Staggs resigns

[Luigi]

Not sure I agree with this. Didn't little mermaid, beauty and the beast, Aladdin come out under Eisner? People all remember and link him to his exit rather than his whole tenure. You could argue that under Eisner Disney had some of the best creative growth ever.

Iger's legacy is more acquisitions. While I am a big Lucas fan I miss the days of new IPs and rides not based on movies. To me the best rides are the ones not linked to a character.

And lately Iger is getting lazy with movies. Can we stop with all the live action of Classic Disney movies and come up with some new ideas. I think sums up Igers tenure. Very little creativity

Actually all that success is attributed to Jeffrey Katzenberg, whom Eisner then ran out of the company

 

[LAKid53]

Several sources tell me the new CEO has already been picked:
View attachment 136887

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm no expert but I can'e believe the board's primary concern is ESPN. Not only has it been an awesome revenue generator for Disney over the years but they are tied into very expensive go forward agreements whose return is in question.

Disney might have shared in a $5.5 billion investment in Disney Shanghai but in the NBA contract alone, ESPN is committed to share a $24 billion investment with TBS. Add that t $15 billion for the NFL & $7.4 billion for college football playoffs and countless other agreements, ESPN on the hook for a lot of content that will not make a return if the bundle goes away.

Yup that I think is the issue is that the bundle is going away sooner than later and ESPN has vastly overpaid for rights especially the NFL deal they did not even get a Superbowl for the huge amount they paid The other networks have far better NFL deals and they all include at least one superbowl.

 

[ford91exploder]

OK think of it like this. You have a kid who does great at school, but then in teenage years turns to drugs, drops out, gets twenty tattoos and ends up sleeping rough with a heroin addiction.

You try to talk the kid around to changing their ways, you tell anyone who'll listen how much you hate the state your child has got into.

Now tell me, does doing that mean you hate your kid, or are you so upset because you love them so much?

Most of us who complain here were affected deeply by Disney in some form at an early age and the reason we raise concerns and despair here is not because we 'hate Disney', precisely the opposite. We hate what a once great company is doing to itself, and wish that the reasons we fell in love with it in the first place weren't so eagerly rejected by the current management.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

 

[LAKid53]

DisCo.'s next CEO

Spoiler

 

[WildcatDen]

OK think of it like this. You have a kid who does great at school, but then in teenage years turns to drugs, drops out, gets twenty tattoos and ends up sleeping rough with a heroin addiction.

You try to talk the kid around to changing their ways, you tell anyone who'll listen how much you hate the state your child has got into.

Now tell me, does doing that mean you hate your kid, or are you so upset because you love them so much?.

So, now Disney is our Drug addicted kid? I can almost see Steve's new promotion, "Come to WDWMagic where we Love Disney but do not condone Disney's apparent drug addiction. . ."

 

[PhilharMagician]

I think a lot of people are missing the point. Staggs getting Iger's role as the boss meant the status quo. Means the continuation of manidated profit margins. Means the beancounters continuing to be in charge over the creatives. Means the spreadsheet culture continues to win.

This is undeniably a step in the right direction.

One would hope! These cost cutting practices have been being perfected and driven into every executive which can be good, but not at the expense of creative with a company that is founded from being creative. This train started rolling shortly after the loss of Wells and I am not sure it is ready to derail quite yet.

We have gone from the "Disney Decade" to the "Depressing Decade"

 

[WildcatDen]

thats simply small minded and pedantic.

In honor of Master's Week - Golf Clap. . .

 

[BrianLo]

Nice things like the themed Slinky coaster with a lift-hill that was hinted at D23 but now has become an unthemed cheap Barnstormer clone.

#SaveSlinky
#ChineseBurn

The lift hill was replaced with a launch... Most people would call that an improvement.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The lift hill was replaced with a launch... Most people would call that an improvement.

Yea! Shorter ride time. I bet it is no more than 70 secs.

 

[WDWLover#1]

this is a bad opinion, but i'm sure you already know that.

i'm sure you're super excited you get to twiddle along on your magic bands to use it to get valuable 180 day access to reservations for a C-grade cut of meat for $59.99, but some of us who went to the parks before 2008 actually know what walt disney world used to be, and want someone in charge of the company who doesn't just want to sell us horizons commemorative t-shirts while destroying everything that was great about the resort piece by piece.

new fantasyland wasn't a new idea. it was on the books for more than a decade. my magic+ is and was a very bad idea, and that's not really debatable anymore. and getting into bed with the chinese government? yeah, i've heard of better ideas.

buying IP doesn't make you a good CEO. it makes you a guy with a big checkbook adding to his "legacy" by bringing characters that aren't even consistent with the disney brand under their media umbrella. i love star wars as much as the next guy, but pretty much anyone who had access to the company coffers could have written a $4 billion check.

i also love when fans cite "record profits." who cares? do you get a cut of those record profits? does disney cut you a check for $17 million when they don't even let you control your thermostat in your hotel room, or charge you $149 for a few hours in the park, an ice cream, and a soda? disney bringing in record profits on frozen and zootopia is as useful to the everyday park goer as the weatherman putting in an infinity pool in his backyard: it's great for him, but does jack diddly for me.

