News Bob Iger Steps Down - Bob Chapek CEO

[George Lucas on a Bench]

For being a world class entertainment company/vacation destination that costs A LOT of money to experience, Disney still feels like you’re getting nickel and dimed at every turn like some skeezy, run down carnival.

There I agree with you. The value to buck ratio seems to have skewed wildly since Cheapek and Iger's reign. Ticket prices rise more and more, the additions to the resort have been mostly been slapped-together overlays, Star Wars land is more like a SW strip mall/restaurant with a disappointing arcade ride and an e ticket that excludes all guests that don't make a reservation in the first minute of park opening. The management not only fought against raising the cast member wages but also slashed their hours, which can't have been good for cm morale. It seems like everything they do now is centered on getting you to buy food and merchandise. Just look at the Indiana Jones ride, which is celebrating an anniversary with the food and merchandise schtick, meanwhile everything in the ride is broken.

 

[Curious Constance]

There I agree with you. The value to buck ratio seems to have skewed wildly since Cheapek and Iger's reign. Ticket prices rise more and more, the additions to the resort have been mostly been slapped-together overlays, Star Wars land is more like a SW strip mall/restaurant with a disappointing arcade ride and an e ticket that excludes all guests that don't make a reservation in the first minute of park opening. The management not only fought against raising the cast member wages but also slashed their hours, which can't have been good for cm morale. It seems like everything they do now is centered on getting you to buy food and merchandise. Just look at the Indiana Jones ride, which is celebrating an anniversary with the food and merchandise schtick, meanwhile everything in the ride is broken.

Spending money and making decisions like they are two steps from shuttering their doors forever, opening a land that is supposed to better than the second coming with one ride, one tiny bar that only a handful of people can experience and when they do, having them wait in line behind other paying customers pressuring them to leave for the chance to stand at the bar or those lucky few blessed enough to get a booth and having to share it with another group of strangers, with nothing else to do in the land besides $100 or $200 upcharge events, closing the park early to full paying customers so that they can basically collect a second set of full paying tickets for the day for special events and then doing nothing for these events other than dragging a photo background out or sprinkling a different topping on the churros. Letting the attractions become a shadow of their former selves to save money on upkeep. These decisions do not sound they should be being made at one of the top vacation destinations in the entire world.

 

[TP2000]

I thought Bob Jr was Jewish! After googling it though, I think he IS just white!!!!!

I could be wrong, but Chapek sounds like a traditional Czech or Hungarian name to me. And I'm just going on his facial features and his surname. So I guess technically he isn't a WASP because he's Hungarian instead of Anglo-Saxon. But he is most definitely a white man, and very likely not Jewish.

Those playing the home version of this game will want to mark those facts on the back of Bob Jr.'s trading card.

I'm now looking at my dad and the other men in my family in a very different light. It really explains a lot.

(Except, what does it mean if they are cranky AND mushy-brained?? haha)

Cranky and mushy-brained? That's rare, but it can happen. It probably means he wasn't doing LSD and heavy pot in the 1970's, but he was active in the 1970's Disco and singles bar scene before he began voting for Reagan in the 1980's.

Wait, I think I just described myself!

Somehow I'm having a really tough time picturing Chapek having the same kind of lasting legacy in the company.

I'm having that same difficulty in picturing how Bob Jr.'s tenure plays out and what legacy he leaves behind. I think it's difficult to picture it because up until this point Bob Jr. made himself known by cutting budgets and lowering expectations for what we receive for our money at Disney theme parks, after his years marketing Chinese made pajama sets and plastic crap in the Target toy aisle.

That's not a good foundation to springboard off of into the CEO job. But go Bob Jr., go!

 

[TROR]

Let's put this on the back burner and get back to discussing how Bob Chapek is going to sow the seeds of beauty's destruction.

 

[Disney Irish]

Let's put this on the back burner and get back to discussing how Bob Chapek is going to sow the seeds of beauty's destruction.

Now that we're done with all that nonsense.

So I've been listening to various different point of view on this topic.

I'm beginning to form the opinion that Chapek is going to want to leave his own legacy on TWDC apart from Iger's. He might just be willing to invest even more into the Parks. Before he had a division to run that had to meet quarterly numbers set by Iger and the Board. Now that he's in charge and wanting to leaving a legacy. Investing more into the Parks might just be something he'd do to shake the budget cutting image he has gained.

We'll see how things go with WDW 50th and any potential impact from COVID-19. He might just be forced to make some cuts.

