Bob Iger at the Pandora dedication in 2017With the news that Bob Chapek has stepped down as Disney CEO, many fans are rejoicing. In Disney circles, Chapek has been given the nickname Bob Paycheck. It’s probably deserved. Part of Chapek’s legacy includes replacing free FastPass+ with paid Disney Genie+, a cutback in Annual Passholder benefits, and a reduction in overall staff. I know people who have been let go because of “restructuring”. Chapek always seemed to have his eye on the bottom line, not on the experience.
With Chapek gone and Bob Iger back at the helm, some Disney parks fans are expecting instant changes. This is unrealistic. While I do think that some things will change for the better, don’t expect your next vacation to suddenly cost less.
The perfect example is Disney Genie+. While many fans assume that this was an idea that Chapek came up with to offset some of the losses during and immediately after the shutdown, that just isn’t the case. Disney Genie was first announced at the 2019 D23 Expo. Details weren’t given, but since most theme parks charge extra for front of the line privileges, it was only a matter of time until Disney did as well.
The Disney Park Pass Reservation system is another thing that is most likely here to stay. I hate it too, but I understand the concept. Park Pass offers a way to control the crowds, at least somewhat. It’s also a cost saving measure on Disney’s part. If there are no reservations available, Disney knows that they will need to have a certain number of Cast Members working. If a park has plenty of availability, they won’t have as many people working. I’ve been told unofficially that Park Pass was also in the works before the pandemic. I don’t have an official source to back that up, but it makes sense to me.
Another reason why I don’t expect there to be many major changes at the theme parks right now is because of who Bob Iger is. He’s the acquisition guy. He’s the one responsible for Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and more. He likes to add to the Disney library. When it comes to the theme parks, he likes the big, new lands. The three newest lands at Walt Disney World were all on Iger’s watch.
Maybe that’s what will come next. At the D23 Expo in September new lands at Walt Disney World were hinted at, but not really confirmed. Maybe that’s what Iger will concentrate on for the theme parks. Maybe we’ll have a better idea of the direction for these projects soon.
More likely, though, Iger will concentrate more on entertainment. He’s agreed to return for two years, and it takes longer than that for Disney to build a new land. I think at first a lot of his concentration will be on Disney+, since the service performed well at first but lately has taken a bit of a nosedive.
Part of the next two years will also be grooming whoever will replace Iger when his contract is up. It will not be an easy choice. Chapek seemed like a good replacement at the time (I met him once, he was very nice to me) but in the long run, he’s been insanely unpopular. Iger is a short term fix. It will be interesting to see what changes are made, and how long it takes for them to happen.