Bob Iger named Disney CEO in shocking development

Via CNN Business
Archive

In a move that shocked Hollywood, Bob Iger, one of the most notable CEOs in the history of the Walt Disney company, is returning to once again run the media empire.

Bob Chapek, who replaced Iger in 2020 as CEO, is stepping down immediately.

“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said in a statement on Sunday night. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”

The announcement, while surprising to the media industry, comes at a time of great evolution for Disney. The company is coming off a lackluster earnings report that showed growth for its streaming endeavors. However, that came at a great cost. Disney’s streaming business lost $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That report sent Disney’s stock tumbling after a year of sluggish to bad performance.

Chapek guided the company through the pandemic, one of its most tumultuous periods in its nearly 100-year history, but ultimately Disney decided that its future was in better hands with Iger.

Away from the pandemic, Chapek had a short but bumpy tenure as the head of Disney. Chapek, who served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products before taking over for Iger, found himself dealing with issues regarding pay with Scarlett Johansson, one of the company’s biggest stars, as well as Disney’s battles with Florida, and its own employees, regarding the state’s controversial bill restricting certain LGBTQ topics in the classroom.

Disney’s stock has also taken a hit lately. It’s currently down roughly 40% this year.

As for Iger, he has an almost mythical status as the leader of Disney (DIS). He spent 15 years as CEO and was instrumental in acquiring major brands like Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, the home to Star Wars. Iger also closed the $71 billion deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox and kicked off the streaming revolution at Disney (DIS) with the creation of Disney (DIS)+ in November 2019.

Iger stayed on at Disney as executive chairman directing the company’s creative endeavors. He officially left the company after nearly 50 years at the end of last year.

Disney said Sunday that Iger has agreed to serve as CEO for two years with “a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term.”

The move is also surprising since Chapek just renewed his contract. The company’s board of directors unanimously voted to extend Chapek’s contract as CEO for another three years, the company said in June. Chapek’s new contract began in July and was set to run until 2025.

Also, it appeared that Iger was set in retirement with his legacy as one of Disney’s most notable and successful CEOs. Now, he’s back.

“I am extremely optimistic for the future of this great company and thrilled to be asked by the Board to return as its CEO,” Iger said in a statement Sunday. “Disney and its incomparable brands and franchises hold a special place in the hearts of so many people around the globe—most especially in the hearts of our employees, whose dedication to this company and its mission is an inspiration.”

Iger added that he is “deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team, with a clear mission focused on creative excellence to inspire generations through unrivaled, bold storytelling.”

 

[TheBallPit]

That plan won't work for very long. There are only so many 20-40 year old Peter Pan-syndrome afflicted "people" to milk. If parents can't afford to take their kids, then the kids won't grow up to be obsessed with Disney and there won't be any more superfans to exploit. Walt recognized that satisfying the whole family was the key to long term success, but modern Disney only thinks about the present and only cares about childless adults.

Disney should expand the park to handle more visitors; it's not like they don't have enough land. What they're doing now solves the problem of congestion, but it fails to accomplish the actual goal, which is to make children happy. Walt is rolling in his grave over what they've done to his parks and movie studio.

Disney are not the only people who've fallen into this trap; congestion zones/toll roads have the same issue yet are popular because they let governments get paid without having to improve infrastructure (which costs money). It's a terrible long term strategy for both theme parks and infrastructure, but modern "leaders" are incapable of thinking about the future.

Disney won't expand the footprint of the current parks, at least to not an appreciable degree. Galaxy's Edge is about the biggest expansion that'll ever be done in our lifetimes, and even it just hangs off the Studios like a thrombosed hemorrhoid. You'll get Tron, the Splash Mountain retheme, and the occasional Ratatouille-style ride and that's it. They'll reclaim space that's already in use and demolish old attractions in the process, like with the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride that used to host World of Energy. And they'll keep fans mesmerized by announcing stuff like the Mary Poppins attraction that's now been eliminated. People keep talking about a mythical fifth gate that Disney is secreting money for, but that's exactly what it is - a myth. They don't need another gate and don't want it. This is why they keep building hotels and shops instead of rides, as both are a helluva lot easier to run, make money as opposed to a ride (Genie+ notwithstanding), and helps to trap guests on the property instead of them choosing "good neighbor" off-site solutions.

I'm not saying this plan will ultimately work. However, I think it has a terrifyingly decent shot. There is so much money in circulation now that hundred-thousandaires and millionaires are fairly common and people just cannot shake their Disney thirst and will go into tremendous debt to slake it. If they can charge a grand for a gate pass, that means they don't have sell five or six more at the current price. That means less food, less ride staff, less janitors, and less carpenters and electricians that they have to cut a check for while maintaining the same income level. Iger, Susan Arnold, Christine McCarthy, Josh D'Amaro, and the rest of that mercenary ilk want Disney to become a giant Monaco or Cannes. If you can't afford the resort, tough, high tail it to Universal, Busch Gardens, Sea World, or Legoland. They're so transparent about it that they openly sell a $25,000 crystal replica of Cinderella's Castle (I've seen it firsthand and it's a prize a pixie duster would mortgage their house for) and jewelry on their cruise lines that cost twice that. This is the sort of money Disney is after.

