Let's not forget - Josh was in charge when DVC dumped their AP discount. Two different divisions, yes, but the fact is DVC owners were shafted with the removal of one of the only perks that was still worth it.
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News Josh D’Amaro Named Next CEO of The Walt Disney Company
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
Good for Josh and Dana, I’m happy for them.
In terms of impact - my take is that the Overton Window on the parks is not huge. If you have cuts on one side and gains on the other- Chapek already pushed the “cut” side to the limit and I think there was significant backlash. Especially with the shaky economy, I definitely don’t see cuts like that on the horizon.
On the other side, I feel like the stock market is currently more growth obsessed than it has ever been. That may level out at some point but in the current environment, absolutely no way I can see truly plush perks like Magic Express / luggage delivery returning. (Labor shortages probably play a role here as well.) I predict that major changes to perks will be technology driven - if / when there’s a way to automate some services and move the existing labor force around without additional expense, we may see something truly exciting in terms of perks, but not until then.
In the relatively small middle ground that’s left, I think you have decisions about which IP to use, what new rides / entertainment to add, should resorts continue with the more minimalist look or go back to ultra themed, what fun extras should resorts have in terms of pool features, etc. I even think the possibility of one - like one - non-IP new ride is possibly on the table as a test case. Right now the strategy seems to focus very much on upfront costs, even if those costs are high. In that realm, since everyone says Josh is a parks person, I think people will be overall happy with his choices.
In terms of impact - my take is that the Overton Window on the parks is not huge. If you have cuts on one side and gains on the other- Chapek already pushed the “cut” side to the limit and I think there was significant backlash. Especially with the shaky economy, I definitely don’t see cuts like that on the horizon.
On the other side, I feel like the stock market is currently more growth obsessed than it has ever been. That may level out at some point but in the current environment, absolutely no way I can see truly plush perks like Magic Express / luggage delivery returning. (Labor shortages probably play a role here as well.) I predict that major changes to perks will be technology driven - if / when there’s a way to automate some services and move the existing labor force around without additional expense, we may see something truly exciting in terms of perks, but not until then.
In the relatively small middle ground that’s left, I think you have decisions about which IP to use, what new rides / entertainment to add, should resorts continue with the more minimalist look or go back to ultra themed, what fun extras should resorts have in terms of pool features, etc. I even think the possibility of one - like one - non-IP new ride is possibly on the table as a test case. Right now the strategy seems to focus very much on upfront costs, even if those costs are high. In that realm, since everyone says Josh is a parks person, I think people will be overall happy with his choices.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I’m excited we’re finally getting a change at the top but not anticipating a noticeable change in how the company is ran, until Josh proves me wrong I’m not getting my hopes up.
Sadly both are true, I worked for Peter Morton and when he’d walk the floor everyone down to the guy cleaning the bathrooms would say good morning and even feel comfortable offering suggestions because he was open to any suggestion that could better the business, I’ve also worked for James Dolan where everyone walked on eggshells when he was in the building out of fear he’d fire you just for looking at him wrong.
I don’t know how Iger operated behind closed doors but typically you see a revolving door of executives quitting under the bad ones, Iger has had a fairly long lasting team of executives under him, not sure if that means Iger is persuadable or he just surrounded himself with yes men.
Having said that even Iger has people to answer to, the major stockholders (Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street) pull his strings just like he pulls the executives strings. No one at the top can do anything without the consent of the big 3, they own over 20% of the companies stock and defying their orders is career ending. (This is also why I don’t expect major change with Josh, he still answers to them.)
Sadly both are true, I worked for Peter Morton and when he’d walk the floor everyone down to the guy cleaning the bathrooms would say good morning and even feel comfortable offering suggestions because he was open to any suggestion that could better the business, I’ve also worked for James Dolan where everyone walked on eggshells when he was in the building out of fear he’d fire you just for looking at him wrong.
I don’t know how Iger operated behind closed doors but typically you see a revolving door of executives quitting under the bad ones, Iger has had a fairly long lasting team of executives under him, not sure if that means Iger is persuadable or he just surrounded himself with yes men.
Having said that even Iger has people to answer to, the major stockholders (Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street) pull his strings just like he pulls the executives strings. No one at the top can do anything without the consent of the big 3, they own over 20% of the companies stock and defying their orders is career ending. (This is also why I don’t expect major change with Josh, he still answers to them.)
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Absolutely on the same page here I think. But from what we know, I do believe Iger is the type to micromanage specific things, and be controlling.
I recall the changes to World of Color, which allegedly all took place after he watched a test showing.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
The main reason Josh got this job is so that Iger can also hand pick the successor for Experiences, ensuring his vision will continue long after he's out.
