In Defense of Bob Chapek

[Jonfw2]

Why does it seem that only Disney slowed up projects in response to Covid ?
Construction on many projects in the Orlando area did not come to an automatic halt … Swan Reserve for one example and Disney continued to build the hill that was needed to hide the new Star Wars Hotel construction.
Some of the reactions to Covid were a convenient excuse .
And the focus on tech solutions to aggravate Disney Visits …Is that a good thing ? It just feels Mean and Disney is being mean in a very mean way.

You’re right. I never said they stopped every project. I suspect they had to judge how far along they were with things and the cost/benefit of stopping versus continuing.

And all credit for them not stopping what they didn’t stop.

 

[LSUmiss]

Yup, only Disney did and they did it to be mean - only possible and logical conclusion.

Maybe not mean but cheap. It’s the cutting corners that ppl are sick of.

 

[john7994]

Maybe not mean but cheap. It’s the cutting corners that ppl are sick of.

My response was more on the sarcastic side.

Considering the alternatives Disney was facing and with no access to a glimpse of the future, I think they did what they thought was necessary for the cards dealt in the moment. I am not 100% thrilled with some of the more obvious cutbacks / price increases - I don't think anyone is for that matter.

At the same time, Disney is an incredibly complex business solely dependent on it's ecosystem of media, entertainment and theme parks to make money. Synergistically, all must be firing on point to forge ahead to remain competitive / provide value (barring future closures, recessions and inflationary influences). So it remains to be seen whether Disney throttles back on the "cheap" and slowly rebalances extraordinary measures or is their another wave of economic pressure to ride out.

In the end, it is what it is.

 

[RoseGold]

Get back to me after you try using Genie+. It's expensive, and it just doesn't work. To me, it's a good example of a lot of recent Disney choices.

 

[john7994]

I have used Genie+ effectively in January and May, so much so, I pre-purchased it for my July and September trips (before the June 8th cutoff). While I would prefer it didnt cost extra (who doesn't), it worked very well for our group's touring needs.

 

[Disney Bobby]

If Walt were running the show today, just about EVERYTHING about Disney would be different than it is. COVID was a challenge for sure, but a lot had absolutely nothing to do with COVID. Self-inflicted wounds that would have never happened with competent leadership.

And it's amazing how those high salaries are justify by stock price even when the market is doing well, yet when they market tanks and the stock tanks, they get a pass. The stock is worth HALF of it's 52 week high. Sorry, that not just the market as a whole. DIS stock has been a disaster.

Tougher times are coming. I have zero confidence in Chapek and his merry band of wokesters. A monkey with a dart board of random decisions could run this company better.

 

[k5xs]

Let's say you were handpicked by Bob Iger to choose his successor. Would you have picked the head of finance? Or the President of ESPN? Maybe someone from outside the company?

Or would you have chosen the head of Disney theme parks? Because that's who we have. Bob Chapek not only came to the CEO role from parks, he came into it with the arguably the best resume of anyone who ever held that position- he built Shanghai Disney. He oversaw both Galaxy Edges and Pandora. In fact, during his tenure, Disney spent more money on its parks than it did on Marvel, Pixar, and LucasFilms COMBINED. The NY Times even ran a piece specifically about how much influence Chapek had in getting Disney to allot its cash to his division. Was this all because Chapek is anti-park???

So why do we all hate him so much? One simple word: Covid. At almost the exact same time that Chapek took the reigns, the parks system was hit with its biggest crisis in history. Think about it- Disney World had never in its history been closed for more than a day at a time and right when Chapek took over, every park on earth was closed for months. No cruises. No movies. No television or sports. Every division of his new company was shuttered. What exactly did we expect at this point, folks? Then Iger came riding in on a white horse offering to help. But ask yourself honestly: what good did that do, exactly? Nothing changed. Neither Chapek nor Iger had a magic wand (or pixie dust) that would make all the Covid issues go away faster. They just had to be muddled through.

