My Letter to Bob Chapek (should I send it?)

[loves to dive]

OP if it makes you feel better send it, but I agree with others (and yourself) that he will never see it and even if he did, it wouldn't impact his decisions.

I think a lot of people give him too much credit (or blame) for what happens in the parks. There is a chain of command and while he at the top he does not make every single decision.

I love WDW and before Covid, went at least twice a year and have been twice this year and will be going back in Dec. I've been going for over 38 years so have seen many changes. Is the customer service the same as it was 38 years ago? No, but you probably can't name any other huge business (that is still in business) that it is. As far as Walt wanted or if he would be pleased. Walt made his company public, he knew by doing so what he wanted no longer held any weight, it was all about pleasing stockholders. He did this because he needed the money, so people shouting Disney is all about money now should probably remember that. People might also look back on Disney's history. Walt himself fired people left right and sideways when they didn't do exactly what he wanted. He fought unions and if it meant people lost their jobs and others were hired a lower wages, so be it. (I'm not advocating for or against Unions, just the facts). Yes, he said he wanted Disneyland to be a place where everyone could come and enjoy but don't be fooled in thinking he (or at least Roy) didn't know that this was a good money making adventure. I'm not busting on Walt Disney but he was no saint, luckily his brother had a very good business head while Walt had a great imagination.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Thoughts :
Too long, too wordy
Send it , it will make you feel better.
It will change nothing but you had your say.
The changes that you speak of have been in the works for over 10years.

 

[focusondisney]

Hope writing that made you feel better. Send it off if you need to. There’s no way Chapek or any high level manager is going to read all that. Its just a lot of flowery sentimental words that reads like an overdramatized monologue. I can’t imagine how sick management must get of hearing about Walt’s vision & what he wanted from random fans who think they know. And I hate to break it to anyone here, but Disney parks have always been out of the reach for a lot of people. We only notice when it’s starts to affect us. Time will tell if these changes are acceptable to most people.

 

[michelleiada]

I read it all and have similar feelings. I say send it just as is. Unlikely it will ever get to him but you never know. If you don’t send it, it will certainly never get to him, right? Send it. And…keep us posted if you get any sort of reply. Good luck!

 

[PaladinButters]

And I hate to break it to anyone here, but Disney parks have always been out of the reach for a lot of people. We only notice when it’s starts to affect us.

It’s an issue of being on the boards. Everyone here is already in the top percent of people that are affording luxury resort family vacations at all.

 

[k5xs]

"If you don’t send it, it will certainly never get to him, right?"


Amen!

 

[K&D'smom]

Great start. I believe all of us who have loved Disney and always been willing to pay their high prices should send letters to each of the board of directors. A letter to one person will carry very little weight. My letter will be short but include my reasoning for why Disney will no longer be receiving my vacation dollars. I understand costs rise and I’ve always been okay with the higher than normal increases Disney does annually. But I will not pay the high cost hotels, dining, and park entry AND pay an extra fee per ride to reduce my wait time in line. Frankly it’s insulting to anyone who understands how to calculate value and the relationship between corporation and customer. That said, I realize the word value is subjective. What isn’t subjective is how policies make employees and customers feel. I feel insulted and under valued. Whether Disney listens or not will depend upon how their most loyal customer base speaks with their wallets. I’m confident how I vacation at Disney in the past places me in the group of average top 20% of spend per vacation day. If even 5-7% of this group let alone the people who only choose to take 1-2 trips in a lifetime boycott them for the 50Th anniversary, the park division of Disney will notice they have miscalculated how insulting these changes to their previous loyalists have been and it will show in the parks bottom line.

 

[Klismania]

This is the one I sent to Guest Services this afternoon explaining my budget cutbacks. Short. Sweet. To the point. And tells the vendor why I had to cut back on offerings of theirs that I would not longer be buying.

They only understand the bottom line now so that's the language you need to speak.

Good afternoon,

I wanted to write and let you know that I had to make a business decision to change my five-day park-hopper for a three-day one. There are several reasons for this change, but the biggest one is your new Genie Plus application.

The reviews I’m seeing about Genie Plus aren’t good. If I’m going to have to pay extra to attend rides without having to wait in line for two hours for each ride, then I need to cut the budget elsewhere.

