Rumor Hollywood insiders say there's growing tension at Disney as CEO Bob Chapek chafes at Bob Iger's 'long goodbye'

[durangojim]

I agree with you but I think I messed up…I’m talking about that patty Jenkins project. Did I get my wires crossed?

It's the Patty Jenkins project, but it's a movie not a series

 

[durangojim]

Rogue Squadron is a stand-alone movie and I'm interested in how well it will do. I agree - could be a game changer. Book of Boba Fett has me intrigued. With this poster coming out, it makes me wonder if they're going to weave in some Skywalker action.
View attachment 574940

where is that poster from? I haven't seen it before and looks like a fan creation

 

[DCBaker]

where is that poster from? I haven't seen it before and looks like a fan creation

 

[durangojim]

Thanks,
I don't see how this ties in to the Book of Boba Fett though

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's the Patty Jenkins project, but it's a movie not a series

Yeah…I went back and looked it up.

I’m excited for that…and nervous because - frankly - they aren’t very good at these movies.

too many cooks in the kitchen…and then they end up with burned grilled cheese

 

[flynnibus]

You implied they didn't see the ROI they wanted on the NextGen spending, but acknowledged that the parks are still crowded.

Maybe the parks don't really need to be "fixed" if they're still humming along?

Attendance counters don't pay the bills - SPENDING does.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You implied they didn't see the ROI they wanted on the NextGen spending, but acknowledged that the parks are still crowded.

Maybe the parks don't really need to be "fixed" if they're still humming along?

it’s fairly universally agreed next gen is a fail. Not controversial.

next gen isn’t driving attendance. The fact that it’s been 10 years since the end of the last recession - the longest gap in modern history - is.

next gen is incapable of handling the natural increase in crowds…because they fell behind in investment to handle additional crowds from 1998-present.

1+1=2

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Attendance counters don't pay the bills - SPENDING does.

Charging double or triple for the same thing REALLY does

 

[the.dreamfinder]

That book is legendary. We need another Roy E. Disney today. Someone who understands the business side, but also understands the long term value of the brand.

Roy E Disney tried to break the company up so he could run the studio. He only started becoming vocal after Eisner stripped him of his, largely ceremonial, roles within the company.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Roy E Disney tried to break the company up so he could run the studio. He only started becoming vocal after Eisner stripped him of his, largely ceremonial, roles within the company.

There is very little actual info to say Roy wanted to break it up.

he valued the studio most…no question …but understood the importance of the revenue from the other segments

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Roy E Disney tried to break the company up so he could run the studio. He only started becoming vocal after Eisner stripped him of his, largely ceremonial, roles within the company.

No, he became vocal when he realized Eisner had gone from investing in quality and building the brand to being cheap and cashing in on the brand.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No, he became vocal when he realized Eisner had gone from investing in quality and building the brand being cheap and cashing in on the brand.

and then he died and Iger was worse…

…it’s time to start writing “that chapter” of the story

 

[EricsBiscuit]

and then he died and Iger was worse…

…it’s time to start writing “that chapter” of the story

At the very least Iger significantly increased CAPEX at the P&Rs. Look at DCA and Pandora and HKDL. He had a lot to fix from Eisner’s mistakes at the end. He obviously wasn’t perfect but I try to find the silver lining.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

No, he became vocal when he realized Eisner had gone from investing in quality and building the brand to being cheap and cashing in on the brand.

False, he only started to object when Eisner forced him out and the stock price tanked. He was there for the ABC acquisition talks, the cheapo parks in Anaheim, Florida, Paris and Hong Kong, and the direct to video sequels. He never objected because the stock was doing well.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

At the very least Iger significantly increased CAPEX at the P&Rs. Look at DCA and Pandora and HKDL. He had a lot to fix from Eisner’s mistakes at the end. He obviously wasn’t perfect but I try to find the silver lining.

after sitting on his thumbs for six years and closing many things In Orlando.

tell the whole story…also…they don’t own Hong Kong…at least not controlling level

 

[the.dreamfinder]

At the very least Iger significantly increased CAPEX at the P&Rs. Look at DCA and Pandora and HKDL. He had a lot to fix from Eisner’s mistakes at the end. He obviously wasn’t perfect but I try to find the silver lining.

There were certainly improvements to the Eisner era parks, but that was largely due to pressures by other stakeholders like the Anaheim City Government or the Hong Kong Legislature/SAR Government. Pandora is quality, but it’s an issue when you spend what they really spent (redacted) and they didn’t get enough capacity out of it.

The two biggest issues of the Iger years were his Franchise mandate that has largely continued, with little deviation (Mystic Manor, Roaring Rapids), and the wholesale destruction of Imagineering under the guise of “cost savings” as projects like Pandora, Galaxy’s Edge and Cosmic Rewind go dramatically over budget without much being gained.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

False, he only started to object when Eisner forced him out and the stock price tanked. He was there for the ABC acquisition talks, the cheapo parks in Anaheim, Florida, Paris and Hong Kong, and the direct to video sequels. He never objected because the stock was doing well.

