News Josh D’Amaro Named Next CEO of The Walt Disney Company

[WaltWiz1901]

Iger was fully on board with Rasulo. Like him, he didn’t really like the parks business and didn’t se with as a core asset, which is why he explored selling or spinning them off.

ah, knew I could rely on your invaluable insight! remembered that Rasulo specifically was ambivalent towards the parks, but nearly forgot that Iger was too

The entire NextGen initiative was rooted in the idea that the parks were mature and tapped out, that Wall St was right and big investments in attractions weren’t worthwhile. Instead the money would be better spent on technology and personalization. That these could somehow deal with capacity.

well, that all worked out okay in the end, didn't it?
it did not

 

[HauntedPirate]

I still hate that 50-60% of older Disney content is nowhere to be found

"Just keep subscribing, or you could miss out on something!"

 

[_caleb]

"Just keep subscribing, or you could miss out on something!"

I hate this too, but they tried cranking out loads of new content to keep subs and look how that worked out...

 

[flynnibus]

It's semantics but when I read all-in it means to me it is the company's sole focus. It wasn't. Just a very significant one.

TWDC is too big to have a sole focus.

TWDC is a conglomerate - by definition it does more than one thing. But that's why they have business units/divisions - each tasked with a different realm for the parent company.

And when we're talking about the Media Division - yes, they bet the farm on DTC and streaming. Undercutting their own businesses to do it.. in a segment that makes up. In 2018 (before the pandemic, and when TWDC was making this pivot), TWDC had 59.4 billion in revenues.. of which 24.5 billion came from Media.. the largest contributing division to the company's revenue.

This is literally the biggest portion of their revenue.. for them to flip the table and gamble on DTC for all media except first run theatrical... yeah guy.. it's all in.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Eisner was mostly great for the parks (at least at WDW) until the mid-late 90s, but even then we got theme masterpieces like Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We also got major travesties like JIYI, Enchanted tiki room UNM, Sounds dangerous, 20k sitting abandoned, SGE, etc.

 

[UNCgolf]

We also got major travesties like JIYI, Enchanted tiki room UNM, Sounds dangerous, 20k sitting abandoned, SGE, etc.

That's why I said mostly. He certainly wasn't perfect even at WDW, but at least for me his overall tenure was better than Iger's from both a parks and resorts standpoint (again, solely talking about WDW here).

 

[brb1006]

I still hate that 50-60% of older Disney content is nowhere to be found

I'm still waiting for more of the Disney Era Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts to get included (Seriously where's "Oh What A Knight" with Ortensia?). Even the recently found Oswald shorts that has been lost for years (such as "Poor Papa"). Hopefully they might get added as we get updates on the upcoming live-action/CGI hybrid Oswald series for Disney+.

 

[Chef Mickey]

They aren't going to look outside unless they think company is on the brink of collapse...in their eyes.

Negative return over 10 years should have been screaming, outside voice.

Such as?

Disney is a massive company, a lot bigger than when Wells and Eisner took over. An outsider would have significant obstacles to overcome and I’m not sure that would be a wise decision. Nonetheless, I do believe James Gorman when he says the board considered and interviewed outsiders and about 100 candidates.

I don't know...all of them? I can't think of much that is better today than in 2015.

How about generally ruining EPCOT and DHS?

Failing to expand MK in a meaningful way.

Tripling prices, Lightning Lane, park reservations, killing free Fast Pass, killing the free entertainment, dessert parties, and other money grabs.

The re-imagined EPCOT is soulless and terrible. Guardians shouldn't be there. EPCOT is largely dead. No updates to rides that need it and the new stuff is bad.

Allowing entire pavilions to be essentially vacant.

Removing Splash

Removing GMR.

Poor ride maintenance.

Making everything IP.

Reducing hours.

Cast Member decline.

Reduced food quantity and quality.

Corporate hotels with no soul.

Generally charging more for less.

I mean, you'll say it's all fine and I'm stuck in the past, but it just sucks compared to before, IMO.

 

[Stripes]

Negative return over 10 years should have been screaming, outside voice.

I don't know...all of them? I can't think of much that is better today than in 2015.

How about generally ruining EPCOT and DHS?

Failing to expand MK in a meaningful way.

Tripling prices, Lightning Lane, park reservations, killing free Fast Pass, killing the free entertainment, dessert parties, and other money grabs.

The re-imagined EPCOT is soulless and terrible. Guardians shouldn't be there. EPCOT is largely dead. No updates to rides that need it and the new stuff is bad.

Allowing entire pavilions to be essentially vacant.

Removing Splash

Removing GMR.

Poor ride maintenance.

Making everything IP.

Reducing hours.

Cast Member decline.

Reduced food quantity and quality.

Corporate hotels with no soul.

Generally charging more for less.

I mean, you'll say it's all fine and I'm stuck in the past, but it just sucks compared to before, IMO.

Might want to check your timeline as it relates to the decisions Josh was empowered to make.

My mother freaking loves the EPCOT overhaul and it quickly went from her 3rd favorite to her number 1 park. Given the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks, I’d say she’s not alone.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Might want to check your timeline as it relates to the decisions Josh was empowered to make.

My mother freaking loves the EPCOT overhaul and it quickly went from her 3rd favorite to her number 1 park. Given the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks, I’d say she’s not alone.

