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

[Goofyernmost]

That is true…

You know what two guys still hold a boat crap ton worth of stock…

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Is it just me or does Eisner actually look like a caricature of himself?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

As I believe was stated in the relevant topics back when Lasseter was fired, his behavior was definitely not a secret whatsoever inside the company. He would even reportedly attend public fan events while drunk and get very hands-y with female guests there (there were also claims of forced kissing). Tons of employees knew about this and told higher ups, but were routinely ignored. Iger absolutely knew about this and turned a blind eye to it. It was only when it broke into the mainstream that they were forced to take action.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Affordability isn’t just a question of cash but also return on investment. Disney is inefficient and can’t justify needed development in their existing properties. A new resort would easily be a $10 billion project that would still would not feature a full day park.

By the highlighted above, are you partly referring to their lack of willingness to update & upkeep properly? I agree if so.

On their current path I still like to believe a new park could be justified, especially considering how much they want to relate everything new to some sort of IP. This'd be the perfect place for it! The initial investment could be as simple as a new Disney Springs with some sprinkled attractions, and the additional promise of a more expansive park if successful.

Heck, they're investing in a real estate venture, which makes less sense IMO. Much lower cost, sure, but I don't know what they're thinking.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’ve been vocal in the past about supporting Iger. Sure he neglected building rides at WDW for a while but he was creating a massive entertainment goliath (for better or worse, but still imho- it made TWDC unassailable) and got around to getting WDW moving forward before COVID and his abrupt handoff.

The hope would be that Chapek could be better than we expected; my impression is that the reality is worse than I could have feared.

I haven’t been back to the parks since they eliminated magical express and created the genie plus monster. I honestly don’t have much interest in doing so. Fortunately my impression is that whomever takes over from Chapek 11 months from now will have the opportunity to correct much and look like a hero, but I can’t imagine they renew his contract when it’s up next year

Chapek is worse…there is little question.

The problem with Iger is that amusement enterprises have always been a victim of Rot that happens with time. Since the turn of the 20th century.
Iger did immeasurable damage to wdw long term.

Why? Numbers:
Wdw attendance:
2000 - 44,000,000
2005 (Iger takes over) - 46,500,000
2013 (first “major” Iger expansion opens) - 50,125,000
2017 (avatar - first net add of scale to the parks) - 55,875,000
2019 (last full year) - 58,800,000

That’s a 25% raw increase in this century and a 21% since Iger took over.

So he didn’t have the “time” to get things straight: he squander one of the advantages parks had for 35 years - room for influx and flexibility. Now they are in perpetual catch up and will never get ahead again. It was a critical mistake.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Is it just me or does Eisner actually look like a caricature of himself?

Getting old is tough

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

By the highlighted above, are you partly referring to their lack of willingness to update & upkeep properly? I agree if so.

On their current path I still like to believe a new park could be justified, especially considering how much they want to relate everything new to some sort of IP. This'd be the perfect place for it! The initial investment could be as simple as a new Disney Springs with some sprinkled attractions, and the additional promise of a more expansive park if successful.

Heck, they're investing in a real estate venture, which makes less sense IMO. Much lower cost, sure, but I don't know what they're thinking.

You can believe whatever you’d like. But they will never do this. Same as building a 5th park in Orlando.

Upfront cost + operation costs + park cannibalization = nonstarter

 

[MisterPenguin]

Chapek is worse…there is little question.

The problem with Iger is that amusement enterprises have always been a victim of Rot that happens with time. Since the turn of the century.
Iger did immeasurable damage to wdw long term.

Why? Numbers:
Wdw attendance:
2000 - 44,000,000
2005 (Iger takes over) - 46,500,000
2013 (first “major” Iger expansion opens) - 50,125,000
2017 (avatar - first bet add of scale to the parks) - 55,875,000
2019 (last full year) - 58,800,000

That’s a 25% raw increase in this century and a 21% since Iger took over.

So he didn’t have the “time” to get things straight: he squander one of the advantages parks had for 35 years - room for influx and flexibility. Now they are in perpetual catch up and will never get ahead again. It was a critical mistake.

I like your chart.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I like your chart.

Just for you, mi a more

 

[UNCgolf]

Heck, they're investing in a real estate venture, which makes less sense IMO. Much lower cost, sure, but I don't know what they're thinking.

I don't think they're really investing in a real estate venture. I think it's more that they're getting paid by a developer to create something for a new residential community, and then will continue to provide some services with the cost passed on to an HOA.

I think it would be pretty easy for them to cut bait if it's not working out without taking any real losses.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think they're really investing in a real estate venture. I think it's more that they're getting paid by a developer to create something for a new residential community, and then will continue to provide some services with the cost passed on to an HOA.

