Bob Chapek named new Parks and Resorts Chairman

Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Let the Paul Pressler/Cynthia Harriss reign begin again! lol
Seriously hoping he ends the generic "Disney Parks" crap...And maybe he can return "Destination Shopping" though i fear he has been more behind homogenizing the Theme Park merchandise...which has been the trend the last 15 years while he has been in charge....Doesn't make me think good things are coming...
But I will wait and be hopeful....
 
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
...that combine technological innovation and creativity
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Hopefully technology and innovation will be more in focus than numbers. I doubt it with Iger's current thought process.

Cmdr_Crimson said:
You know how the Disney Stores look like now.......
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Disney store near me is pretty decent. I miss the giant mountain of stuff animals that I knew of as a kid but it's well themed if not a bit crowded with merchandise at times.

Lets see in a few years how things go.
 
sshindel

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
I'm waiting for anyone, anyone at all, with knowledge in this man and his accomplishments and work-style to chime in before I make a judgement on the potential positive or negative of this move.

Knowing that he has been in Consumer Products does not in any way inform my judgement on how he will act in P&R. I can move departments at my company, that does not mean I am not capable in thinking in a different manner in my new position.

Knowing how he worked in Consumer Products, that does potentially inform my judgement.

Those that are looking for someone with Disney P&R experience must be those that are very happy with the way that P&R have been run in the past few years?

Since I'm neither extremely happy, or extremely unhappy with P&R in the last decade, I guess I have to reserve my judgement based on what he actually does once he gets the job.
 
Andrew C

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
I would rather have someone with little or no park experience to take over. Do ya'll really want someone currently involved high up in the parks right now to be Chairman? Because that is probably the alternative to this guy.
 
Andrew C

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
Jahona said:
Hopefully technology and innovation will be more in focus than numbers. I doubt it with Iger's current thought process.



Disney store near me is pretty decent. I miss the giant mountain of stuff animals that I knew of as a kid but it's well themed if not a bit crowded with merchandise at times.

Lets see in a few years how things go.
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The Disney Store has definitely improved over the last 5 years or so.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
MichWolv said:
I hate making snap judgments with little to go on, but I'm gonna do it anyways.

Consumer products is all about leveraging existing IP in interesting ways to create things people want to buy. This guy, apparently, has been good at that. So, if what you want in P&R is new ways to see existing IP in the parks, this might be your guy. But if you want original stories, new characters, or non-IP-based stuff in attractions, this may not be your guy.

Of course, that's a snap judgment.
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Agreed, but a snap judgment is often the right one. Go with your gut.

And my gut reaction to this is that it's Pressler 2.0. Mr. Chapek appears to be the same type of guy Eisner put in charge of Parks & Resorts in Eisner's final years, to "leverage franchises" and other shopkeeper gobbledygook. Pressler was a shopkeeper who just happened to ride the Disney Store rocket as the concept took off in the early 1990's.

The more I think about Mr. Chapek and his underwhelming resume', especially his most recent gig as King of The Mall Shopkeepers, the more leery I am of him. Maybe he'll surprise us? But I think there's a better chance he'll bumble through Parks & Resorts for the next three years and never quite get it. Let's just hope he doesn't do real, lasting damage like Paul Pressler did.

Paul Pressler was a clueless suit in way over his head, but he had perfect executive hair so it seemed like the right decision. The one thing Mr. Chapek appears to have going for him is that he has no hair at all, so maybe he won't follow the Pressler path? Maybe? :confused:
 
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note2001

note2001

Well-Known Member
But to be fair, he is adorable. Looks like a big, little kid, So here's hoping he has some excitement headed our way (in a good way.)

ETA: Has his BS in micro-biology, LOL. On first glance, that may make us say "What?" But if this guy is diverse and smart enough to head off to school for and graduate with a complicated degree, and then somewhere along the line swaps it out for a life as it is now, he accepts and adapts well to change.
 
Andrew C

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
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.
 
Captain Chaos

Captain Chaos

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
Yeah. I was referring to the theming of the stores rather than the products. They do really try to push the experience as much as possible as well. That is the direction the CM's there are being given from what I am being told.
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I can see them pushing the experience, that's for sure. And I do give the CM's there kudos cause they have such little space to work in, and crowds of kids/adults, and strollers to deal with. I'll admit, the new version of the store is light years better than the old versions though.
 
Bolt

Bolt

Well-Known Member
I haven't read enough yet but my overall opinion is that thrme parks is a $2 billion/year segment. I doubt the Board of Directors put any weight in whether he worked Jungle Cruisr or not. To them, it's probably like how a company like Target doesn't search for someone who started as a cashier.
 
CJR

CJR

Well-Known Member
Wish him luck, time will tell. It'll be hard to make real judgements based on results for a bit as Staggs is the one behind many of the projects coming our way in the next half-decade. Staggs is still going to be the boss, so it's unlikely those projects will go away or change much.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
note2001 said:
But to be fair, he is adorable. Looks like a big, little kid, So here's hoping he has some excitement headed our way (in a good way.)

ETA: Has his BS in micro-biology, LOL. On first glance, that may make us say "What?" But if this guy is diverse and smart enough to head off to school for and graduate with a complicated degree, and then somewhere along the line swaps it out for a life as it is now, he accepts and adapts well to change.
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Bio is the business major of the sciences.... The generic I don't know what I'll do degree
 

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