So in closing (because I'm suddenly on chapter 8 of a novel), let me address the two biggest specific complaints: cancelled projects and cost increases. Both of these issues come down to the same thing: supply and demand. For the same reasons your home project during covid took three times as long and cost four times as much so did Disney's. There simply wasn't- and still isn't- enough labor and supplies out there for Disney to do everything it's promised at this point. And yes- everything costs more now. And there are less benefits for what you pay. I don't like it either. But again- it's not because Chapek is a bad guy. EVERYTHING costs more now. Disney isn't making a terribly larger profit margin than they were previously. They're just passing on their cost increases to their customers exactly like grocery stores and every other industry is.

So there you have it. Chapek is in my opinion doing a perfectly acceptable job under the circumstances he (and we all) have to live under right now. It would be no different under Bob Iger or Walt himse

I disagree. Chapek has committed a number of monstrous blunders.

The Scarlett Johansson fiasco, the Don’t Say Gay fiasco, and the on-right-now-oops-we-were-just-joking forced Lake Nona Florida move fiasco all happened on his watch.

The Imagineer corps has suffered under him.

More, he was a no-show on the WDW 50th Anniversary, reportedly because he was afraid of being booed off the stage.

The pandemic was hard on almost every publicly held company in America. But under Chapek, Disney stock has underperformed even a down market:

If you had put $100,000 in a DJIA-indexed fund on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have $114,800 today.

If you had put $100,000 in Comcast (Universal’s parent) on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d still have $93,300 today.

If you’d put $100,000 in Disney stock on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have just $75,000 today.

The man has overseen the gross “IP-ification” of EPCOT, the transformation of Illuminations into the soulless Harmonius, and several other obscenities. He disingenuously characterizes Genie+ and the park reservation system as “enhancements to the guest experience,” and he doesn’t know the difference between The Happiest Place on Earth and The Most Magical Place on Earth.

I’m convinced that the only reason WDC extended his contract was fear the stock value would tank even more with perceived turmoil if he was fired right now.

 

[Sweettears]

Why does it seem that only Disney slowed up projects in response to Covid ?
Construction on many projects in the Orlando area did not come to an automatic halt … Swan Reserve for one example and Disney continued to build the hill that was needed to hide the new Star Wars Hotel construction.
Some of the reactions to Covid were a convenient excuse .
And the focus on tech solutions to aggravate Disney Visits …Is that a good thing ? It just feels Mean and Disney is being mean in a very mean way.

This was my point in reference to Chapek. Didn’t need to happen. It was a conscious choice

 

[LSUmiss]

I disagree. Chapek has committed a number of monstrous blunders.

The Scarlett Johansson fiasco, the Don’t Say Gay fiasco, and the on-right-now-oops-we-were-just-joking forced Lake Nona Florida move fiasco all happened on his watch.

The Imagineer corps has suffered under him.

More, he was a no-show on the WDW 50th Anniversary, reportedly because he was afraid of being booed off the stage.

The pandemic was hard on almost every publicly held company in America. But under Chapek, Disney stock has underperformed even a down market:

If you had put $100,000 in a DJIA-indexed fund on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have $114,800 today.

If you had put $100,000 in Comcast (Universal’s parent) on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d still have $93,300 today.

If you’d put $100,000 in Disney stock on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have just $75,000 today.

The man has overseen the gross “IP-ification” of EPCOT, the transformation of Illuminations into the soulless Harmonius, and several other obscenities. He disingenuously characterizes Genie+ and the park reservation system as “enhancements to the guest experience,” and he doesn’t know the difference between The Happiest Place on Earth and The Most Magical Place on Earth.

I’m convinced that the only reason WDC extended his contract was fear the stock value would tank even more with perceived turmoil if he was fired right now.

I also recall a lot of complaining about Chapek before covid!

 

[Sweettears]

If Walt were running the show today, just about EVERYTHING about Disney would be different than it is. COVID was a challenge for sure, but a lot had absolutely nothing to do with COVID. Self-inflicted wounds that would have never happened with competent leadership.

And it's amazing how those high salaries are justify by stock price even when the market is doing well, yet when they market tanks and the stock tanks, they get a pass. The stock is worth HALF of it's 52 week high. Sorry, that not just the market as a whole. DIS stock has been a disaster.

Tougher times are coming. I have zero confidence in Chapek and his merry band of wokesters. A monkey with a dart board of random decisions could run this company better.

