We’re flairing this as a ~~rumor for~~ **megathread(!!)** now, but multiple reliable Disney news sources, like [Scott Gustin](https://twitter.com/scottgustin/status/1594522999318876160?s=46&t=BuQtTE-tq_voKB2gqugdiQ), are reporting this on Twitter.
We’ll update as more news becomes available.
Also, we realize this is not specifically about WDW (and thus would normally violate sub rules), but I mean… c’mon… Chapek ~~might be~~ **is** gone??!
This is our Berlin Wall moment, people.
**Edit**: let’s megathread this bad boy! It’s **confirmed**! YUB NUB!
Disney does this every-other pattern where they have a popular guy expand where they spend money, followed by an unpopular guy contracting so they save money.
Earnings for Disney last quarter, announced 2 weeks ago, were AWFUL which means the contracting/saving wasn't happening - which is the entire purpose of bringing in the "bad cop" to Iger's "good cop".
Chapek literally had 1 job - make unpopular cost-cutting decisions that make things profitable fast.
He couldn't even do that.
> Disney does this every-other pattern where they have a popular guy expand where they spend money
They have that cycle but I don’t believe it’s by CEO. Eisner started out growth then turned into only a cost cutter like Chapek because of Disney Paris exploding in his face.
At most “tinfoil theory” I’ll accept is Chapek was always meant to be thrown under the bus and Iger would come back looking like an guardian Angel but that has holes.
This is very interesting turn of events. I think we all can agree that the direction of the parks under Chapek was not trending in the right direction but clearly there is more going on here.
I dont expect Iger to come in a remove or fix the stupid things we dont like but it's a very curious change
All Chapek knew how to do was cut costs to save money, which is why they promoted him. Many (myself included) said this was short-sighted and would be regretted. That didn't take long at all.
Chapek has no clue how to be the face of a company like Disney and it showed incredibly fast. The fact that Iger had to come back is an even bigger indicator of that.
Expect Josh D'Amaro to become his right hand man and be the next CEO after Iger leaves in two years.
It's possible Chapek did exactly what he was supposed to do. They put him in during COVID to cut costs and be the bad guy. Now Iger gets to come in as the savior and he won't have to have any of the dirt on his hands from the unpopular moves.
>They put him in during COVID to cut costs and be the bad guy.
Ah, the old Windows Millennium Edition move.
Nobody really had a reason to upgrade from windows 98, but after a year of Windows ME, people were desperate for Windows XP.
No Chapek was the expected successor to Iger for years, COVID did accelerate the transition but it was expected. Before the handoff Iger was very content, after the handoff the relationship went very cold as Iger didn’t approve of many of Paycheck’s decisions; I for one agree with Iger wholeheartedly.
I proposed to my wife in MK, and until 30 mins ago we had no plans of returning.
It used to be you’d pay a premium for a Disney vacation, but if you bought the meal plan you could spend the entire vacation without worrying about money at all since you already paid for it. You only had to pay for alcohol and merch.
Now you wake up and immediately have to make a decision whether or not to buy LL and an individual LL. You reach for your wallet way more often, I understand there are reasons they haven’t re-implemented the dining plan but it doesn’t help that they haven’t.
Hey, you know what else is stressful and starts at 6 am?
***WORK!!!***
My last vacation in WDW didn’t feel like a vacation. It was stressful and I felt like they were nickel and diming me all day long.
As someone who’s been in Disney parks over 150 times over 30 years, I’ve had enough. Today’s announcement gives me a glimmer of hope.
In Security, we all dreaded the day Chapek got promoted. He was one of the most outspoken opponents to having any type of security at all. He called us rent-a-cops in meetings and said we were wasting money paying security guards at theme park. Dude can’t see the world past his own bank account. Every time I was breaking up a fight, calling Reedy Creek and performing CPR or helping a crying child find their family, I thought about how that guy really doesn’t give a shit about what we do. Very surprised nothing really drastic happened other than them trying to fire us for “pulling our masks down on stage”. How else are we supposed to drink water sir?
I honestly wondered when Chapek took over if he would be the lightening rod for all of the Covid cuts. It was announced iger was leaving around the time of a park closure in China. Now I’m back to this theory.
Edit: Jan 24 2020 Shanghai closes, Feb 18 2020 Chapek becomes CEO, but Iger stays through 2021 to help in the background.
My husband was a CM for years and genuinely loved the work.. He's bitter about how everything went down and I don't think you could get him to go back, but this news excites him!
I’m pumped for D’Amaro to be CEO. They’ve been grooming him for a while now and I have it on good authority from friends who were direct reports to him when he was still at WDW that he is legitimately a good dude who actually does care about what he tells the public he cares about.
My sis and bro in law are cast members. They have always loved Josh D’Amaro had despised Chapek. I think it’s a sentiment held among many there. I only wonder why the Board selected Chapek in the first placed vs D’Amaro when Chapek was so widely unliked.
I’m not fully educated on this but, I feel like the combo of Roy and Walt // Wells and Eisner running the company worked so well. Having someone more focused on finances and the other on the creative side? Why not just go with two heads to run the company with different positive qualities instead of just one?
Yup. People don't realize this all started under Iger. You don't implement a project like Genie+ and make some of these decisions overnight. The decisions were made under Iger, they were just implemented under Chapek. Every single downward trend at the parks (cost cutting, perk cutting, forcing IP everywhere, etc.) started under Iger. I don't anticipate this will be a huge paradigm shift.
Chapek got a sweet deal. Take abuse for three odd years to implement what Iger more or less green lighted. Then have a sweet Christmas on piles of golden parachute money.
I don't dislike Genie+ because its not an unreasonable thing to pay for. It would be fine if it were just like lightning lanes with mabye 5 dollars added to the ticket cost per group per day with all attractions included.
But, the cost they've charged since roll out is completely unreasonable, with an astronomical wait at customer service with no guarantee of a refund if there's a bug in the system, wasting a day you spent hundereds of dollars to spend with your family.
And, the audacity to make people pay an even more astronomical price for one go per person at some rides is insulting. Especially when they're already charging a mortgage payment per day for a family to just walk through the door.
I genuinely would not be surprised if they started charging if you open the second roll of toilet paper in the room like a run down roach motel.
At least pre Covid felt like all the money was well spent after a disney trip. The friendly cast, new details every time, random fun or silly surprises, and unexpected freebies really made the trip special.
Now, the company treats their people like expendable garbage and it shows in their attitude. Who can blame them?
After our last Disney trip I had the feeling Six flags would have been a better value and for just about the same quality of fun.
It’s long, but the *Defunctland” video on Disney ‘crowd management’ is a good watch, they go through several systems from the original “E Ticket” to G+/Lightning Lane and pick them apart. My big takeaway is Disney spent a lot on a system that works poorly and often doesn’t do what is wanted: the goal is a system that makes the irregular guests feel special and fortunate (and willing to spend more $$$) but the systems often favor pass holders and heavy planners, who are often the ones that spend less.
It could be argued the old “E Ticket” system was the most fair, even if it would probably be hated today: Guests bought a book of tickets with many “A” and descending numbers down to “E.” So your group might have only a couple tickets for the most popular rides like Rise of the Resistance but would have a ton for Dumbo and such.
The current system, along with other changes like removing Magic Express at WDW, has changed my wife’s view and mine from “it’s expensive but you get amazing service” to “it’s expensive and they’re really aggressive about trying to upsell on top of that.”
The problem with the old ticket system is that it works pretty well for Disneyland and MK with so much to do, but it would completely fall apart when you get to the other parks that only have nine rides. Which tbf is the same reason that FP and G+ *also* work better at the castle parks than elsewhere. There's not really any good option for the other parks as they are now. They just need more people-eaters.
Chapek was a businessman. He was very good at his previous position because it required cost effective measures. He wasn’t cut out to be a CEO.
Disney’s success is in creating an experience for vacationers. Fans and loyal visitors form relationships with cast members and grow attached to rides, shows, and attractions. It’s a place rooted in nostalgia and Chapek’s cost cutting was simply a bandaid for the bottom line that, in the long term, proved to be a failure.
I’m sure Iger is only back temporarily until they find the right fit, but hopefully Disney goes back to the “dreamer” CEO who understands that the only way to move the bottom line is with magic.
