HM Spectre
Well-Known Member
Sad, but not surprising. Like all large corporate value engineers, Chapek is betting on the brand.
He thinks the brand is so strong that it will sell tickets despite massive price increases. He thinks the brand is strong enough that reduced quality and service won't stop people from coming. And he's trying to push the envelope as far as he can. Honestly, he probably thinks you could slap the Disney brand on a Six Flags park and still have people foaming at the mouth to get in.
So far, he's unfortunately been proven right... but it takes a lot of guts (or stupidity) to do this into a coming recession. Right now, Disney is living off the brand while being transformed into a terrible value proposition. If people are ever forced to consider the value in what they're getting from a Disney vacation vs. an alternative, Chapek is in big trouble. It's barely affordable as-is for regular folks and it's only going to get worse.
Regardless, it's a terrible situation for anyone who loves the parks. Until people vote with their wallets and stop paying regardless of what Chapek puts in front of them, we're going to keep getting less while being charged more until the experience is just a shell of what it was (if it's not there already).
He thinks the brand is so strong that it will sell tickets despite massive price increases. He thinks the brand is strong enough that reduced quality and service won't stop people from coming. And he's trying to push the envelope as far as he can. Honestly, he probably thinks you could slap the Disney brand on a Six Flags park and still have people foaming at the mouth to get in.
So far, he's unfortunately been proven right... but it takes a lot of guts (or stupidity) to do this into a coming recession. Right now, Disney is living off the brand while being transformed into a terrible value proposition. If people are ever forced to consider the value in what they're getting from a Disney vacation vs. an alternative, Chapek is in big trouble. It's barely affordable as-is for regular folks and it's only going to get worse.
Regardless, it's a terrible situation for anyone who loves the parks. Until people vote with their wallets and stop paying regardless of what Chapek puts in front of them, we're going to keep getting less while being charged more until the experience is just a shell of what it was (if it's not there already).