News Walt Disney World to resume complimentary parking at its resort hotels

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Chapek was better at his various jobs over time than she was/is

Exactly…she’s the classic Brutus in this scenario…and I bet Iger is looking to get her a flight to Phillipi soon enough

 

[wannabeBelle]

I for one am thrilled to hear that the parking fees are gone, and more good news is on the way. No Park reservations for AP holders is a great thing. Credit where credit is due. However let's keep in mind that this cost Disney almost nothing to do, and was a win on the Guest side. There are a ton of things that could be brought back that will cost money, such as Magical Express, and more upkeep and maintenance of the parks and attractions in general. I hope to see that this continues on in this direction. Marie

 

[flynnibus]

Chapek was better at his various jobs over time than she was/is

You mean like the target Disney stores?
Or getting credit for other people's work like Star Wars, Marvel, the VHS vault, etc?

Guy is a career executive - Epitimy of Mr Do-nothing.

The reason he's bald is from so much stuffing his head up others....

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You mean like the target Disney stores?
Or getting credit for other people's work like Star Wars, Marvel, the VHS vault, etc?

Guy is a career executive - Epitimy of Mr Do-nothing.

The reason he's bald is from so much stuffing his head up others....

You had me till this…

Obviously his wife hates him and had slowly put Nair in his Pert+ over most of the 80s/90s

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

You mean like the target Disney stores?
Or getting credit for other people's work like Star Wars, Marvel, the VHS vault, etc?

Guy is a career executive - Epitimy of Mr Do-nothing.

The reason he's bald is from so much stuffing his head up others....

Say what you want about him, but his work in the home video space and then later in the merchandising deals stand for themselves. Whether that’s attributable fully to him is debatable, but that argument can be said to diminish any executive’s contributions. I don’t personally like a lot of what he did with the parks, but you can’t argue he drove up their revenues and profitability (at a cost, sure, but from a bottom line economic standpoint, he did well). I’d also say he handled the early part of the pandemic as nimbly as possible all things’ considered.

 

[Lilofan]

You mean like the target Disney stores?
Or getting credit for other people's work like Star Wars, Marvel, the VHS vault, etc?

Guy is a career executive - Epitimy of Mr Do-nothing.

The reason he's bald is from so much stuffing his head up others....

Even though a beautiful thing no longer there at Disney , Chapek did move up the food chain convincing his bosses along the way.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Say what you want about him, but his work in the home video space and then later in the merchandising deals stand for themselves. Whether that’s attributable fully to him is debatable, but that argument can be said to diminish any executive’s contributions. I don’t personally like a lot of what he did with the parks, but you can’t argue he drove up their revenues and profitability (at a cost, sure, but from a bottom line economic standpoint, he did well). I’d also say he handled the early part of the pandemic as nimbly as possible all things’ considered.

He’s a $h!t peddler…that was established. He sold crap. Never remotely qualified for a senior exec. Has neither the savvy nor the vision.

But I’ll point out alot of his success is exactly what Iger did: exploiting old material in a way that cheapens it longterm. The shock to Wall Street is probably that we’ve moved closer to that “longterm” now

 

[flynnibus]

Say what you want about him, but his work in the home video space and then later in the merchandising deals stand for themselves.

Disney's vault strategy preceeds him. You gonna give him credit for moving to DVDs and BluRays... like everyone else? I think he would have been far more notable if he found a way to screw up the golden goose.. which ironically is kind of what he did once CEO.

Whether that’s attributable fully to him is debatable, but that argument can be said to diminish any executive’s contributions. I don’t personally like a lot of what he did with the parks, but you can’t argue he drove up their revenues and profitability (at a cost, sure, but from a bottom line economic standpoint, he did well). I’d also say he handled the early part of the pandemic as nimbly as possible all things’ considered.

Someone hands you the hottest product in the market.. who already queued up Star Wars and Marvel additions.. and he drove revenues and profits not by growing the business, but by cutting and monetizing existing things. That's not sustainable growth... and is typical of the executives who just jump from role to role every 3-5 years. Stand on others shoulders, toss around some bolt ons, make a few calls, and claim it all as your own. Can you really attest anything long term to him? That you'd want to be associated with?

I'll give him credit for navigating the pandemic without tossing it all in the fire.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Even though a beautiful thing no longer there at Disney , Chapek did move up the food chain convincing his bosses along the way.

Money rewards low talent drones far more consistently that it does inventors/innovators.

But the ads during nfl games don’t say that

 

[Ayla]

Current state of Genie+- my question would be, are folks paying for it because it greatly enhances the ride experience? or do folks think they are obligated to pay for it in fear of waiting too long for ride times? I don't know, but I would love to hear your take.