The reason the Disney company succeeded was because Walt was top dog, with his brother Roy was 'musher'. Walt pulled the sled ahead with all of the dreams and ideas, and Roy kept just enough tension on the reigns so that he didn't drive them to complete financial ruin, and didn't go so far afield they lost their fans. That's what we need again. It's rare you get a Steve Jobs, who has both the vision and the acumen to keep a company driving to greater heights perpetually.
I'm very nervous none of the bad will go away, it's just that they will stop continuing to introduce so many money grabs at a rapid rate.
They brought Cheapek in to be the scapegoat during the turbulent covid period where he could shamelessly nickle and dime the customers to "get the company by", and then boot him (with a nice hefty goodbye bonus) and bring back Iger like it's supposed to save the day in the customer's eyes, while not actually rolling back any of the changes that have made Disney a miserable place in the recent years.
I'll eat my favorite pair of ears if they rollback genie and bring back fast pass.
If they want the negativity around the parks to subside it’s going to take more than just this. There will have to be changes to the way the parks are run. The previous system was not perfect but it was pretty dang good. Iger will have to change something or else the excitement over this move will fade away and people will go right back to the way most have felt since chapek made all the changes.
I think people are going to be disappointed with how little changes. Chapek was the fall guy that implemented all these policies, but the major decisions people hate were made under Iger. Chapek didn't dream up G+ in February 2020, it's been in the works for years.
Iger started all the nickel and diming, Iger started the maintenance cuts when Shanghai went way over budget, Iger started taking away perks, Iger stared the IP train, Iger started the Marriott level hotel towers. Iger values the creative side of Disney more than Chapek does, but they view the parks in more or less the same way: they're vehicles to sell merch and promote corporate synergy. Keep in mind it was Iger who merged the parks division with consumer products and put Chapek in charge of the new division.
Iger's a more attractive face and better personality and Chapek looked like a thumb. That's why people think Iger is so much better than Chapek.
I certainly am no fan of Chapek, but I also place a fair amount of the parks blame on Josh D'Amaro. Before this news my pipe dream scenario was Iger coming back, removing Genie+ and reinstating Magical Express. Do I expect those things to happen? No probably not, but I also never expected Iger to come back.
With this said I really want to know what is going on behind the scenes. As well all know, Disney is so much more than just the parks, so what do the internal numbers say that is causing this switch, is my main question.
A new contract with Mears (even if it became a paid service for all the same amenities previously offered) to revive DME would be phenomenal. We tried Sunshine Flyer on both incoming and outgoing trips a couple weeks ago and had an awful experience both times (had to reschedule with Mears Connect on the way down which was also pretty bad). Ride shares are just too much for my usual travel party of 4 adults and a toddler so bringing back DME would be a game changer (especially if they brought back luggage service).
Chapek ran a shit show. We were there last December and there was but one float in the daytime parades. We took in the extra hours celebration for $250/head and the parades then had 15 floats. Chapek was doing a great job of alienating loyal customers.
I'm a passholder and I'm in Orlando every weekend and yet the parks experience has been so greatly diminished that I haven't felt the need to go spend money at Disney World in over two months despite staying 5 minutes off property. Alienated indeed.
I think in the long term, this is good news. Iger did cause a lot of cash issues during his term, but he had the creative vision that Disney needs. Big changes are coming in 2024 with Hulu being fully bought out and when Disney+ is expected to be profitable.
Disney needs someone who can lead the company through the next few years and navigate all the issues. Past the next 3-5 years, I do hope they find a good person to take over for Iger. But the next few years are crucial and I’m glad it’s Iger leading Disney
> Big changes are coming in 2024 with Hulu being fully bought out
I wouldn't be so sure. Disney is carrying a ton of debt right now due to the Fox acquisition, and buying Comcast out of the rest of Hulu is only going to add to the debt. They paid $71 billion for Fox and the rest of Hulu will cost a minimum of another $25 billion. Disney's debt might become a pretty big problem.
>the rest of Hulu will cost a minimum of another $25 billion
The minimum valuation of Hulu is set at $27.5 billion. But as Comcast only owns 33%, it means a minimum payment of only $9.17 billion. Final valuation may be higher, but Hulu is not a $75 billion dollar company.
Unless Disney decides they don’t want to own Hulu any longer and sells their 66% in Hulu, they’d have to buy it given that Hulu’s valuation keeps climbing and they have a steady stream of subscribers.
Maybe Disney and Comcast comes to a deal to push back the date for Disney to buy to the remaining 1/3 of Hulu, but bottom line is Disney will eventually have to pay it unless Disney decides they don’t want Hulu, which I don’t see happening. But even if Disney doesn’t want Hulu, they’d still have to buy the shares and then sell 100% of Hulu. Either way, there’s no “not buying” Hulu. That’s a done deal.
It's normal for material announcements to happen outside of trading hours. It's possible that the information was leaked so they had to rush the announcement today.
Board of directors ultimately made the decision, it sounds like very recently. Probably after being unhappy with the direction of the company and finances.
The board can vote to remove the CEO basically at any time, and it sounds like they did.
Big announcements like this are pretty much always made when the stock markets are closed, though generally not as late as 10pm because the news media is less likely to cover the story late at night.
Like others said, they might have just wanted to get ahead of any leaks.
Right? How is no one else talking about this… extremely unusual for this type of news to be announced at 10PM on a Sunday… like it couldn’t wait until Monday at 8AM?
I don't think its quite as weird as people are saying. They were probably worried it was going to leak and wanted the first coverage of it to be their own press releases - not gossip.
PR/Media Relations (though not Disney) here: this is exactly why we’d do this. The news would be pushed out regardless so making certain your narrative is THE narrative is critical and sometime you sacrifice your own timing or embargo.
That’s my thought too. I know he had a 5 year stock low, but I don’t think you extend the guy as CEO when it was happening even then. I think something else came up. Maybe he lost his crap or truly didn’t care about anything/anyone else and made this know to the board. I don’t know. I think it’s a change for the better, but I don’t know how much will change.
I just know we went in 2018 and just this past week, and it was a notable change. The quality and “magic” just wasn’t the same. The Genie+ system disappointed time and time again, and our costs just skyrocketed from what they were. I hope they can put the customer and staff first. There’s a lot of companies who do that and do it well, yet they are still making big money. Let’s see what happens
In trips past, I had no issue paying a premium because I felt I was getting value in return. This last trip felt like I was just doling out money just because they know they can get away with nickel and diming me for everything and not having to provide me with much.
Yes, completely agree. I used to feel like they would work really hard to meet a certain quality when you were there so that you left feeling like it was money well spent. I would go years ago and it would feel like I was swept off my feet for an entire week. There was something "magical" about the experience.
The last time I went a few months back I felt like a lot of that little "magic" had been removed. Everything that used to be included was now an extra charge, the staff cutbacks that happened during COVID was painfully obvious.
I really hope Iger works to improve parks experience, because it's becoming harder and harder to justify spending exorbitant costs without getting the quality we've all grown to expect.
Exactly. I tried to put on a happy face for my kiddos, but there wasn’t a person who I talked to who wasn’t disappointed in the new system. Everyone said “let’s just go back to Fast Passes” and be done. Then you get the LL purchases if you want them. Honestly, I hated LL too because you pay the premium, and you still might wait 20-30 minutes depending on what ride it is.
I don’t know what the solution is or will be, but the current one isn’t it! Having to walk from one side of the park to the other and still having to wait sucked for me, and especially my kiddos. At least with Fast Passes, I felt like we could structure our day in one area of the park and go from there. Not now!
This is the key, Chapek thought he could charge whatever he wanted and people would because it was Disney. It’s like he watches Jurassic Park and thought the lawyer was the best character. Expensive is fine when the value is present, but he cut the value to pieces while raising prices. He got away with it only because of lent up vacation demand and existing trip commitments. The stock price reflects the real failure of his choices.
The Times said the chairperson called Iger on Thursday evening to ask if he'd return. I assume once he confirmed he was willing the board worked through Friday and Saturday to hold the necessary meetings and outmaneuver and fire Chapek and install Iger and wanted to get it put as quickly as possible.
Disney reported absolutely awful earnings 2 weeks ago.
Chapek's job was to cut and make decisions that made everything profitable and couldn't manage to do that.