Making children happy was Walt's dream and it was possible while Disney was still a local diversion in practice. That's long been off the table since they've gone national and international. Disney only wants ankle-biters now if it means their parents will buy them another overpriced trinket and an equally overpriced Mickey Mouse-shaped popsicle. They are the very image of a dystopian mega-corporation wearing the flayed skin suit of a children's theme park.

I'm with you regarding toll roads. In Florida, we have the Eldritch abomination called the Orange County Expressway Authority that has so many tentacles in the state economy that it will never be dissolved, even though the roads they oversee have long been paid off. They've even gotten toll lanes erected on our beloved SR400 via the "I-4 Ultimate Project". Those are yet more pay lanes with RFID bank-account readers that'll never be removed. Our entire existence is devoted to extracting every last penny we can from tourists and even a huge chunk from locals. It's gross and crass, but we don't have a state income tax, so I can only complain about it to a limited degree.

 

[TheBallPit]

The only people I see that interested in the Disney parks these days are "super fans" on the internet. The price hikes are definitely hurting them bad, and a lot of people are deciding to do other things on vacation.

Beyond that, I'm pretty damn sick of the commercialism of these parks. The CEOs just seem to worry about shoving the latest movie into things. I think tearing out the Norway ride for Frozen was one of the points where I had enough. Also, instead of using creativity when building new things, you now have endless "screen" rides which are just big video games or 4K monitors neither of which is that novel in 2022. Who gives a shit about spending that much money to play a video game or see a screen like the on you have in your house? lol

I think this problem is compounded by the fact that the main regional US competitors to Disney/Universal have been on an even worse path and just keep shoving endless extreme roller coasters/themeless thrill rides into their parks leaving nothing to offer anyone else. So those parks, many of them taken over by larger companies that own several regional parks, just become places for teens and early 20 somethings that think getting tossed around in the air like a rag doll is the only thing that should be in an amsument park.

If you look into the histories of these regional parks, a lot of them were a lot more interesting before the 90's before they decided on only one kind of ride was allowed and had a lot more to offer families, young children and older people. It's just bizarre how this dichotomy between Disney/everyone else was set up, when Disney originally ripped off all his ride ideas from other parks or World's Fairs that had mass appeal. Instead of continuing to innovate, they chose to only focus on coasters. Some kind of creativity/fun drain going on I guess, but it's really depressing when you think about what has been lost in regards of Americana.

Well, the packed parks tell a different story. A lot more than just internet superfans are interested. The price hikes might be hurting them in the short term and prompt someone to write a vinegar-laden blog post about it, but it's all for the long-term goal of making the resort an exclusive vacation destination for the rich. If you keep that in mind, all of their cost tactics make sense.

What was done for the Norway pavilion was, in a way, what was done for Poseidon's Fury and Dueling Dragons. I hated the Maelstrom retheme, too, and still haven't ridden the Elsafied "new" ride. Epcot as a whole is slowly but surely becoming just yet another IP dumping ground and all the Disney vloggers I've seen love it and think it's revitalizing that gate. And TBH I can't really fault them, as they don't know what Epcot was like in its heyday and just see construction walls and dirt everywhere, so ANYTHING would be an improvement.

Unfortunately, while we might possess the ability now to long-term pull it off, I don't think we'll ever get another Jaws or Earthquake/Disaster. Look at all the problems Disney is having just keeping Rise of the Resistance going in either A or B modes and they're the tip of the spear for new ride innovations (I bet they wish now that they hadn't made the thing). Kids today think "high tech" means an IMAX display of some sort and a seat that jiggles a bit, or a coaster for some "variety", but that's it. Plus, an eight year-old in 2022 would probably need therapy after being traumatized by a "real life" 55-foot tall ape.

I wish at times I didn't have the memory that I do, as I could then live in blissful ignorance like the rest of this current generation and think the Minions attraction is the pinnacle of theme park offerings.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

What was done for the Norway pavilion was, in a way, what was done for Poseidon's Fury and Dueling Dragons. I hated the Maelstrom retheme, too, and still haven't ridden the Elsafied "new" ride. Epcot as a whole is slowly but surely becoming just yet another IP dumping ground and all the Disney vloggers I've seen love it and think it's revitalizing that gate. And TBH I can't really fault them, as they don't know what Epcot was like in its heyday and just see construction walls and dirt everywhere, so ANYTHING would be an improvement.

yeah as much as I really loved The Future Of The 80s we got at EPCOT Center, that's been gone for a long, long time
The Sorta-Present Or Maybe Future Too I Guess Of The 90s and 00s we got at Epcot isn't such a big loss

 

[TheBallPit]

yeah as much as I really loved The Future Of The 80s we got at EPCOT Center, that's been gone for a long, long time
The Sorta-Present Or Maybe Future Too I Guess Of The 90s and 00s we got at Epcot isn't such a big loss

As cringey as it might sound, I have so many precious Disney (and Universal) memories that I literally can't dwell on them now for fear of losing myself in them. These were the times when my grandfather and father were still alive and the whole family could just show-up at a gate and have a grand ole day for probably no more than $100. The crowds were just enough to be pleasant and give the park life and no ride required you to spend half your waking hours in a queue. Plus, we had evergreen attractions like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Skyway, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at The Magic Kingdom and too many cool things to do at Epcot to name individually. No reservation system, no fastpass, no Genie+, and no Lightning Lane. You just went through the clickity-clack of a turnstile, spent the morning hours doing rides, got something to eat anywhere you wanted at anytime you wanted for lunch, and did the rest of the park afterwards. And if you were lucky, you went on a night that had a fireworks show or the Main Street Electrical Parade (the original version).