 

[Lilofan]

Spending money and making decisions like they are two steps from shuttering their doors forever, opening a land that is supposed to better than the second coming with one ride, one tiny bar that only a handful of people can experience and when they do, having them wait in line behind other paying customers pressuring them to leave for the chance to stand at the bar or those lucky few blessed enough to get a booth and having to share it with another group of strangers, with nothing else to do in the land besides $100 or $200 upcharge events, closing the park early to full paying customers so that they can basically collect a second set of full paying tickets for the day for special events and then doing nothing for these events other than dragging a photo background out or sprinkling a different topping on the churros. Letting the attractions become a shadow of their former selves to save money on upkeep. These decisions do not sound they should be being made at one of the top vacation destinations in the entire world.

As WC Fields said "There's a sucker born every minute".

 

[DanielBB8]

For being a world class entertainment company/vacation destination that costs A LOT of money to experience, Disney still feels like you’re getting nickel and dimed at every turn like some skeezy, run down carnival.

Disney is just a cleaned up version of a carnival. You can go on Pinnochio attraction and experience Pleasure Island to remind you of that.

 

[Phroobar]

Disney is just a cleaned up version of a carnival. You can go on Pinnochio attraction and experience Pleasure Island to remind you of that.

 

[Travel Junkie]

I'm beginning to form the opinion that Chapek is going to want to leave his own legacy on TWDC apart from Iger's. He might just be willing to invest even more into the Parks. Before he had a division to run that had to meet quarterly numbers set by Iger and the Board. Now that he's in charge and wanting to leaving a legacy. Investing more into the Parks might just be something he'd do to shake the budget cutting image he has gained.

We'll see how things go with WDW 50th and any potential impact from COVID-19. He might just be forced to make some cuts.

Chapek has a short 3 year contract to prove himself. Assuming he wants to keep the job beyond 3 years the way to do so is by increasing profit. He'll fall back on what he knows and that involves tightening the belt instead of opening the pocketbook. Besides, spending money on the parks involves a long lead time and delayed ROI. He wouldn't be around long enough to reap the benefits of large scale investments if he only lasts 3 years.

Legacy building is what you do once you are secure you will be around for a while. He has no such assurances. I think we have plenty of cuts and cheap money grabs in the near future.

For being a world class entertainment company/vacation destination that costs A LOT of money to experience, Disney still feels like you’re getting nickel and dimed at every turn like some skeezy, run down carnival.

Speaking of which, the rumor by another site is that table service restaurants at WDW still stop providing complementary bread with meals. If that is true, that shows the lengths they will go to trying to save a nickel here and there.

 

[Disney Irish]

Chapek has a short 3 year contract to prove himself. Assuming he wants to keep the job beyond 3 years the way to do so is by increasing profit. He'll fall back on what he knows and that involves tightening the belt instead of opening the pocketbook. Besides, spending money on the parks involves a long lead time and delayed ROI. He wouldn't be around long enough to reap the benefits of large scale investments if he only lasts 3 years.

Legacy building is what you do once you are secure you will be around for a while. He has no such assurances. I think we have plenty of cuts and cheap money grabs in the near future.



Speaking of which, the rumor by another site is that table service restaurants at WDW still stop providing complementary bread with meals. If that is true, that shows the lengths they will go to trying to save a nickel here and there.

Maybe, or maybe he's already greenlit a project that will be announced soon. Remember he'll also be the CEO that oversees the WDW 50th and the opening of Avenger Campus.

Who knows what his tenure will hold, only time will tell.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Chapek has been a disaster, 3 years is 3 too many. I'd be hard pressed to list even 3 new things he's done that I can appreciate. Might as well hire Andrew Wilson or Carly Fiorina.

Seriously, I'm willing to say I despise Chapek as much as I despise EA Games and their greedy management.

 

[truecoat]

 

[TP2000]

Interesting article at The Wrap about all this. It's behind a paywall, but if you read it on an iPhone you can scroll through it easier.

Inside Bob Iger's Sudden Disney Departure as CEO and Hollywood's Surprised Response

Studio executives and Hollywood power players are still questioning the timing and suddenness of Iger's exit

www.thewrap.com

In short, this article lays out how this decision two weeks ago took everyone in Burbank senior leadership by surprise, most notably a few of the folks allegedly on the short list to replace Iger in 2021. There was literally a senior executive on stage at an employee town hall touting how transparent Disney is when the news broke, and that executive had to walk off the stage and end the town hall.

I think most of us who have followed the Walt Disney Company for at least a few years can tell this was not normal, and there is more to the story here that has not yet come out.