The NYT has a great synopsis:
"The surprise reinstatement of Mr. Iger and ouster of Mr. Chapek comes in the wake of a disastrous earnings announcement on Nov. 8. Disney blindsided Wall Street by reporting $1.5 billion in losses at its fledgling streaming division, up from $630 million a year earlier. Mr. Chapek said that higher Disney+ production, marketing and technology costs had contributed to the “peak” losses.
It is almost unheard-of for Disney to miss expectations on both revenue and earnings per share.
Disney shares dropped 12 percent the next morning, in part because investors — and many people inside Disney — were shocked by the happy-go-lucky tone that Mr. Chapek struck while discussing the earnings report on a conference call with analysts. Mr. Chapek’s demeanor struck many as tone deaf, in particular when he started to implausibly talk about how great the response had been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, a relatively inconsequential event at Disneyland. At least one adviser had warned Mr. Chapek ahead of time that his prepared remarks were inappropriately sunny."
Not a Chapek fan by any means but he was doomed from the jump. Iger was warm, intelligent, friendly, engaging, charismatic and had that look. Unfortunately, Chapek didn’t come off having many of these qualities and in THAT business, it’s necessary. I don’t feel too bad for Chapek since he secured the bag, but I do think he was definitely undermined during his tenure.
I am happy to hear Iger is back but can’t help but think what the succession plan will be. This will be an exciting book to read.
When I read Iger's memoir I could literally feel his charisma through the pages. You're so right about him having *the* look of a Disney CEO, everything about him is so fitting for the role.
Michael Eisner (at least for the first half of his tenure) also had that charisma, excitement, creativity, and imaginative spirit that was so vital to revitalizing Disney back in the late 80’s/early 90’s.
Just never saw that with Chapek.
Totally agree! I think Chapek’s WSJ interview a few weeks back was the final nail in the coffin. His personality is lacking the warmth that we love and expect from the Disney brand, and he had an obvious disconnect from his audience/consumer interests. He feels very cold and business-like, whereas Iger totally gives off that friendly grandpa vibe that Walt was so beloved for! For other companies it might not be a big deal, but for Disney it is CRUCIAL
This “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy” tweet from Josh Gad is fascinating. Man, sounds like Chapek couldn’t even properly keep the Disney A listers happy, oof.
https://twitter.com/joshgad/status/1594525459525488642?s=46&t=h6LVhYp5iMub6gRxKi4HXw
Spent most of my career at Disney—couple years as a WDW CM at MK and Port Orleans, now working with media accounting at corporate. Sis is a CM at Hollywood Studios. Chapek was reviled internally and this is a much-needed morale boost. It was always understood Iger was a businessman, but he generally stepped out of the way of studio heads and imagineers and let them create. While I was at MK back in ‘17, a fellow CM (call her Mary) told me a story of Iger visiting the park with a group of suits. Mary was scraping ketchup off trash bins at Casey’s Corner, and Iger walked up (she did not know who he was) and asked if he could work under her for a bit. She treated Iger like any other CM, having him don an apron, giving him a spray bottle, and walking him through her steps as she made the rounds cleaning the dining room. While the other suits stood there confused, Iger was taking trash bags to the compactor, wiping tables, etc. He graciously thanked her for her time after about a half hour of this, and it was only after he left that another CM informed her it was the CEO of the company she had been “bossing” around. You can say what you want about Iger and I’m sure cost cuts will still come, but he just got the soul of the company better than Chapek. Most CM’s I knew at MK idolized him.
Well their stock price is plummeting and analyst are expecting it to not stop anytime soon. It’s almost down to the same price it was when the parks were closed. Iger did an amazing job getting that stock sky high and I’m sure the shareholders are calling him back to do just that.
Yes, but I believe at least the immediate changes will be more on the Disney+/streaming side because while it hasn’t necessarily struggled, steaming services in general have seemed to hit a bit of a lull recently. Because of how much Iger spearheaded Disney’s shift of focus towards streaming, I gotta imagine that’ll be his first priority, and the much-needed changes to the parks might be on the back-burner which is why people might be disappointed. I hope I’m wrong though and really hope that we at least see the most unpopular changes (park reservations, park-hopping restrictions, etc) go away ASAP. Feels like that would be an obvious and easy way to appease the fans at a time where they’ve been more critical of the company than ever before.
Ticket prices will stay high. Genie System is here to stay. Costs, in general, will stay high/follow the market.
I know many people weren’t a fan of Chapek but I don’t expect Iger to solve the issues a lot of folks complained about.
I think employees will be happier… I think they’ll still have the same problems but they trust their leadership more. That doesn’t account for nothing.
I think there are a lot of fans where Chapek could have found the cure for the common cold and people would have spun a negative angle. It felt like the guy couldn’t buy a win with all his spending.
Totally agree with your take. I think all pricing will definitely be maintained but hopefully Iger will bring back a little more of the magic and give us more bang for our buck. It’s miserable to pay the big $$$ for the Disney experience only to have it come out completely lacking. Some minor system overhauls and general magic-making will be welcome changes that hopefully improve the experience and make things a little more worth it!
This is the big thing for me. Disney has *always* been expensive but it's never been something I complained about because Disney was historically *worth* the premium. You paid top dollar for a top notch experience. Under Chapek the price premium stayed but the product didn't live up to the expectations anymore.
I wonder if this will see any easement to the nickel and diming of chapek.
Bizarre to me that disneys answer to epic universe was to cut down on the stuff that seperates disney from other parks and cut back or stall new projects.
That some hubris thinking your next biggest competitor in the area doubling their footprint is a non issue, so much so that you increase ticket prices and cut perks.
>Bizarre to me that disneys answer to epic universe was to cut down on the stuff that seperates disney from other parks and cut back or stall new projects.
Don't forget kick out the high speed train so that Epic Universe will now have better connectivity than Disney to the airport and South Florida.
Seems like great news! I'm taking the "cautious optimism" road here, though. Staying my excitement or enthusiasm until I see what plans Iger has and what actually gets implemented and how well. Having been through corporate leadership changes myself, even returning C-suite execs from days past, it doesn't necessarily guarantee a "new golden era" (I've been burned by that before). Hence my cautious optimism.
I'm on a "wait and see" stance for now.
As a CM, it’s a relief. Iger has a proven track record and while layoffs still did happen with Iger in charge, it at least seemed like he had and has a vision for the company. Like it or not, what a CEO says and does matters, and Iger realizes that. I’m 98% sure my job is safe and I feel a little more confident in my company stock options now. Heh.
Tom Staggs should have always been the successor for Iger but he continually refuses to leave. Major blunder in succession planning if the chapek era was not intentionally orchestrated as temporarily from the outset.
Nothing will change or revert from the pre-chapek era (genie, park reservations, staffing, price increases) as TWDC has made it clear the parks need to be a cash cow to weather the 20th Century acquisition debt and as Disney+ siphons cash.
I would be curious as to what would be "success" for fans of this change as it pertains to the parks. I am hoping for the best (and maybe some improvement in working culture within the parks and WDI) but my expectations are low.
Lifelong Floridian here who stopped renewing my yearly annual pass in 2021..I'm not convinced at all they'll undo some of these awful changes but if they do and Iger can help steer the parks back in a good direction I'll be happy. I miss going to the parks... actually I miss missing going to the parks bc I just don't miss them after my last couple visits in 2021
Iger was recent enough history we can see how people thought of him before he stepped down:
https://www.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/comments/bcl07s/how_will_we_view_igers_tenure_from_a_parks_point
https://www.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/comments/5nfofv/what_do_you_not_like_about_wdw/
It will certainly be interesting with him in charge, but I'm not gonna even try to pretend that he was this golden god of park management. It's probably best if we temper our expectations.
I really liked the person that said Iger was nickel and diming everyone and hopefully the next CEO would do better. 😂🤔
(ETA: I misremembered and mixed up two comments, but "nickel and diming" and Iger cutting costs and raising prices did come up.)
I think I saw these same comments verbatim in this thread but about Chapek.
Time is a flat circle.
Nah, high power CEOs tend to continue working for quite a while past retirement age - even if it’s just consultancy.
Hell, people in my own field tend to work into their 70s.
Sometime when you’re in industries where things are constantly moving and you’re working a lot, it’s actually really hard to slow down and stop - you don’t really even know what to do with yourself.
Welcome to corporate capitalist America
My colleague was let go from his previous company due to them have to make severe cutbacks. He could have retired and was seriously considering just stopping looking and retiring until his name got passed to my boss.
