New old CEO

[ajp]

Chapek is gone. (Opinion, not a bad thing). Iger to step back in.

[calisota]

All the comments I've seen online seem to be that it's a good thing. Chapek seemed universally disliked.


Greg

[ajp]

He seemed to have lost the plot. I just hope that this next time around they replace Iger with someone less focussed on control and the bottom line, and more aligned with what Disney is about. It would be good if Iger dumped Genie+ price or cost by end of the year.

[KeithS]

Yep - I think this is a good thing. Chapek seemed to focus on bottom line. He seemed to think people would continue to be fans no matter what the cost or quality, but that was just presumptuous and was alienating the fans. The prices were getting too high, the value for money too low, and the quality of everything was slipping. On top of that, he had demoralised the cast members. He thought cut backs and higher prices meant better shareholder value - and that works in the short term. But as more and more people turned their back on the price gouging, he kept increasing the prices to make up for the shortfall which alienated even more people.

Iger knows that and knows quality is slipping. I hope he looks towards scrapping these extra charge systems and also lowers prices on merchandise - better to sell 1000 t-shirts at $20 than 100 t-shirts at $50.

I'm more optimistic with Iger back in charge that things will change for the better.

[DisneyKaren]

Prices are certainly higher than before, however crowds appear to be up so complaints about prices aren't lining up with the actual attendance and use of genie+. America as a whole isn't as cheap as it used to be so perhaps the overall increasing costs is also impacting?

Disney seems to be softening the blow of rising costs by not actually putting the price on many items which can be frustrating at times and just makes extra work for already busy cast members being frequently asked for prices.

We purchased a 14-day pass from a UK website which was just cheaper than a 7-day pass through Disney. It also included free Memory Maker which was fun to have but we wouldn't have paid extra for it.

Staffing is hard everywhere in the US (as per here) so they need to step it up if they want to attract and retain the right people. We had some wonderful interactions with cast members and it really does make the trip more enjoyable.

Tough times for Iger ahead and will be interesting to see what happens through this year and going forward.

[calisota]

Disney seems to be softening the blow of rising costs by not actually putting the price on many items which can be frustrating at times and just makes extra work for already busy cast members being frequently asked for prices.

The whole US thing of "there are taxes on this but we won't tell you how much until you actually pay for it" is really annoying. Not even putting the price would make me run away screaming in frustration.


Greg

[ajp]

One of the aspects of our trip (which seems so long ago now back in Jan/Feb) was the prices of everything, but sadly our observation was not limited to Disney alone. However prices in Disney across the board, including Genie+ were out of control. But prices in non Disney restaurants, merchandise and general bits and pieces every where we went were crazy. Yes it had been 6 years since we had been over there but I reckon easily that I spent 30-40% more than I expected due to the price pressures.

[calisota]

Yes it had been 6 years since we had been over there but I reckon easily that I spent 30-40% more than I expected due to the price pressures.

Wasn't one of the "reasons" for most of the Disney price increases that it would lower numbers in the parks. Did you find that there were fewer people or are people just going to suck it up and go anyway?


Greg

[ajp]

Yes it had been 6 years since we had been over there but I reckon easily that I spent 30-40% more than I expected due to the price pressures.

Wasn't one of the "reasons" for most of the Disney price increases that it would lower numbers in the parks. Did you find that there were fewer people or are people just going to suck it up and go anyway?


Greg

We had high crowds when we were there at both parks, so don't think the costs are keeping many of them away.