Pants need to be 3X tighter.
Captain Barbossa
Well-Known Member
Your Wallet.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
He was very loved by the CM’s when he was in charge of Disneyland.
Laketravis
Well-Known Member
Parks & Experiences rising to the top as the company's cash cow, the leader of that segment rising to CEO status, the possibility a like-minded individual will replace him as the new leader of that segment...........
I don't like how that historically plays out from a corporate / wall street / stockholder perspective - milk that cow as long as possible and then send to the slaughter house.
I don't like how that historically plays out from a corporate / wall street / stockholder perspective - milk that cow as long as possible and then send to the slaughter house.
Everyone is loved until they're not. It's a business and if it benefited him to layoff those adoring CMs to save his firm butt, he'd do it in a pixie dust heartbeat.
There's a difference between blind adoration because he comes across as amicable versus actual good leadership.
From the consumer end he's been terrible with domestic experiences being stuck in a malaise due to stupid high pricing and perceived lack of quality and value.
Vinnie Mac
Well-Known Member
I don't wanna be overly optimistic but this is the first time in decades Disney has a guy who's more of a park guy than a numbers guy. Obviously the numbers are important but I'm really curious to see how the parks move forward under his leadership. Will certain elements from the Iger era continue on like the IP mandate?
HuntrixOwlMouse98
Member
- In the Parks
- No
My prediction came true, I knew Josh would be CEO, okay he’s not perfect, but I think he can fix up a few things in the company with the following wish list of what can do within his first year as CEO
Things That Josh D’Amaro Could Potentially Do in His First Year as Disney CEO: updated edition (because it’s now official)
-Put the SoraAI/Disney deal to an absolute stop and kill off the contract before its proposed September launch
-Put the Disney remake hype train to an indefinite halt after Moana (2026), as most, if not all remakes that are in production right now would be stopped immediately and then eventually cancelled (including Tangled), (which that would have Dana Walden make that final call rather than Josh), like how the beginning of Iger’s first tenure as CEO killed off the Disney DVD sequels (another cash grab fad Disney used to do)
-Convince a multiyear contract with Weigel Broadcasting Co. to allow “MeTV Toons” to air classic Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoon shorts after Disney turned down the opportunity to do so when the channel launched in 2024, as it would be the beginning of having Disney license their own content again in a post Disney Plus world (after admitting that D+ won’t be the company’s cash cow they were originally predicting like with the parks)
-Allow House of Mouse to stream on Disney Plus (after a long wait)
-Give Disney’s TV Animation division more love than it actually has, with more theme park love for characters from Gravity Falls, The Owl House, The Ghost & Molly McGee, and their two big ratings hits Big City Greens & Kiff hopefully beginning with Disneyland’s after hours event Disney Channel Nite in April (or in TOH’s case, Pride Nite in June), more merchandise based on those shows that would hit retailers by the Fall (like Hot Topic) from more T-shirts, Youtooz plushies & figures, etc, and more or less, rerunning the less popular/ended shows as much as Big City Greens or Kiff (with Freeform getting the rerun rights to The Owl House, Molly McGee, the DuckTales reboot, and Gravity Falls as part of a new Friday Night animation block as part of a proposed revamped schedule of that channel that focuses nothing but movies 75% of the year)
-Speaking of The Owl House, it would be a great time to resurrect the beloved cult series, which instead of a new special, it would be resurrected as a theatrically released 2D animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios (rather than their TV division where the show was originally conceived), with A24 potentially distributing the film in the North American market, with the show’s entire voice cast reprising their roles (alongside the additions of Willem Dafoe, Ashly Burch, America Ferrera (as The Good Witch Azurq, Luz’s hero), Alan Tudyk, John Leguizamo (as Manny Noceda. Luz’s father who would be seen in full for the first time in flashback scenes of the movie, In Leguizamo’s third WDAS Film after Encanto and Zootopia 2), and several others playing new characters), with Seth Kearsley & Fawn Veerasunthorn directing the film (with a third director in Stephen Sandoval or BCG creator, Chris Houghton joining the production crew later on), and Rachel Vine (one of the show’s original writers), Jared Bush, and Trent Correy & Dan Abraham penning the script
-Uncancel The Ghost & Molly McGee and give it two additional seasons to be released on Prime Video (since Disney Channel wouldn’t show interest on resurrecting the show, due to them screwing over the series by its second season)
-Greenlight an Elena of Avalor prequel special (before turning it into a theatrically released film for Elena to find a bigger audience, which would turn out better than what Moana 2 did in terms of being a movie)
-Greenlight a brand new Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur special for Disney Plus (after the show prematurely ended despite critical acclaim and fan/cast support), and would finally release the banned trans episode to the public