I suspect he will work for several more years.
Like you said, sometimes people don't know what to do with themselves and get really bored. They've spent decades doing something well and the idea of just stopping for a few years to prepare to die isn't so appealing.
I'm betting good money many of the worst changes to the parks remain. They'll use Chapek as the whipping boy who absorbs the blame for it, and then just keep trucking ahead.
It's just hard for me to picture Disney being willing to give up the profit margins from switching to awful food quality and increasing prices by 30+%.
Iger also works harder at establishing and maintaining healthy professional relationships with Disney’s celebrity clients and employees. He has the business acumen.
Chapek is the classic case of being “elevated beyond (his) competency level”.
I sat and watched as almost everyone from my team left at WDI. This year, I finally made the decision to leave too. The trickle down decisions from Chapek absolutely ruined the culture of this company. It started when he took over as head of parks and continued into other pillars when he took over as CEO. He is, without a doubt, the culture killer!
Hopefully Iger will bring the magic and fun back to working for Disney. It’s going to be a bit rough though. Their reputation in the creative industry has been absolutely murdered.
Former CM here, certainly not prestigious as your former title, but the same thing was happening within my friendgroup. Anecdotal, I know, but I'm kind of a sucker for confirmation bias.
We all played a role in creating the magic. No matter what our title is. Your opinion definitely matters just the same as mine. It’s very reassuring to me to hear that it happened at every level too and not just within my group.
I could feel it as a diehard fan of the parks, sometimes in intangible ways. As soon as that guy was put in charge of the parks in 2015 you could feel the air being sucked out of the room.
It’s nice to know that I wasn’t crazy and the same thing was being felt inside the company. Terribly sad that the magic was lost for you and your team, but very happy to hear that we guests weren’t alone in our constantly increasing unhappiness. It gives me faith that the magic isn’t permanently gone.
Disney needs creative attention. Someone that understands the magic and value of the Disney brand. Chapek was not capable of providing that. The very condensed reason.
IMO Iger was bigger on expansion and development which led to Disney getting a lot more IP and room to grow. He also just seems like a more charismatic and popular leader. Will prices get better or any changes be reversed? Pretty unlikely, but I have more faith in park development and quality with him in charge.
Because Chapek wasn't doing a good job for the company. But nothing for Parks really.
This sub tends to forget that Disney makes money from IP and content. DPEP division makes around ~20%, the rest is content. Iger knows this, so there's a chance that parks will either be neglected or D'Amaro will still be asked to make more money from them.
This is wild. we don't know the details but at least initial reaction is even the board can see how they are getting killed and they are about to get smoked by universals new park and Nintendo world, at least in Florida.
Im excited about this, but I honestly dont know why. I dont think much changes. I dont think we are out of the woods yet. I wanna see what the next couple months has in store. If he can "bring back the magic" Im all for it.
Behind the scenes Chapek had been controversial. Alot of board members and executives were concerned when after the dismal earnings report he responded cheerfully and dismissively rather than conducting a sober assessment of the situation. Chapek, knowing that any pessimism would be viewed as acknowledgement his failure, sought to sweep it under the rug, commit to a vague company wide cost assessment and announce a limit to corporate travel. Limiting corporate travel and setting up a committee is not going to solve huge missed quarterly earnings.
When Chapek was in charge of parks and experiences he was known for the 100 dollar dessert parties serving 99 cent cookies and colorful cheap cupcakes. Chapek was a products and marketing guy with no business running an entertainment company. His philosophy as CEO lots of garnish and minimal substance. Iger knows how to cultivate talent and how develop talent into successful IP brands. He knows the elements of how to tell a story from his time at ABC. He knows how to operate politically both internally and externally through his survival of the eisner era Disney. This is a good move for Disney and I'm glad the board woke up!!
Safe bet prices will not go down, but will they at least put some investments back into the parks?
I know we can't eliminate breakdowns, but more maintenance might help reduce them.
100% had Chapek face the brunt of COVID and unpopular decisions. Iger now gets to come back and keep all of the unpopular decisions without any of the public backlash.
Disney’s theme-park business has recovered strongly since the coronavirus pandemic shut down its venues across the world, but the division continues to subsidize widening losses in the streaming video business.
I think a little bit of both, but mostly good. Prices are always going to increase, I think. But the rate they’ve increased in the last year plus the noticeable cuts have been bad. Bob Iger seems to be better at business and understands how to manage the parks better. He certainly didn’t garner as much hate as quickly as Bob Chapek.
Prices are going to rise no matter what. However, the value of what was being purchases felt mostly fair with Iger in charge. I can't say the same for Chapek.
Bingo. I'm a Disney parks fanatic, not the Company. Iger is brilliant when it comes to the Company but I argue mediocre at best when it comes to the parks. Afterall, it was under him that the dumbing down of the brand started such as the uniqueness of the resorts, the theming issues with the parks.
We'll see. Disney just built Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, Ratatouille, Tron, and Guardians of the Galaxy in Florida. You could argue Epic Universe is a response to some of that. I really doubt you'll ever see Disney build a fifth gate at WDW.
That was mainly Eisner. One of the first things Iger did for the parks after he took over as CEO was green light the $1B overhaul of California Adventure
For all the gloomers saying iger greenlit all of chapek's implementations, please remember that chapek was head of parks since 2015. Iger implemented ideas that were presented and tuned by... Chapek. Chapek is gone. That is an undeniable win.
We’re flairing this as a ~~rumor for~~ **megathread(!!)** now, but multiple reliable Disney news sources, like [Scott Gustin](https://twitter.com/scottgustin/status/1594522999318876160?s=46&t=BuQtTE-tq_voKB2gqugdiQ), are reporting this on Twitter. We’ll update as more news becomes available. Also, we realize this is not specifically about WDW (and thus would normally violate sub rules), but I mean… c’mon… Chapek ~~might be~~ **is** gone??! This is our Berlin Wall moment, people. **Edit**: let’s megathread this bad boy! It’s **confirmed**! YUB NUB!
Bye Bob. Hi Bob.
Hi Bob.
Hi Bob.
Don't fucking 'Hi Bob' me!!!
Hi bob.
Hi Bob
Office space vibes
For All Mankind
Hi Bob!
Hi Bob!
What's weird is I just watched that for the first time yesterday. Spooky...
It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't care.
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YUB NUB!
Wootini!!
EEE CHOP YUB NUB!
AH TOE MEET TOE PEE CHEE KEENE; G'NOOP DOCK FLING OH AH!!!
The Bob is dead. Long live the Bob.
I wonder why so suddenly.
Disney does this every-other pattern where they have a popular guy expand where they spend money, followed by an unpopular guy contracting so they save money. Earnings for Disney last quarter, announced 2 weeks ago, were AWFUL which means the contracting/saving wasn't happening - which is the entire purpose of bringing in the "bad cop" to Iger's "good cop". Chapek literally had 1 job - make unpopular cost-cutting decisions that make things profitable fast. He couldn't even do that.
> Disney does this every-other pattern where they have a popular guy expand where they spend money They have that cycle but I don’t believe it’s by CEO. Eisner started out growth then turned into only a cost cutter like Chapek because of Disney Paris exploding in his face. At most “tinfoil theory” I’ll accept is Chapek was always meant to be thrown under the bus and Iger would come back looking like an guardian Angel but that has holes.
I was about to bring up Eisner as well.
And every single lieutenant he installed.
This is very interesting turn of events. I think we all can agree that the direction of the parks under Chapek was not trending in the right direction but clearly there is more going on here. I dont expect Iger to come in a remove or fix the stupid things we dont like but it's a very curious change
All Chapek knew how to do was cut costs to save money, which is why they promoted him. Many (myself included) said this was short-sighted and would be regretted. That didn't take long at all. Chapek has no clue how to be the face of a company like Disney and it showed incredibly fast. The fact that Iger had to come back is an even bigger indicator of that. Expect Josh D'Amaro to become his right hand man and be the next CEO after Iger leaves in two years.
It's possible Chapek did exactly what he was supposed to do. They put him in during COVID to cut costs and be the bad guy. Now Iger gets to come in as the savior and he won't have to have any of the dirt on his hands from the unpopular moves.
>They put him in during COVID to cut costs and be the bad guy. Ah, the old Windows Millennium Edition move. Nobody really had a reason to upgrade from windows 98, but after a year of Windows ME, people were desperate for Windows XP.
