Bob Chapek named new Parks and Resorts Chairman

[Sped2424]

I wish there was a site where I could learn about what execs approved what so I could know just how bad Pressler was.

 

[TsWade2]

I don't know if he's a good executive or a greedy miser who wants to screw up the Disney parks like Jay Rasulo or Paul Pressler (Even though I don''t know much about him.) I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[flynnibus]

I wish there was a site where I could learn about what execs approved what so I could know just how bad Pressler was.

Lists of 'accomplishments'

- The explosion of Outdoor Vending
- The replacement of just about everything to add more shopping
- The mentality that square footage needs to earn and would be evaluated based on it's earning. Basically, the death of the atmosphere and legacy shops that couldn't earn their keep compared to the likes of the Emporium, etc

In short... the idea that the place should be ran like a Mall instead of a theme park.

There there is the ops side of the house where they scaled back maintenance and upkeep so bad that DL was literally falling apart.

The way success was measured became about the $$ not the show.. and was operated like a retail shop. The consequence, it became a retail shop and the theme park side of it suffered for it.. and ultimately two people died because of the poor attention to training, oversight, and maintenance.

 

[hopemax]

Good point. There's still a chance he could be an improvement over that crew though. I don't know much about his management style and whether he is more hands on or a delegator. To your point, it would be hard to be in the parks less than Iger.

While like everyone else, I don't think this is a long term positive, I wonder if we will see some improvements, that will make some people think "he's better!" My Dad and I were talking, yesterday, about how different Universal Orlando reacted to when they realized Hogsmeade was a rousing success. Within days, they added additional places to buy Butterbeer (our first purchase was from a TM walking around doing cash only sales), they added the wand cart. Later, they reconfigured Ollivanders to add a second room, and then of course the whole Diagon Alley expansion.

Meanwhile Disney is still dragging its feet about improving the chaos that is the Anna & Elsa M&G. So could this guy, realize you need to strike while the iron is hot, and get the girls out there. I like Frozen, but I still find most of the merchandise Disney Parks sells themselves, very unoriginal and lowest denominator. Is he smart enough to realize that Big Hero 6, while not Frozen, is still a good property that should be highlighted. Are there other characters that are underutilized in terms of M&G, character dining opportunities, merchandise, etc. That type of stuff.

 

[BrerJon]

While like everyone else, I don't think this is a long term positive, I wonder if we will see some improvements, that will make some people think "he's better!" My Dad and I were talking, yesterday, about how different Universal Orlando reacted to when they realized Hogsmeade was a rousing success. Within days, they added additional places to buy Butterbeer (our first purchase was from a TM walking around doing cash only sales), they added the wand cart. Later, they reconfigured Ollivanders to add a second room, and then of course the whole Diagon Alley expansion.

The 'Disney is a business' crowd don't seem to understand that it's not merchandise that theme park fans object to, it's merchandise at the expense of attractions. Universal makes millions because there are lots and lots of unique products in the Wizarding World, as well as amazing attractions. While I doubt Chapek will bring any new attractions - it sounds like those of us wanting a theme park not a brand park will be sorely disappointed and need to give up on WDW - he may well kick start unique merchandise in the Universal style at least.

In the old days every resort had T-shirts, keyrings, mugs, snow globes etc., and if you had a great stay it was a real treat to buy souvenirs. While the practice continues on DCL, Hilton Head and Vero Beach, at WDW there's very little resort specific merchandise.

Getting a merch guy in charge, especially in light of the Haunted Mansion shop success, and the new Tower of Terror merch at Disneyland, might mean a return to land and resort specific stuff, which would be great. The most important thing is the One Disney era, where every shop sold the same stuff, needs to die and die fast. While I suspect Chapek is more of the same, it wouldn't surprise me if he did usher in more unique offerings.

 

[danv3]

I think it will really end up depending on what type of people Chapek surrounds himself with. I would imagine he is going to do some cleaning house.