Perhaps if I wasn’t:
· Paying $120 to park my car in front of my cabin, something that used to be included in the cost of my room.
· Paying an extra $125 to park in preferred parking at the parks since the trams still aren’t running.
· Bringing my own trash-bags and toilet paper to a $436 a night room because housekeeping only comes every three or so days and these staples run out.

then I wouldn’t have had to make a business decision to drop those two extra days.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Regards,

My name
Reservation #

 

[aml1676]

I think a lot of people give him too much credit (or blame) for what happens in the parks. There is a chain of command and while he at the top he does not make every single decision.

This. I'm not here to be an apologist for any CEO, but Chapek is beholden to the board and to the stakeholders, and he took the reins at an extremely volatile time. Unless you're on the board or are part of upper management I don't think it's possible to know what's been in the works since before he took over - I work for a multinational corporation, just 4 levels down from the CEO, and there are a slew of projects with codenames that I'm not privy to know a thing about, and I guarantee you the public won't know about them until they're a done deal. I keep seeing people complain about stuff that was taken away and not returned because of COVID - guess what? We're still in the middle of the pandemic. There are more people dying daily now than there were at the same time last year. I'm frankly amazed at the things that *have* come back to WDW at all, given everything.

If it makes you feel good to have written this, that's great. Writing can be cathartic, for sure.

 

[Disney mac]

I wonder if Chapek's bonus is tied to the number of complaint letters he gets with the policies going into place. I don't think Disney cares if anyone goes as long as they make their bonuses....

 

[Disturbia]

I read parts of the email. I would condense it a bit. Its emotional. I think it needs a graph of declining Goodwill and recent changes. I think parts like talent can be condensed to 2 lines and then (e.g. AK-CM). Also I think the last line should read

Remember Bob, you are the magic!

 

[CVG]

I just looked at the all-time stock price chart. 'Aint nothing going to change in the way you hope. Sadly.

 

[MillauFr]

People are voting with their wallet. However they are not making the choice that many of the posters here would hope. So many people bought $1,400 annual passes at Disneyland that they had to stop selling them. Obviously prices are too low to balance supply and demand.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I agree with others, send a shorten version. It will be read by someone and it will make you feel better. You may get a phone call.
I have posted this before as a shareholder…what will make me feel better is a vote against him.

 

[supernova]

Chapek only answers to investors and the Board, not to you. As long as attendance is up, which it certainly will be over these next 18 months of the 50th celebration, he is NOT going to make changes because a small handful of guests are sad.

 

[OKW Lover]

I wonder if Chapek's bonus is tied to the number of complaint letters he gets with the policies going into place.

Nope.

 

[Ursula J]

Send it!! Thank you for putting this into words. And no, it's really not too long.

 

[PaladinButters]

People are voting with their wallet. However they are not making the choice that many of the posters here would hope. So many people bought $1,400 annual passes at Disneyland that they had to stop selling them. Obviously prices are too low to balance supply and demand.

No blackouts and includes parking - $1400 is a steal. We have yet to see how Genie+ does over there but I'm very interested. All the APs (sorry, magic key holders) are used to having MaxPass as a no brainer add-on (also a steal with photopass included) to the pass and not so much a pay per day (or ride!) system.

 

[MillauFr]

No blackouts and includes parking - $1400 is a steal. We have yet to see how Genie+ does over there but I'm very interested. All the APs (sorry, magic key holders) are used to having MaxPass as a no brainer add-on (also a steal with photopass included) to the pass and not so much a pay per day (or ride!) system.

Agreed. They way underpriced it. It sold out in less than two months into the year. They way underestimated demand again as usual.

 

[DLgal]

People are voting with their wallet. However they are not making the choice that many of the posters here would hope. So many people bought $1,400 annual passes at Disneyland that they had to stop selling them. Obviously prices are too low to balance supply and demand.

Wow! I had no idea. I kind of thought it might happen though. It's why we bought ours on day 1.

FWIW, we visited Disneyland yesterday for the 10th time with our Dream Keys. While things aren't "the same", we still have fun there as a family and that's all that matters to me. I guess we are part of the problem.