Perhaps it's shameful to have so much of a person's formative years revolve around a theme park, but that's where I'm at. They're slowly beginning to fade now that my brain has been sandblasted by old-age pills for the past half-decade, but I still remember some damn good days.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

As cringey as it might sound, I have so many precious Disney (and Universal) memories that I literally can't dwell on them now for fear of losing myself in them. These were the times when my grandfather and father were still alive and the whole family could just show-up at a gate and have a grand ole day for probably no more than $100. The crowds were just enough to be pleasant and give the park life and no ride required you to spend half your waking hours in a queue. Plus, we had evergreen attractions like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Skyway, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at The Magic Kingdom and too many cool things to do at Epcot to name individually. No reservation system, no fastpass, no Genie+, and no Lightning Lane. You just went through the clickity-clack of a turnstile, spent the morning hours doing rides, got something to eat anywhere you wanted at anytime you wanted for lunch, and did the rest of the park afterwards. And if you were lucky, you went on a night that had a fireworks show or the Main Street Electrical Parade (the original version).

Perhaps it's shameful to have so much of a person's formative years revolve around a theme park, but that's where I'm at. They're slowly beginning to fade now that my brain has been sandblasted by old-age pills for the past half-decade, but I still remember some damn good days.

at least there's the Martin videos

 

[Rome's rightful successor]

Any econ 101 class gets into why monopolies aren’t very profitable in the long run. The only reason why they still get pursued is that major shareholders demand growth for growth’s sake and when you’re Disney, the concept of infinite growth is not feasible without some major acquisitions. This is where organizations like the FTC step in but they are committed neoliberals who also believe in growth for growth’s sake. As we see with the tech industry, that isn’t actually sustainable. Jewsney is going to continue to sputter with Iger at the helm because of market realities.

When to big to fail becomes to big to succeed.

 

[Mothra1988]

Well, the packed parks tell a different story. A lot more than just internet superfans are interested. The price hikes might be hurting them in the short term and prompt someone to write a vinegar-laden blog post about it, but it's all for the long-term goal of making the resort an exclusive vacation destination for the rich. If you keep that in mind, all of their cost tactics make sense.

What was done for the Norway pavilion was, in a way, what was done for Poseidon's Fury and Dueling Dragons. I hated the Maelstrom retheme, too, and still haven't ridden the Elsafied "new" ride. Epcot as a whole is slowly but surely becoming just yet another IP dumping ground and all the Disney vloggers I've seen love it and think it's revitalizing that gate. And TBH I can't really fault them, as they don't know what Epcot was like in its heyday and just see construction walls and dirt everywhere, so ANYTHING would be an improvement.

Unfortunately, while we might possess the ability now to long-term pull it off, I don't think we'll ever get another Jaws or Earthquake/Disaster. Look at all the problems Disney is having just keeping Rise of the Resistance going in either A or B modes and they're the tip of the spear for new ride innovations (I bet they wish now that they hadn't made the thing). Kids today think "high tech" means an IMAX display of some sort and a seat that jiggles a bit, or a coaster for some "variety", but that's it. Plus, an eight year-old in 2022 would probably need therapy after being traumatized by a "real life" 55-foot tall ape.

I wish at times I didn't have the memory that I do, as I could then live in blissful ignorance like the rest of this current generation and think the Minions attraction is the pinnacle of theme park offerings.

Well, Disney can fuck itself if it's plan is to replace the middle class with the rich. Definitely the complete opposite of what Walt envisioned. Let DeSantis burn it all down for all I care then.

Epcot's idea was it was supposed to be an educational (Edutainment as KRS-One would say) park. You had one half that was about science themed as the "future" and the other learning about foreign cultures themed as a trip around the world. But yeah that's being dumped into the garbage bin now especially with the Guardians of the Galaxy, something I remember was a Marvel F-level team below the West Coast Avengers before it got picked as a movie by whatever studio exec from a folder of IPs they were probably looking at.

I pretty much hate all the Disney vloggers/reviewers/bloggers/posters. Bunch of lolcows as far as I'm concerned. Spoiled brats with season passes.. Some literal shills for Disney or Universal or butt hurt anti-Disney shills that are probably even worse. I'd take their thoughts into consideration about as much as I would anime reviewers or whatever other worthless internet parasite is out there. But you don't need those people to tell that these theme parks companies have lost their way.

Kids don't know what's best for them. Or even what they should like. We live in the age of literal pop culture rot where almost nothing new matters. At this point, things are so ridiculous that Led Zeplin, Pink Floyd and Queen probably have better record sales with young music listeners than actual current pop acts. It's not like they are overly invested in only liking what people think they should like. And kids can't even be dragged into a fucking movie theater these days. Just relying on screen tech even if it's new screen tech is not a amusement park experience imo. I'd rather ride a fucking 1890 Old Mill ride than that garbage.

