So no Star Wars in the forseeable future

[JordanNite]

Could be wrong, but i'm sure i read Iger stated he wanted to wait till the Star Wars films came out before they decided what they would do with any future attractions for the park - it had nothing to do with not wanting to invest in the parks. The primary reason given was the film was top secret, plots, characters were all a tight nit secret that no one knew.

Hard one to believe when you concider that surely all of Disney executives who are signing of on the project like Iger must know the plot and characters! Then we have the video game in development, that has been in development for a year or so now - so we have to assume they know the characters! Then we have all the merchandise that is being created and worked on - so i guess those guys know too !

So i guess the only ones who aren't in the loop are the creative people at the parks.

Doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to invest in the parks? Iger is a disgrace - a CEO man more interested in profits than investing in the parks. Any long term damage to the parks won't be his problem as he'll be long gone. A CEO whose salary is determined on profit, thus any expenditure on the parks hits his salary !!!!

Just back from Hollywood Studios - the park is a disgrace.

 

[VJ]

There are a bazillion different threads on this very subject...

 

[danlb_2000]

Could be wrong, but i'm sure i read Iger stated he wanted to wait till the Star Wars films came out before they decided what they would do with any future attractions for the park - it had nothing to do with not wanting to invest in the parks. The primary reason given was the film was top secret, plots, characters were all a tight nit secret that no one knew..

Yes, you are wrong. Here is what he said....

From the Feb 3, 2015 article in Variety...

"Disney chief Bob Iger told Wall Street analysts that there’s “a fair amount of design and development (taking place by the company’s Imagineers) to greatly increase ‘Star Wars” presence in multiple locations around the world,” shortly after the Mouse House announced another strong financial quarter. “The plans are ambitious, so it’s going to take some time for them to be built and opened.”

"While Iger said specific plans would be announced “later in 2015,” the executive already had announced “significant” plans for the franchise for which it paid George Lucas $4 billion in 2012. He also has said whatever new attractions are announced, they will be based on future films in the series, as well as its spinoffs. Several Disney parks currently include an updated version of the “Star Tours” attraction."

Since he said design and development is taking place and something would be announced in 2015, it's clear that they are not waiting until the movies are released. Yes, JJ Abrams likes to keep things secret, but Iger is signing the paycheck so he wants the info necessary to design rides, he will get it.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Could be wrong, but i'm sure i read Iger stated he wanted to wait till the Star Wars films came out before they decided what they would do with any future attractions for the park - it had nothing to do with not wanting to invest in the parks. The primary reason given was the film was top secret, plots, characters were all a tight nit secret that no one knew.

Hard one to believe when you concider that surely all of Disney executives who are signing of on the project like Iger must know the plot and characters! Then we have the video game in development, that has been in development for a year or so now - so we have to assume they know the characters! Then we have all the merchandise that is being created and worked on - so i guess those guys know too !

So i guess the only ones who aren't in the loop are the creative people at the parks.

Doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to invest in the parks? Iger is a disgrace - a CEO man more interested in profits than investing in the parks. Any long term damage to the parks won't be his problem as he'll be long gone. A CEO whose salary is determined on profit, thus any expenditure on the parks hits his salary !!!!

Just back from Hollywood Studios - the park is a disgrace.

Exactly how is the park a disgrace? I know there are some issues, but what in particular is troubling you so much?

I just think this statement is unfair and I'm the biggest Iger hater here from a parks perspective. I actually agree with you that he's a disgrace for the WDW parks in particular, but I wouldn't call Hollywood Studios a disgrace. It's essentially the same park as 5 years ago and nothing in that time has changed significantly enough for it to be a "disgrace." Of course, you may think it's been a disgrace for the last 5 years...

 

[Otterhead]

Since he said design and development is taking place and something would be announced in 2015, it's clear that they are not waiting until the movies are released.

I think both of you are correct. Disney obviously knows what's happening with their new movies, and they're able to work with the Imagineers to design new attractions without necessarily revealing key plot items. That's likely what's going on with Avatarland, since it's also based on the three upcoming sequels to Avatar, not just the first movie. So while Disney will reveal later this year some of the scope of their Star Wars plans, I imagine they'll keep some items a bit vague until the plot of Episode VII is public.

