Iger is back and Chapek is out...

[GPC0321]

My guess is on new park hopping rules.

From your fingertips to Iger's eyeballs...let it be so. I hate the 2:00 rule thing.

 

[JZCubed]

The parks weren't closed when Chapek came on. The pandemic at that point was nowhere near on the forefront of all the businesses out there. It wasn't even a pandemic at that point (as in labeled that). So unfortunately your thoughts about the pandemic are mis-attributed. It's entirely possible Chapek was brought on to be the face of decisions largely at the behest of Iger though.

That's not entirely true.

Folks who had contact with China knew that Covid was bad.

China didn't open back up after their Lunar New Year's celebration.

Disney Shanghai was no exception.

Those of us in contact with China knew Covid was going to be bad.

What none of knew was for how long.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That's not entirely true.

Folks who had contact with China knew that Covid was bad.

China didn't not open back up after their Lunar New Year's celebration.

Disney Shanghai was no exception.

Those of us in contact with China knew Covid was going to be bad.

What none of knew was for how long.

The quote from the PP was "I believe that Chapek was brought on to be the hatchet man for a lot of the unpopular cost cutting that Iger knew would have to happen for the parks to survive the pandemic"

The pandemic didn't exist when Chapek started nor would anyone have been able to know how it unfolded and the ramifications of it. If you believe the long post from a few posts back talks were possible way back in 2018 regarding who was going to take over.

The difference in opinion wasn't about bringing someone in to be the fall guy at least somewhere down in the future.

The political structure of China makes the observation of what occurred in what is considered ground zero for covid-19 hard to discuss on the Board nor to draw any connection to who the CEO of Disney is. Disney doesn't even own Shanghai or Hong Kong Disney. They are joint ventures where they don't even have majority ownership in either one and they don't run either one, decisions made there do not reflect decisions the CEO of Disney would make with respects to leadership or to their parks.

Honestly this is getting a bit too far off track so I'll leave it there

 

[asc]

I guess Iger can't f it up any worse. Haha. Famous last words.

 

[RamblingMad]

I guess Iger can't f it up any worse. Haha. Famous last words.

He's going to have to fire a lot of people to pay his $27m a year salary.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Senators started selling their stocks after a briefing in January, more than 2 months before "regular folks" even knew what was hitting them. Trust me when I say leaders of large corporations are the second to know what's going down. Iger and his fellow corporate giants knew well before many people what was coming down the pike. Chapek was 100% guaranteed installed as CEO because of COVID. Zero questions. He served a purpose plain and simple. And whatever, it doesn't even matter does it at this point. But just not sure what all the Iger lovers are expecting. Do we like Iger better than Chapek? Yeah I guess sure. Did Chapek do anything much without having Iger's proverbial hand up his...back...dictating a lot? Nope. But look! It worked! Nobody hates Iger. Everyone hates Chapek! And Disney now gets to keep many of the newly implemented cost cutting features plus additional revenue streams it added over the last two years. My predication is that Iger will make a few minor newsworthy changes in good faith that will show "all is good in the house of mouse again". And people will smile and continue to keep doing the same thing and spending more money as usual but all the while thinking..."whew glad Bob Iger is back!"

 

[deedubb]

Iger has already axed Chapek's plan for another Disney+ price increase, even though Disney+ is bleeding money. And right there lies the difference between the two Bobs. I doubt we'll see a substantial change in the parks, but it's nice to see someone at the helm who actually loves Disney as a company, and not someone who just cares about the bottom line. Welcome back Mr. Iger.

 

[Dulcee]

Iger has already axed Chapek's plan for another Disney+ price increase, even though Disney+ is bleeding money. And right there lies the difference between the two Bobs. I doubt we'll see a substantial change in the parks, but it's nice to see someone at the helm who actually loves Disney as a company, and not someone who just cares about the bottom line. Welcome back Mr. Iger.

Really? Where did you see this?

 

[deedubb]

Really? Where did you see this?

Just read it this morning, and now I can't find it. I believe it was a reputable source, but now I can't confirm it.

 

[nikem3]

Iger has already axed Chapek's plan for another Disney+ price increase, even though Disney+ is bleeding money. And right there lies the difference between the two Bobs. I doubt we'll see a substantial change in the parks, but it's nice to see someone at the helm who actually loves Disney as a company, and not someone who just cares about the bottom line. Welcome back Mr. Iger.

This seems highly unlikely. I'd imagine Disney+ would keep any price increase and then trim future content. Most likely back to the basics and to what is "popular" money making shows/movies.

 

[sponica]

I haven't read all 248 pages of posts yet, so apologies if this has already been said.

I think old Chapek's major problem was that he was a numbers guy, and numbers guy alone. And it was to the detriment of EVERYTHING across the divisions. The dustup with ScarJo over her Black Widow compensation when they did a day and date release on Disney plus with a theatrical release. Speaking in a manner that belittled consumers. Gaslighting park attendees with the "park reservations are to make sure guests have a good experience".