 

[Uranus Pink]

Kids don't know what's best for them. Or even what they should like. We live in the age of literal pop culture rot where almost nothing new matters. At this point, things are so ridiculous that Led Zeplin, Pink Floyd and Queen probably have better record sales with young music listeners than actual current pop acts.

What doesn't help is lot of the current acts don't even have physical media (CDs, records or even "for shits and giggles" cassette tapes) of their albums. As opposed to the overplayed to HELL and back ad nauseum vintage bands who still have physical albums in one form or another readily available.

It's not like they are overly invested in only liking what people think they should like.

One of the points of being a child to youngish adult is for them to find what they would like to an extent on their own.

And kids can't even be dragged into a fucking movie theater these days.

Not exclusively a kid problem as speaking for myself there's barely anything at the theater worth going to see. As most movies released today I can't even be arse to watch legally or pirate them at home.

 

[TheBallPit]

Well, Disney can fuck itself if it's plan is to replace the middle class with the rich. Definitely the complete opposite of what Walt envisioned. Let DeSantis burn it all down for all I care then.

Epcot's idea was it was supposed to be an educational (Edutainment as KRS-One would say) park. You had one half that was about science themed as the "future" and the other learning about foreign cultures themed as a trip around the world. But yeah that's being dumped into the garbage bin now especially with the Guardians of the Galaxy, something I remember was a Marvel F-level team below the West Coast Avengers before it got picked as a movie by whatever studio exec from a folder of IPs they were probably looking at.

I pretty much hate all the Disney vloggers/reviewers/bloggers/posters. Bunch of lolcows as far as I'm concerned. Spoiled brats with season passes.. Some literal shills for Disney or Universal or butt hurt anti-Disney shills that are probably even worse. I'd take their thoughts into consideration about as much as I would anime reviewers or whatever other worthless internet parasite is out there. But you don't need those people to tell that these theme parks companies have lost their way.

Kids don't know what's best for them. Or even what they should like. We live in the age of literal pop culture rot where almost nothing new matters. At this point, things are so ridiculous that Led Zeplin, Pink Floyd and Queen probably have better record sales with young music listeners than actual current pop acts. It's not like they are overly invested in only liking what people think they should like. And kids can't even be dragged into a fucking movie theater these days. Just relying on screen tech even if it's new screen tech is not a amusement park experience imo. I'd rather ride a fucking 1890 Old Mill ride than that garbage.

You have to consider what Disney is doing by thinking like a CEO with an embarrassment of demand for a wealthy-only product. Let's say that Disney freezes prices or, heaven forbid, actually reduces them to give the lower classes a break. That would probably garner them a lot of good press, but it's stagnation and maybe even a regression from an economic standpoint. This would get them in "fiduciary responsibility" trouble with stakeholders and might even be against U.S. "make money or else" law.

The only way Disney can experience growth in the only way that they know how is to raise, raise, and raise some more the price of virtually everything emblazoned with their stamp. Why not when the fervor never seems to diminish? The inverted economy that Disney has created means that they can't do anything else from a growth perspective but to dive deeper and deeper into the pockets of park guests. Why do you think they priced the Galactic Starcruiser at a blurry-eyed $5,000 for a paltry two-night stay for a family of four while only offering some light LARPing and blue-dyed shrimp in return? It's the only thing they could've done, otherwise they'd be hopelessly overbooked, which would draw its own vociferous complaints from the fanbase.

(Yes, I know the hotel is now suffering from some unrealized occupancy, but it's probably just a hiccup while they retool some things. And if they do significantly reduce the price, it'll only be for the extremely short term.)

This isn't a case of lowering prices to jump-start flagging sales, as Disney only has the one product to offer and it's already flying off the shelves. I wish that wasn't the case, as generations of lower-strata kids will never get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean or share a magical embrace with their favorite cinematic character, but that Rubicon was crossed years ago. That isn't to say that they couldn't do some simple outreach-style things, like giving-away cheap Disney-branded Lightyear toys to kids at its premiere across the country, but it probably wouldn't be enough for a tax write-off, so why bother?

As for Disney vloggers, they all seem to be Iger's vampiric thralls. I don't know what they believe the man will do for them personally, but I guess they're all starry-eyed by his handsome bloodsucking grin while Chapek was just a hairless bug-eyed ghoul. I get the uncomfortable impression that they think the man can do no wrong and will swoon over the exact same unpopular decisions that Chapek would've made. It's a cult of personality run amok.

And regarding kids, Pokemon and other videogames seem to be their only path for dopamine hits, so that's all they know and want. Your bog-standard log flume with a climactic drop would probably send them to the E.R. When did you ever see a kid playing on a jungle-gym or getting some decent airtime on a swing in current year? Do they even have PE in school anymore? Hasn't dodgeball been outlawed? God, I miss playing dodgeball....

 

[Mothra1988]

You have to consider what Disney is doing by thinking like a CEO with an embarrassment of demand for a wealthy-only product. Let's say that Disney freezes prices or, heaven forbid, actually reduces them to give the lower classes a break. That would probably garner them a lot of good press, but it's stagnation and maybe even a regression from an economic standpoint. This would get them in "fiduciary responsibility" trouble with stakeholders and might even be against U.S. "make money or else" law.

