Not a shock, but …seriously…@&#(*&@#$(&$@er!!!
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That’s not the best news 
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Mondays, man.
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I thought they saved the bad news for after 4pm on Fridays. They’re confused.
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It’s because of the time change.
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Right! Understandable and relatable. The time change messed us up here too. My DS25 was late for work today because he still uses a plug into the wall alarm clock. woops.
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I mean sure it’s bad, but it was hardly a surprise. I mean if a CEO is typically on the board for a company (something a lot of folks don’t think is a healthy practice so I think only ~25% of companies do it), how often is that CEO ever denied the board seat? Sure it would have been hilarious, but…
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This was from March 9, so last Wednesday. Can’t blame the time change!
But, I have been doing a lot of thinking about Chapek as CEO, and all the hate…and I am starting to have two minds of the whole thing. I will elaborate later when I am not on my phone.
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Fine, Wreck-it Ryan 
I didn’t even notice the date, honestly. THAT is because of time change. I am so foggy today.
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Don’t feel obligated.
I don’t mean that as snark, but honestly, the whole thing isn’t worth the commentary. From anyone. Its not like anything is going to friggin change.
I’m so tired. And not because of the time change.
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I don’t feel obligated at all. And, in fact, I similarly figure what I have to think about it is of little use. But just stuff I’ve been wrestling around with in my brain.
See, the thing is, I don’t like a lot of stuff that Chapek is doing. In fact, I didn’t like a lot of stuff that Iger was doing before Chapek and before COVID. We’ve had countless ranting threads about all the various misdeeds of Disney in terms of how the parks are being run, and such.
But then I take a step back, and look around. Crowds seem to be increasing, not decreasing. People are forking over the extra money for G+, when it used to be free. Folks are booking up the on-property hotels, despite reduced services. The lack of DME hasn’t seemed to slow people coming, either.
And while you could easily attribute much of this to the pent up demand (which I, personally, believe is exactly what it is)…the fact is, from a business model perspective, it makes sense. Disney lost a LOT of money (or at least, revenue) during COVID, and they are now making up for it. Shareholders are happy about it, and we are gradually seeing the (mostly) return of what was previously lost.
Plenty of us aren’t happy with the “new state of affairs”…but, at least in the short term, plenty more are perfectly willing. I mean, I’m a bit of a hypocrite about it since in the period when Disney still had so much cut, we did TWO trips to Disney (in 2020), when normally do one every two years…PLUS, my wife and I bought into DVC resale.
And I’m left wondering…maybe, just maybe, as much as I don’t like the cost increases and other changes, Chapek is setting up Disney to be in a place, financially, to be not only financially successful, but weather future storms better, and then position itself to start focusing back on what we all want…which is a bit of magic in the of new long-term investments and improvements.
Right now, Disney is playing catch up. But while they are doing so, they are actually heading in the RIGHT direction in terms of financials. And without financials, there will BE no magic.
On the other hang…some of the magic HAS gone away, and we aren’t seeing evidence (yet) that new projects others than that were previously on the books before COVID, are in the pipeline. Could it be that once this new influx of pent-up demand is over, that many of those guests will not have experienced the magic in the same way as before and decide not to book another Disney trip? What then?
Of course, when that happens, Disney will change course. They will offer discounts, they will announce projects, they will adjust their direction to meet the needs WHEN THAT HAPPENS. And when that happens, undoubtedly many who swore off Disney for good (or, at least, for a time) will likely have their curiosity piqued, and many will then return.
I’m also left thinking about alternatives to Chapek. Because if Chapek were ousted either from the Board, or as CEO, or both…is there anyone in position to step up who will be any better in terms of what we, the Disney fans, hope for?
I love to opine for the days when the Disney brothers were in the charge of things, wishing things were run how they would have done it…but the truth is, we don’t know how they would have done it, since the world today looks quite different from what it looked like 50+ years ago.
None of this suggests that I love Chapek and agree with his decisions. At the same time, I’m left wondering if, FOR A TIME SUCH A THIS, that Chapek is exactly what Disney needs to survive and thrive? Maybe. Maybe not. Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure. But I keep going back to seeing those crowd levels and think, “Maybe Chapek knows more than we give him credit for.”
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I totally agree with your thoughts, but I still don’t like it….
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I think about this a lot when I hear comments about “that isn’t what Walt would have wanted…” or similar.
I mean maybe, maybe not. We know what he said… but he was also a very shrewd businessman and not afraid to earn a buck or two. And the world is a very different place . . . and Walt specifically said that things would change…
Point is…how many corporations are operating today the same way they did in the 1950s and 1960s? Probably none. At least not successful ones…
I guess I don’t have much to add, other than, I agree that we just have no idea how things would have turned out. Imagine if Walt Disney hadn’t died at age 65… what if he had lived to 85? He could have been running Disney into the 1980s!!!
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I generally agree with what you said here, both the positive and the negative.
As it relates to this particular election, these votes are largely procedural / formalities. Even in companies with an embattled CEO or board member, most of the votes go along with whatever management recommends (though it can take a lot more money and effort to extract enough votes to get a ratification – many/most shareholders don’t vote and need to be prodded to fill out their ballot with multiple emails / calls).
If Chapek is ever ousted, it wouldn’t be through one of these votes. It would be from internal pressure from the rest of the board / management for him to resign. Then the vote would ratify his successor. That could happen tomorrow or never, independent of the timing of the proxy votes.
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That’s what I have been thinking as well. For us fans, his choices aren’t great. From a business/financial perspective, he is a genius.
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Well - let’s not get carried away. He perhaps is a short term genius, but if many of his actions are isolating the incredibly loyal fan base where they start asking themselves “maybe it’s not worth it to go to the parks anymore?” I cannot be the only one asking myself that question of late. Basically I’m worried his genius will have a nasty expiration date.
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Debatable.
While Disney certainly was on the ups after 2020’s —ahem— events… it’s been on a steady decline over the last year.
Sure. World events could be playing a part, but that’s the debatable part.
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At first I thought you might be unfair given the market has dropped precipitously this year but comparing $DIS to the S&P500 only makes him look worse. DIS is 40% worse than the S&P over the last year. Guess it is only 5% worse this year since Chapek technically took over (again).
I’m comfortable giving him le—hrr— lead—hrrk— leadership 
credit since 2019.
I wont blame 2020 on him, and I maintain Disney handled that with amazing grace, but afterward… phew. Naw.
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