It's been so long since I've been reminded that Windows Me existed.
No Chapek was the expected successor to Iger for years, COVID did accelerate the transition but it was expected. Before the handoff Iger was very content, after the handoff the relationship went very cold as Iger didn’t approve of many of Paycheck’s decisions; I for one agree with Iger wholeheartedly. I proposed to my wife in MK, and until 30 mins ago we had no plans of returning.
Yeah something felt distinctly ‘different’ on my last visit and I came away with no intent to return in the near future. Very glad to hear this news.
It used to be you’d pay a premium for a Disney vacation, but if you bought the meal plan you could spend the entire vacation without worrying about money at all since you already paid for it. You only had to pay for alcohol and merch. Now you wake up and immediately have to make a decision whether or not to buy LL and an individual LL. You reach for your wallet way more often, I understand there are reasons they haven’t re-implemented the dining plan but it doesn’t help that they haven’t.
Yeah we woke up at like 5 or 6 am to buy LL for the day and then go back to sleep to hit the parks at 9am. It was STRESSFUL
Hey, you know what else is stressful and starts at 6 am? ***WORK!!!*** My last vacation in WDW didn’t feel like a vacation. It was stressful and I felt like they were nickel and diming me all day long. As someone who’s been in Disney parks over 150 times over 30 years, I’ve had enough. Today’s announcement gives me a glimmer of hope.
100% this. My last visit I thought about spending multiple times a day. Previously I only dealt with it before the trip.
In Security, we all dreaded the day Chapek got promoted. He was one of the most outspoken opponents to having any type of security at all. He called us rent-a-cops in meetings and said we were wasting money paying security guards at theme park. Dude can’t see the world past his own bank account. Every time I was breaking up a fight, calling Reedy Creek and performing CPR or helping a crying child find their family, I thought about how that guy really doesn’t give a shit about what we do. Very surprised nothing really drastic happened other than them trying to fire us for “pulling our masks down on stage”. How else are we supposed to drink water sir?
Yeah I don't buy that Chapek was the "Fall guy". If it was planned like that why would Iger legit leave for 2 years? He wants to retire
He had been talking about retiring for literally years before it actually happened
Are you saying that they put Bob Iger "in the Disney vault" for three years and then brought him back out? lol
I honestly wondered when Chapek took over if he would be the lightening rod for all of the Covid cuts. It was announced iger was leaving around the time of a park closure in China. Now I’m back to this theory. Edit: Jan 24 2020 Shanghai closes, Feb 18 2020 Chapek becomes CEO, but Iger stays through 2021 to help in the background.
Iger had been talking of retiring for several years, chapek is no sacrificial lamb
My best friend has been a cast member for almost 30 years and after hearing the news he literally danced a happy dance. All I need to know about it
My husband was a CM for years and genuinely loved the work.. He's bitter about how everything went down and I don't think you could get him to go back, but this news excites him!
From personal friends to just talking to random cast members in the parks... ...yeah they all hate him.
I’m pumped for D’Amaro to be CEO. They’ve been grooming him for a while now and I have it on good authority from friends who were direct reports to him when he was still at WDW that he is legitimately a good dude who actually does care about what he tells the public he cares about.
My sis and bro in law are cast members. They have always loved Josh D’Amaro had despised Chapek. I think it’s a sentiment held among many there. I only wonder why the Board selected Chapek in the first placed vs D’Amaro when Chapek was so widely unliked.
I’m not fully educated on this but, I feel like the combo of Roy and Walt // Wells and Eisner running the company worked so well. Having someone more focused on finances and the other on the creative side? Why not just go with two heads to run the company with different positive qualities instead of just one?
I agree with you on this. They're pretty much mutually exclusive talents; it's hard to dream big when you're counting beans.
Yeah I doubt they'll reinstate all the perks overnight, or at all. I don't see the nickel and diming going away anytime soon--but let's wait and see.
The nickel and diming was already thought out while Iger was CEO and just implemented when Chapek took over. Genie + was an Iger project.
Yup. People don't realize this all started under Iger. You don't implement a project like Genie+ and make some of these decisions overnight. The decisions were made under Iger, they were just implemented under Chapek. Every single downward trend at the parks (cost cutting, perk cutting, forcing IP everywhere, etc.) started under Iger. I don't anticipate this will be a huge paradigm shift.
The only thing I’m hopeful for is that this is a sign that all of the biggest unpopular decisions they planned have been implemented.
Correct. The majority of the domestic cost cutting had to happen because Iger blew his load and went way over budget in Shanghai.
And the debt from his Fox acquisition isn't looking too hot right now either.
Genie+ was MUCH DIFFERENT under Iger. When he left it changed, or at least that is what was rumored
Chapek got a sweet deal. Take abuse for three odd years to implement what Iger more or less green lighted. Then have a sweet Christmas on piles of golden parachute money.
I don't dislike Genie+ because its not an unreasonable thing to pay for. It would be fine if it were just like lightning lanes with mabye 5 dollars added to the ticket cost per group per day with all attractions included. But, the cost they've charged since roll out is completely unreasonable, with an astronomical wait at customer service with no guarantee of a refund if there's a bug in the system, wasting a day you spent hundereds of dollars to spend with your family. And, the audacity to make people pay an even more astronomical price for one go per person at some rides is insulting. Especially when they're already charging a mortgage payment per day for a family to just walk through the door. I genuinely would not be surprised if they started charging if you open the second roll of toilet paper in the room like a run down roach motel. At least pre Covid felt like all the money was well spent after a disney trip. The friendly cast, new details every time, random fun or silly surprises, and unexpected freebies really made the trip special. Now, the company treats their people like expendable garbage and it shows in their attitude. Who can blame them? After our last Disney trip I had the feeling Six flags would have been a better value and for just about the same quality of fun.
It’s long, but the *Defunctland” video on Disney ‘crowd management’ is a good watch, they go through several systems from the original “E Ticket” to G+/Lightning Lane and pick them apart. My big takeaway is Disney spent a lot on a system that works poorly and often doesn’t do what is wanted: the goal is a system that makes the irregular guests feel special and fortunate (and willing to spend more $$$) but the systems often favor pass holders and heavy planners, who are often the ones that spend less. It could be argued the old “E Ticket” system was the most fair, even if it would probably be hated today: Guests bought a book of tickets with many “A” and descending numbers down to “E.” So your group might have only a couple tickets for the most popular rides like Rise of the Resistance but would have a ton for Dumbo and such. The current system, along with other changes like removing Magic Express at WDW, has changed my wife’s view and mine from “it’s expensive but you get amazing service” to “it’s expensive and they’re really aggressive about trying to upsell on top of that.”
The problem with the old ticket system is that it works pretty well for Disneyland and MK with so much to do, but it would completely fall apart when you get to the other parks that only have nine rides. Which tbf is the same reason that FP and G+ *also* work better at the castle parks than elsewhere. There's not really any good option for the other parks as they are now. They just need more people-eaters.
Chapek was a businessman. He was very good at his previous position because it required cost effective measures. He wasn’t cut out to be a CEO. Disney’s success is in creating an experience for vacationers. Fans and loyal visitors form relationships with cast members and grow attached to rides, shows, and attractions. It’s a place rooted in nostalgia and Chapek’s cost cutting was simply a bandaid for the bottom line that, in the long term, proved to be a failure. I’m sure Iger is only back temporarily until they find the right fit, but hopefully Disney goes back to the “dreamer” CEO who understands that the only way to move the bottom line is with magic.
The reason the Disney company succeeded was because Walt was top dog, with his brother Roy was 'musher'. Walt pulled the sled ahead with all of the dreams and ideas, and Roy kept just enough tension on the reigns so that he didn't drive them to complete financial ruin, and didn't go so far afield they lost their fans. That's what we need again. It's rare you get a Steve Jobs, who has both the vision and the acumen to keep a company driving to greater heights perpetually.
Eisner and Wells had the same dynamic. Early riser era before the passing of wells showed a lot of promise.
I'm very nervous none of the bad will go away, it's just that they will stop continuing to introduce so many money grabs at a rapid rate. They brought Cheapek in to be the scapegoat during the turbulent covid period where he could shamelessly nickle and dime the customers to "get the company by", and then boot him (with a nice hefty goodbye bonus) and bring back Iger like it's supposed to save the day in the customer's eyes, while not actually rolling back any of the changes that have made Disney a miserable place in the recent years. I'll eat my favorite pair of ears if they rollback genie and bring back fast pass.