The only way Disney can experience growth in the only way that they know how is to raise, raise, and raise some more the price of virtually everything emblazoned with their stamp. Why not when the fervor never seems to diminish? The inverted economy that Disney has created means that they can't do anything else from a growth perspective but to dive deeper and deeper into the pockets of park guests. Why do you think they priced the Galactic Starcruiser at a blurry-eyed $5,000 for a paltry two-night stay for a family of four while only offering some light LARPing and blue-dyed shrimp in return? It's the only thing they could've done, otherwise they'd be hopelessly overbooked, which would draw its own vociferous complaints from the fanbase.

(Yes, I know the hotel is now suffering from some unrealized occupancy, but it's probably just a hiccup while they retool some things. And if they do significantly reduce the price, it'll only be for the extremely short term.)

This isn't a case of lowering prices to jump-start flagging sales, as Disney only has the one product to offer and it's already flying off the shelves. I wish that wasn't the case, as generations of lower-strata kids will never get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean or share a magical embrace with their favorite cinematic character, but that Rubicon was crossed years ago. That isn't to say that they couldn't do some simple outreach-style things, like giving-away cheap Disney-branded Lightyear toys to kids at its premiere across the country, but it probably wouldn't be enough for a tax write-off, so why bother?

As for Disney vloggers, they all seem to be Iger's vampiric thralls. I don't know what they believe the man will do for them personally, but I guess they're all starry-eyed by his handsome bloodsucking grin while Chapek was just a hairless bug-eyed ghoul. I get the uncomfortable impression that they think the man can do no wrong and will swoon over the exact same unpopular decisions that Chapek would've made. It's a cult of personality run amok.

And regarding kids, Pokemon and other videogames seem to be their only path for dopamine hits, so that's all they know and want. Your bog-standard log flume with a climactic drop would probably send them to the E.R. When did you ever see a kid playing on a jungle-gym or getting some decent airtime on a swing in current year? Do they even have PE in school anymore? Hasn't dodgeball been outlawed? God, I miss playing dodgeball....

Let's be honest, "screen rides" are a thing becuase they are cheap. Why waste money on building and maintaining actual animatornics and set-pieces when you can just render some CGI bullshit and play it on a TV on loop. It's called slashing overhead. That's part of the problem with these two god awful comapnies, Dinsey and Universal, they're being Walmartized by their asshole CEOs who probalby have less passion and creativity than the bum holding a sign up on your local street corner.

Sure kids only know video games now. However, why bother spending money on airfare, hotel stays, entrance fees for something you can already do in your house? If zoomers are that fragile, I don't know why Cedar Fair, etc. keep dumping money on more exteme thrill rides.

Well, if the parks are filled with rich snobs willing to pay the extra gazillion dollars for this shit, good for them I guess. But good job maintaining your position in American culture when you become another dumb luxury brand. When people see commercials about daddy giving mommy two new Lexuses for Christmas, it breeds resentment with the plebs who only make nominal wages. You think people are going to continue shoveling money at Disney's woke garbage movies if they can't even afford to go to a Disney park? I don't think so. Some competitor will come in and eat their lunch. No business is immnue from failure. The fact they've had as much problems as they'ave had in the past 10 years is proof enough of that.

 

[naaaaiiiiillllll!!!]

as generations of lower-strata kids will never get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean

That got me in the feels way harder than it should have...

 

[TheBallPit]

Let's be honest, "screen rides" are a thing becuase they are cheap. Why waste money on building and maintaining actual animatornics and set-pieces when you can just render some CGI bullshit and play it on a TV on loop. It's called slashing overhead. That's part of the problem with these two god awful comapnies, Dinsey and Universal, they're being Walmartized by their asshole CEOs who probalby have less passion and creativity than the bum holding a sign up on your local street corner.

Sure kids only know video games now. However, why bother spending money on airfare, hotel stays, entrance fees for something you can already do in your house? If zoomers are that fragile, I don't know why Cedar Fair, etc. keep dumping money on more exteme thrill rides.

Well, if the parks are filled with rich snobs willing to pay the extra gazillion dollars for this shit, good for them I guess. But good job maintaining your position in American culture when you become another dumb luxury brand. When people see commercials about daddy giving mommy two new Lexuses for Christmas, it breeds resentment with the plebs who only make nominal wages. You think people are going to continue shoveling money at Disney's woke garbage movies if they can't even afford to go to a Disney park? I don't think so. Some competitor will come in and eat their lunch. No business is immnue from failure. The fact they've had as much problems as they'ave had in the past 10 years is proof enough of that.

Yep, screen rides are what we used to call back in the Trash-80 days turnkey systems. Or, as Matt LeBlanc said in Lost in Space, "And the monkey flips the switch." Ask any Universal fan with some years under his belt and he'll lament the loss of attractions which were populated with ride actors, fabulous animatronics, and allowed guests to be "in the scene", something the park used to excel at. And, to be fair, they still have the capability as evidenced by the phenomenal HHN houses (seriously, Dead Man's Wharf was a work of art). They just don't seem to have the motivation to offer similar experiences on a year-round basis, particularly since the houses require that they be staffed with a lot of flesh-and-bood scare-actors.