I would argue though that Disney and lucasfilm were partners since star tours and on good terms. Marvel strategically was a good move at the time. The princesses were one of the biggest cash cows for girls (and I'm sure some boys as well) but they needed something that did appeal to boys as demographically marvel is.
The way I see it is that it's broadening your audience which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They're great stories and thats what Disney does best stories. (Just don't say anything about animation since treasure planet - chicken little)

 

[LAKid53]

I disagree.

And you'd be wrong. I'm an AP, DVC member, have the Chase Disney Visa card and because I live in Florida just a few hours drive away, I visit frequently, like every 2-3 months. So far this year, I've gone in January, February - twice no less and spent half the month at WDW, March and will be returning next week for the SW Dark Side races. And the only cruises I take are Disney's. And as one poster on a previous thread said, I've now gone down the runDisney wormhole. And don't forget the $$$$ I've spent on Disney merchandise: 25 pairs of Mouse ears, too many t-shirts to count, decorations for all seasons, Mickey plushes and on and on. Oh, and 25 limited edition/release/special magic bands..in addition to 25+ resort ones.

So, since I'm soooo willing to give TWDC a significant chunk of my disposable income, that means I love Disney, right? Or I'm just damn crazy.

My senior thesis in B school was on TWDC - in the mid 80s after the whole 1984 mess and during the much rumored takeover of the studio division by Sony. The issues that culminated in what happened in 1984 are in n my opinion being mirrored again now...actually they are worse. And what kept TWDC afloat UNTIL Eisner and crew were able to turn things around? The parks. Which is why I am especially concerned and plainly just disgusted at what current management is doing to the company overall.

So if you think I hate Disney, please re-read my first paragraph. I love Disney..I grew up watching Walt every Sunday evening. I just am outraged how the company is being run by the current management and dismayed that the BoD has been quite frankly oblivious, well until now....

 

[HauntedPirate]

Staggs leaving now = A rat leaving a sinking ship.
Iger = Eisner (post-Wells) 2.0
Chappie = Pressler 2.0

And none of 'em have been/are/will be good for the long-term health and viability of TWDC. Sure, the constant and continued focus on short-term results looks good on the surface and to the shareholders who do not understand a creative entity, like TWDC was at one time, but it does nothing but whittle away at the long-term health of the company, and right now the long-term health of the company looks like a weak, sickly sapling compared with the healthy, strong, vibrant tree it used to be around 1995.

And, something else I realized after reading a couple of posts in this thread: I'm/we're not living in the past, I am/we are mourning what could have been. Instead of pointing to the new and unique and exciting things Disney is putting into the parks, we have to look at other companies and other theme parks for that now. New Fantasyland? At best, it's "meh...". Avatarland? I think it's a gamble, personally. Star Wars- and Pixar-themed areas are long overdue, but thanks to the bean counters running everything both will likely fall short of what they *could* have been and/or *should* be. Where did the money that P&R have generated over the past decade? It went to prop up other parts of the company instead of being funneled back into P&R, and we get fed lines of BS about needing to raise ticket prices "to pay for the New Fantasyland expansion, the biggest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom Park!!!". And I won't even go into the MM+ fiasco...

TWDC *used* to be a creative company, but those days are all but gone, having been replaced by milking IP for every penny possible along with abhorrent theme park money-grabs. THAT is going to be Iger's legacy, like it or not.

Oh, and one last thing that's been bugging me for years - It's "the Magic Kingdom", not "Magic Kingdom Park", "Disney's Animal Kingdom", not "Disney Animal Kingdom". What do they have against the possessive apostrophe-s??? I despise their mucking with names...

 

[Kevin_W]

I can't wait to read Disney War Part 2.

My thoughts exactly. Reading that book certainly colored how Isee press announcements like this. (At Disney and elsewhere.)

 

[ford91exploder]

Clearly you're confusing hate for criticism of the business practices of the company.

People don't hate Disney rather they despise the way upper management is doing business. Its not really a black or white issue of love vs hate, those absolutes don't really exist with issues this complex.

To think that because we disagree with how the company is run and confuse that with hate, thats simply small minded and pedantic.

To be a true BRAND advocate one must support every decision TWDC makes without question and tell all and sundry just how good those decisions are...

 

[LAKid53]

To be a true BRAND advocate one must support every decision TWDC makes without question and tell all and sundry just how good those decisions are...

And be the sheepish consumer most companies pay Madison Avenue folks $$$$ to turn you into.

If we, as consumers, want nice things, we on occasion have to fight for them and tell the emperor he has no clothes....

 

[betty rose]

Don't bet on the DVC's long time DVC members are among the most angry at Iger's choices over the past 3-4 years because it's had a direct negative effect on their experiences at the resorts.

I want to like this a million percent. Iger=cheap

 

[Mike S]

I assure you, not a single person here hates Disney.

We only hate the boneheads running the old standards of quality into the ground.

Several sources tell me the new CEO has already been picked:
View attachment 136887

Hilarious. Maybe he'll get rid of the tour groups?

 

[LAKid53]

I want to like this a million percent. Iger=cheap

Sadly, Iger's doing exactly what the BoD and Wall Street want him to do. Increase profits, albeit short term at the expense of the company in the long term. Miss projected quarterly earnings by a small and really insignificant amount? You will be punished in share price.

 

[LAKid53]

We only hate the boneheads running the old standards of quality into the ground.

Hilarious. Maybe he'll get rid of the tour groups?

That wall is going to need to be REALLY big, lol.