We'll see. I can imagine some people being moved around, but I wouldn't anticipate any major changes. JMO.

 

[Bocabear]

Wasn't Chapek in charge during the last 15 years when all the One Disney homogeneous merchandise was created and pushed instead of resort and attraction specific merchandise? Consumer Products seem to have really gone downhill... Remember when Downtown Disney had lots of shops with unique merchandise? Disney Home store, Disney Pets etc...they they all started selling the exact same products... Not an amazing track record...not from what I have seen on the outside.

 

[Ignohippo]

I'm of two thoughts with this:

#1) As someone who desperately wants new attractions at WDW, do you want a Ride Ops guy or someone who knows what it takes to sell a product? It seems a shrewd retail mind would be more likely to realize that you have to keep things fresh and constantly have new items to market.
I imagine the expansions for the next 10 years are pretty much decided by now (since they're based on known franchises - SW and Pixar), so I'm not sure how relevant he is when discussing expansions anyway. Will he fight for bigger budgets? Doubtful. Having come form P&R, I'm sure Staggs already knows exactly what he wants and what he's going to do.

#2) As someone who worked in Ride Ops for an amusement park for 5 years and also managed retail for a decade, I just don't know how you become the head of amusement parks without ever having the experience of working in one. How can you have input designing rides, park layout, etc. having never actually ever worked in one? It is an experience absolutely unlike any other.

That's exactly how you end up with cluster fudges like DCA and DHS. You put people in charge of making amusement park decisions who have absolutely no knowledge of how the parks operate.

 

[The Visionary Soul]

He is actually someone that is probably incredibly necessary. Parks and Resorts has an incredibly bloated management structure. I think he's going to be making a lot of layoffs in the coming months.

Also, I expect his nickname to stick. His nickname in Consumer Products was Lex Luthor. Named because he is a shrewd businessman and bald headed. If you work at Disney World, it's time to give up on your little la-la land of magic and pixie dust. This guy doesn't believe in that krap. He does know how to brand things, and he's incredibly good at understanding families of brands and how brands relate to one another. He's also very involved with Marvel and practices Marvel's branding style, so any expansion on Marvel in the parks will have his name on it.

I hate to say it, but a merchandising guy may be exactly what the parks need to get back on track. He understands what merchandise should be where when it comes to theme, and also what merchandise will sell well.

As far as new rides and attractions, well, those capital-intensive decisions are made by Bob Iger anyway. Nothing will be changing there.

 

[Sage of Time]

He is actually someone that is probably incredibly necessary. Parks and Resorts has an incredibly bloated management structure. I think he's going to be making a lot of layoffs in the coming months.

Also, I expect his nickname to stick. His nickname in Consumer Products was Lex Luthor. Named because he is a shrewd businessman and bald headed. If you work at Disney World, it's time to give up on your little la-la land of magic and pixie dust. This guy doesn't believe in that krap. He does know how to brand things, and he's incredibly good at understanding families of brands and how brands relate to one another. He's also very involved with Marvel and practices Marvel's branding style, so any expansion on Marvel in the parks will have his name on it.

I hate to say it, but a merchandising guy may be exactly what the parks need to get back on track. He understands what merchandise should be where when it comes to theme, and also what merchandise will sell well.

As far as new rides and attractions, well, those capital-intensive decisions are made by Bob Iger anyway. Nothing will be changing there.

This sounds great, but it says nothing about him actually creating content in the parks.

 

[PhotoDave219]

This sounds great, but it says nothing about him actually creating content in the parks.

Because he won't be. That will be Staggs/Iger/Pipe Dreams.

 

[PhotoDave219]

While like everyone else, I don't think this is a long term positive, I wonder if we will see some improvements, that will make some people think "he's better!" My Dad and I were talking, yesterday, about how different Universal Orlando reacted to when they realized Hogsmeade was a rousing success. Within days, they added additional places to buy Butterbeer (our first purchase was from a TM walking around doing cash only sales), they added the wand cart. Later, they reconfigured Ollivanders to add a second room, and then of course the whole Diagon Alley expansion.

