Bob Chapek backs up using IPs because “if our competitors had our catalog they would do the same thing”

[juniorthomas]

People are upset about IP just being dropped in without concern for how it integrates into the larger experience. That is how it is about story and experience.

But that goes back to my earlier point. I don't think everyone is upset about the lack of integration. Some people certainly are. Some other people are angry to lose older park IP. I don't think there's a 100% on either side.

 

[Magenta Panther]

This guy is possibly the worst thing for the parks since the Harris/Pressler combo. He just doesn’t get it.

Sounds to me that he sees the parks primarily as merchandising hubs...just like Iger.

 

[HauntedPirate]

It's not about using IP in the parks, it's how it gets used. And when every problem is a nail and your only tool is a(n IP) hammer...

 

[The Empress Lilly]

- To me IP is all about location and appropriateness. Or story and experience, to borrow Lazy's terms.

I am as big of a SW and Disney canon fan as they come. If Disney were to built a park devoted solely to SW, Mermaid and Donald Duck I'd book a three week stay today. But I also love EPCOT, and DHS, and DAK. These have different stories, different settings. GotG and Frozen in EPCOT is a disgrace, an abandonment of Disney's greatest endeavour ever. (And once my favourite place on earth :'( )


- My city draws 250% the number of tourists it did end of last decade. Yet very little has changed this decade to the 400 year old center. The huge increase is simply owing to the general global surge in tourism. Like everywhere else. The same very much holds true for Disney parks. If they outgrew average theme park attendance, this is to a major extent owing to the Disney properties being holiday rather than daytrip destinations. The growth does not reflect a success of modern park rebuilding.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

I 100% agree that TWDC should take full advantage of their franchises and use them appropriately in the parks. SWGE is a perfect example of how to do this.

What I think we're all tired of is shoving IPs everywhere, especially where it is unnecessary and doesn't belong.

 

[drew81]

I bet he said a lot more than that, and that you're presenting one comment out of context.

In recent comments, he talked about the genius and imagination and creativity that went into developing the Star Wars universe. He talked about the emotional feeling that these new investments will foster in guests. He talked the company as a portfolio of investments in storytelling. He talked about the parks not only a showcase for the storytelling that has gone on on screen but also as an inspiration for, and a source of, new storytelling contributions to that portfolio.

Then he talked about the power of franchises - for less than 45 seconds out of the 15 minutes.

He shouldn't listen to any critics. Talk is cheap. He should "listen" to what guests are telling him through what they're spending their money on.

The same was said about the leaders of the company who shepherded it from the brink of oblivion to its current status as the top of the top. As a matter of fact, fans expressing such appraisals in online discussions have been so consistent over the last thirty years that being criticized by fans online is now a pretty reliable indicator that someone is an excellent leader for the company.

lol

 

[larryz]

Sounds like he's listening to the wrong critics.

Oh, you mean the exit surveys where guests are complaining that there's not enough current Disney characters in the parks?

We have met the enemy, and he is us -- Pogo.

 

[Damon7777]

The same was said about the leaders of the company who shepherded it from the brink of oblivion to its current status as the top of the top.

Perfect deflection......do you have any more poorly thought out rebuttals?

 

[larryz]

Chapek is plain wrong too.

There is a precedent for a theme park behemoth holding an IP catalogue almost as good as 2019 TWDC and not using it in their parks: TWDC 1955-2015.

Chapek is simply lazy, he thinks sitting on the best IP staple provides him a quick hack to the best parks, that it provides an unassailable competitive advantage. Disregarding that the true 'Disney' difference in the theme park business has been quality, immersion, sentimentalism. And hard work. IP, by contrast, has always been the shortcut of precisely the non-Disney parks. How many Superman coasters aren't out there in wannabe parks?

Sadly, the fact that people are still lining up in droves to get in, and will continue to do so, throws cold water on the idea that most of the average public even gives a screwdriver.

 

[larryz]

Sounds to me that he sees the parks primarily as merchandising hubs...just like Iger.

I don't think Iger cares one way or the other, as long as (a) there's quarter-over-quarter growth, and (b) his bonus doesn't shrink. Chapek is a huckster, a merchandise man, like the salesmen on the train at the start of The Music Man...*

*Trigger warning: scenes of trains, smoking, words that have been hijacked into perjoratives, and bad acting...

 

[FutureCEO]

I find it amusing how Disney doesn't talk about the South of the South (I have never seen it) but yet Splash Mountain is one of the most popular rides.

 

[NickWilde]

Chapek sounds like an utter fool when he says this. Yeah IPs in the parks can produce some really good attractions and lands but that doesn’t mean that you should stay clear of original attractions all together. In fact, I believe the perfect balance between IP and originals is the key to bringing the Parks into another golden age.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I don't think Iger cares one way or the other, as long as (a) there's quarter-over-quarter growth, and (b) his bonus doesn't shrink. Chapek is a huckster, a merchandise man, like the salesmen on the train at the start of The Music Man...*

But he doesn't know the territory!

 

[MisterPenguin]

Chapek sounds like an utter fool when he says this. Yeah IPs in the parks can produce some really good attractions and lands but that doesn’t mean that you should stay clear of original attractions all together. In fact, I believe the perfect balance between IP and originals is the key to bringing the Parks into another golden age.

Maybe the first thing we should do is to have people stop using IP as their forum avatars!!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I find it amusing how Disney doesn't talk about the South of the South (I have never seen it) but yet Splash Mountain is one of the most popular rides.

Eisner was clearly a fool for building a ride based on a Disney movie the company would change its release policy on years after it had already been built.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

There's nothing inherently wrong with tapping into Disney's vast collection of IP.

As with almost anything, it's how you do it that counts.

 

[bUU]

You consistently show a fundamental misunderstanding of what made Disney Parks successful in the first place.

You consistently show a fundamental misunderstanding of what success is.

 

[bUU]

I'm an investor.

You're also a fan. That seems to have afflicted your analysis. We'll just have to agree to disagree, but all the while, reality will follow along the path that fits with my understanding and contrary to your understanding: I'll be unsurprised by how things go, and you'll be repeatedly disappointed.

 

[Chef Mickey]

You're also a fan. That seems to have afflicted your analysis. We'll just have to agree to disagree, but all the while, reality will follow along the path that fits with my understanding and contrary to your understanding: I'll be unsurprised by how things go, and you'll be repeatedly disappointed.

I think I made it clear I was also speaking from a fan's perspective.

 

[Indy_UK]

What I love is that he does seem to get his back up when he quoted 'why do you franchise everything' as if he knows people are constantly moaning about him doing it in the parks