Bob Iger Regrets Hiring Bob Chapek, Says It Was One of His Worst Disney Decisions

Comments for Bob Iger Regrets Hiring Bob Chapek, Says It Was One of His Worst Disney Decisions

bob chapek bob iger

Credit: Inside the Magic

106 Comments

  1. Brooke

    The Hollywood Reporter has the best coverage of what went down. Iger had a list of 5 successors. Chapek was at the bottom of that list, for obvious reasons. Chapek then systematically nabbed the top spot – go read the article to learn how he became CEO, a role he is not worthy to hold.

  2. S1

    I didn’t like Iger, and it took a douche like Chapek to make me realize that Iger wasn’t as bad, comparatively speaking.

    1. Unoriginal

      Nothing happening is Chapek’s idea. Chapek is just a convenient wimp and pushover for all the unsavory elements in the company to blame.

      1. EricJ

        If it’s a new hotel, or a DVC member exclusive…it’s Chapek the Snob.

        1. George Van Liew

          Iger took care of Disney not turn it upside down.cant get help over the phone reservation are terrible and restaurants are always booked never had problems like this and I’m a dvc owner

          1. Diane R.

            It’s so sad to me that Disney, which was known for the BEST customer service and was sought after to teach customer service, now has the WORST customer service I’ve ever encountered. Can’t call Disney without waiting at least 1-3 hours on the phone, can’t get a decent restaurant reservation, force to carry my phone around all day using battery power to I can keep track on “My Disney Experience” app, etc. Truly AWFUL. Have been a Passholder for years and am seriously considering not renewing. Such a sad change in this company.

          2. faackanders2

            some wait 8-10 hrs. If you only wait consider yourself lucky for the new Disney. Sad but true!

      2. Kyle

        I grew up in a non biased family. We accepted anyone however they wanted to live. But my children and grandchildren are being educated on extremely adult subjects simply because Disney chose to get into Politics and Psychiatry. This agenda is being offered in elementary schools without even discussing it with parents. Keep in mind how I was brought up. But this is where I draw the line. When people that can’t produce children push an ideology on people that do produce children, it’s time to revolt. I only wrote this hoping the message gets to Disney. I’ve long canceled my streaming account.

        1. Beth W.

          I’m confused here. Just how is Disney at fault for what you can the “extremely adult subjects” being offered in elementary schools? The one who’s in charge of that is Florida’s supreme leader, DeSantis. All Disney did was stand up for equal treatment of all LGBTQ’s. They do not run Florida nor, I’m sure, do they want to! And yes, I know what all has been going on because I live in Tallahassee. Fortunately my son is now out of school, so I don’t have to contend with all the Governor’s nonsense.

          1. CNN educated

            You’re so poorly informed. I feel sorry for your son.

          2. Gm

            Livin in LaLa Land must be nice.

          3. Steve K

            The opening line, “I’m confused here.” is clearly evidenced by the rest of your comment. You really don’t know what is going on. But as long as you hate “Florida’s’ supreme leader” you are internally consistent. So all is well.

        2. S Nogg

          This is an ignorant live-in-a-bubble response. Disney has been dealing in social/ psychological issues forever. You’ve just related to them in the past. Now as the issues touch on things you’ve been told to find abhorrent, you blame Disney instead of your small mind…

    2. JJ

      Chapeks the worst thing that could have happened at Disney. He will continue to make poor decisions and ruin the company. Walt Disney World as we know and love is gone!

      1. faackanders2

        Sad the board renewed Chapek’s contract for 3 year (6 month early) rather than bringing back Iger, promoting from within, or hiring from outside.

  3. Lisa

    Iger was the lesser of two evils!

  4. Elise

    I don’t like Chapek either but come on Luke!

    . . . “Although the controversy seems sot finally be dying down, the damage has been done and Chapek’s reputation has felt the reproductions.”

    Not sure what “sot” means and has Chapek’s reputation felt the “reproductions” or “repercussions”?

    Luke did you even pass basic english in high school?

  5. Tina

    Can the numerous typos be fixed? This article was a rough one to read.

  6. Shuteye

    Iger was great. So is Chapek. Just different styles. And Chapek had to manage through a very difficult period. Besides he’s a home video guy. They are the most grounded executives of any of the studios. And the ones who drove the profits for years.

    1. Julian H

      What planet are you on Shuteye, Chapek is awful, terrible and penny pinching greedy man. He and his rotten board have killed the magic and the experiance at Disney – Not good at all.

      Come on Man….

      1. Stephanie

        Spot on

      2. Mary

        Shuteye is a plant. You know when someone is so awful yet there is a rebuttal saying the complete opposite it’s fake

      3. strbrylady

        totally agree!

      4. Charlotte

        Well said! I cannot wait for the day they announce Chapek is fired or resigned!

    2. Tim

      Thank you Bob C for your input. Or am I addressing Bob c.’s Mommie?