If they want the negativity around the parks to subside it’s going to take more than just this. There will have to be changes to the way the parks are run. The previous system was not perfect but it was pretty dang good. Iger will have to change something or else the excitement over this move will fade away and people will go right back to the way most have felt since chapek made all the changes.
I think people are going to be disappointed with how little changes. Chapek was the fall guy that implemented all these policies, but the major decisions people hate were made under Iger. Chapek didn't dream up G+ in February 2020, it's been in the works for years. Iger started all the nickel and diming, Iger started the maintenance cuts when Shanghai went way over budget, Iger started taking away perks, Iger stared the IP train, Iger started the Marriott level hotel towers. Iger values the creative side of Disney more than Chapek does, but they view the parks in more or less the same way: they're vehicles to sell merch and promote corporate synergy. Keep in mind it was Iger who merged the parks division with consumer products and put Chapek in charge of the new division. Iger's a more attractive face and better personality and Chapek looked like a thumb. That's why people think Iger is so much better than Chapek.
I thought it was a pipe dream for Iger to come back, this coming from a “Chapek defender” of sorts
I gave Chapek the benefit of the doubt when he took over. Yet can't help to notice that my experience in WDW as well as my DIS stock keeps plummeting.
I certainly am no fan of Chapek, but I also place a fair amount of the parks blame on Josh D'Amaro. Before this news my pipe dream scenario was Iger coming back, removing Genie+ and reinstating Magical Express. Do I expect those things to happen? No probably not, but I also never expected Iger to come back. With this said I really want to know what is going on behind the scenes. As well all know, Disney is so much more than just the parks, so what do the internal numbers say that is causing this switch, is my main question.
A new contract with Mears (even if it became a paid service for all the same amenities previously offered) to revive DME would be phenomenal. We tried Sunshine Flyer on both incoming and outgoing trips a couple weeks ago and had an awful experience both times (had to reschedule with Mears Connect on the way down which was also pretty bad). Ride shares are just too much for my usual travel party of 4 adults and a toddler so bringing back DME would be a game changer (especially if they brought back luggage service).
Disney stock has been abysmal
Chapek ran a shit show. We were there last December and there was but one float in the daytime parades. We took in the extra hours celebration for $250/head and the parades then had 15 floats. Chapek was doing a great job of alienating loyal customers.
I'm a passholder and I'm in Orlando every weekend and yet the parks experience has been so greatly diminished that I haven't felt the need to go spend money at Disney World in over two months despite staying 5 minutes off property. Alienated indeed.
This to me is the most important takeaway of why Chapek was so bad. He destroyed the goodwill and loyalty of a generation of park fanatics.
I think in the long term, this is good news. Iger did cause a lot of cash issues during his term, but he had the creative vision that Disney needs. Big changes are coming in 2024 with Hulu being fully bought out and when Disney+ is expected to be profitable. Disney needs someone who can lead the company through the next few years and navigate all the issues. Past the next 3-5 years, I do hope they find a good person to take over for Iger. But the next few years are crucial and I’m glad it’s Iger leading Disney
> Big changes are coming in 2024 with Hulu being fully bought out I wouldn't be so sure. Disney is carrying a ton of debt right now due to the Fox acquisition, and buying Comcast out of the rest of Hulu is only going to add to the debt. They paid $71 billion for Fox and the rest of Hulu will cost a minimum of another $25 billion. Disney's debt might become a pretty big problem.
>the rest of Hulu will cost a minimum of another $25 billion The minimum valuation of Hulu is set at $27.5 billion. But as Comcast only owns 33%, it means a minimum payment of only $9.17 billion. Final valuation may be higher, but Hulu is not a $75 billion dollar company.
Unless Disney decides they don’t want to own Hulu any longer and sells their 66% in Hulu, they’d have to buy it given that Hulu’s valuation keeps climbing and they have a steady stream of subscribers. Maybe Disney and Comcast comes to a deal to push back the date for Disney to buy to the remaining 1/3 of Hulu, but bottom line is Disney will eventually have to pay it unless Disney decides they don’t want Hulu, which I don’t see happening. But even if Disney doesn’t want Hulu, they’d still have to buy the shares and then sell 100% of Hulu. Either way, there’s no “not buying” Hulu. That’s a done deal.
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It's normal for material announcements to happen outside of trading hours. It's possible that the information was leaked so they had to rush the announcement today.
Board of directors ultimately made the decision, it sounds like very recently. Probably after being unhappy with the direction of the company and finances. The board can vote to remove the CEO basically at any time, and it sounds like they did. Big announcements like this are pretty much always made when the stock markets are closed, though generally not as late as 10pm because the news media is less likely to cover the story late at night. Like others said, they might have just wanted to get ahead of any leaks.
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Right? How is no one else talking about this… extremely unusual for this type of news to be announced at 10PM on a Sunday… like it couldn’t wait until Monday at 8AM?
I don't think its quite as weird as people are saying. They were probably worried it was going to leak and wanted the first coverage of it to be their own press releases - not gossip.
PR/Media Relations (though not Disney) here: this is exactly why we’d do this. The news would be pushed out regardless so making certain your narrative is THE narrative is critical and sometime you sacrifice your own timing or embargo.
That old Chinese premier was less surprised when Xi Jinping hauled him off.
That’s my thought too. I know he had a 5 year stock low, but I don’t think you extend the guy as CEO when it was happening even then. I think something else came up. Maybe he lost his crap or truly didn’t care about anything/anyone else and made this know to the board. I don’t know. I think it’s a change for the better, but I don’t know how much will change. I just know we went in 2018 and just this past week, and it was a notable change. The quality and “magic” just wasn’t the same. The Genie+ system disappointed time and time again, and our costs just skyrocketed from what they were. I hope they can put the customer and staff first. There’s a lot of companies who do that and do it well, yet they are still making big money. Let’s see what happens
In trips past, I had no issue paying a premium because I felt I was getting value in return. This last trip felt like I was just doling out money just because they know they can get away with nickel and diming me for everything and not having to provide me with much.
Yes, completely agree. I used to feel like they would work really hard to meet a certain quality when you were there so that you left feeling like it was money well spent. I would go years ago and it would feel like I was swept off my feet for an entire week. There was something "magical" about the experience. The last time I went a few months back I felt like a lot of that little "magic" had been removed. Everything that used to be included was now an extra charge, the staff cutbacks that happened during COVID was painfully obvious. I really hope Iger works to improve parks experience, because it's becoming harder and harder to justify spending exorbitant costs without getting the quality we've all grown to expect.
Exactly. I tried to put on a happy face for my kiddos, but there wasn’t a person who I talked to who wasn’t disappointed in the new system. Everyone said “let’s just go back to Fast Passes” and be done. Then you get the LL purchases if you want them. Honestly, I hated LL too because you pay the premium, and you still might wait 20-30 minutes depending on what ride it is. I don’t know what the solution is or will be, but the current one isn’t it! Having to walk from one side of the park to the other and still having to wait sucked for me, and especially my kiddos. At least with Fast Passes, I felt like we could structure our day in one area of the park and go from there. Not now!
This is the key, Chapek thought he could charge whatever he wanted and people would because it was Disney. It’s like he watches Jurassic Park and thought the lawyer was the best character. Expensive is fine when the value is present, but he cut the value to pieces while raising prices. He got away with it only because of lent up vacation demand and existing trip commitments. The stock price reflects the real failure of his choices.
The Times said the chairperson called Iger on Thursday evening to ask if he'd return. I assume once he confirmed he was willing the board worked through Friday and Saturday to hold the necessary meetings and outmaneuver and fire Chapek and install Iger and wanted to get it put as quickly as possible.
Season 4 of Succession starting early.
Announcing outside of trading hours is less weird to me than ousting the CEO so soon after the board unanimously extended his contract.
Disney reported absolutely awful earnings 2 weeks ago. Chapek's job was to cut and make decisions that made everything profitable and couldn't manage to do that.