This is accurate.
Roy was a stock guy…shamrock holdings had an estimated $2 billion in holdings in the early 2000s And he was one of the largest shareholders in Disney for his last 25 years…

not bad for the “idiot” nephew, eh?

 

[lazyboy97o]

At the very least Iger significantly increased CAPEX at the P&Rs. Look at DCA and Pandora and HKDL. He had a lot to fix from Eisner’s mistakes at the end. He obviously wasn’t perfect but I try to find the silver lining.

He increased it after years of doing nothing. The deep fundamental problems of soaring costs, intentionally reduced and destroyed capacity and lousy design will cost a fortune to fix.

This covers it so well.

I believe DCA itself was right around half of the $1.2 billion Disneyland Resort Expansion ($600-650M is the budget I recall). The remainder of the money was spent on the Grand Californian, Downtown Disney, and resort infrastructure improvements to support the new configuration.

For another modern-day comparison, DL's Galaxy's Edge and associated infrastructure projects (rerouting Rivers of America, parkwide path widening, etc) came in a little over $1 billion ($1.1-1.2B by most accounts), for what essentially amounts to 2 rides, some stores, and walkways.

I don't deny that there were severe quality problems from the late-90's through the end of Eisner's tenure. However, viewed from a high-level concept (which is the level where the CEO really should be involved), the basic elements were all there. He knew that people came to Disney parks for rides, large-scale shows, and unique experiences, delivered to large crowds with above-average hospitality. While it was easy to see where they cut corners in DCA, the attractions and entertainment themselves were generally well-received. The park's much-celebrated 2012 relaunch was primarily cosmetic updates to opening-day facilities, making it a more enjoyable place to spend the time between attractions, while largely keeping the attractions themselves unchanged. Ultimately Eisner's later years were defined by generally bad execution of good ideas.

On the flip side, the quality of the execution under Iger has been mostly outstanding. We have rockwork, backstories, and over-the-top ornamentation all over the place. But it all serves concepts that are largely mediocre and/or poorly located. The Shanghai castle is chock-full of everything a little girl could want, but it's a boxy monstrosity; Shanghai's open spaces provide iconic vistas, but leave the park feeling empty; the AAs in Frozen Ever After are great, but they have no business being in World Showcase; there's no shortage of backstory to Galaxy's Edge, but the overall experience is devoid of charm. These issues have been consistent with Iger-era additions, which tend to have lots of fussy ornamentation in order to disguise deficiencies that are more central to the core of what is actually being added. Additionally, finding ways to fix these issues (like adding length to Navi River Journey) is far more costly and difficult than upgrading the skin of existing, generally-enjoyable facilities.

Eisner also recognized that in order to increase profits, the parks must increase capacity. Yes, it was his Strategic Planning Group that continually reduced the target number of experiences per guest per day, but his additions were frequent and were generally well suited to serve large numbers of guests. The Iger-era focus on character interactions, dining, and "Instagrammable moments" has both reduced the frequency of additions, and dropped the capacity of the few remaining new additions from thousands-of-guests-per-hour to dozens-per-hour. It all seems to reflect that Iger misunderstands the basic reasons people enjoy the parks, focusing more on the Disney-branded exterior than the core experience itself.

Eisner's flaws were plain to see, but also typically easily corrected. Iger's flaws are more easily concealed behind a fancy wrapping, but are more fundamental flaws that are far more difficult and costly to correct in the long-term.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There were certainly improvements to the Eisner era parks, but that was largely due to pressures by other stakeholders like the Anaheim City Government or the Hong Kong Legislature/SAR Government. Pandora is quality, but it’s an issue when you spend what they really spent (redacted) and they didn’t get enough capacity out of it.

The two biggest issues of the Iger years where his Franchise mandate that has largely continued, with little deviation (Mystic Manor, Roaring Rapids) and the wholesale destruction of Imagineering under the guise of “cost savings” as projects like Pandora, Galaxy’s Edge and Cosmic Rewind go dramatically over budget without much being gained.

I mean…I promise to be true to you…

…will you marry me?

 

[lazyboy97o]

There were certainly improvements to the Eisner era parks, but that was largely due to pressures by other stakeholders like the Anaheim City Government or the Hong Kong Legislature/SAR Government. Pandora is quality, but it’s an issue when you spend what they really spent (redacted) and they didn’t get enough capacity out of it.

Iger’s, well I guess Zenia’s, greatest achievement has been the way he has been able to so unquestionably rewrite recent history. His tenure as COO, during which time Hong Kong Disneyland was cut down for “cultural” reasons, is completely ignored. It was known that he wanted to be CEO of Capital Cities/ABC, but, likely to set himself up for his political ambitions, he is now the reluctant leader who saved Disney when Roy called, who wanted to retire time and again but stayed to guide a cherished American institution when the Board just couldn’t find anybody else to lead, he stayed when a new CEO was found and graciously stepped back in to lead during a the chaos of the pandemic. Look at him! He’s just like George Washington!