Florida coaster to go by a spacy name “It feels so surreal that we’re going to represent our cast with all the growth ahead at Walt Disney World,” Withers said in a news release. “I’m so excited for the incredible moments that are ahead of us.” Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters. View the full article Quote
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