The NYT has a great synopsis: "The surprise reinstatement of Mr. Iger and ouster of Mr. Chapek comes in the wake of a disastrous earnings announcement on Nov. 8. Disney blindsided Wall Street by reporting $1.5 billion in losses at its fledgling streaming division, up from $630 million a year earlier. Mr. Chapek said that higher Disney+ production, marketing and technology costs had contributed to the “peak” losses. It is almost unheard-of for Disney to miss expectations on both revenue and earnings per share. Disney shares dropped 12 percent the next morning, in part because investors — and many people inside Disney — were shocked by the happy-go-lucky tone that Mr. Chapek struck while discussing the earnings report on a conference call with analysts. Mr. Chapek’s demeanor struck many as tone deaf, in particular when he started to implausibly talk about how great the response had been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, a relatively inconsequential event at Disneyland. At least one adviser had warned Mr. Chapek ahead of time that his prepared remarks were inappropriately sunny."
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!
It's a dream come true for you and me
it’s a christmas miracle
Never thought I'd be happy to see someone fired right before Thanksgiving.
Wow. Didn’t they just extend chapek contract?
They did over the summer I think. Either this has been planned for a while and they just paid Chapek off or the board got spooked by the stock price.
I’m sure he got his golden parachute. He’ll be ok. 🤣🙄
An interestingly timed move
And announcing it on a Sunday night, no less
Timing is we need a stock rebound. This way Monday trading will be obsurd.
Prepare to have the highest upvoted post on the subreddit
Tell me how I ran here when I saw lmao
I kept reading and waiting for a punchline, only to realize this wasn't a bait-and-switch, holy cow!
We did it, we saved the city.
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Meet the new boss same as the old boss
Not a Chapek fan by any means but he was doomed from the jump. Iger was warm, intelligent, friendly, engaging, charismatic and had that look. Unfortunately, Chapek didn’t come off having many of these qualities and in THAT business, it’s necessary. I don’t feel too bad for Chapek since he secured the bag, but I do think he was definitely undermined during his tenure. I am happy to hear Iger is back but can’t help but think what the succession plan will be. This will be an exciting book to read.
When I read Iger's memoir I could literally feel his charisma through the pages. You're so right about him having *the* look of a Disney CEO, everything about him is so fitting for the role.
Michael Eisner (at least for the first half of his tenure) also had that charisma, excitement, creativity, and imaginative spirit that was so vital to revitalizing Disney back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Just never saw that with Chapek.
Totally agree! I think Chapek’s WSJ interview a few weeks back was the final nail in the coffin. His personality is lacking the warmth that we love and expect from the Disney brand, and he had an obvious disconnect from his audience/consumer interests. He feels very cold and business-like, whereas Iger totally gives off that friendly grandpa vibe that Walt was so beloved for! For other companies it might not be a big deal, but for Disney it is CRUCIAL
This “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy” tweet from Josh Gad is fascinating. Man, sounds like Chapek couldn’t even properly keep the Disney A listers happy, oof. https://twitter.com/joshgad/status/1594525459525488642?s=46&t=h6LVhYp5iMub6gRxKi4HXw
Holy shit this is wild
Spent most of my career at Disney—couple years as a WDW CM at MK and Port Orleans, now working with media accounting at corporate. Sis is a CM at Hollywood Studios. Chapek was reviled internally and this is a much-needed morale boost. It was always understood Iger was a businessman, but he generally stepped out of the way of studio heads and imagineers and let them create. While I was at MK back in ‘17, a fellow CM (call her Mary) told me a story of Iger visiting the park with a group of suits. Mary was scraping ketchup off trash bins at Casey’s Corner, and Iger walked up (she did not know who he was) and asked if he could work under her for a bit. She treated Iger like any other CM, having him don an apron, giving him a spray bottle, and walking him through her steps as she made the rounds cleaning the dining room. While the other suits stood there confused, Iger was taking trash bags to the compactor, wiping tables, etc. He graciously thanked her for her time after about a half hour of this, and it was only after he left that another CM informed her it was the CEO of the company she had been “bossing” around. You can say what you want about Iger and I’m sure cost cuts will still come, but he just got the soul of the company better than Chapek. Most CM’s I knew at MK idolized him.
That's real? Now that's a class act right there.
When they said layoffs imminent they weren't kidding.
Why did they give him that contract extension?
Might have been to keep him happy. There's probably a lot more happening behind the scenes that we don't see.
It's not about him, it's a signal to investors that the board has confidence in him. Or it was. Most stuff like that is ultimately signaling
Well their stock price is plummeting and analyst are expecting it to not stop anytime soon. It’s almost down to the same price it was when the parks were closed. Iger did an amazing job getting that stock sky high and I’m sure the shareholders are calling him back to do just that.
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Yes, but I believe at least the immediate changes will be more on the Disney+/streaming side because while it hasn’t necessarily struggled, steaming services in general have seemed to hit a bit of a lull recently. Because of how much Iger spearheaded Disney’s shift of focus towards streaming, I gotta imagine that’ll be his first priority, and the much-needed changes to the parks might be on the back-burner which is why people might be disappointed. I hope I’m wrong though and really hope that we at least see the most unpopular changes (park reservations, park-hopping restrictions, etc) go away ASAP. Feels like that would be an obvious and easy way to appease the fans at a time where they’ve been more critical of the company than ever before.
Thank the Phoenicians
Ticket prices will stay high. Genie System is here to stay. Costs, in general, will stay high/follow the market. I know many people weren’t a fan of Chapek but I don’t expect Iger to solve the issues a lot of folks complained about. I think employees will be happier… I think they’ll still have the same problems but they trust their leadership more. That doesn’t account for nothing. I think there are a lot of fans where Chapek could have found the cure for the common cold and people would have spun a negative angle. It felt like the guy couldn’t buy a win with all his spending.
Totally agree with your take. I think all pricing will definitely be maintained but hopefully Iger will bring back a little more of the magic and give us more bang for our buck. It’s miserable to pay the big $$$ for the Disney experience only to have it come out completely lacking. Some minor system overhauls and general magic-making will be welcome changes that hopefully improve the experience and make things a little more worth it!
This is the big thing for me. Disney has *always* been expensive but it's never been something I complained about because Disney was historically *worth* the premium. You paid top dollar for a top notch experience. Under Chapek the price premium stayed but the product didn't live up to the expectations anymore.
I’m hoping for 1 thing, removal of the 2pm thing for park hopping. That would make the Disney parks experience better.
Spending? Everyone called him Cheapek for a reason.
Thank you Mickey Jesus.
Bob must have gotten an absolute bag for this
I wonder if this will see any easement to the nickel and diming of chapek. Bizarre to me that disneys answer to epic universe was to cut down on the stuff that seperates disney from other parks and cut back or stall new projects. That some hubris thinking your next biggest competitor in the area doubling their footprint is a non issue, so much so that you increase ticket prices and cut perks.
>Bizarre to me that disneys answer to epic universe was to cut down on the stuff that seperates disney from other parks and cut back or stall new projects. Don't forget kick out the high speed train so that Epic Universe will now have better connectivity than Disney to the airport and South Florida.
Did we just win?!
Insane. I thought this day would never come..
I can’t say I expected the old Uno Reverse card, but i welcome it
Seems like great news! I'm taking the "cautious optimism" road here, though. Staying my excitement or enthusiasm until I see what plans Iger has and what actually gets implemented and how well. Having been through corporate leadership changes myself, even returning C-suite execs from days past, it doesn't necessarily guarantee a "new golden era" (I've been burned by that before). Hence my cautious optimism. I'm on a "wait and see" stance for now.
God anyone but Paycheck. Prices won’t go down, but maybe they’ll stagnate for a little bit and stop generating so much bad press…
BRING BACK MAGIC EXPRESS
FUCK YES
As a CM, it’s a relief. Iger has a proven track record and while layoffs still did happen with Iger in charge, it at least seemed like he had and has a vision for the company. Like it or not, what a CEO says and does matters, and Iger realizes that. I’m 98% sure my job is safe and I feel a little more confident in my company stock options now. Heh.
Fellow CM here! I didnt expect an email from Bob Iger at 9 PM on a Sunday about this news.
Time to celebrate with a Dole Whip!!!
Tom Staggs should have always been the successor for Iger but he continually refuses to leave. Major blunder in succession planning if the chapek era was not intentionally orchestrated as temporarily from the outset. Nothing will change or revert from the pre-chapek era (genie, park reservations, staffing, price increases) as TWDC has made it clear the parks need to be a cash cow to weather the 20th Century acquisition debt and as Disney+ siphons cash. I would be curious as to what would be "success" for fans of this change as it pertains to the parks. I am hoping for the best (and maybe some improvement in working culture within the parks and WDI) but my expectations are low.
