31Amid multiple controversies and shakeups, The Walt Disney Company’s stock price is nowhere near where it once was.
The current stock price for The Walt Disney Company is not a good indication of things to come. Inside the Magic has reported on Disney stock multiple times, but never has Disney been surrounded by as much controversy as it is at this very moment.
Disney is currently wrapped up in political lawsuits as well as various monetary failures that have tainted a company that many thought could do no wrong. At the end of the day, Disney is a company just like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Comcast, and these mega-corporations go through highs and lows.
This is an expected part of the business, though Disney has been faced with a lot more lows than highs lately.
Bob Chapek’s Legacy
It’s been quite a whirlwind for The Walt Disney Company recently. The year 2022 may go down as one of the most transformational years for Disney ever, with the company dropping its highly-controversial CEO Bob Chapek and replacing him with longtime Disney executive Bob Iger.
This decision was incredibly unexpected, especially when considering Bob Chapek had just signed a contract extension months prior to being fired. For almost four decades, only two CEOs served The Walt Disney Company, being Michael Eisner from 1984 to 2005 and Bob Iger from 2005 to 2020.
Since starting the job as CEO, Bob Chapek proved to be the most divisive figure in The Walt Disney Company’s history. Many Guests despised Chapek’s laser focus on intellectual property and near-constant price hikes.
In the last two years, the cost of a trip to Walt Disney World and Disneyland has increased exponentially. Many Guests and fans alike have declared the Disney Parks “too expensive” for the average family, a problem we continue to see in 2023.
And speaking of 2023, things are still not entirely magical for Disney.
Of course, a large part of the initial drop in price was caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, which was a few months after Bob Chapek took the reigns over from Iger.
In July, it was reported that the relationship between Iger and Chapek had become quite strained, though Iger has a positive outlook on Chapek’s potential tenure as CEO. “He’s still figuring it out,” said the former Disney exec. “He’s got plenty of money, he’s got great skills. I expect him to do great things. I don’t think he has to be in a rush.” Iger is still rooting for Disney no matter what or who is running the company.
In the first quarter of 2023, Disney posted some impressive numbers. However, its streaming service Disney+ lost a whopping four million subscribers in Q1. Disney has been bleeding money with its streaming ventures since the start, with many wondering what the future of the service looks like.
Disney is currently engaging in a content purge on Disney+, with over a dozen titles being wiped from streaming entirely. Properties with no physical release have seemingly vanished forever, with Disney opting to erase them entirely rather than preserve them.
Disney also just admitted to one of its biggest failures yet, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Disney’s Bold Bet
As expensive as it was ambitious, the Galactic Starcruiser offered Guests an immersive Star Wars experience. Guests could book a two-night “cruise” aboard the Halcyon starcruiser, where they would be placed directly into a Star Wars story of their own.
Guests would interact with characters while aboard, enjoying unique cuisine and live entertainment.
Part of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge expansion which opened in 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this state-of-the-art hotel is advertised as an incredibly immersive experience, allowing Guests to live out their very own Star Wars adventure while onboard the Corellian-made Halcyon starcruiser.
Filled with interactive experiences like lightsaber training as well as a fully interactive bridge, the Starcruiser will offer Star Wars fans the ultimate immersive experience. This experience will come at a pretty high cost, however. The cheapest option offered to Guests is a whopping $4,809 for two occupants in a single stateroom on a two-night journey. The price for four Guests jumps to just under $6,000 for the same amount of time, meaning you’ll need a lot of galactic credits to afford a stay on this luxury “ship.”
Due to the high price, the Starcruiser faced controversy right out of the gate, with many calling it overpriced and not worth the money. Disney posted a “sneak peek” of the hotel, which was met with so much negativity that Disney opted to wipe the video from the internet entirely.
Inside the Magic reported on the constant string of available dates Guests could book, indicating this immersive experience was not as popular as Disney had expected. The overall experience of the Starcruiser is wonderful, with many Guests applauding Disney for doing something brave and ambitious for hardcore fans of the series.
However, for the average family, it’s just not feasible.
As we stated earlier, a trip o the Walt Disney World Resort is already breaking the bank, even more so in recent years. It’s hard to justify the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser when the cost of a two-night experience is the same as a very, very nice week-long Disney World vacation at Disney’s premier destinations like the Polynesian or Grand Floridian Resorts.
In May of 2023, Disney dropped the bombshell that it would, in fact, be closing the Starcruiser that same year. The experience opened to Guests in March of 2022 and will take its final voyage in September of 2023, meaning it would have operated for less than two years.
Disney bit the bullet, stating the Galactic Starcruiser would be used as a $300 million tax write-off.
While many had hoped Disney would eventually utlizie the space for a different venture, this indicates they do not plan to use the space in the future at all, at least for business purposes.
Currently, The Walt Disney Company’s stock price sits at $87, down nearly $5 since last week. The price is down almost $15 since last month and is a far cry from the $200 price we saw in 2021. There’s no doubt that these recent troubles have hurt the reputation of Disney as a company.
However, there is a bright side.
The Future
The Disney Parks and Resorts are constantly expanding, meaning Guests will always have something new and exciting to look forward to. This is true for all of the Parks, both stateside and overseas.
In the last year, Walt Disney World has welcomed two incredible new rides, those being Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT and TRON: Lightcycle/Run at Magic Kingdom.
Over at Disneyland, Guests can now experience Minnie & Mickey’s Runaway Railway at the revamped Mickey’s Toontown section of the Park. At both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Disney is currently working on what is perhaps its most divisive project yet, that being its new take on Splash Mountain.
Soon, the iconic log flume ride will be transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, an all-new attraction themed around Disney’s 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog.
Disney is pushing some big developments overseas as well, with an entirely-new land being constructed at Shanghai Disneyland. This new area is centered on Disney’s Zootopia franchise and will feature some incredible new things for Guests to enjoy.
At Hong Kong Disneyland, Guests are eagerly anticipating the grand opening of a Frozen-themed land. Disney has been in financial trouble before and will surely be in it again.
However, The Walt Disney Company is a company that innovates and provides magic to so many, especially when it comes to its theme parks division. Disney has proven it’s a force to be reckoned with in its own ways, especially with the Avatar expansion in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
While we can’t say for certain what the future holds for Disney, we will always be excited.
Have you visited Disney recently? What do you think of current-day Disney? Let us know in the comment section below!