In defense of Bob Chapek

[eliza61nyc]

this will not end well

 

[HuffsAhoy]

You really didn't offer a good "defense" though, just some fluffy commentary. There is no doubt he is a good businessman (just like Iger) but he has no business being at the head of an entertainment company.

 

[HauntedPirate]

There is no doubt he is a good businessman (just like Iger) but he has no business being at the head of an entertainment company.

FTFY

 

[HuffsAhoy]

FTFY

Don't bother responding if you're too lazy to conjur up a legitimate reply.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Don't bother responding if you're too lazy to conjur up a legitimate reply.

I’m more than capable of conjuring up a legitimate reply about Mr. Chapek. But I have better things to do with my time than giving more than two whits about Mr Merchandise/Synergy. He’s a great businessman... if you’re Hasbro and are only concerned about moving merchandise. But we aren’t talking about Hasbro. And he doesn’t have the slightest ****ing clue about what makes Disney Disney.

 

[rreading]

Since the moment Chapek was announced as CEO, he was greeted by almost overwhelming negativity on these boards. There's no denying that he has made questionable decisions, especially in the eyes of Disney purists, but he probably has done more good than bad.

One of the more major complaints of Chapek is IP integration but I'm not going to open up that can of worms.

On the board, many considered Galaxy's Edge a failure, or at the very least, a letdown in the eyes of the company and guests.

Here was Chapek at a conference:

"One is really about more immersive storytelling, using technology to better tell a story, increase the sense of realism without having the technology be apparent. And you are and I, before we started, were chatting up, the Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars Land, and the Rise of the Resistance. And that is a perfect example of using technology to tell a story. There's a million lines of code in that in that program that runs Rise of the Resistance, which makes it extremely complicated, but it also makes it extremely immersive storytelling. And so we imagine that that's sort of the world going forward."

There are two primary noteworthy things in this excerpt. The first is in the first sentence where he outlines using technology without "having the technology be apparent." Admittingly, it is very ironic given the current Harmonious oil rigs be the most apparent use of technology possible, but it is still a good thing to hear.

Secondly, Chapek says Rise of the Resistance-style attractions is what could happen going forward. This is good news for almost everyone. I'm sure there's a group of people out there that hate Rise, but the majority of people I've come across were absolutely blown away by it.

Going outside of the conference, the Roy D. Moore Disney S.E.A. Disney+ series was almost certainly greenlit by Chapek. The fact the villain of most Disney fanatics greenlit a show that sounds like a pipe dream should not go unnoticed.

Ultimately, time will show what will actually happen. I'm not suggesting you should become a Chapek fanboy by any means, but I would be cautiously optimistic at the very least.

I liked Iger. Expanded TWDC with IP purchases, supported excellent moviemaking, and invested in the parks with technology (for better or worse depending on perspective of FP+) and infrastructure with the redo of DCA, creating Shanghai, reacquiring and apparently improving DLP parks, and then eventually circling back to expansion within WDW with Pandora and the HS redo. He spoke well and seemed to represent the company well.

Chapek...hasn't really had much of a chance so far...but I don't like what we've seen with his decisions in the parks. I still don't prefer the Splash redo. Hate the Harmonious barges so far. Cutbacks were probably inevitable given the financial climate.

But Disney + has been great. I do find the above quote interesting. That statement is quite meandering and suggests someone who cannot get his thoughts together well. Sure - maybe Iger got someone to create a cohesive statement for him but at least he spoke clearly about his thoughts; Chapek doesn't seem to have it together yet. By this point, as CEO, I would expect him to and thus I'm disappointed with him so far

 

[TsWade2]

Since the moment Chapek was announced as CEO, he was greeted by almost overwhelming negativity on these boards. There's no denying that he has made questionable decisions, especially in the eyes of Disney purists, but he probably has done more good than bad.

One of the more major complaints of Chapek is IP integration but I'm not going to open up that can of worms.

On the board, many considered Galaxy's Edge a failure, or at the very least, a letdown in the eyes of the company and guests.

Here was Chapek at a conference:

"One is really about more immersive storytelling, using technology to better tell a story, increase the sense of realism without having the technology be apparent. And you are and I, before we started, were chatting up, the Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars Land, and the Rise of the Resistance. And that is a perfect example of using technology to tell a story. There's a million lines of code in that in that program that runs Rise of the Resistance, which makes it extremely complicated, but it also makes it extremely immersive storytelling. And so we imagine that that's sort of the world going forward."

There are two primary noteworthy things in this excerpt. The first is in the first sentence where he outlines using technology without "having the technology be apparent." Admittingly, it is very ironic given the current Harmonious oil rigs be the most apparent use of technology possible, but it is still a good thing to hear.