On my last trip in May, I refused to buy Genie+ on principle for our party of 5. It did not hamper our enjoyment by not having it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

On my last trip in May, I refused to buy Genie+ on principle for our party of 5. It did not hamper our enjoyment by not having it.

I bought one day and two ILLs over 7 days…it worked out far better than I would have believed prior. Only 1/2 was a (well documented here) mess

But I can take or leave anything…so I’m not a good crash test dummy

 

[Ayla]

Of course, folks will say this is wrong, too late, irrelevant etc., but in my opinion, this is a GREAT SIGN that Disney is trying to do better for their guests.

I agree. I'm a vocal critic of how WDW has been run the last few years and I applaud this change. It saves people money immediately and I'm hoping it is a sign of other beneficial changes to come.

 

[Ayla]

The theory behind it…is “it costs so much…I gotta keep paying”

In essence

I am definitely the wrong type of consumer for that type of hype. All they'll get is an "oh really?" and a side eye.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Call me cynical, but I'm surprised at what appears to be a high level of happiness and praise for Disney backtracking on some of their recent decisions.

It reminds me of whenever gas prices go up, they'll raise them by 10% and then shortly after lower them by 5% to create a psychological sense that prices are on a downward track.

Same thing here. I imagine looking at everything holistically most would say that Disney has diminished the guest experience by more than they are now restoring it. Feels good, but also feels like smoke and mirrors.

 

[Ayla]

Call me cynical, but I'm surprised at what appears to be a high level of happiness and praise for Disney backtracking on some of their recent decisions.

It reminds me of whenever gas prices go up, they'll raise them by 10% and then shortly after lower them by 5% to create a psychological sense that prices are on a downward track.

Same thing here. I imagine looking at everything holistically most would say that Disney has diminished the guest experience by more than they are now restoring it. Feels good, but also feels like smoke and mirrors.

Oh, there's no doubt the guest experience has been diminished the last 4-5 years. Returning to free parking at the resorts doesn't take away the many other issues that have been raised here, at all.

It's a tiny step forward, nothing more.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Oh, there's no doubt the guest experience has been diminished the last 4-5 years. Returning to free parking at the resorts doesn't take away the many other issues that have been raised here, at all.

It's a tiny step forward, nothing more.

They are at least looking in the right direction now, which as you said is a small step, but a positive one. They have seen the goodwill that a small announcement gave them, Let's hope that this carries through to bigger, more meaningful changes as well. Marie

 

[fgmnt]

Stand on others shoulders, toss around some bolt ons, make a few calls, and claim it all as your own. Can you really attest anything long term to him? That you'd want to be associated with?

At the end of the day, I think it’s agreeable with most of us nerds on here and in this thread that the last 15 years of park operations and capital investments in Orlando has been selling the equity built by predecessors for cash. Not the kind of equity that shows up on a balance sheet,
mind you, but the value of the brand and consumer perceptions of the legacy of what had been built previously. Under Iger, institutional rot in the division took hold, and the treatment of their most valuable plant assets were treated like an ATM that you could bust open with a crowbar. The equity bleeding out trickled, even through capital investment in the parks. Post-DHS 2.0, the decisions were made at every point to double down on bleeding out the division,
distributing the equity built up into cash.

After all of that, and after the worst domestic tragedy in US history in 2020, Chapek rewarded Orlando with this completely disastrous 50th anniversary. I hope all of the money they made from it was worth it, because the poor quality of operations in the park we have been wise to for nearly 2 decades has finally breached containment.

Maybe they have finally realized that they need to stop the bleeding. It’s a surprise. It’s what I’ve wanted to see for years. Let’s hope the long term legacy of the last 3 years was finding the bottom and they can start the work to climb back out. Not holding my breath, obviously, but might be it.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Oh, there's no doubt the guest experience has been diminished the last 4-5 years. Returning to free parking at the resorts doesn't take away the many other issues that have been raised here, at all.

It's a tiny step forward, nothing more.

Yes! there are many more issues to address, but got to start somewhere and with something that has impact. Addressing the parking fee issue for registered WDW resort guests is a darn good start.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Call me cynical, but I'm surprised at what appears to be a high level of happiness and praise for Disney backtracking on some of their recent decisions.

It reminds me of whenever gas prices go up, they'll raise them by 10% and then shortly after lower them by 5% to create a psychological sense that prices are on a downward track.

Same thing here. I imagine looking at everything holistically most would say that Disney has diminished the guest experience by more than they are now restoring it. Feels good, but also feels like smoke and mirrors.

You are 100% correct

 

[Rickcat96]

Well- include the so Price per park increase introduced on December 8th.

Hey everyone- no more parking fee's WOOHOO- yea right, they just moved the money grab to another model.

They bunted, barley made it safe to first base and everyone (including themselves) think they hit a home run. Don't need park reservations under the new scheme, so thats how they justify giving up them.