Parks like Cedar Fair and Six Flags cater to a completely different demographic. One that Disney has no desire to entice, as they consider them to be low-rent destinations visited by low-rent people. Fair and Flags may want to disagree, but they know Disney is in a class on its own and there are no pretenders to that throne.

I think that, after the colossal failure of Strange World, Disney finally understands that they can't push out just any movie splashed with their horse brand and rake in the riches. The Pete's Dragon remake also performed poorly, but everyone has forgotten about it. Solo should've been the red flag, but Strange World might actually have a deep cultural impact. All eyes will be on the next CGI-fest, so we'll see.

Oh, and we can't forget that Disney is rumored to be wooing Depp to return to the Pirates franchise now that the Margot Robbie-led proposal is in the trash. I hope he stands his ground, but money is the temptation to end all temptations, so I think an "agreement" will be ironed-out. If that actually happens, we may also see his return as Grindelwald since Mads Mikkelsen couldn't carry FB3.

 

[TheBallPit]

That got me in the feels way harder than it should have...

Yeah, it's sad. I think Disney could improve their image dramatically if they engaged in some highly public philanthropic acts that were directly tied to park entry. I know they distribute free gate tickets and food vouchers for Give Kids the World kids and their parents, but doing something for the average John or Jane whose family income is below, say, $40,000/year would earn them some desperately-needed karma. I know they sponsor a huge children's ward at Florida Hospital and that's fantastic, but it's not very well known and doesn't have anything to do with the resort (at least, not to my knowledge).

Maybe they could do something like Broadway does and offer a small-ish allocation of discounted tickets at the crack of dawn for anyone able to physically get to the ticketing office on certain dates (I'd bet they'd have lines out the door). Or allow families to enter a weekly free lottery for a smattering of price-slashed gate passes. They could even implement some fairly difficult games on the website that, if won, unlocked the option to buy discounted tickets.

Of course, this would be an "admission of guilt" that Disney prices have gotten too stratospheric for mortal humans, so they likely wouldn't even consider it.

 

[BULLY HUNTER_78]

Yeah, Universal has become the new screen king. Even Escape From Gringotts is heavily reliant on screens (though the rest of the ride is admittedly impressive). And Spider-Man and Transformers are practically just one giant screen, along with Kong. The Jurassic World retheme of River Adventure in your neck of woods now uses a bunch of screens that, thankfully, hasn't been implemented here (yet).

I'm also rooting for Universal simply because at least they aren't completely insufferable dipshits like Disney but I absolutely agree with you that their heavy reliance on "screen rides" is their biggest weakness. I hope they don't ruin that Jurassic River Adventure ride with screens in Florida, like they did in California. That shit's my favorite Universal ride.

 

[quaawaa]

Yeah, it's sad. I think Disney could improve their image dramatically if they engaged in some highly public philanthropic acts that were directly tied to park entry. I know they distribute free gate tickets and food vouchers for Give Kids the World kids and their parents, but doing something for the average John or Jane whose family income is below, say, $40,000/year would earn them some desperately-needed karma.

That would buy them good press, but it wouldn't really help to restore their position in the minds of the children. The only real solution to realizing Walt's dream is to accept that air travel isn't just for the rich anymore and that people from around the world can fly to Orlando for vacation, and to expand the park to meet the demand. They'll make more money through volume and nothing would stop them from continuing to have exclusive experiences for the wealthy. Their image will be infinitely better if middle-class people can afford to visit on their own instead of a handful of people winning the lottery and getting free tickets.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

You have to consider what Disney is doing by thinking like a CEO with an embarrassment of demand for a wealthy-only product.

Apple has been able to pull it off. But Disney is not known as a premium brand like Apple so its attempt to be the Apple of media is not going to work. It’s a lazy tactic too because the vast majority of the time it’s a company just raising prices without making any effort towards improving the quality. Naturally people seem to figure it out quickly enough and they have to shift their strategy yet again.

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

And to think, this genuinely informative and thought-provoking discussion of a Fortune 500 company's decline is on a forum originally founded to make fun of an autistic delusional NEET. The Farms is a truly magical place, I'll tell ya 'hwat.

 

[Mothra1988]

Yep, screen rides are what we used to call back in the Trash-80 days turnkey systems. Or, as Matt LeBlanc said in Lost in Space, "And the monkey flips the switch." Ask any Universal fan with some years under his belt and he'll lament the loss of attractions which were populated with ride actors, fabulous animatronics, and allowed guests to be "in the scene", something the park used to excel at. And, to be fair, they still have the capability as evidenced by the phenomenal HHN houses (seriously, Dead Man's Wharf was a work of art). They just don't seem to have the motivation to offer similar experiences on a year-round basis, particularly since the houses require that they be staffed with a lot of flesh-and-bood scare-actors.

Parks like Cedar Fair and Six Flags cater to a completely different demographic. One that Disney has no desire to entice, as they consider them to be low-rent destinations visited by low-rent people. Fair and Flags may want to disagree, but they know Disney is in a class on its own and there are no pretenders to that throne.

I think that, after the colossal failure of Strange World, Disney finally understands that they can't push out just any movie splashed with their horse brand and rake in the riches. The Pete's Dragon remake also performed poorly, but everyone has forgotten about it. Solo should've been the red flag, but Strange World might actually have a deep cultural impact. All eyes will be on the next CGI-fest, so we'll see.

