News Bob Iger is back! Chapek is out!!

[Lilofan]

Does your company live off peddling nostalgia and reputation to moms and dads at the highest price possible?


…I get what you’re saying…but they’re all not the same.

Couple years ago Iger defenders did this fake “market analysis” on threads with the baffling “the parks are actually UNDERpriced” nonsense…community college Econ…

“But the parks are packed!!” Yeah but the reputation and client pool is shrinking…which is the long game I’ve been warning about since the housing crash. Penny wise and pound stupid

Now I don’t hear it. Their emperor has no clothes.

Bet it comes back for D+ though:..and soon when it starts to grind down.

I've heard that too from others too somewhat similar- park ticket - value , concert ticket 2x the price. I would guess that when Chapek found out that weekend " his services are no longer needed " by the Disney Board when he and some Disney execs attended Elton John's farewell show in Los Angeles he didn't have to pay for his overpriced ticket.

 

[Polkadotdress]

Events?

It’s called “capital investment”, you moron.

And clearing out the mess you have in your studios and getting some creatives that can tell the difference between a good story and their $&@!

…following yet, skippy?

Oh my goodness. You just gave me a scare, thinking you were calling @DCBaker a moron!

*I just woke up and am not thinking clearly yet.

**I truly do understand who your comment was targeting, as the coffee has kicked in for me now.

 

[Glasgow]

In related news, the last physical effect in the Duck Tales adventure will be Bob playing the role of Scrooge McDuck jumping into his giant money bin.

In all seriousness, though, TWDC definitely needed a little shock to the system and if we're honest, we would all say the same thing if we just took a company (back) over. "It's great! We're all great here!" In my opinion, the company began to stumble when it got lazy, replacing physical capacity upgrades with phone apps, all the while filling their pockets for 10 years - time to pay the piper. Lets hope actual content is on the way.

 

[Incomudro]

Do you think that he would come out and say, "So, I know things stink right now. I mean, Genie+ is an unparalleled mess, our construction timelines are ludicrous, Disney+ content insults intelligence except for two shows, and our stock price continues to tank. However, if you come and spend money at our parks, we promise to not change anything and we will continue depending on your nostalgia to draw you back in."

Admitting error is not a big strength for a lot of CEO's.

Of course I don't, and I really like your post.
Though I wouldn't mind Bob admitting that Disney has gone off track, lost the trust and respect of a good portion of its market - and has a desire to remedy some of those problems.

 

[Bender123]

Im leaving for a week at DisneyLand on Tuesday...Ive never been less excited for a Disney trip. Its sad that I feel like a combination of price, stress of the stupid pay-to-ride Genie service and lack of expected services is just killing my love for the parks. Bob doesnt get it, I doubt he ever will. Now is the worst time to be a Disney fan.

 

[Tha Realest]

was

Im leaving for a week at DisneyLand on Tuesday...Ive never been less excited for a Disney trip. Its sad that I feel like a combination of price, stress of the stupid pay-to-ride Genie service and lack of expected services is just killing my love for the parks. Bob doesnt get it, I doubt he ever will. Now is the worst time to be a Disney fan.

after decades of Disney trips, a handful in the years during Covid, I am finally becoming an annual pass holder…at Universal. I have a “make good” parkhopper after our disastrous last trip, and that’s going to be the last time I’m going for the foreseeable future.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Oh my goodness. You just gave me a scare, thinking you were calling @DCBaker a moron!

*I just woke up and am not thinking clearly yet.

**I truly do understand how you're comment was targeting, as the coffee has kicked in for me now.

lol…I realized that after I posted it…

I couldn’t phrase it properly

I don’t think DCBaker wears the expensive suits/cardigans the moron I was talking about does…
…or maybe they do

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I've heard that too from others too somewhat similar- park ticket - value , concert ticket 2x the price. I would guess that when Chapek found out that weekend " his services are no longer needed " by the Disney Board when he and some Disney execs attended Elton John's farewell show in Los Angeles he didn't have to pay for his overpriced ticket.

It’s hitting in sports too

Lots of empty nhl, nba and nfl tickets

Across the board. No “hot tickets” anywhere.

But..they’re trying to “hold the line” on prices…lose now to retrain the audience

I had it from a trusted source that a certain company issued damn near the same directive to their travel company years before Covid

 

[GhostHost1000]

Im leaving for a week at DisneyLand on Tuesday...Ive never been less excited for a Disney trip. Its sad that I feel like a combination of price, stress of the stupid pay-to-ride Genie service and lack of expected services is just killing my love for the parks. Bob doesnt get it, I doubt he ever will. Now is the worst time to be a Disney fan.

Oh he gets it. He’s just using the park guests as a money printing machine for all the failed decisions he makes elsewhere but no worries he’s back to fix it all right?

 

[el_super]

I don't know...
I can certainly remember better times to be a Disney fan.

Iger isn't really wrong here.

We are living at a time where Disney has produced and completed billions of dollars worth of investment in the parks and billions in investment into Disney+ and content. For a lot of fans, these things are still new and fresh... it's a great time.

If Wall Street wins the day, Disney will need to cut spending everywhere and pretty dramatically. Less content on Disney+ and no new major park investments for maybe another 10 years.

This could have easily been taken as Iger's fanciful way of saying "the good times are over."

