Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Monday that despite how rotten it was to have theme parks closed for so long, the forced downtime was also an opportunity to tinker with technology and data to reopen better than before, for both guests and for shareholders.
Speaking at a Morgan Stanley media conference, Chapek was cautious about the speed of recovery, which depends on the vaccine rollout and “travel readiness” by guests – when they’re willing to hop on a plane. That said, “We are making sure that when they re-enter, that we have a better guest experience” including attractions with increasingly immersive storytelling. Personalization efforts may draw on consumer data to develop things like customer park itineraries.
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“There are changes, things we always wanted to do, improvements to the guest experience,” said Chapek, who has been at the helm of Disney for about a year, the seventh CEO of the company that turns 100 in 2023. He cited Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland: “There’s a million lines of code in the program that runs Rise of the Resistance. Which makes it extremely complicated but also makes it extremely immersive storytelling. We imagine that that’s the world going forward.” He didn’t name other specific attractions but implied there’s been a lot of thinking and planning over the past year during the forced hiatus.
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He believes demand will rebound “quite handsomely when we can put more folks in our parks or open up the ones that are closed,” including flagship Disneyland. The theme park, including California Adventure, will partly reopen March 18-April 5 for a shopping and dining event.
Expanding on measures brought on by Covid and likely to stick around, Disney is working on a “frictionless” guest experience including keyless check-in, mobile ordering of food so guests don’t have wait in the park — “your food’s ready” — and contactless screening.
More sophisticated dynamic pricing – where ticket prices vary according to date – will help boost the margins at the division, he said, promising the parks sector will once again drive the company’s numbers higher instead of the drag it’s been since last March. Parks and resorts took a $6.9 billion hit last fiscal year on Covid.
“There will be reopening costs. We have to rehire labor, which we are more than happy to do. We want to put people back to work. But there will be more efficiency.”
“But there will be more efficiency.” – We’re going to have one person doing the work normally done by three people.
“We are making sure that when they re-enter, that we have a better guest experience” including attractions with increasingly immersive storytelling. – So does this mean you’re going to make Galaxy’s Edge the way it was planned before you did budgetary cuts across the land? Does that mean actors will be hired for the stunt show of rebels versus stormtroopers of dressed up as aliens roaming the land? Will puppeteers be hired to fly the drone space ships (X-Wings, Tie Fighters, etc.) flying overhead or to control droids in the land? Are you going to open up the dinner theater that the cantina was bar / waiting area?
Bob CHEAPak is the worst thing that could’ve happened to the Disney Parks. A man who came up through retail. A man who wants to put in shops on every corner of the park. And this is the one who’s overseeing “storytelling” and “creativity” in the park.
Ken Potrock, you have your hands full. I know you’re one of the good guys over there but your overlord has a myopic view of $$ and instead of looking at the bigger picture which includes guest experience, immersive storytelling and creativity, he’s ignoring the long game and going over the quick buck. Can’t wait for this guy to move on. Maybe Ken will move on and upwards and take over. Doubtful but we Disney fans can dream.
Please bring back Fantasmic that show brings so much joy and warm feelings
How about not letting so many people in the parks so that you can move around and not wait 3 hours for one ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!