Iger is back and Chapek is out...

[quiltymom]

While he may have been getting some upfront revenue, he was also committing some long-term brand damage that would ultimately hurt revenue and profitability long-term.

This. I was a life-long, solid, hard-core Disney fan - emphasis on the “was”. It was an easy break-up with little to no regrets. While I’m thrilled he’s gone the damage has been done, and it’s too deep to remove and make amends. Unless the clock could be rolled back to before Chapek’s time as CEO to eradicate everything he did, I won’t change my mind, I won’t be back. He alienated too many people by drawing too many irrevocable lines in the sand. My new happy place is Universal, and I’m quite content to stay.

 

[tigertides]

Hope we get the old parks back!!!

Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble on here… But Disney still remains a for-profit corporation. Some of the nickel and diming may recede, but don’t expect any major changes.

I expect they may make overtures to appear receptive to the park- Going experience. But no doubt about it, they will still appeal to high upper income people.
Try to squeeze more money from the First Time Visitor or 1% club



And let’s not forget why this is. The parks are becoming more crowded.



I do agree that annual passholders who were able to come for a few hours, took away from those of us out of staters, who are spending a lot more on our visit.


If this was an affordable vacation for everyone (ie, family of 4 could go for $2000) … It would be miserable. The lines would be twice as long as they are now.
This is what Disney bean counters know that causal fans won’t accept


They would have to resort to capping attendance. And it’s not just Disney. This is the new corporate America, in case nobody has been paying attention for the last 20 years.

 

[peteykirch]

I honestly don't see much changing to be fair.

Chapek found a way to make money on something that was previously free, most companies wouldn't turn away a free new revenue stream even at a lower guest satisfaction rating.

That being said I could see Genie+ being tweaked to where it's more like FP+ but at a paid level.

They had the system already in place, I could see by 1/1/23 you pay $10 or $15 and you get access to FP+ where you can make 3 reservations and actually pick the time slot convenient to you, and if you utilize all three slots you then can make an additional slot over and over as long as you use them. Plus this would allow people who say only want to ride something like Haunted, Buzz Lightyear, or Pirates to be able to keep making reservations for those rides if there are open return times instead of the 1 and Done Genie+ experience. People will still be upset about paying for something that was once free, but it would give people a closer experience to what they were used to with FP+.

 

[Disturbia]

Let’s work on Aladdin+ (priced into park tickets). He can put the evil Genie back in the bottle and go on a magic carpet ride to any ride at any time.

You get 3-4 rides (combo of Tier 1, 2 and 3) like the old FP+) and you choose a combo and times 10 days in advance of your trip at 7 am. Then you can add a $5 Genie+ rolling pass for the left over tier 3 rides on the same day (or skip the stress of booking).

 

[nikem3]

Just as a reminder, Disney's parks met their expectations in terms of revenue. Streaming has taken a hit and will need some help. This will most likely be the largest focus and include the most changes. If anything "major" is coming to parks, you'll see it within the next few weeks as a PR move now that Bob Iger is back. However, I'd imagine some restructuring to their streaming divisions as they try to fix those issues.

 

[newdeal]

Why would they do that? Chapek was let go because the other parts of Disney were losing money. Iger is being brought back to fix things on the Disney+/studio side of things.

The parks have become the life blood of the Disney brand. The life blood of the parks are the frequent return visitors. They don't bring in the most money but they do free advertising constantly. You upset the return visitors then when their friends who havre never been ask them about it they give them grumpy answers, this hurts the brand and Disney's brand is their most important asset. Just my opinion. The Disney brand was built with movies, but wouldn't be what it is today without the parks and their prior reputation for the best customer service in the world

 

[newdeal]

Disney will never go back to a free skip the line service. Even if they hypothetically get rid of Genie+, they will replace it with another paid service.

Paid is one thing, pay even more per single popular ride is another.

 

[bloomcruisers]

Park reservations and hopping restrictions should be eliminated now. Since regular tickets are all date based, that should be enough control to regulate daily attendance at this point. Once the max number is sold for a day, then no more sales for that day. If certain parks are more crowded at any point, people can park hop to a park with shorter waits. It will be incentive to buy park hopper upgrades so more revenue for Disney. AP numbers are very low with the limited sales so AP impact on crowds should be reasonable.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Nothing will change, but hopefully, it won't get worse now

 

[lovethattink]

Please remember to follow DIS guidelines when posting. No political or religious posts are allowed.

 

[Jonfw2]

I have read through this whole thread and successfully completed my "What if Iger Comes Back?" bingo card.

Twice.

 

[lowlight]

The realist in me knows only lip service will be paid, but the idealist in me hopes he just rewinds us back to 2019.

 

[jimmymc]

I'm not expecting to see big changes to the parks or things going back to the way they were any amount of years ago. Yes Disney's stock price took a massive loss recently, but my understanding is that the parks are still more profitable than every, and the big losses are coming from movies, TV, and streaming.

With that being the case, I would expect to see the parks stay the way they are now and possibly even get worse before they get better.

 

[Miffy]

Dear Mr. Iger: Thank you for returning. Now please bring back Joe Rohde. And Magical Express.

 

[Jaymarkm]

I just got a full-back Chapek tattoo on Friday, this is terrible news. I guess I’ll get it changed to one of the Country Bears, that’s how I’ve hidden all the mistakes tats I’ve gotten.

 

[Tbiafore]

I know some people are not clear if he was fired or not, but the NY Times is saying he was fired and for this reason:

Mr. Iger, 71, agreed to a two-year contract after the board determined that Mr. Chapek, 62, had done irreparable damage to his ability to lead, with a string of missteps resulting in the lost confidence of Wall Street and most senior Disney executives, as well as many rank-and-file employees.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/business/disney-robert-iger.html

 

[pixiedust2u]

Dear Mr. Iger: Thank you for returning. Now please bring back Joe Rohde. And Magical Express.

And open the train ASAP.

 

[Marrila]

Dear Mr. Iger: Thank you for returning. Now please bring back Joe Rohde. And Magical Express.

And regular park hopping.

 

[Jonfw2]

I'm all about Iger possibly being better for the parks, but...you guys do realize he can't make the train open any faster, right?

 

[emmabelle]