 

[Rickcat96]

Iger isn't really wrong here.

We are living at a time where Disney has produced and completed billions of dollars worth of investment in the parks and billions in investment into Disney+ and content. For a lot of fans, these things are still new and fresh... it's a great time.

If Wall Street wins the day, Disney will need to cut spending everywhere and pretty dramatically. Less content on Disney+ and no new major park investments for maybe another 10 years.

This could have easily been taken as Iger's fanciful way of saying "the good times are over."

What exactly did we get for this investment? Here are a few:

Parks

skyrocketing prices while understaffing the experience
Genie +
More crappy overpriced Marriott hotels
loss of many service's
Food Quality declines
Alcohol garbage premade drinks

Disney +

crappy content
price changes and now advertisements option

Im sure there are more examples-But my training call is almost over, so back to work.

 

[el_super]

What exactly did we get for this investment? Here are a few:

Parks

Most of what you suggest here, price increases and Genie+ programs are being implemented because the parks are flooded with people. The parks are flooded with people because of significant investments in the last ten years.

Honestly more needs to be done to control the crowds and prices probably need to be higher.

Disney +

crappy content

Sorry you didn't like it. I loved most of the stuff created for Disney+. Even the Star Wars stuff, which was not really my cup of tea, I can still appreciate the effort and expense that went into producing it.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Most of what you suggest here, price increases and Genie+ programs are being implemented because the parks are flooded with people. The parks are flooded with people because of significant investments in the last ten years.

Honestly more needs to be done to control the crowds and prices probably need to be higher.





Sorry you didn't like it. I loved most of the stuff created for Disney+. Even the Star Wars stuff, which was not really my cup of tea, I can still appreciate the effort and expense that went into producing it.

Bob is that you? Thanks for the email btw

 

[Rickcat96]

Most of what you suggest here, price increases and Genie+ programs are being implemented because the parks are flooded with people. The parks are flooded with people because of significant investments in the last ten years.

Honestly more needs to be done to control the crowds and prices probably need to be higher.

Thats what Disney is saying, have we hit 2019 crowd levels?? Believe what you want.

I'm not convinced. I do respect your opinion though.

 

[_caleb]

You can tell a difference between before outsourcing and after? TWDC has not been at the forefront of tech for many years

Except for streaming. Seriously.

 

[_caleb]

was

after decades of Disney trips, a handful in the years during Covid, I am finally becoming an annual pass holder…at Universal. I have a “make good” parkhopper after our disastrous last trip, and that’s going to be the last time I’m going for the foreseeable future.

You do realize this means you’re not allowed to post here anymore, right? You’ll be missed!

 

[GhostHost1000]

Most of what you suggest here, price increases and Genie+ programs are being implemented because the parks are flooded with people. The parks are flooded with people because of significant investments in the last ten years.

Honestly more needs to be done to control the crowds and prices probably need to be higher.

More needs to be done to control the crowds….like park expansion and offerings that keeps up with the crowds rather than stagnation and price gouging

Those popcorn buckets and themed cupcakes can only do so much

 

[LSLS]

Iger isn't really wrong here.

We are living at a time where Disney has produced and completed billions of dollars worth of investment in the parks and billions in investment into Disney+ and content. For a lot of fans, these things are still new and fresh... it's a great time.

If Wall Street wins the day, Disney will need to cut spending everywhere and pretty dramatically. Less content on Disney+ and no new major park investments for maybe another 10 years.

This could have easily been taken as Iger's fanciful way of saying "the good times are over."

The problem is the billions of investment really resulted in no net gains at the parks. I believe I read that DHS right now is a net negative in number of attractions from before Toy Story/Galaxy Edge. Epcot might be the same? I know I had friends finally get to go, and all they could talk about was how crowded it was in Galaxy Edge. Not enough things to do/small areas to walk in. They loved the ride, but had no desire to go back into the area. Point is investing in the parks does not equate to it being the best of times if the investments aren't done to make things better. Many historic Disney fans would trade away all the new IP for times when they could ride things without being charged extra prices, parades/things to do, or for decent food at semi-reasonable prices.

 

[Skibum1970]

More crappy overpriced Marriott hotels

Hey!! Marriott has some very hotels that don't require a second mortgage so as to stay. Don't them under the bus as well.

 

[LSLS]

Most of what you suggest here, price increases and Genie+ programs are being implemented because the parks are flooded with people. The parks are flooded with people because of significant investments in the last ten years.

Honestly more needs to be done to control the crowds and prices probably need to be higher.





Sorry you didn't like it. I loved most of the stuff created for Disney+. Even the Star Wars stuff, which was not really my cup of tea, I can still appreciate the effort and expense that went into producing it.

Lets see what the numbers say when 2022 attendance figures come out. From 2015-2019, attendance at MK only fluctuated by about 400k. Pandora did add around 3 million people, but that had stabilized after that one year. Epcot has also stayed very stagnant by attendance, even with the addition of Frozen Ever After. DHS, saw somewhere between 200k and 600k people added for Toy Story Land. My suspicion is that attendance is not the main driver in why the parks feel as crowded/lines are as long as they are. In other words, they don't need to control the crowds more in terms of limiting attendance, they need to address the reasons it feels so much worse.