-Put a long standing tradition of the company NOT allowing its movies to repertory play in theaters to an end, as the company would begin to allow its movies from its live action division like The Muppet Christmas Carol, 20th Century Studios titles that Disney would keep like Home Alone, Anastasia, The Simpsons Movie, and selected Disney animated films like A Goofy Movie (although the films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar would still be off limits and would only be bought back if they want to or every few years for its anniversary of a beloved feature film) to be shown in theaters like Cinemark, AMC, Regal, and others alongside other iconic movies from rival studios during the summertime for families and during the Holiday season
-Have the cancelled Fox show, The Great North be picked up by ABC (and America’s Funniest Home Videos finally getting axed by the network), with reruns starting immediately in the Fall, before deciding to restart the series again at its sixth season
-Reduce ticket and hotel booking prices at BOTH Walt Disney World and Disneyland
-Permanently end the Reservation System at BOTH Domestic Parks, we’re not in the pandemic era anymore
-Reimagine Disneyland’s version of Fantasmic, where a new Maleficent dragon would be constructed, a few new show surprises would be added, and more
-Put the Abu Dhabi Disneyland project on an indefinite hold as this was Iger’s final dream (since Iger’s retiring, I don’t see how this park is still happening on top of the controversial topics on the area)
-With the overwhelming success of Zootopia 2 in the country, imagine and consider a new Disney theme park in South Korea, which WDI cast members will get the mono from their new CEO (it’s a way better idea than the Abu Dhabi project)
-Greenlight an Owl House land for Hollywood Studios in Florida (where Star Tours currently sits, as forums were talking about the possibility of Star Tours at DHS heading to Defunctland) and as part of a proposed Fantasyland overhaul at Disneyland Park in Anaheim
-Propose a fifth theme park on Disney World property in Orlando to successfully compete with Epic Universe (even though it’ll be a bit too late)
-Repair Disneyland’s entertainment problems (okay sure, Fantasyland Theatre’s getting a Bluey show next month, but that’s unlikely going to be a long term solution despite the show’s popularity), like the Hyperion Theater getting a new show and the Magic Eye Theater getting a new show
-Sell the rights to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies to Netflix (with the four existing ones being acquired by Netflix with future releases set to come to Netflix)
-Since Josh will be focusing on video games, I think one of the first things he’ll do as CEO is to give Disney and Epic Games the green light to a video game based on “The Owl House”, and have the show’s characters be among the many Disney characters that would be incorporated into the popular game, Fortnite, to have the show’s fandom finally bring in some new life and content after several years after the show’s conclusion
-The last one would likely make less sense than resurrecting a cancelled cult classic Disney Channel cartoon, but I think he should make a major gram to PBS and would donate $10 million to each and every PBS station in the United States and would be a factor for PBS and NPR to stay afloat
Things That Josh D’Amaro Could Potentially Do in His First Year as Disney CEO: updated edition (because it’s now official)
-Put the SoraAI/Disney deal to an absolute stop and kill off the contract before its proposed September launch
-Put the Disney remake hype train to an indefinite halt after Moana (2026), as most, if not all remakes that are in production right now would be stopped immediately and then eventually cancelled (including Tangled), (which that would have Dana Walden make that final call rather than Josh), like how the beginning of Iger’s first tenure as CEO killed off the Disney DVD sequels (another cash grab fad Disney used to do)
-Convince a multiyear contract with Weigel Broadcasting Co. to allow “MeTV Toons” to air classic Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoon shorts after Disney turned down the opportunity to do so when the channel launched in 2024, as it would be the beginning of having Disney license their own content again in a post Disney Plus world (after admitting that D+ won’t be the company’s cash cow they were originally predicting like with the parks)
-Allow House of Mouse to stream on Disney Plus (after a long wait)
-Give Disney’s TV Animation division more love than it actually has, with more theme park love for characters from Gravity Falls, The Owl House, The Ghost & Molly McGee, and their two big ratings hits Big City Greens & Kiff hopefully beginning with Disneyland’s after hours event Disney Channel Nite in April (or in TOH’s case, Pride Nite in June), more merchandise based on those shows that would hit retailers by the Fall (like Hot Topic) from more T-shirts, Youtooz plushies & figures, etc, and more or less, rerunning the less popular/ended shows as much as Big City Greens or Kiff (with Freeform getting the rerun rights to The Owl House, Molly McGee, the DuckTales reboot, and Gravity Falls as part of a new Friday Night animation block as part of a proposed revamped schedule of that channel that focuses nothing but movies 75% of the year)
