In my opinion, the Disney company that we once knew of is dead. There is no longer a drive for excellence or innovation. Creativity and quality are minor considerations.
The Disney of today is only ever interested in its stock price. That's it. That's all there is in this era. The ONLY focus is to pump up the stock price. Iger has resorted to turning the parks and the Disney legacy into some overpriced, minimum quality effort. The Stock price is the "Pimp" that every other aspect of Disney must suffer under.
Disney parks have now been reduced to the cheapest possible "come on" at the maximum price levels. It's all one big con job. Disney is depending on your sense of nostalgia when you consider a Disney vacation. They are hoping that you don't notice that it's all one big hustle for your cash while providing you with the minimum effort.
My favorite con of all is when Iger says that the parks are too crowded, so we must raise prices.
If the parks are too crowded where are all the phased closings and why are they building more resort rooms?
For years the parks have pretty much been abandoned. Occasionally, Disney would throw us a bone with a reimagined this or that and minor expansions. Epcot has especially paid the price of the Disney Parks collapse. It's basically been turned into a yearlong food court. Disney cares not a bit about anything going on in Epcot. They only care if they can get you to pay 8 dollars for a 3-ounce premixed margarita and 7 dollars for 3 frozen dumplings. After all, the Stock Pimp must be paid.
If it weren't for the competition from Universal, the parks would be completely stagnant and would sink into ever increasing levels of disrepair and dysfunction. All while the pretty commercials show you a Disney parks experience that is disappearing before our eyes.
As for the I.P. infiltrating the parks it's because it's cheaper than innovation and it's cross marketing the brands. I.P. is basically the laziest way they can do things in the parks. They are hoping that by cramming down your throat, the latest entertainment effort, they can build a following. Disney used to be the definition of entertainment greatness. Not so much anymore. Now the entertainment is purchased off the shelf, and prepackaged.
They only problem with that is that there is no shelf life when a concept has no greatness. That's a problem that Universal suffers from. So, we are seeing the once almighty Disney abandon its history of crafting fantastic themes and concepts and buying them off the shelf with short expiration dates.
Always remember that the Disney of today is ONLY a con job designed to escalate the stock price. Iger is destroying everything we love about the Disney legacy. He's cheapening it and selling out, all for higher dividends.
That's why all this is happening.
~NM