 

[JordanNite]

There are definate quotes of Iger out there saying the film is top secret, hence why they can't develop any attraction at the moment. Lies. It's all lies.

They have computer games in development, and they have merchandise all well into development ready for the release - the sole reason he doesn't want to invest in the parks is the cost, and the length of time it takes to recoup that money. Any attraction in a park is a long term investment.

Well all know Iger is a movies man. He doesn't care for these parks. An utter disgrace of a CEO when it comes to the parks.

I do hope the next CEO of disney doesn't have his salary determined on profit else there will never be any big investment in the parks.

 

[Otterhead]

There are definate quotes of Iger out there saying the film is top secret, hence why they can't develop any attraction at the moment.

I think you're misremembering his quotes, or Iger was misquoted. I guarantee that the Imagineers aren't sitting around staring at posters of Star Wars and sighing a lot, waiting for JJ Abrams to tell them to get started. They're absolutely deep in the planning stages for all parks, as he's stated.

 

[Master Yoda]

I do hope the next CEO of disney doesn't have his salary determined on profit else there will never be any big investment in the parks.

A CEO is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a company. That success is measured in profit.

If his pay is not based off profit, what should it be based off of?

 

[sshindel]

A CEO is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a company. That success is measured in profit.

If his pay is not based off profit, what should it be based off of?

Facebook Likes.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

There are definate quotes of Iger out there saying the film is top secret, hence why they can't develop any attraction at the moment. Lies. It's all lies.

They have computer games in development, and they have merchandise all well into development ready for the release - the sole reason he doesn't want to invest in the parks is the cost, and the length of time it takes to recoup that money. Any attraction in a park is a long term investment.

Well all know Iger is a movies man. He doesn't care for these parks. An utter disgrace of a CEO when it comes to the parks.

You sound a bit like a child who's throwing a tantrum because he isn't getting his way. "Iger won't give me Star Wars fast enough so he's a disgrace and I hate him."

I do hope the next CEO of disney doesn't have his salary determined on profit else there will never be any big investment in the parks.

Let me explain something to you. Finance 101, day 1. The corporate form of ownership.

1. Who owns a publicly traded company? Shareholders. Got it.

2. What do shareholders want? Returns on their investment. Got it.

3. How do shareholders get a return? Dividends and capital appreciation (i.e. the stock price goes up).

4. Who manages a publicly traded company? CEO. Got it.

5. What does the CEO want? Money. No argument there I imagine?

6. What happens if the CEO's compensation is independent of company performance? Shirking. Dereliction of duty. Neglect. The CEO gets his money either way, so what the heck does he care?

7. How do you align management's incentives (#5) with ownership's incentives (#2)? Make management's compensation correspond to those metrics that the owners care about (#3).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If his pay is not based off profit, what should it be based off of?

Kewlness.

 

[MichWolv]

Facebook Likes.

No credit for wdwmagic likes?

 

[Master Yoda]

No credit for wdwmagic likes?

We don't want the guy to have to pay for the honor of running the company.

 

[sshindel]

No credit for wdwmagic likes?

That would imply that the CEO of a major corporation like Disney reads and posts on WDWMagic.

What next? Have his/her people start hacking into user's accounts?

 

[sshindel]

Facebook Likes probably is not quite as scientific an approach. It would need to take into account Retweets, hashtags, pinterest pins, etc.

How about Q score?

 

[Master Yoda]

Facebook Likes probably is not quite as scientific an approach. It would need to take into account Retweets, hashtags, pinterest pins, etc.

How about Q score?

My vote is for online poll. Those are never wrong.

 

[KLinder7]

Could be wrong, but i'm sure i read Iger stated he wanted to wait till the Star Wars films came out before they decided what they would do with any future attractions for the park - it had nothing to do with not wanting to invest in the parks. The primary reason given was the film was top secret, plots, characters were all a tight nit secret that no one knew.

