Bob Chapek has been the CEO of Disney for about 18 months now. I have heard a lot of chatter about the job he is doing, and was curious what everyone thinks. So, of course, a poll is in order:
How would you grade Bob Chapek’s performance so far?
My remarks are given as a reference point, but you don’t have to agree exactly with what I said - just focus on the letter grade A - F.
A - His leadership is exactly what Disney needed to get through the pandemic; higher prices will keep crowds and lines more manageable
B - His policies will be a net positive for guests and for the long-term health of the Company, even if I don’t like them right now
C - Disney has become too profit-focused under his watch but I still enjoy the product
D - I disagree with most / all of his decisions but there’s still time to correct course
F - He has unsalvageably killed the magic; new leadership is needed ASAP
Too soon to say how his policies will be judged overall
0voters
I don’t want this to become a Chapek bashing thread - I’d like to see constructive criticism. Feel free to elaborate on your vote and your thoughts.
Honestly, I have feelings about individual things that have been changed or are about to be changed, but I just don’t know if we can really judge Chapek in these circumstances. Many of the things happening now were started under the watch of Iger…plus, he has had the unprecedented task of keeping the company/parks running during a pandemic while at the same time leading up to a 50th Annniversary with pent-up depend.
As such, I just don’t see if we can know much of anything right now. I think we need to really wait about another year, when demand dies down and we see the direct result of some of the recent changes.
While many of the changes do feel they are “taking the magic” away and are too profit-focused, I also can’t neglect the fact that the current demand and attendance would have been unmanageable without some kind of restrictions put into place…and frankly, I’ve been an over-crowded WDW before and HATED it. Despised it. Meaning, if it had been first trip to WDW, I would have never returned after that.
So, part of keeping the magic will be keeping the crowds reasonable.
I didn’t realize, until listening to Disney Dish this morning, that he’s only on a two year deal. I assumed a position like that would have been longer. I, originally, thought he would still be around for a while. Now, know that his contract is up soon I don’t think they’ll renew or whatever - Unless shares really skyrocket up in value.
I still feel blindsided by them dropping the mask requirements and so many other safety protocols with little to no notice while under 12s couldn’t be vaccinated. Really too late for us to plan a different vacation. At minimum, give a 4 week notice and an “as long as metrics stay under XXX” would have been so much more appropriate and given other people some indication of what to expect rather than feel like we’re subject to their whims. They have seriously undermined my trust in their decision making. I hope this feeling of not wanting to go back there wears off eventually.
Clearly, Disney is charging more and more, for less and less. Which, in the short term will make the company lots of money. But, it seems like they are giving up repeat business, driven by guest satisfaction. I will wait for Touring Plans/Unofficial Guide data this winter, but I expect to cancel my June trip.
I was kind of stuck between options C & D - in the business world, I understand it is hard to say “this is bad, that was good”, but the heck with it I went nuclear with option D.
I feel like Chapek’s leadership consistently follows a profit model of:
Punishment: Aggressively Higher costs + cuts in value = more profit, service be damned
rather than Reward: Organically Higher Costs + Good Service + Keeping Eye on expenses.
(With Good Service and Eye on Expenses having a recursive connection that needs to be in balance for long term growth.)
I suppose it is just a wait and see whether people keep blindly paying as they have so far. But, they probably will.
I’m not comfortable blaming just chapek at this point. Josh D’Amaro needs to be held responsible for some of this as well. If he has zero influence, why is he even there?
Iger wasn’t wholly blamed with chapek pulling crap in the past, and I have to think chapek is a little busy with the rest of Disney to only worry about the parks.
Sadly (?) for Chapek, he’s the one ultimately responsible. Whether he isn’t holding Josh accountable to do certain things, or whether he’s endorsing his lack of doing things, or especially if he is impeding his ability to do things, he’s The Guy In Charge, so the buck stops with him.
I was between C and D because I also still love the product. But down the road I see UOR family trips instead of Disney due to the financial investment. My kids being older have been leaning towards UOR already and this will push us definitely in that direction.
I will still go with friends for my runDisney trips and be able to get my Disney fix.
I voted B. Disney has been gathering data by the truckloads about their parks for a few years now, and I suspect that the changes we’re seeing now are the results of that gathering, for better or worse. The pandemic offered them a chance to reboot, and they took it. Disney has long paved the way in the amusement park world, and I suspect these changes for crowd management and maximizing profit will be the new normal around the world. I think that ultimately it will keep them going with a bigger operating budget, but if instead it turns into keeping them going with bigger salaries for executives, I change my B to a D/F.
If these changes are against the data or not data-driven, I change to a D.
I voted “too soon to judge” like a wuss, but if forced would say B right now. I don’t personally like it very much and have zero plans of returning right now, but how else do you deal with this kind of demand as a business other than making sure the guests you take on are the ones willing to pay the most? (In the short term anyway, maybe a 5th gate or more expansions later on)
Cedar Fair parks offer two tiers of fastpasses - wristbands that give you near walk-on access to certain rides. Fast lane usually includes older coasters and thrill rides at around $100/day, and Fast lane+ offers the new coasters as well for $150/person. They only offer so many each day, at a first-come, first-serve basis. Six flags does a similar thing with their Flash pass, but with three tiers. The Genie / G+ system with LL is similar, but much more refined than the other US park operators.
The trend in the industry has changed from the archaic business model he is following with the company. He is solely focused on maximising profit for the shareholders quarter-over-quarter which was the business model followed by many for decades. Many companies are moving away from this model and putting more focus on sustainability, equality and diversity. These items tend to be a higher focus for younger generations.
Chapek is suppose to be the face of the company and instill confidence into those who are investing and working with Disney. Two recent examples where he has failed are: the recent lawsuit and response to Scarlett Johansson, and the racial insensitivity is his recent tweets around Shang-Chi.
I do not know how he recovers from the black marks on his record.