Have you talked to Walt recently?

 

[midwestdee]

I have used Genie+ effectively in January and May, so much so, I pre-purchased it for my July and September trips (before the June 8th cutoff). While I would prefer it didnt cost extra (who doesn't), it worked very well for our group's touring needs.

I agree! Granted I prepped for Genie + like it was the Normandy invasion- but DH was totally impressed by how I and DD worked it to avoid lines.

 

[Sweettears]

I disagree. Chapek has committed a number of monstrous blunders.

The Scarlett Johansson fiasco, the Don’t Say Gay fiasco, and the on-right-now-oops-we-were-just-joking forced Lake Nona Florida move fiasco all happened on his watch.

The Imagineer corps has suffered under him.

More, he was a no-show on the WDW 50th Anniversary, reportedly because he was afraid of being booed off the stage.

The pandemic was hard on almost every publicly held company in America. But under Chapek, Disney stock has underperformed even a down market:

If you had put $100,000 in a DJIA-indexed fund on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have $114,800 today.

If you had put $100,000 in Comcast (Universal’s parent) on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d still have $93,300 today.

If you’d put $100,000 in Disney stock on the day Chapek took over as CEO, you’d have just $75,000 today.

The man has overseen the gross “IP-ification” of EPCOT, the transformation of Illuminations into the soulless Harmonius, and several other obscenities. He disingenuously characterizes Genie+ and the park reservation system as “enhancements to the guest experience,” and he doesn’t know the difference between The Happiest Place on Earth and The Most Magical Place on Earth.

I’m convinced that the only reason WDC extended his contract was fear the stock value would tank even more with perceived turmoil if he was fired right now.

So much here with out any support that it’s not worth responding to

 

[john7994]

I agree! Granted I prepped for Genie + like it was the Normandy invasion- but DH was totally impressed by how I and DD worked it to avoid lines

Haha - I was the designated Genie+ "Master" as well. Had I just listened to all the negativity on these boards, I think I would still be waiting in line for RoTR!

 

[RamblingMad]

I'm not going to defend someone who makes millions of dollars by convincing parents to open their check books to pay for overpriced vacations that continue to go up faster than inflation every year. That's like trying to defend inequality.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don't hate the guy. He's just putting in place the things they have always wanted to do. Having a paid FP system is one thing they have always wanted. If anything Covid has been a blessing as it gave them the perfect excuse to implement these changes.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Defend the man or not, either way, don’t be fooled for a second that Covid hit while he was newly put in charge…rather he was newly put in charge BECAUSE Covid was coming and there were many in government and higher up positions that were very privy to what was about to befall us all. Iger had his parachute in this man. I don’t necessarily like Chapek very much at all but I’m probably one of the few people that think he’s a saint compared to Iger. I don’t get the Iger love because he’s been the puppeteer behind so many of the “evil” changes that everyone seems to heap on Chapek. Chapek is Lennie to Igers George. If you get the reference you get the reference.

 

[pahoben]

He reminds me of Uncle Fester who always scared me. I find myself wondering, if you put a light bulb in his mouth will it turn on?

I do agree Iger has given a command performance as a narcissistic rat since retirement.

 

[pahoben]

Defend the man or not, either way, don’t be fooled for a second that Covid hit while he was newly put in charge…rather he was newly put in charge BECAUSE Covid was coming and there were many in government and higher up positions that were very privy to what was about to befall us all. Iger had his parachute in this man. I don’t necessarily like Chapek very much at all but I’m probably one of the few people that think he’s a saint compared to Iger. I don’t get the Iger love because he’s been the puppeteer behind so many of the “evil” changes that everyone seems to heap on Chapek. Chapek is Lennie to Igers George. If you get the reference you get the reference.

Often the way it goes. Someone makes decisions that have short term benefit and then exit triumphantly with trumpets blaring just as the negative longer term effects begin to manifest.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Have you talked to Walt recently?

No, but then again, I'm not somebody that needs everything spelled out for me.

 

[Jonfw2]

Get back to me after you try using Genie+. It's expensive, and it just doesn't work. To me, it's a good example of a lot of recent Disney choices.

Do you think Chapek invented it or do you think it was in the works long before he took over?