I'm not expecting Bob (the good one) to wave a magic wand and change everything, but at least he won't be antagonizing every division and morale will be higher. Workers who feel supported are better workers, and it flows downhill from there.

 

[nikem3]

Senators started selling their stocks after a briefing in January, more than 2 months before "regular folks" even knew what was hitting them. Trust me when I say leaders of large corporations are the second to know what's going down. Iger and his fellow corporate giants knew well before many people what was coming down the pike. Chapek was 100% guaranteed installed as CEO because of COVID. Zero questions. He served a purpose plain and simple. And whatever, it doesn't even matter does it at this point. But just not sure what all the Iger lovers are expecting. Do we like Iger better than Chapek? Yeah I guess sure. Did Chapek do anything much without having Iger's proverbial hand up his...back...dictating a lot? Nope. But look! It worked! Nobody hates Iger. Everyone hates Chapek! And Disney now gets to keep many of the newly implemented cost cutting features plus additional revenue streams it added over the last two years. My predication is that Iger will make a few minor newsworthy changes in good faith that will show "all is good in the house of mouse again". And people will smile and continue to keep doing the same thing and spending more money as usual but all the while thinking..."whew glad Bob Iger is back!"

I'll be honest, this is what I'm thinking too. I get Iger is popular, but its still a business and the parks are doing very well. Will we get a few crumbs as a popularity gesture? Sure. But anyone expecting major roll backs and changes shouldn't hold their breath. The focus will be streaming, and how do you make more money with streaming platforms? Cut future content.

 

[gharter]

Iger has already axed Chapek's plan for another Disney+ price increase, even though Disney+ is bleeding money. And right there lies the difference between the two Bobs. I doubt we'll see a substantial change in the parks, but it's nice to see someone at the helm who actually loves Disney as a company, and not someone who just cares about the bottom line. Welcome back Mr. Iger.

This morning on one of the newsfeeds, I read that as one of his possible options. I haven't read it anywhere that it will happen.
changing Chapeks restructuring is happening.

 

[HopperFan]

How often do Park Passes "sell out"?

Other than during holidays, most of the time park passes are available for all parks, so is it truly bringing any value for those days where it isn't sold out?

The parks are also not in the best shape post pandemic. This is partially because of staffing issues, but also because Disney is trying to limit staffing. If Disney would instead properly staff the parks, they could do away with park passes, allow park hopping anytime and not have to worry. They've done this pre-pandemic, so I don't see why they can't. do it now.

To help with the staffing issues, Disney could also pay its CMs more.

I've been 7 times since reopen and every single trip we have parks blocked out various days. A couple times we could switch last minute but most times MK and DHS never opened for more reservations and often full days added. (I don't go holidays or weekends)

Reservations are a positive for Disney with more than just staffing. Forcing people into Epcot and AK allows them to increase attendance and increase income in those parks.

Senators started selling their stocks after a briefing in January, more than 2 months before "regular folks" even knew what was hitting them. Trust me when I say leaders of large corporations are the second to know what's going down. Iger and his fellow corporate giants knew well before many people what was coming down the pike. Chapek was 100% guaranteed installed as CEO because of COVID. Zero questions. He served a purpose plain and simple. And whatever, it doesn't even matter does it at this point. But just not sure what all the Iger lovers are expecting. Do we like Iger better than Chapek? Yeah I guess sure. Did Chapek do anything much without having Iger's proverbial hand up his...back...dictating a lot? Nope. But look! It worked! Nobody hates Iger. Everyone hates Chapek! And Disney now gets to keep many of the newly implemented cost cutting features plus additional revenue streams it added over the last two years. My predication is that Iger will make a few minor newsworthy changes in good faith that will show "all is good in the house of mouse again". And people will smile and continue to keep doing the same thing and spending more money as usual but all the while thinking..."whew glad Bob Iger is back!"

Not to sidetrack convo but if folks stopped for a second and thought, they would have known. By mid/end of February we had stocked food, paper goods, OTC etc to get us through 6 mos. We have no inside knowledge of anything just the very clear indicators from the source, so no doubt in my mind most large and global corporations knew what was possibly going to happen and were actively planning.

But I disagree with the premise that Chapek was 100% used as a fall guy for COVID. Iger had told the board for a long time he was leaving. They did NOTHING to prepare, they let Staggs leave, they just kept working like Iger wasn't serious. When he gave them an ultimatum there was no one there to take over that was fully qualified and we got what we got. This mess is on the Board as well.

I personally feel that the current crowding at the MK can be traced pretty directly to the end of free park hopping on all tickets. In the old days, crowding at the MK tended to naturally even itself out on most days, as people took the littles to Fantasyland in the morning, but left MK for other parks when the crowds got thick, but these days it stays packed like a sardine can until the last firework fades. (I have never understood why, [pre-reservation system] WDW didn't use the tactic of declaring a "free hopping day" on occasion when MK got too crowded. With the app it would be no problem to do it on the day of.)

