What started off as a relatively slow week in the Disney universe really hit a peak on Thursday. Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced some major changes coming to the House of Mouse. Those changes are some of the final nails in the coffin of the era of Bob Chapek.
As you may remember, Chapek became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in February 2020. His appointment never sat well with a lot of Disney fans. And it didn’t sit well with the company either. Chapek was fired in November 2022, after less than three years in the role.
So, let’s take a look at the terrible week Bob Chapek had.
Galactic Starcruiser Closing
Now, this project was probably in the works while Chapek was still Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. However, he was the man in charge when the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was built and it when opened.
From the outset, Disney and Star Wars fans were shocked by the massive price tag to stay on the Starcruisers. For just two Guests to enjoy the 2-night experience was an astonishing $4,800. Chapek was confident, though, that the hotel would be a hit.
Well, Chapek was wrong. The hotel struggled to fill occupancy, even though it only had 100 rooms. Discounts were offered, but those didn’t help and Disney had to cancel voyages because there just weren’t enough people.
On 19, Disney announced that the Galactic Starcruiser would take its final voyage in September, just 18 months after it opened.
Lake Nona Canceled
In July 2021, Chapek announced that Disney would be investing $1 billion in a new Imagineering Campus in Lake Nona, Florida. Imagineers who had built their lives in California were told that they were to move to Florida or find other jobs. There was immediate outrage from both Disney employees and Disney fans. There was so much pushback that Chapek announced the move had been delayed until 2026.
Also on May 16, Josh D’Amaro announced that the Imagineering Campus and the Lake Nona move had been canceled altogether. D’Amaro noted the “changing business climate” and one of the reasons for the move. The cancellation mainly has to do with Disney’s fight with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney claims that DeSantis is running a targeted retaliation campaign against them. Canceling Lake Nona will cost Florida thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue. D’Amaro also said that Disney would be working with the Imagineers who had already moved to Florida.
Chapek Getting Sued for Lying
Just days before Disney announced the closure of the Galactic Starcruiser and the canceling of Lake Nona, a group of investors filed a lawsuit against Bob Chapek, Chapek’s right hand man, Kareem Daniel, and Disney CFO Christine McCarthy. The lawsuit states that they engaged in a campaign of deception when it came to Disney’s streaming platform, Disney+, and how it was performing.
Chapek and McCarthy repeatedly said that Disney+ would be profitable by the year 2024. However, the lawsuit states that Chapek, McCarthy, and Daniel lied about that profitability. It states that they also lied about how expensive it was to keep Disney+ afloat and how they would maintain subscriber growth.
During Disney’s second quarter earnings call, CEO Bob Iger said that the company was actively working on how to make Disney+ more profitable. Iger said that the company was cutting a lot of programming that just wasn’t working. They would also be more selective about the new content they would produce.
So, as you can see, Bob Chapek had an incredibly bad week. He’s been gone from the company for just over 6 months, but his decisions are still having a major impact on Disney. But between Lake Nona, the Starcruiser, and the lawsuit, things are still not looking great. What a time to be him.