Oh, and we can't forget that Disney is rumored to be wooing Depp to return to the Pirates franchise now that the Margot Robbie-led proposal is in the trash. I hope he stands his ground, but money is the temptation to end all temptations, so I think an "agreement" will be ironed-out. If that actually happens, we may also see his return as Grindelwald since Mads Mikkelsen couldn't carry FB3.

I would connect the failure of stuff like Strange World and even Lightyear to Desantis' hatchet job on Disney they didn't see coming. I mean I remember when Toy Story was a huge gigantic property and my brother got a Buzz Lightyear as a gift. This time around, it's like no one gave a crap. I don't think it's because Toy Story is a tired brand. We'll see how well the next Shrek spin-off performs because I would place those in similar categories as legacy CG properties.

Companies like Disney are used to huffing their own farts and they are further insulated from the truth by left leaning media companies that just tell them what they want to hear. I don't think the level of Disney's fuck-up with battling the Florida state legislature is known completely at this point. People like Tucker Carlson have further reach than whatever puff piece they would get for these movies online. A lot of parents and grandparents may have soured on Disney even if it's not the case with the elitist liberals that are willing to pay for ridiculous perks at the park like money is exploding out of their pockets.

I remember when Disney was extremely protective of its "kid-friendly" brand even to the point it sabotaged the performance of some of its movies that came out too dark like Return to Oz or the Black Cauldron. Ralph Bakshi even thinks they attacked the movie Wizards by re-releasing Fantasia because they didn't want more adult stuff in animation. While that kid-friendly only mindset was pretty boring imo and probably why I grew out of Disney media, it has a pretty sound economic strategy behind it. They never really pissed of any political groups that had the power to attack them, so they stayed in some weird place in the middle free from scorn from both sides with parents thinking that Disney was always the "safe" choice.

I don't know if the Depp stuff is true. I'll believe it when I see it, because I'm really black-pilled on me-too slander victims being allowed back into the fixed game. It was the same thing when Kathleen Kennedy kept fucking up and people thought she would be tossed out, but the truth was the company was too ingrained into stupid to do the obvious thing.

That would buy them good press, but it wouldn't really help to restore their position in the minds of the children. The only real solution to realizing Walt's dream is to accept that air travel isn't just for the rich anymore and that people from around the world can fly to Orlando for vacation, and to expand the park to meet the demand. They'll make more money through volume and nothing would stop them from continuing to have exclusive experiences for the wealthy. Their image will be infinitely better if middle-class people can afford to visit on their own instead of a handful of people winning the lottery and getting free tickets.

I also have to say it wasn't too long ago that these parks were still considered affordable for middle class vacations. That was definitely the case in 2012. They just need to craft more promotional deals. And yes, shaving prices in some cases for those deals would do it. Disney isn't designed as a luxury brand. They'll just cointiue to breed resentment for it since their other products are still aimed at the plebs. The fact that the parks have to support the failures of the rest of the company by catering to rich people is an untenable position imo. They may make a lot of money in the short term, but it won't work in the long term for the entire company. They should go back to catering to both groups like they used to do with the distinction between Grand Floridian guests and the people at All Star Sports or whatever.

 

[TheBallPit]

Well, no CEO of Disney has ever been a saint, not even Walt himself. That said, I dunno if I buy Bakshi's accusation, as Fantasia already had an extremely rich re-release history and Wizards beat the 1977 U.S. re-showing by over two months (February 7, 1977 versus April 15, 1977 according to the IMDb).

(I do love Wizards, BTW, even though it's pretty slow in parts.)

As much as people like to criticize Disney, especially with their more recent decisions (and deservedly so), you do have to admit that calling WDW a "theme park" is a gross disservice, as they offer so, SO much more apart from the gates. And the parks themselves are often their own wonders, with sightlines, landscaping, hallmark rides, shows, displays, character meet-and-greets, and overall immersion second to none. I don't like the way the company is headed, either, but you have to give the devil his due.

And I still, perhaps stubbornly, maintain that Disney doesn't have much of a choice regarding its pricing strategies. What would you do if you were confronted with parks that were at or near capacity practically every day of the year? Even if I'm completely wrong about the company's ultimate goal, the price hikes combined with the reservation system have become the only dam holding the torrent of crowds at bay. And they've gotten to be too big of a mega-hyper-beast to even consider regressive economic proposals.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that everyone from the board down wanted to return the parks to its "a place for all kids" roots. How would they accomplish that? Slashing the price of entry would be the obvious solution, but that would only exacerbate the demand problem and could potentially disrupt or even bankrupt other operating sectors. When I say Disney has become a horrific monster, I meant it, as evidenced by this absolutely dumbfounding and terrifying graphic. One could even argue that it's a miracle Disney's prices are as low as they are in current year.

And year-after-year, the parks ARE the one gigantic perpetually-reliable income source that allows Disney to shrug-off failures like Strange World, Lightyear, and anything else they produce. It's also why they're able to have a constant cinema presence and can routinely sling enormous budgets at films that have little chance of just breaking even. If Strange World winds-up $100 million in the red, it won't be a blip on their balance sheet and, at worst, will only be an embarrassment in the newspapers and YouTube fodder.

