What's Next at Disney, After Iger's Return?
Bob Iger is back in charge at Disney, and we open more nominations for our annual Theme Park Insider Awards.
As our American readers get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday this week, let’s try to put together everything that Disney just blew up for us with that shock Bob Iger return over the weekend.
Disney Dumps Chapek, Brings Back Iger
Too many Disney Parks fans forget that Disney is more a media company than a theme park one. As much as Disneyland and Walt Disney World fans might like to imagine that Iger has returned to magically transport the parks back to 2019, Disney’s CEO returned to fix the mess on the media side of The Walt Disney Company.
Disney+ is hemorrhaging cash (to be fair, as expected), and Disney’s studios have yet to find any magic formula to bring fans back to movie theaters at pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, the parks are hauling in record revenue and earnings, making them far less a priority for immediate action than on the media side, where Iger already has promised a reorganization.
Still, with some Disney fans complaining so vocally about the current state of the parks, I wanted to address some of the issues they have been talking about most. In two posts this week, I suggest what Bob Iger might do - whenever he gets around the parks - to address fans’ concerns.
Readers offered some great responses to the first post, and I am awaiting responses on the second. For those of you who work in the industry, I know that fan comments online can be maddening. But I am proud of the thoughtful, insightful, and helpful commentary that Theme Park Insider readers can offer, so I hope you remember us when deciding what voices to boost by sharing them online.
And for those Disney fans who remain frustrated with what they are getting in return for their money from the parks, I offer this post: Going in Debt for Disney? Try These Alternatives
Not every theme park vacations needs to break your budget. A lot of people at a lot of other parks are doing amazing work that deserves your consideration. Even those who work for Disney would agree that Mickey has no monopoly on great themed entertainment experiences.
Nominations for the 2023 Theme Park Insider Awards
To that end, we once again would like to honor the best of the best in the global theme park industry. Here is your annual opportunity to help us to do that by nominating people, projects, and locations for our 21st annual Theme Park Insider Awards.
Here are the categories now open for your nominations. Just click through and fill out the form to submit yours:
In next week’s email, we will open nominations for the final categories: Best Roller Coaster, Best Attraction, Best New Attraction, and Best Theme Park. So please start thinking about the rides you will want to include on your nomination lists!
IAAPA Expo Wrap-Up
Bob Rogers’ annual IAAPA Expo Legends panel came through again this year, welcoming four other Disney veterans to the stage to share their thoughts about project development, leadership, and storytelling, as learned from 40 years of Epcot: Legends Share Creative Leadership Lessons, Inspired by Epcot
Which Roller Coaster Reveal Won the IAAPA Expo? We saw lots of fun-looking roller coaster train reveals at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando again this year. But which one was the best one?
More Theme Park News
Amusement Industry Mourns the Loss of Alberto Zamperla: The leader of one of the world's leading amusement ride manufacturers has passed away. Alberto Zamperla was 71.
The World's First Football/Soccer-Themed Park Is Coming to Dubai: One of the world's most popular sports teams will be getting a brand experience attraction at a leading theme park resort.
Disney Acquires Its Biggest-Ever Cruise Ship: The Global Dream was designed to be one of the world's largest cruise ships by capacity. Then its owner went bankrupt, and its twin sister was scrapped. Now the Disney Cruise Line has acquired it. Talk about a "roller coaster at sea."
More news from the week:
Black Friday Deals Are Coming
Our travel partners are passing along some great holiday ticket deals this year. Please follow the ticket links on our Theme Park Guides page to see what is available, and keep watching Theme Park Insider for a round-up of all the deals, later this week.
Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for reading,
Robert Niles