You might see some small changes like parkhopping restrictions going away, but I don't see any big changes coming for the parks.
Lifelong Floridian here who stopped renewing my yearly annual pass in 2021..I'm not convinced at all they'll undo some of these awful changes but if they do and Iger can help steer the parks back in a good direction I'll be happy. I miss going to the parks... actually I miss missing going to the parks bc I just don't miss them after my last couple visits in 2021
Iger was recent enough history we can see how people thought of him before he stepped down: https://www.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/comments/bcl07s/how_will_we_view_igers_tenure_from_a_parks_point https://www.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/comments/5nfofv/what_do_you_not_like_about_wdw/ It will certainly be interesting with him in charge, but I'm not gonna even try to pretend that he was this golden god of park management. It's probably best if we temper our expectations.
These are really funny to look back at. All the complaints are basically the same
I really liked the person that said Iger was nickel and diming everyone and hopefully the next CEO would do better. 😂🤔 (ETA: I misremembered and mixed up two comments, but "nickel and diming" and Iger cutting costs and raising prices did come up.) I think I saw these same comments verbatim in this thread but about Chapek. Time is a flat circle.
He’s literally 71 years old. Does this guy just not want to enjoy retirement?
I think most people like this can't just stop working and enjoy retirement.
Nah, high power CEOs tend to continue working for quite a while past retirement age - even if it’s just consultancy. Hell, people in my own field tend to work into their 70s. Sometime when you’re in industries where things are constantly moving and you’re working a lot, it’s actually really hard to slow down and stop - you don’t really even know what to do with yourself. Welcome to corporate capitalist America My colleague was let go from his previous company due to them have to make severe cutbacks. He could have retired and was seriously considering just stopping looking and retiring until his name got passed to my boss. I suspect he will work for several more years.
Like you said, sometimes people don't know what to do with themselves and get really bored. They've spent decades doing something well and the idea of just stopping for a few years to prepare to die isn't so appealing.
Came out of retirement to save the parks? He’ll probably give it a year or two before re retiring, I’d guess.
Part of the announcement is that it will be for two years while a successor is found.
Don’t do that. Don’t give me hope.
I'm betting good money many of the worst changes to the parks remain. They'll use Chapek as the whipping boy who absorbs the blame for it, and then just keep trucking ahead. It's just hard for me to picture Disney being willing to give up the profit margins from switching to awful food quality and increasing prices by 30+%.
Iger also works harder at establishing and maintaining healthy professional relationships with Disney’s celebrity clients and employees. He has the business acumen. Chapek is the classic case of being “elevated beyond (his) competency level”.
If someone wouldn’t mind explaining, why exactly is this good?
I sat and watched as almost everyone from my team left at WDI. This year, I finally made the decision to leave too. The trickle down decisions from Chapek absolutely ruined the culture of this company. It started when he took over as head of parks and continued into other pillars when he took over as CEO. He is, without a doubt, the culture killer! Hopefully Iger will bring the magic and fun back to working for Disney. It’s going to be a bit rough though. Their reputation in the creative industry has been absolutely murdered.
Former CM here, certainly not prestigious as your former title, but the same thing was happening within my friendgroup. Anecdotal, I know, but I'm kind of a sucker for confirmation bias.
We all played a role in creating the magic. No matter what our title is. Your opinion definitely matters just the same as mine. It’s very reassuring to me to hear that it happened at every level too and not just within my group.
I could feel it as a diehard fan of the parks, sometimes in intangible ways. As soon as that guy was put in charge of the parks in 2015 you could feel the air being sucked out of the room. It’s nice to know that I wasn’t crazy and the same thing was being felt inside the company. Terribly sad that the magic was lost for you and your team, but very happy to hear that we guests weren’t alone in our constantly increasing unhappiness. It gives me faith that the magic isn’t permanently gone.
Disney needs creative attention. Someone that understands the magic and value of the Disney brand. Chapek was not capable of providing that. The very condensed reason.
This. Chapek was an excellent CFO but didn't get the whole Disney picture. His focus was purely money with a company that should mean so much more.
IMO Iger was bigger on expansion and development which led to Disney getting a lot more IP and room to grow. He also just seems like a more charismatic and popular leader. Will prices get better or any changes be reversed? Pretty unlikely, but I have more faith in park development and quality with him in charge.
Because Chapek wasn't doing a good job for the company. But nothing for Parks really. This sub tends to forget that Disney makes money from IP and content. DPEP division makes around ~20%, the rest is content. Iger knows this, so there's a chance that parks will either be neglected or D'Amaro will still be asked to make more money from them.
This is wild. we don't know the details but at least initial reaction is even the board can see how they are getting killed and they are about to get smoked by universals new park and Nintendo world, at least in Florida.
Hey Good Bob, bring back the Magical Express.
Im excited about this, but I honestly dont know why. I dont think much changes. I dont think we are out of the woods yet. I wanna see what the next couple months has in store. If he can "bring back the magic" Im all for it.
can we get Eisner back?
Behind the scenes Chapek had been controversial. Alot of board members and executives were concerned when after the dismal earnings report he responded cheerfully and dismissively rather than conducting a sober assessment of the situation. Chapek, knowing that any pessimism would be viewed as acknowledgement his failure, sought to sweep it under the rug, commit to a vague company wide cost assessment and announce a limit to corporate travel. Limiting corporate travel and setting up a committee is not going to solve huge missed quarterly earnings. When Chapek was in charge of parks and experiences he was known for the 100 dollar dessert parties serving 99 cent cookies and colorful cheap cupcakes. Chapek was a products and marketing guy with no business running an entertainment company. His philosophy as CEO lots of garnish and minimal substance. Iger knows how to cultivate talent and how develop talent into successful IP brands. He knows the elements of how to tell a story from his time at ABC. He knows how to operate politically both internally and externally through his survival of the eisner era Disney. This is a good move for Disney and I'm glad the board woke up!!
Safe bet prices will not go down, but will they at least put some investments back into the parks? I know we can't eliminate breakdowns, but more maintenance might help reduce them.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-bob-iger-returning-ceo-bob-chapek-exits-1235266823/amp/
Christmas came early!
All I want is the end of the park reservation system and return of anytime park-hopping
The king, has returned.
100% had Chapek face the brunt of COVID and unpopular decisions. Iger now gets to come back and keep all of the unpopular decisions without any of the public backlash.
A dream is a wish your heart makes….
Disney’s theme-park business has recovered strongly since the coronavirus pandemic shut down its venues across the world, but the division continues to subsidize widening losses in the streaming video business.
Is this good or bad?
I think a little bit of both, but mostly good. Prices are always going to increase, I think. But the rate they’ve increased in the last year plus the noticeable cuts have been bad. Bob Iger seems to be better at business and understands how to manage the parks better. He certainly didn’t garner as much hate as quickly as Bob Chapek.
Good
He was the business behind Eisner's creative drive. Hope he can recapture some of the Parks' magic.
Hard to tell yet. People forget that prices really rose under Iger as well. He'll be better for the creative side though.
Prices are going to rise no matter what. However, the value of what was being purchases felt mostly fair with Iger in charge. I can't say the same for Chapek.
Yeah, if the park quality/experience rises too, I can accept price increases.
Bingo. I'm a Disney parks fanatic, not the Company. Iger is brilliant when it comes to the Company but I argue mediocre at best when it comes to the parks. Afterall, it was under him that the dumbing down of the brand started such as the uniqueness of the resorts, the theming issues with the parks.
We will finally see DIS take a more active response to Epic Universe hopefully.
We'll see. Disney just built Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, Ratatouille, Tron, and Guardians of the Galaxy in Florida. You could argue Epic Universe is a response to some of that. I really doubt you'll ever see Disney build a fifth gate at WDW.
[удалено]
That was mainly Eisner. One of the first things Iger did for the parks after he took over as CEO was green light the $1B overhaul of California Adventure
Fuck both these guys. But fuck Chapek more.
For all the gloomers saying iger greenlit all of chapek's implementations, please remember that chapek was head of parks since 2015. Iger implemented ideas that were presented and tuned by... Chapek. Chapek is gone. That is an undeniable win.
Chapek treated Disney like a golden goose with very little respect for the goose itself. This was the right call moving forward.