DisneyFanatic.com The Latest News, Advice, and Perspective from Disney Fans for Disney Fans!
During former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s reign, one of the predominant complaints about the Mouse House and its Parks was how Disney had lost its magic. This was largely due to the high prices, understaffed Parks, and general reduction in the quality of Guest experience at the Disney Parks. When Bob Chapek was ousted from his position and Disney CEO Bob Iger came back to take the helm, fans thought perhaps things were looking up, and in many ways, we have seen some changes.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World, in their 50th-anniversary outfits / Credit: Disney
Related: Disney Making Changes to “Simplify” Theme Parks, Make Them “Easier and More Accessible”
Changes in the Disney Parks
Over the last year, one of the changes that Disney fans saw reinstituted in the Parks was the re-introduction of complimentary services. Disney announced complimentary parking, additions to the PhotoPass services, and more recently, the Mouse House announced changes to the Disney Genie suite (Genie Plus (stylized as Genie+), Lightning Lane, and the third piece of Individual Lightning Lane).
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro have also consistently reinforced that Disney is listening to fans and making changes as they get Guest feedback.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and current Disney CEO Bob Iger / Credit: ABC
Fans Remain Steadfast: Disney Has Lost its Magic
Despite this, many Disney fans have remained unimpressed, expressing that the Parks have lost their magic. Recently, one Disney fan expressed that Splash Mountain has become “old-looking and come across too antiquated,” sharing that the retheme was not “a year too soon.”
However, many fans took the discussion in a slightly different direction, highlighting that Disney wasn’t working on maintaining the ride anymore, considering the impending retheme.
In response to this, one Disney fan shared, “Disney stopped maintaining lots of things in their parks, a lot longer ago than ‘recently.’”
Beacons of Magic, Tree of Life, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Disney
Another fan agreed,
Disney is a company which has been riding its own coattails for some time now. It’s going to take more than some tweaks at this point to turn the ship around: they’ve lost the magic. Iger was a great CEO, but he’s a businessman, not a creative visionary. They need to find someone new in the vein of Eisner.
Fans in the thread agreed that Disney needed someone more creatively inclined to bring back Disney’s “creative heart.”
Stay tuned to Disney Fanatic for the latest Disney news!
