Everything Old is New Again, Photo: Disney.

The news is hopping with the firing of Disney CEO Bob Chapek and the rehiring of former CEO Bob Iger. For now, the fans are exuberant. Almost too much so.

Clearly Chapek demonstrated a level of tone deafness not found in a Disney CEO since Ron Miller…and his tenure ended badly too. Chapek made bad mistakes.

Onerous charges – A financial guy, Chapek found as many ways as he could to wring every penny out of Disney patrons. Where Disney pre–pandemic was in many ways an all–inclusive experience (transportation, meals included), Chapek separated every service he could into an upcharge.  In fairness, the company lost so much money during the pandemic that he likely had little choice. The strategy created momentary profits, but it sacrificed good will and intent to return.

Complicated experiences – A Disney park experience used to be simple. Everything opened and closed at the same time. You found a line and got in it. You walked up to a restaurant and most often you could get a table. Now you need to plan months ahead and or try to book ride experiences at 7:00 am on the day of your visit. And there is, of course, the pay option to get preferential treatment in ride queues. You can’t sadly, even enter the park spontaneously. Your admission has to be booked in advance.

Ill–fitting intellectual property (IP) – I recently rode Guardians of the Galaxy at EPCOT. It’s a wonderful ride, but it’s in the wrong park. It would fit Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland as a futuristic fantasy or Disney's Hollywood Studios as a movie–based property. It has nothing in common with EPCOT’s theme of working together to solve our problems through technology and culture. It was added to EPCOT, sadly, to drive attendance.

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Creativity lost – The original owners balanced creativity (Walt) with financial smarts (Roy). In a prior article I wrote that everyone needs a Roy. Chapek needed a Walt. The lack of creativity in recent offerings has led to bombs like Lightyear.

Wokeness – The inclusion of what were considered alternative lifestyles in content, has turned many traditional fans off. They stopped patronizing the Disney product. I believe Disney saw the demographic future and decided they needed to be more inclusive. Chapek was not, however, very adept at politics and proved unable to balance the needs of the two fan bases.

So, there is plenty to appreciate in Chapek’s exit. But…

Many of the items listed above started on Iger’s watch. He is especially woke. He’s also largely behind the addition of IP where it doesn’t fit. Shanghai Disneyland was Iger’s vision and he’s almost subservient to China’s rulers. Given the current USA–China tensions, what happens if China decides to nationalize it’s Disney parks? And, Iger is largely responsible for the poorly received final Star Wars trilogy debacle.

The truth is that Iger is more like Chapek than those cheering right now expect. Where Iger differences is in an emphasis on creativity over pricing and a higher level of political savvy. The CEO shuffle is worth it for that, but don’t expect too much more.