Oh I just went with the last 15 years - he's been there a while. He's had real power since at least 2017 and is responsible for a lot of that.

Also, he had the power to reverse a lot of it and/or should have been more influential to reverse it.

Now that he's CEO, we'll see what he reverses. He's a 28 years establishment guy and Disney has been trash since 2015. I even give Iger credit for the first few years he was there. Good CEO. Awful the last 10 years.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Negative return over 10 years should have been screaming, outside voice.

I don't know...all of them? I can't think of much that is better today than in 2015.

How about generally ruining EPCOT and DHS?

Failing to expand MK in a meaningful way.

Tripling prices, Lightning Lane, park reservations, killing free Fast Pass, killing the free entertainment, dessert parties, and other money grabs.

The re-imagined EPCOT is soulless and terrible. Guardians shouldn't be there. EPCOT is largely dead. No updates to rides that need it and the new stuff is bad.

Allowing entire pavilions to be essentially vacant.

Removing Splash

Removing GMR.

Poor ride maintenance.

Making everything IP.

Reducing hours.

Cast Member decline.

Reduced food quantity and quality.

Corporate hotels with no soul.

Generally charging more for less.

I mean, you'll say it's all fine and I'm stuck in the past, but it just sucks compared to before, IMO.

Test track and Guardians are far better than what they replaced. Space 220, JOW, Awesome planet all fit epcot. Ratatouille is a net gain. SWGE is far superior to the empty row of cardboard facades wasting space. WOL was abandoned before Iger plus Global neighborhood and seacabs at living seas sitting empty.

 

[JD80]

Rough crowd. Highest visited parks in the world and it's trash.

 

[Themeparkfan09]

Rough crowd. Highest visited parks in the world and it's trash.

On brand for some people on these forums.

 

[Andrew C]

My mother freaking loves the EPCOT overhaul and it quickly went from her 3rd favorite to her number 1 park. Given the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks, I’d say she’s not alone.

I’m not exactly sure what this is supposed to prove. Your mom loves it so it’s no longer the trash that it is?

 

[Stripes]

Oh I just went with the last 15 years - he's been there a while. He's had real power since at least 2017 and is responsible for a lot of that.

Also, he had the power to reverse a lot of it and/or should have been more influential to reverse it.

Now that he's CEO, we'll see what he reverses. He's a 28 years establishment guy and Disney has been trash since 2015. I even give Iger credit for the first few years he was there. Good CEO. Awful the last 10 years.

Yeah, I know how you feel and I strongly disagree with many of your purported criticisms of the last 15 years. I agree with a handful though.

I’m not exactly sure what this is supposed to prove. Your mom loves it so it’s no longer the trash that it is?

Your opinion is not the only one that matters. That’s the point. And stating your opinion as if it’s an objective fact is even more absurd.

Again, the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks would seem to suggest that the overhaul was an objective success from an overall guest experience perspective.

I think most guests truly appreciate Guardians, Test Track 3.0, Ratatouille, Frozen, Journey of Water, Luminous, etc. World Celebration was botched, honestly, but that’s a relatively insignificant part of the overall park (and frankly, I think we’ll be seeing some construction walls in that area soon enough.)

 

[Andrew C]

Your opinion is not the only one that matters. That’s the point. And stating your opinion as if it’s an objective fact is even more absurd.

Again, the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks would seem to suggest that the overhaul was an objective success from an overall guest experience perspective.

You look at cummunicore hall, the broken lights, the what could have been water area, the souless connections cafe and creations shop with a Mickey slapped on the wall, that horrible stage and see success? You see that and think “good job Disney, you really delivered on this overhaul.” That is truly what you see and feel?

 

[Chi84]

You look at cummunicore hall, the broken lights, the what could have been water area, the souless connections cafe and creations shop with a Mickey slapped on the wall, that horrible stage and see success? You see that and think “good job Disney, you really delivered on this overhaul.” That is truly what you see and feel?

We enjoyed the Encanto show, Guardians, the Moana water feature and absolutely loved Space 220. We did miss the fountain.

On balance I liked the original Future World much more, especially The Living Seas, which went from best to worst in my opinion.

I still enjoy Epcot but I wish Disney had come up with a better idea for redoing Future World.

 

[CoastalElite64]

That's why I said mostly. He certainly wasn't perfect even at WDW, but at least for me his overall tenure was definitely better than Iger's from both a parks and resorts standpoint (again, solely talking about WDW here).

Eisner had a strong first half but a very bad second half. The EuroDisney blunder affected WDW too because Beastly Kingdom got scraped. He just never recovered from that.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

We enjoyed the Encanto show, Guardians, the Moana water feature and absolutely loved Space 220. We did miss the fountain.

On balance I liked the original Future World much more, especially The Living Seas, which went from best to worst in my opinion.

I still enjoy Epcot but I wish Disney had come up with a better idea for redoing Future World.

Atleast seabase is being maintained and brought back the diver lockout. TLS was at its worst from 2001-2006

 

[flynnibus]

Again, the attendance recovery at EPCOT versus the other parks would seem to suggest that the overhaul was an objective success from an overall guest experience perspective.

let's see.. let's compare to periods where the park was largely a construction site... to the boost after the park is no longer a construction site
and then look at attractions that replaced dead hulks... and look at the attendance boost!

Seems like a pretty low bar to me.