Secondly, Chapek says Rise of the Resistance-style attractions is what could happen going forward. This is good news for almost everyone. I'm sure there's a group of people out there that hate Rise, but the majority of people I've come across were absolutely blown away by it.

Going outside of the conference, the Roy D. Moore Disney S.E.A. Disney+ series was almost certainly greenlit by Chapek. The fact the villain of most Disney fanatics greenlit a show that sounds like a pipe dream should not go unnoticed.

Ultimately, time will show what will actually happen. I'm not suggesting you should become a Chapek fanboy by any means, but I would be cautiously optimistic at the very least.

First of all, thank you for defending on Bob Chapek's behalf. But, after hearing about his interviews and his blunder on when Splash Mountain opens, I'm afraid this will not end well for Chapek. I want to give him a chance without passing judgement, but I have a feeling he might get Disney bankrupt if he doesn't shape up. I would suggest find another CEO like, oh, I don't know, Josh D'Amaro, maybe? I don't know. I'm just concern for Disney dealing with Chapek.

 

[SplashJacket]

First of all, thank you for defending on Bob Chapek's behalf. But, after hearing about his interviews and his blunder on when Splash Mountain opens, I'm afraid this will not end well for Chapek. I want to give him a chance without passing judgement, but I have a feeling he might get Disney bankrupt if he doesn't shape up. I would suggest find another CEO like, oh, I don't know, Josh D'Amaro, maybe? I don't know. I'm just concern for Disney dealing with Chapek.

Forgot I made this thread.

While I originally made this thread to stir the pot out of boredom, I legitimately don’t think Chapek puts TWDC at risk of bankruptcy. Most people just complain that he’s pure business with zero creativity, which might not be a long term recipe for success, but it’s also not a path to immediately failure.

 

[The_Jobu]

Since the moment Chapek was announced as CEO, he was greeted by almost overwhelming negativity on these boards. There's no denying that he has made questionable decisions, especially in the eyes of Disney purists, but he probably has done more good than bad.

One of the more major complaints of Chapek is IP integration but I'm not going to open up that can of worms.

On the board, many considered Galaxy's Edge a failure, or at the very least, a letdown in the eyes of the company and guests.

Here was Chapek at a conference:

"One is really about more immersive storytelling, using technology to better tell a story, increase the sense of realism without having the technology be apparent. And you are and I, before we started, were chatting up, the Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars Land, and the Rise of the Resistance. And that is a perfect example of using technology to tell a story. There's a million lines of code in that in that program that runs Rise of the Resistance, which makes it extremely complicated, but it also makes it extremely immersive storytelling. And so we imagine that that's sort of the world going forward."

There are two primary noteworthy things in this excerpt. The first is in the first sentence where he outlines using technology without "having the technology be apparent." Admittingly, it is very ironic given the current Harmonious oil rigs be the most apparent use of technology possible, but it is still a good thing to hear.

Secondly, Chapek says Rise of the Resistance-style attractions is what could happen going forward. This is good news for almost everyone. I'm sure there's a group of people out there that hate Rise, but the majority of people I've come across were absolutely blown away by it.

Going outside of the conference, the Roy D. Moore Disney S.E.A. Disney+ series was almost certainly greenlit by Chapek. The fact the villain of most Disney fanatics greenlit a show that sounds like a pipe dream should not go unnoticed.

Ultimately, time will show what will actually happen. I'm not suggesting you should become a Chapek fanboy by any means, but I would be cautiously optimistic at the very least.

A bold take! I compliment you for putting yourself out there.

I must say I disagree however. Despite the controversies of IP everywhere, attraction "sanitizing", the Studios ... My biggest bugbear about the parks has always been penny pinching at the expense of guest experience, and perhaps it's subjective but that paradigm seems to have sky rocket after Chapek took over. Mentally, that's a gripe I cant just get over. What really clinched my opinion of him was when he announced Park reservations are here to stay. This, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable and the perfect example of savings over experience. I understand the need for the system currently, managing park limits, etc. But when things eventually recover the only reason to keep the system is that it allows Disney to see exactly how many people will be arriving and schedule the lowest bearable number of CMs. Not only does this itself hurt guest experience in the park (the amazing @lentesta posted an analysis a while ago proving that Disney will micromanage ride staffing, making wait times longer than they'd normally be), but it's an incredible inconvenience to have to plan out months in advance exactly which park you want to go to, with no flexibility.

Hmmm... got a little ranty there. Ah well, interesting topic.