Meanwhile Disney is still dragging its feet about improving the chaos that is the Anna & Elsa M&G. So could this guy, realize you need to strike while the iron is hot, and get the girls out there. I like Frozen, but I still find most of the merchandise Disney Parks sells themselves, very unoriginal and lowest denominator. Is he smart enough to realize that Big Hero 6, while not Frozen, is still a good property that should be highlighted. Are there other characters that are underutilized in terms of M&G, character dining opportunities, merchandise, etc. That type of stuff.

Disney is still dragging its feet on Star Wars. Call me if Frozen is still successful after 38 years.

 

[Frankie The Beer]

I don't really think the position matters at all when it comes to new attractions, unless Iger ok's it, its just a drawing on an Imagineer's desk. I think you could interchange any position from any of the branded areas of the company and fill them with whomever at anytime, ultimately, any real decision will come down to Iger.

 

[aladdin2007]

Disney is still dragging its feet on Star Wars. Call me if Frozen is still successful after 38 years.

the frozen merch sure isnt moving, all that stuff is crammed into a shop in Animal Kingdom, and a outside cart, and of course in Norway and from what I have seen in all my visits no one is buying any of it, its getting bypassed and skipped over. It seems very overstocked. I think the fad is starting to fade. merch wise.

 

[MKCP 1985]

To my recollection, the name "Lex Luthor" did not make residents of Metropolis shake in fear because of a bald head and shrewd business tactics. It was more his evil nature and ability to find Superman's weaknesses. . .

What ever happened to guys like (Common abbreviation for Richard, begins with D) Nunis? Google that name if you want a Disney Parks guy who did things that in hindsight most of us would support.

 

[PhotoDave219]

the frozen merch sure isnt moving, all that stuff is crammed into a shop in Animal Kingdom, and a outside cart, and of course in Norway and from what I have seen in all my visits no one is buying any of it, its getting bypassed and skipped over. It seems very overstocked. I think the fad is starting to fade. merch wise.

Yes. So in ...... *checks calendar* ..... 37 years, let me know if it still has a successful line of merchandise and influence on popular culture.

 

[ford91exploder]

He is actually someone that is probably incredibly necessary. Parks and Resorts has an incredibly bloated management structure. I think he's going to be making a lot of layoffs in the coming months.

Also, I expect his nickname to stick. His nickname in Consumer Products was Lex Luthor. Named because he is a shrewd businessman and bald headed. If you work at Disney World, it's time to give up on your little la-la land of magic and pixie dust. This guy doesn't believe in that krap. He does know how to brand things, and he's incredibly good at understanding families of brands and how brands relate to one another. He's also very involved with Marvel and practices Marvel's branding style, so any expansion on Marvel in the parks will have his name on it.

I hate to say it, but a merchandising guy may be exactly what the parks need to get back on track. He understands what merchandise should be where when it comes to theme, and also what merchandise will sell well.

As far as new rides and attractions, well, those capital-intensive decisions are made by Bob Iger anyway. Nothing will be changing there.

Excuse me while I hurl

 

[Sage of Time]

Because he won't be. That will be Staggs/Iger/Pipe Dreams.

So, like I said... more of the same. Eh. Not impressed.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So, like I said... more of the same. Eh. Not impressed.

Nor am I. There's a faint glimmer of hope that he can bring about some small changes of the guest experience.... like rebuilding the strategy of making life long, returning guests over squeezing their wallet in a vise... but Im not optimistic.

 

[PhotoDave219]

He is actually someone that is probably incredibly necessary. Parks and Resorts has an incredibly bloated management structure. I think he's going to be making a lot of layoffs in the coming months.

One can only hope. Steamlining middle management is always a smarter idea than making cuts to your core product.