Hard one to believe when you concider that surely all of Disney executives who are signing of on the project like Iger must know the plot and characters! Then we have the video game in development, that has been in development for a year or so now - so we have to assume they know the characters! Then we have all the merchandise that is being created and worked on - so i guess those guys know too !

So i guess the only ones who aren't in the loop are the creative people at the parks.

Doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to invest in the parks? Iger is a disgrace - a CEO man more interested in profits than investing in the parks. Any long term damage to the parks won't be his problem as he'll be long gone. A CEO whose salary is determined on profit, thus any expenditure on the parks hits his salary !!!!

Just back from Hollywood Studios - the park is a disgrace.

In terms of the video game, believe I saw that it will mostly be the time frame of a New Hope and after. I'm sure Force Awakens will be in it, but as DLC. Iger knows the details, sure he saw a cut of the movie already. Either way, they could start working on Star Wars without having major leaks or spoilers. One would think.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Could be wrong, but i'm sure i read Iger stated he wanted to wait till the Star Wars films came out before they decided what they would do with any future attractions for the park - it had nothing to do with not wanting to invest in the parks. The primary reason given was the film was top secret, plots, characters were all a tight nit secret that no one knew.

Hard one to believe when you concider that surely all of Disney executives who are signing of on the project like Iger must know the plot and characters! Then we have the video game in development, that has been in development for a year or so now - so we have to assume they know the characters! Then we have all the merchandise that is being created and worked on - so i guess those guys know too !

So i guess the only ones who aren't in the loop are the creative people at the parks.

Doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to invest in the parks? Iger is a disgrace - a CEO man more interested in profits than investing in the parks. Any long term damage to the parks won't be his problem as he'll be long gone. A CEO whose salary is determined on profit, thus any expenditure on the parks hits his salary !!!!

Just back from Hollywood Studios - the park is a disgrace.

I bet Iger is waiting to see if the films deliver. I think the first film will be a huge hit - it's a no-brainer - because the original cast will be in it. The follow-up films, however...I think that's a crap shoot. I think Star Wars is more of a nostalgic thing than a vibrant franchise...but we'll see.

And anyway, look what's being done with Frozen - a huge worldwide hit and cultural phenomenon - and all Iger's done with it is do some quick, mostly-tacky makeovers of existing attractions. You're right, he IS a disgrace. All he gives a darn about is the stockholders - the people Walt cared least about. He's the Darth Vader to Walt's Obi-wan Kenobi.

 

[Otterhead]

all Iger's done with it is do some quick, mostly-tacky makeovers of existing attractions.

That's not true in the slightest. Besides completely redoing Maelstrom (which nobody has seen, so how do you know it's tacky?) they've been doing World of Color, the new Castle projection show, the Frozen meet-and-greets that are so popular they need FP+, the Frozen on Ice shows, the Frozen playgrounds, and the new Frozen area going in at Hollywood. And those are all just the short-term attractions -- how many attractions did they build within a year for Lion King?

 

[216bruce]

Kinda torn here...I'm a Disney shareholder (more than a couple of shares) and also a huge fan of the parks and of Walt. First, you'd be a total fool to say he hasn't done well by shareholders- just look at a graph of the stock over the past few years.
But this..

Well all know Iger is a movies man. He doesn't care for these parks. An utter disgrace of a CEO when it comes to the parks.

I do hope the next CEO of disney doesn't have his salary determined on profit else there will never be any big investment in the parks.

is silly. Been to Disneyland? Seen the sort-of-loan and fixup of Disneyland Paris? Construction of Shanghai? Lotta love for all of these from Iger's tenure. The Star Wars announcement is coming - no doubt. Also- Avatarland? Yeah, WDW isn't perfect but then I'm waiting until the guy's time is over to judge his contribution to the parks. I know it is cool with many to bash the guy, but considering the size of the company and today's 'shareholders first' mood EVERYWHERE in business, I think he's doing a solid job. But, if you wish to complain about greedy CEO's why not try the ones that really impact daily life in a more substantial way than those who are in the entertainment biz. It's the toy shelf of life and not worth being so ed-off about.
Nitpicking- Iger's background is TV, not movies. There's a difference.