What is most telling is that two weeks after Iger bailed out, the Company's most profitable division, Parks & Resorts & Pajama Sets, still doesn't have an identified leader. In the middle of the biggest crisis that division has ever faced, and likely could face short of global war, with half of its parks shut down and the other half hanging by a string and their cruise ships looking shakier by the day. But Iger is off playing golf and Bob Jr. is left to try and salvage the implosion. Oh, and the latest Pixar movie kind of bombed.

This whole thing is very poor timing and foresight at best, at the very least darkly mysterious, but perhaps indicative of criminal behavior lurking nearby at worst.

 

[Phroobar]

Interesting article at The Wrap about all this. It's behind a paywall, but if you read it on an iPhone you can scroll through it easier.

Inside Bob Iger's Sudden Disney Departure as CEO and Hollywood's Surprised Response

Studio executives and Hollywood power players are still questioning the timing and suddenness of Iger's exit

www.thewrap.com

In short, this article lays out how this decision two weeks ago took everyone in Burbank senior leadership by surprise, most notably a few of the folks allegedly on the short list to replace Iger in 2021. There was literally a senior executive on stage at an employee town hall touting how transparent Disney is when the news broke, and that executive had to walk off the stage and end the town hall.

I think most of us who have followed the Walt Disney Company for at least a few years can tell this was not normal, and there is more to the story here that has not yet come out.

What is most telling is that two weeks after Iger bailed out, the Company's most profitable division, Parks & Resorts & Pajama Sets, still doesn't have an identified leader. In the middle of the biggest crisis that division has ever faced, and likely could face short of global war, with half of its parks shut down and the other half hanging by a string and their cruise ships looking shakier by the day. But Iger is off playing golf and Bob Jr. is left to try and salvage the implosion. Oh, and the latest Pixar movie kind of bombed.

This whole thing is very poor timing and foresight at best, at the very least darkly mysterious, but perhaps indicative of criminal behavior lurking nearby at worst.

Onward was pretty decent and solid movie. However it was nothing amazing.

 

[Curious Constance]

Interesting article at The Wrap about all this. It's behind a paywall, but if you read it on an iPhone you can scroll through it easier.

Inside Bob Iger's Sudden Disney Departure as CEO and Hollywood's Surprised Response

Studio executives and Hollywood power players are still questioning the timing and suddenness of Iger's exit

www.thewrap.com

In short, this article lays out how this decision two weeks ago took everyone in Burbank senior leadership by surprise, most notably a few of the folks allegedly on the short list to replace Iger in 2021. There was literally a senior executive on stage at an employee town hall touting how transparent Disney is when the news broke, and that executive had to walk off the stage and end the town hall.

I think most of us who have followed the Walt Disney Company for at least a few years can tell this was not normal, and there is more to the story here that has not yet come out.

What is most telling is that two weeks after Iger bailed out, the Company's most profitable division, Parks & Resorts & Pajama Sets, still doesn't have an identified leader. In the middle of the biggest crisis that division has ever faced, and likely could face short of global war, with half of its parks shut down and the other half hanging by a string and their cruise ships looking shakier by the day. But Iger is off playing golf and Bob Jr. is left to try and salvage the implosion. Oh, and the latest Pixar movie kind of bombed.

This whole thing is very poor timing and foresight at best, at the very least darkly mysterious, but perhaps indicative of criminal behavior lurking nearby at worst.

You’ve intrigued me with the criminal behavior comment. I’d love to hear what you thought that could potentially be. Is Bog Iger a bad boy?

 

[MisterPenguin]

You’ve intrigued me with the criminal behavior comment. I’d love to hear what you thought that could potentially be. Is Bog Iger a bad boy?

The idea the Disney Board would be aware of bad behavior of Iger and let him continue to be executive chairman of the board is ludicrous. If he's removed from being CEO because of something bad, it would still be bad for the company for him to be EC of the Board.

 

[Curious Constance]

The idea the Disney Board would be aware of bad behavior of Iger and let him continue to be executive chairman of the board is ludicrous. If he's removed from being CEO because of something bad, it would still be bad for the company for him to be EC of the Board.

If he did anything, my $ is on a s-e-x scandal.

 

[MisterPenguin]

If he did anything, my bet is on a s-e-x scandal.

Again. If the board knew of it, he'd be home "spending time with family" than remaining on the board.

 

[Curious Constance]

Again. If the board knew of it, he'd be home "spending time with family" than remaining on the board.

His wife knows and she won’t let him come home and refuses to spend time with him.

 

[MisterPenguin]

His wife knows and she won’t let him come home and refuses to spend time with him.

The conspiracies spinning up to rationalize some sort of... conspiracy... is nuts.

Perhaps the lizard people commanded the board to make this decision?