Inside Cortina's Olympic Village: A snowy haven for hundreds of athletes

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Athletes at the Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Village on Tuesday chatted at an outdoor coffee stand, traded their unique national team pins and took in the atmosphere of the Dolomites as snow steadily fell.

The village is the temporary home for about 1,400 athletes, coaches and team members during the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. They are living in 377 trailers in the Alpine valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown Cortina. The other main Olympic Village is in Milan.

“It’s just such a fun environment to be here, amongst so many other athletes,” said Cory Thiesse, an American curler. “We're living all together, training together, eating together. We’re literally at the base of the mountains here. It’s just kind of a dream to wake up in the morning and see the mountains like that.”

Cortina is hosting curling, women’s Alpine skiing, bobsled, luge and skeleton. Athletes have decorated the outside of their mobile homes with flags and banners to show their team spirit, plus other reminders of home. Team Canada placed a red moose statue in front of its lodgings so others know that's their territory, and the woman who coordinates team security brushed freshly fallen snow from its back.

Each trailer is divided into two rooms, with up to two people per room. The rooms are simple, with beds a shower and toilet. Half the trailers are wheelchair-accessible for the Paralympics that will be held in March.

Nick Timmings, who is competing in skeleton for Australia, settled into the room he’s splitting with his coach. They're used to sharing space; his coach is also his twin brother.

“A lot of people were worried beforehand about being in trailers — is there going to be adequate heating and plumbing, and all those kind of things. But we've come here and they're warm. The plumbing seems to be working fine,” Timmings said. “I’m very comfortable.”

The Village has a fitness center, recreational space, lounge, dining hall, massage rooms and a prayer room. Ukrainian luger Nazarii Kachmar said he likes visiting the common areas to meet athletes from other countries. So far, he has chatted with athletes from Canada, Romania, the U.S. and Latvia.

An outdoor coffee stand is a popular gathering spot. Athletes on Tuesday chatted while waiting for their cappuccinos and espressos. De Aundre John, a bobsledder from Trinidad and Tobago, spotted American bobsledders and asked to trade national pins for their lanyards.

John said it was amazing to be at the village, fulfilling his lifelong goal of becoming an Olympian. The Italian cuisine is just a bonus, he said, adding that his favorite so far is the lasagna. In the dining hall, Swedish curling coach Alison Kreviazuk raved about the desserts, especially the cannoli.

Tuesday was overcast, but on sunny days athletes can see the ski center the moment they walk out of their trailers, said Eva Lune Wiggelendum, who manages the village.

“We are in a valley, so we are surrounded by mountains,” she said. “This is amazing. As you look outside, it’s snowing. So we’re really creating a Winter Olympics atmosphere here.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Isabelle Bois, who works security for Team Canada, brushes snow off a red moose statue outside of the team's lodging, at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Athletes take equipment to the transportation depot to head for training, at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Bobsledders from the United States and Trinidad and Tobago speak at the coffee stand at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Members of Team Sweden eat at the main dining hall at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Nick Timmings, who is competing in the skeleton for Australia, poses for a photo in his room at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

A view of the Olympic rings at the Cortina Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Disney has named its parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant's top executive.

D’Amaro will become the 9th CEO in the more than 100-year-old company's history. He has overseen the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts since 2020. The Experiences division has been a substantial moneymaker for Disney, with $36 billion in annual revenue in fiscal 2025 and 185,000 employees worldwide.

The 54-year-old takes over a time when Disney is flush with box-office hits like “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and its streaming business is strong. At the same time, Disney has seen a decline in foreign visitors to its domestic theme parks. Tourism to the U.S. has fallen overall during an aggressive immigration crack down by the Trump administration, as well as clashes with almost all of country's trading partners.

D'Amaro will be tasked with tapping into Disney's vast collection of intellectual property to help create successful movies and theme park additions, while also pushing for streaming growth and continuing to build up its sports business.

The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company's choice to replace Iger went disastrously, forcing Iger back into the job.

Only two years after stepping down as CEO, Iger returned to Disney in 2022 after a period of clashes, missteps and a weakening financial performance under his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek.

Disney meticulously and methodically sought out its next CEO this time. The company created a succession planning committee in 2023, but the search began in earnest in 2024 when Disney enlisted James Gorman, who is currently Disney's chairman and previously served as Morgan Stanley's executive chairman, to lead the effort. That still gave it ample opportunity to vet candidates, as Iger agreed to a contract extension.

Disney said that Iger will continue to serve as a senior adviser and board member until his retirement from the company at the end of the year.

While external candidates were considered, it was widely expected that Disney would look internally for the next CEO. The advantage would be that Disney executives were already being mentored by Iger, and had extensive contact with the company’s 15 board members, of which Iger is a member.

Disney is unique in that its top executive must oversee a sprawling entertainment company with branches reaching in every direction, while also serving as an unusually public figure.

D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden quickly emerged as the front-runners for the top job.

D’Amaro, who has been with Disney since 1998, has been leading the charge on Disney’s multiyear $60 billion investment into its cruise ships, resorts and theme parks. He also oversees Walt Disney Imagineering, which is in charge of the design and development of the company’s theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, and immersive experiences worldwide. In addition, D’Amaro has been leading Disney’s licensing business, which includes its partnership with Epic Games.

“Throughout this search process, Josh has demonstrated a strong vision for the company’s future and a deep understanding of the creative spirit that makes Disney unique in an ever-changing marketplace," Gorman said in prepared remarks. “He has an outstanding record of business achievement, collaborating with some of the biggest names in entertainment to bring their stories to life in our parks, showcasing the power of combining Disney storytelling with cutting-edge technology.”

In her most recent role as co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, Walden has helped oversee Disney’s streaming business, along with its entertainment media, news and content businesses. She joined Disney in 2019. Before that, Walden spent 25 years at 21st Century Fox and was CEO of Fox Television Group.

Walden will now step into the newly created role of president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Co. She will report to D'Amaro.

“I think if you think about what is the heart of the Disney company, it’s the creativity. It’s this amazing IP that’s been produced over decades, going back to Walt, and the storytelling that comes from that creativity. And I think Dana, working with Josh and ensuring that the best creativity permeates all of our businesses, is what we wanted,” Gorman said in an interview with CNBC.

There had been speculation that Disney might go the route of naming co-CEOs, a move that has started to become more popular with companies. Oracle and Spotify are among those who named co-CEOs in 2025.

D’Amaro and Walden's appointments are effective on March 18.

The logo for The Walt Disney Company is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Workers dock The Disney Adventure cruise ship at the Agua Clara locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

FILE - A Disney logo forms part of a menu for the Disney Plus movie and entertainment streaming service on a computer screen in Walpole, Mass, Nov. 13, 2019. AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - Disney CEO Bob Iger arrives at the premiere of "Avengers: Endgame" at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Monday, April 22, 2019. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)