In the end, I believe Epic Universe will only be a minor distraction to Disney here in Florida and could even be a design and engineering poaching opportunity should Iger actually greenlight park renovations and finally decide what to do with Epcot. I could very-well be wrong, but I just don't see Universal's new gate as a threat given how entrenched WDW is amongst its worldwide fanbase.

Regarding Depp, like I wrote, I hope he stands his ground, but he's genuinely worshipped as Jack and Disney knows that, so he could likely negotiate the actor check to end all actor checks if he returned. And it would firmly clean him of Heard's Metoo grime so that his career could experience a huge resurgence. The last Pirates film was in the ancient year of 2017, so I think people would turn out in droves in he led a sixth entry. It's either principles or money.

 

[Mothra1988]

Well, no CEO of Disney has ever been a saint, not even Walt himself. That said, I dunno if I buy Bakshi's accusation, as Fantasia already had an extremely rich re-release history and Wizards beat the 1977 U.S. re-showing by over two months (February 7, 1977 versus April 15, 1977 according to the IMDb).

(I do love Wizards, BTW, even though it's pretty slow in parts.)

As much as people like to criticize Disney, especially with their more recent decisions (and deservedly so), you do have to admit that calling WDW a "theme park" is a gross disservice, as they offer so, SO much more apart from the gates. And the parks themselves are often their own wonders, with sightlines, landscaping, hallmark rides, shows, displays, character meet-and-greets, and overall immersion second to none. I don't like the way the company is headed, either, but you have to give the devil his due.

And I still, perhaps stubbornly, maintain that Disney doesn't have much of a choice regarding its pricing strategies. What would you do if you were confronted with parks that were at or near capacity practically every day of the year? Even if I'm completely wrong about the company's ultimate goal, the price hikes combined with the reservation system have become the only dam holding the torrent of crowds at bay. And they've gotten to be too big of a mega-hyper-beast to even consider regressive economic proposals.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that everyone from the board down wanted to return the parks to its "a place for all kids" roots. How would they accomplish that? Slashing the price of entry would be the obvious solution, but that would only exacerbate the demand problem and could potentially disrupt or even bankrupt other operating sectors. When I say Disney has become a horrific monster, I meant it, as evidenced by this absolutely dumbfounding and terrifying graphic. One could even argue that it's a miracle Disney's prices are as low as they are in current year.

And year-after-year, the parks ARE the one gigantic perpetually-reliable income source that allows Disney to shrug-off failures like Strange World, Lightyear, and anything else they produce. It's also why they're able to have a constant cinema presence and can routinely sling enormous budgets at films that have little chance of just breaking even. If Strange World winds-up $100 million in the red, it won't be a blip on their balance sheet and, at worst, will only be an embarrassment in the newspapers and YouTube fodder.

In the end, I believe Epic Universe will only be a minor distraction to Disney here in Florida and could even be a design and engineering poaching opportunity should Iger actually greenlight park renovations and finally decide what to do with Epcot. I could very-well be wrong, but I just don't see Universal's new gate as a threat given how entrenched WDW is amongst its worldwide fanbase.

Regarding Depp, like I wrote, I hope he stands his ground, but he's genuinely worshipped as Jack and Disney knows that, so he could likely negotiate the actor check to end all actor checks if he returned. And it would firmly clean him of Heard's Metoo grime so that his career could experience a huge resurgence. The last Pirates film was in the ancient year of 2017, so I think people would turn out in droves in he led a sixth entry. It's either principles or money.

Well, it's not that I wouldn't believe Depp would do it. It think he'd be happy to go back to they way things were before. It's the SJWs and people converted into SJW mindset now ingrained into Disney that are the problem. Look at what happened at Twitter. Some of these nutcases are so invested into not admitting they were wrong, they'd rather quit their jobs and then try to sink their own company for changing course. I think any hope for a turn around without massive amounts of heads rolling was borne out by what happened to Star Wars.

Is the park really at capacity all year long? I used to go in the fall and most of the e-tickets were walk-ons. They could institute a system like the one used by the hotel/airline industry where discounts can be dolled out when park attendance is lower. Then, of course, you could actually increase capacity by building more instead of just re-theming (aka ruining) existing rides, but that would involve convincing the money grubbers in this company to actually invest in the future again like the company used to.

I do think Disney already lost something to Universal in the minds of people and the overall cultural zeitgeist. A lot of families go to Universal gates only for vacation now and don't care or think about what they are missing out at Disney at all, and that definitely was not the case before they invested in Harry Potter, etc. I don't give a crap about Universal, but my SO would probably choose to go Universal instead due her being a Potter fangirl and being more intersted in what the newer parks are offering. She would probably only choose Disney over Universal on the westcoast or Asia, but not Florida.

I also think that middle-income people not going to the parks now is going to be a drag on the entire company in some way. I mean would people really still care about Mikey Mouse as a character if it weren't for the parks? What happens when you have successive generations that did not even consider going to Disney as a vacation? I don't think they'll be buying all that mouse merchandise really and might choose competitors over their toy lines, etc. when shopping for Christmas and birthdays especially if Marvel and Disney princesses wane in popularity.