What I find is missed by "Disney is a business"

[Jonfw2]

Not understanding why this is so right now as opposed to pre-covid.

And is seeking more. Disney is also seeking more employees.

Disney has offered this benefit for years

Don't forget that Disney is more than parks and movies. There is also the fairly unrelated ABC, ESPN (and other alphabet businesses) that can be approximately 1/3rd of the overall corporate revenues/costs, depending on the year.

Yes. Exactly. It’s critical to the company that the parks stay relevant and in demand because that’s millions of people becoming exposed to their other lines.

 

[disneyholic family]

for some of us, disney may have reached our tipping point.
until now, i could pay for pretty much everything.
But over the past few years, the prices have gone up so much and so many more charges have been added on that for our family trip in july 2022 we're definitely not going to be able to pay for everything.
Genie+ and the individual lightning lanes are completely out.
It's just too expensive for our family of 9.
So for the first time since the introduction of fastpass, we'll be in standby lines only.
If our experience is good, then it will be fine.
If our experience isn't good, it will probably be a very long time before we come back to Disney World.

 

[buzlite]

I think this threat is missing some huge points. Not all changes in Disney are equal.

1) The cheap production of Avengers Campus is a huge failure. This is clearly a strategy to improve revenue with Cheap attractions+Selling Merchandise. It's basically a mall attraction. Whether Disney makes money initially ignores what has made Disney so successful.
In the past when large movie companies developed successful movies they would make cheap sequels. Many times the first sequel would be made very cheaply but still make money due to high expectations and people's connection to the content. However, when the third movie came out it would usually bomb because people would know it was going to be low quality. The companies would then cease production of that IP and move on. They completely ignored the ability to create long-term revenue streams based on dependable high-quality IP. Disney on the other hand saw how long people would continue to show up to a single piece of IP if the quality stayed high. This is why Avengers has been so successful.
How does this affect the parks? Disney will be able to draw in the initial crowds. People may even buy some merchandise. However, without the emotional connection created by high-quality attractions, Disney will unable to have these customers "stick". They will try other adventures because they no longer attach their identity to cheap Disney crap. Which is what Avengers' Campus is.

2) Genieplus is a whole different ball game. If it is instituted well then this can actually improve guest experiences. It will also create an aspiration product. IE "We will go to Disney next year and save up for Genie pass for 2 days!" Some people will be upset at the increased cost but as long as the product is strong these people will keep coming. It will allow customized experiences. Honestly, Genie plus can even be a cost saver. You don't need to stay on property for early entry to get on rides like ROTR. But for certain people (myself included), I am so excited to sleep in till 9, go to the pool, eat a sit-down breakfast and then show up to ROTR on my schedule. I'm probably biased but this has increased the likelihood of returning to Disney sooner for my family. However, Genieplus will be pointless if the quality of the product in the parks is not kept up.

3)
Disney's stock is dead in the water. It hasn't really moved in the last year. With Dis+ subscriptions slowing down and Disney parks receiving so much bad press, I believe Chapek should be in the hot seat. As a stockholder, I am not impressed. Disney's competitive advantage is being able to use synergy to create a lifestyle that is reinforced by movies, vacations, toys, parks, dis+, childhood memories etc. It was extremely sticky. Just look at 90's kids and our obsession with Disney.
Chapek for some reason wants to follow the losers by removing quality and focusing on the quantity of transactions. TBH I don't even watch Dis+ that often. But I keep it because on certain days I really just need a dose of Disney. However eventually with enough disappointments, I will lose that subconscious connection.

4) Chapek has said Disney is a data company. This is all fine but everyone knows "**** in and **** out" if you are not measuring the right things. I have a feeling Disney is not measuring things such as emotional connections after new Disney experiences. I love data. I am a huge proponent of following big numbers. But you have to follow the right numbers. Theirs a reason people love Uber/Lyft and hate taxis.

In summary, I believe Chapek is failing as a CEO for business reasons. His stock has not budged and he is not expected to meet Dis+ subscriptions goals at the next shareholders meeting. The company has lost consumer trust short term and other companies are investing heavily to compete. Remember when Microsoft was a Monopoly? Disney is not too big or so far ahead of its competition that it can do whatever it wants. Universal parks are improving, Netflix is outpacing Dis + and there are many other competitors in these markets.

I would hope unless things change that Chapek is voted out and someone convinces the Feige brothers that they should take over management. Otherwise, I will probably sell my stock. I will keep going to WDW every 2 years for now but Universal is officially a can't miss.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Disney's stock is dead in the water. It hasn't really moved in the last year.

I mean, to be fair DIS stock is up 36.49% in the past 365 days..... growth isn't expected to be linear.