That's been ... around 30 years ago??? and many ticket changes since. It also was much lower crowd levels and one less park. I don't think we can even compare then to now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm not expecting Bob (the good one) to wave a magic wand and change everything, but at least he won't be antagonizing every division and morale will be higher. Workers who feel supported are better workers, and it flows downhill from there.

From my DISer friend there is does appear to be a collective sigh of relief. Morale is really important to the core of any company so hopefully this makes people less cranky at Disney lol

 

[wabbott]

I haven't read all 248 pages of posts yet, so apologies if this has already been said.

I think old Chapek's major problem was that he was a numbers guy, and numbers guy alone. And it was to the detriment of EVERYTHING across the divisions. The dustup with ScarJo over her Black Widow compensation when they did a day and date release on Disney plus with a theatrical release. Speaking in a manner that belittled consumers. Gaslighting park attendees with the "park reservations are to make sure guests have a good experience".

I'm not expecting Bob (the good one) to wave a magic wand and change everything, but at least he won't be antagonizing every division and morale will be higher. Workers who feel supported are better workers, and it flows downhill from there.

Not too long after Iger took over from Michael Eisner, he managed to salvage the mess Eisner made with Steve Jobs over Pixar. You will recall that Jobs had gotten a belly full of Eisner not keeping his word and refused to deal with him any more. Iger got that straightened out, bought Pixar and it became a gold mine for DIS. So obviously he has performed in the past.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

I haven't read all 248 pages of posts yet, so apologies if this has already been said.

I think old Chapek's major problem was that he was a numbers guy, and numbers guy alone. And it was to the detriment of EVERYTHING across the divisions. The dustup with ScarJo over her Black Widow compensation when they did a day and date release on Disney plus with a theatrical release. Speaking in a manner that belittled consumers. Gaslighting park attendees with the "park reservations are to make sure guests have a good experience".

I'm not expecting Bob (the good one) to wave a magic wand and change everything, but at least he won't be antagonizing every division and morale will be higher. Workers who feel supported are better workers, and it flows downhill from there.

That's what has stuck out to me most in his statements/emails to CMs over the past 36 hours. He speaks like a person who understands why people care about Disney as a brand. Why CMs work there (and not elsewhere). Obviously he's back to help with the bottom line and to help groom a successor, and there are plenty of things I would love him to do that I know he can't or won't (e.g. DME was great and I miss it, but there were some great posts a year or so back about all of the systems that aren't there anymore to let DME go back to what it was with the luggage/RAC/etc.) I don't expect he's going to have the same level of "we need to spend money to make money!" investment strategy that he did his first time around because he is on a shorter timeframe. But it is really encouraging to read someone talk about giving more control back to creatives/individual departments.

 

[HashberryOTG]

I certainly don't expect them to stop. But what I DO expect is that the guest experience will improve, and eventually be back to the point where the incredibly high cost of going to Disney will once again feel worth it.

I've always felt (and I imagine many others do too) that I would have a lot better time spending $3,000 that "includes everything" compared to spending $2200 + $150 parking + $250 genie + $200 LL + $100 airport transfer (total of $2,900).

As we've all been lamenting, making us feel nickeled and dimed has been Chapek's hallmark. He will certainly not be remembered fondly.

I much prefer to not have the includes everything. This way I can decide which I want and leave others out, instead of having that choice made for me in some all-inclusive number. When the final number is roughly the same, why pay for things you don't use?

 

[HopperFan]

I much prefer to not have the includes everything. This way I can decide which I want and leave others out, instead of having that choice made for me in some all-inclusive number. When the final number is roughly the same, why pay for things you don't use?

EXACTLY! I think most would prefer not paying for things they don't use.

I am 100% fine with a menu plan so I can decide what I want to pay for, and not have to pay for other guests trips. Example in simplistic form, if we don't eat a lot we don't want to be forced to pay buffet prices.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I much prefer to not have the includes everything. This way I can decide which I want and leave others out, instead of having that choice made for me in some all-inclusive number. When the final number is roughly the same, why pay for things you don't use?

And Disney isn't an all-inclusive vacation, it's not billed that way either.

Things added over the years have enabled people to get close like free dining for example but it's still not that kind of vacation.

Why am I paying a separate line item in a package for airport transfer when I rent a car for example. And what about the people who use ride transfers and don't pay for parking then?

That said I think the basic premise of the PP's point is the feeling of all these added things and now the cost is so much higher than in the past. Psychologically that was why a lot of people purchased the Dining Plan so I can understand psychologically why people at this point over the last several years are fed up with seeing all the line items for their trip. A pick and choose vacation feels a lot different than feeling like you're being asked to pay out of pocket for this and for that and oh that thing there and so on. I don't think an inclusive package would go over well with people in terms of how they feel about Genie+ and ILL because it will still feel like for many if you don't pay for it (via the package) or use it (with it included in your package) your vacation can be dramatically different (usually a negative to most).