-Speaking of The Owl House, it would be a great time to resurrect the beloved cult series, which instead of a new special, it would be resurrected as a theatrically released 2D animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios (rather than their TV division where the show was originally conceived), with A24 potentially distributing the film in the North American market, with the show’s entire voice cast reprising their roles (alongside the additions of Willem Dafoe, Ashly Burch, America Ferrera (as The Good Witch Azurq, Luz’s hero), Alan Tudyk, John Leguizamo (as Manny Noceda. Luz’s father who would be seen in full for the first time in flashback scenes of the movie, In Leguizamo’s third WDAS Film after Encanto and Zootopia 2), and several others playing new characters), with Seth Kearsley & Fawn Veerasunthorn directing the film (with a third director in Stephen Sandoval or BCG creator, Chris Houghton joining the production crew later on), and Rachel Vine (one of the show’s original writers), Jared Bush, and Trent Correy & Dan Abraham penning the script
-Uncancel The Ghost & Molly McGee and give it two additional seasons to be released on Prime Video (since Disney Channel wouldn’t show interest on resurrecting the show, due to them screwing over the series by its second season)
-Greenlight an Elena of Avalor prequel special (before turning it into a theatrically released film for Elena to find a bigger audience, which would turn out better than what Moana 2 did in terms of being a movie)
-Greenlight a brand new Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur special for Disney Plus (after the show prematurely ended despite critical acclaim and fan/cast support), and would finally release the banned trans episode to the public
-Put a long standing tradition of the company NOT allowing its movies to repertory play in theaters to an end, as the company would begin to allow its movies from its live action division like The Muppet Christmas Carol, 20th Century Studios titles that Disney would keep like Home Alone, Anastasia, The Simpsons Movie, and selected Disney animated films like A Goofy Movie (although the films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar would still be off limits and would only be bought back if they want to or every few years for its anniversary of a beloved feature film) to be shown in theaters like Cinemark, AMC, Regal, and others alongside other iconic movies from rival studios during the summertime for families and during the Holiday season
-Have the cancelled Fox show, The Great North be picked up by ABC (and America’s Funniest Home Videos finally getting axed by the network), with reruns starting immediately in the Fall, before deciding to restart the series again at its sixth season
-Reduce ticket and hotel booking prices at BOTH Walt Disney World and Disneyland
-Permanently end the Reservation System at BOTH Domestic Parks, we’re not in the pandemic era anymore
-Reimagine Disneyland’s version of Fantasmic, where a new Maleficent dragon would be constructed, a few new show surprises would be added, and more
-Put the Abu Dhabi Disneyland project on an indefinite hold as this was Iger’s final dream (since Iger’s retiring, I don’t see how this park is still happening on top of the controversial topics on the area)
-With the overwhelming success of Zootopia 2 in the country, imagine and consider a new Disney theme park in South Korea, which WDI cast members will get the mono from their new CEO (it’s a way better idea than the Abu Dhabi project)
-Greenlight an Owl House land for Hollywood Studios in Florida (where Star Tours currently sits, as forums were talking about the possibility of Star Tours at DHS heading to Defunctland) and as part of a proposed Fantasyland overhaul at Disneyland Park in Anaheim
-Propose a fifth theme park on Disney World property in Orlando to successfully compete with Epic Universe (even though it’ll be a bit too late)
-Repair Disneyland’s entertainment problems (okay sure, Fantasyland Theatre’s getting a Bluey show next month, but that’s unlikely going to be a long term solution despite the show’s popularity), like the Hyperion Theater getting a new show and the Magic Eye Theater getting a new show
-Sell the rights to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies to Netflix (with the four existing ones being acquired by Netflix with future releases set to come to Netflix)
-Since Josh will be focusing on video games, I think one of the first things he’ll do as CEO is to give Disney and Epic Games the green light to a video game based on “The Owl House”, and have the show’s characters be among the many Disney characters that would be incorporated into the popular game, Fortnite, to have the show’s fandom finally bring in some new life and content after several years after the show’s conclusion
-The last one would likely make less sense than resurrecting a cancelled cult classic Disney Channel cartoon, but I think he should make a major gram to PBS and would donate $10 million to each and every PBS station in the United States and would be a factor for PBS and NPR to stay afloat
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Michael seems cool with this….
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Adventureland Veranda
Well-Known Member
Phew, good choice!
I was afraid Chapek would put on a disguise and retake his old job by using immersive trickery.
I was afraid Chapek would put on a disguise and retake his old job by using immersive trickery.
I think they forgot the "every guest receives VIP treatment" a long time ago.