I think it would be pretty easy for them to cut bait if it's not working out without taking any real losses.

…seriously. Like Disney is footing the bill for rent control, government housing or something

 

[Goofyernmost]

Getting old is tough

Don't I know it!

 

[AEfx]

I haven’t been back to the parks since they eliminated magical express and created the genie plus monster. I honestly don’t have much interest in doing so. Fortunately my impression is that whomever takes over from Chapek 11 months from now will have the opportunity to correct much and look like a hero, but I can’t imagine they renew his contract when it’s up next year

Here's the thing, though -do you really think that Genie+ was just invented by Chapek? I too think it's a stain on the parks, and I don't expect them to ever be the same again, nor will I support them with my dollars while it exists. But something like this has been in the works for many years - it didn't suddenly just pop up because the CEO changed.

 

[TikibirdLand]

Here's the thing, though -do you really think that Genie+ was just invented by Chapek? I too think it's a stain on the parks, and I don't expect them to ever be the same again, nor will I support them with my dollars while it exists. But something like this has been in the works for many years - it didn't suddenly just pop up because the CEO changed.

Indeed, we've been talking about the concept on this board for quite awhile.We did talk about "pay to ride" a lot. We also discussed bringing MaxPass to WDW and how that would look. I don't think anyone would have guessed something as insideous as Genie+ is though.

Management has been planning this for multiple years; its greenlight likely happened under Mr. Iger's watch.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Here's the thing, though -do you really think that Genie+ was just invented by Chapek? I too think it's a stain on the parks, and I don't expect them to ever be the same again, nor will I support them with my dollars while it exists. But something like this has been in the works for many years - it didn't suddenly just pop up because the CEO changed.

In this case Chapek likely was involved in its development since he was the previous head of the parks.

 

[matt9112]

Chapek is worse…there is little question.

The problem with Iger is that amusement enterprises have always been a victim of Rot that happens with time. Since the turn of the 20th century.
Iger did immeasurable damage to wdw long term.

Why? Numbers:
Wdw attendance:
2000 - 44,000,000
2005 (Iger takes over) - 46,500,000
2013 (first “major” Iger expansion opens) - 50,125,000
2017 (avatar - first net add of scale to the parks) - 55,875,000
2019 (last full year) - 58,800,000

That’s a 25% raw increase in this century and a 21% since Iger took over.

So he didn’t have the “time” to get things straight: he squander one of the advantages parks had for 35 years - room for influx and flexibility. Now they are in perpetual catch up and will never get ahead again. It was a critical mistake.

So did they build 25% more rides? Asking for a friend.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

So did they build 25% more rides? Asking for a friend.

MK - 7DMT, Mermaid
AK - EE
EP - Rat, Soarin
HS - SDD, TSM, Saucers, ROTR, Smugglers

Did I miss anything?

 

[pdude81]

In this case Chapek likely was involved in its development since he was the previous head of the parks.

Agreed on this and he'd be in on the conversation for sure. It's a logical extension of FP+ given they completely ignored rising attendance and that 3 free fastpasses per ticket would never be sustainable in the long term without massive price hikes and/and throughput increases. I put the blame for lack of infrastructure more on Iger as the top dog, but if Chapek wasn't fully on board he wouldn't have implemented Genie+ as CEO.

 

[UNCgolf]

MK - 7DMT, Mermaid
AK - EE
EP - Rat, Soarin
HS - SDD, TSM, Saucers, ROTR, Smugglers

Did I miss anything?

Not really a one to one considering some of those were replacements for existing attractions instead of actual capacity additions.

Regardless, they definitely haven't added enough capacity (especially when considering dining, retail space, etc. too) to correspond with the attendance increase.

You left out Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage for Animal Kingdom, although they should probably replace EE on the list since that wasn't an Iger era addition (it opened during his time as CEO but was an Eisner era project).

 

[Midwest Elitist]

Not really a one to one considering some of those were replacements for existing attractions instead of actual capacity additions.

Regardless, they definitely haven't added enough capacity (especially when considering dining, retail space, etc. too) to correspond with the attendance increase.

You left out Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage for Animal Kingdom, although they should probably replace EE on the list since that wasn't an Iger era addition (it opened during his time as CEO but an Eisner era project).

Yep, forgot Pandora rides. Also, I was trying to avoid replacement rides, but they probably cancel out. It's like 10 rides added.

 

[matt9112]

MK - 7DMT, Mermaid
AK - EE
EP - Rat, Soarin
HS - SDD, TSM, Saucers, ROTR, Smugglers

Did I miss anything?

What % of total rode count is that....plus the couple they removed needs to be factored in.