IGER RETURNS!

I’ve been reading the comments and posts of others in response to the news that Iger is returning. It’s hard to really explain the process a very large corporation goes through with the removal of a CEO and replacement of that CEO.

First off you have to understand Disney had just given Chapek a new 3 year contract. This means he received tidy Golden Parachute Sunday. You can’t just fire someone in his position. Because of the contract he had to have been bought out.

The other thing is that no matter how much we would like to, and yes I’ve been guilty of this too, we can’t just blame every single Parks decision that we loathe on Chapek. There is a leadership structure where there are decisions made by more than one person and this goes for all decisions made at the Disney Company since it has a ridiculous amount of divisions that cover everything from merchandising to media outlets.

Also it’s important to remember, Josh D’Amaro is in charge of the parks and his title shows it: Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. Of course there are decisions peppered throughout at the parks that are indeed influenced by the CEO but there is no way to blame all of them on Chapek. I know we’ve been doing this but after sitting back and thinking about it more we have to really look at the big picture.

I have met Josh at the parks and I’ve actually had success in getting a fix by him: a gate put in at the Incredibles lot at Pixar Pals in July of 2019. He stepped up and fixed that situation by having a gate put in after I constantly posted about that fence with pictures, tagged him endlessly, posted a drawing explaining the process they were making disabled guests do to get out of that lot, explained the ADA rule on reasonable accommodation, and boom it was fixed. That is huge in my book.

https://www.facebook.com/GothicRosie/photos/a.2045895332311540/2474547699446299

But I don’t think everything Josh touches turns to gold. I'm a realist. He’s great in person, makes a point of connecting to guests and Cast Members when he is there. He is definitely more Iger-like in that regard. I have been told by countless CMs that they really like him because of that because he makes them feel important.

Now is the Magic Key 36-hour🔥 fire sale fiasco his doing alone or does Ken Potrock share the blame here too? I don’t know. I know that for as long as Disney has been doing crazy sales of highly demanded items their tech infrastructure has been the worst on the planet…every single time. So that’s perhaps a bigger issue and no one has decided to step up to and fix. Note to Iger, the tech department needs help!

Of course Chapek in his numerous interviews speaks in a way that make it seem that all the decisions made at the Disney Co. are his and THAT is where we get our inclination to blame him for everything. All CEOs do this really too.

There is no way to know exactly who did what and who owned what in the numerous decisions made at the company.

I think we are in a good place to see things change now in meaningful ways with Iger back. What ways is the mystery. I do not think that the things that many desire will come back though. The AP program from before Covid is gone. That ship has sailed. The Park Reservation system is either a blessing or a curse depending on who you talk to. I’m not sure of where that will go. All I know is that Disney is the ONLY Theme Park that still uses them outside of the National Parks system. Personally I’d like it to go away but I’m not holding my breath on this either.

My biggest concerns are still about the DAS and how the disabled and those with Service Dogs are treated... ‘handled’ at the park. This might require even more posts and endless tagging of the leadership until something is done for the better going forward or I get blocked by them too🤣.

So let’s step back. Accept that Chapek has moved on with his golden parachute and yes be happy that Iger has returned but we must be realistic in what to expect as the next two years unfold.

Welcome back to Disney Mr. Iger.