I think at this point, the real question is how management plans (or more like is willing) to tackle the rest of the EPCOT makeover as a whole. So much was never announced or cancelled or "paused indefinitely" but there's still so much work that needs to be done. And it can't be completely ignored either, as they leveled so much.
Will they be willing to move onto another phase of the makeover in a few years' time? Are they hoping that the 50th will generate so much additional spending that they could start to announce things on EPCOT's 40th anniversary to keep the momentum going but take around 5 additional years to build things? Whether Disney wants to acknowledge it or not, Universal is building a brand new theme park (with a major IP) that a lot of people are excited to experience, and have been adding some really impressive new attractions over the years. Disney will have to time new attractions to stay on the playing field. They might be used to getting the most attention, but the winds are changing. Long-time fans of the Disney parks are feeling priced out and ignored, and Disney is now focused on getting their patronage from the wealthy, who overall from what I've seen turn their noses up to the very idea of going to a theme park.
Disney needs to be building brand loyalty, which honestly is something that they're not used to losing. Iger thought that the key to running Disney was to acquire as many major IPs as possible, and in terms of the parks use those new acquisitions to get more people excited to come in. He wasn't entirely wrong, but the problem was that he never seemed to make a real effort to understand what the fans of Disney and its parks actually wanted, nor what they loved about Disney and the parks in the first place.
Chapek since taking over as CEO is seemingly taking a more fiscally conservative approach, which is understandable, as his tenure has exclusively been in a pandemic. Coming from merchandising and the parks, he's definitely thinking about what upcharges can be made here and there, and what things can be cut. He doesn't seem to be tremendously supportive of live entertainment at the parks, at least not to the extent that we've seen the parks be full of in the past.
As for Josh D'Amaro, it's still a little early to know for sure how he plans to operate things as a whole. We know that he's done things to make CMs happier by actually talking and engaging with them, and unlike so many other executives has made a point of actually hanging out inside the parks and is happy to talk to fans. We know that he wants to update JII and possibly even bring back the beloved Dreamfinder, and is just asking us to give him a little more time.
Timelines are a bitter pill with Disney, but while we may bemoan how long it takes for them to just get a restaurant open, the nice thing is that they do actually like to at least announce their plans at big events to keep us excited for what's to come. Keep sharing your comments with Guest Relations, write to them, and buy that Figment merch. They're listening and they're still making plans.
www.slashfilm.com