    3. Noe Way

      Nothing about Chapek is great. He’s a terrible leader, and he is destroying the company from the inside out.

    4. Beth W.

      Well, I guess if you’re a stockholder the profits would be what’s most important to you. But to the middle class people who used to love going to Disney, things are looking pretty grim. Disney has pretty much out-priced anyone who isn’t at least upper-middleclass. And adding charges to everything…geez…cut us some slack. First they charge you to park your car at your hotel (which you’re already paying too much for), then they take away the free shuttle from the airport (for those who fly instead of driving…and paying to park their cars), now they’ve done away with Fast Pass and formed a paid-for service that is worse than what they have at Universal. But hey…it’s helping those profits!

      1. faackanders2

        Stock is down 50% from high. Chapek is only looking at short term profits. Bad for intermediate and long term.

    5. Gus

      Lmfaol!!!

  7. Chapeksucks

    Chapek has made the parks lose their magic. I don’t go to Disney to get nickel and dimed on every damn thing. Paying to get to get into the park and the having to pay for genie+ then having to pay for lightning lane. He’s a greedy bastard and the sooner he’s done the better

    1. Chapek Sucks

      Paying for genie+ and lightning lane isn’t forced on anyone. You’re making stuff up.

      With that said, Chapek sucks.

      1. Bad Disney

        If you Don’t pay for genie+ and lightning lane then you don’t ride many rides. So it Is forced if you intend to ride rides that you already paid to ride.

        1. Jan

          I have an AP and go when I chose, and I rarely have a long wait to ride any rides I want! It is all timing! But then I don’t go to MK on F, S, or S. I still haven’t downloaded Genie and don’t plan on it!

          1. Long

            Complete lie and you know it. Anyone who does download it can see the wait times from anywhere on Earth. Doesn’t matter the day or time, those waits are what few would call anything other than long.

        2. Charlotte

          Agreed. FastPass needs to be brought back, or at the very least Genie Plus/Lightning Lane need to be made identical to FastPass (free and able to be booked in advance).

      2. faackanders2

        If you don’t pay for Genie+ LL or paid ILL then you wait on standby lines with are 3x+ longer (than without Genie+ and ILL).

    2. stephanie

      I agree 100 percent

  8. JayArnold

    Iger ruined Disney by hiring and placing woke activists into high level positions. They are more concerned with their own personal wild eyed agenda than they are with creating quality content, or making a park experience a good one. Chapek is ruthless and greedy man …. but if he can clean house and fire all of the wokesters that Iger higherd he can get Disney back on the right track.

    1. Jim

      You are a complete idiot.

      1. Move on

        You are a leftwing shill whose opinion is irrelevant.

        1. YourWifesBull

          Your nobody to be deciding who is irrelevant, worm

    2. Chapek Sucks

      Iger actually SAVED the company by purchasing all this extra talent and franchises. He made the company very very successful. That is the job of any CEO. Politics has nothing to do with that and it’s a weak argument. What Chapek is doing is undoing all that success and running the company into the ground.

      1. Iger was the worst

        Did he really?

        Almost the entire Iger era was milking what came before. Trash remakes of the Disney Renaissance, bad Star Wars, uninspired US park expansions (with one exception he can’t take credit for), and ever-increasing prices.

        The only thing Iger can accurately lay claim to is politicizing the company for the far left.

      2. faackanders2

        Iger also spearheaded Disney+

      3. faackanders2

        Disney has plenty of competition with Universal, Netflix, etc,

    3. Above you

      Holy crap you’re an idiot. Please go back under your rock. Stop repeating the garbage you hear from your fellow Facebook idiot “friends”.

      This crap is old

    4. Tim

      Unfortunately your argument for Cheapek is already invalid as you watch him fire people and replace them with more far left SJWs.

      1. Super Capitalist

        Exactly. He fired Rice, but only because Rice wanted his job. Chapek isn’t left, right, or center: he’s just greedy and will do anything to make a buck.

    5. Then you best bring a bag off pixie dust to douse the bastard with rlsectgere is no chance any of this will change. Forgot the stuff doesn’t exist….. oh well!!!!

    6. KMac

      He’s the biggest “woke” supporter at Disney! Chapel started this mess with falsely labeling a bill to protect children as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The man has ruined Disney. Walt must be spinning in his grave.

      1. Me again

        Chapek….sorry!

  9. DPJ

    Thanks Iger for being Captain Obvious after you get your exit package bonus and decide to open your mouth now when the stock doesn’t need more bs to hurt it.

  10. Raw1

    As a 10 year ex employee of Disney, I look at the parks now and shake my head, it’s so SAD to see what’s happening there, ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, from what they charge, to employee attitude, which seem to be at an all time LOW, just a shame, Top to Bottom. I remember a time the elderly could buy admission into the Park just to shop, to spend more money, SAD what it has become, Walt is crying in his grave, BRING BACK HIS VISION

  11. Ann

    Chapek needs to go. Not one ounce of magic in his body. It’s all about how much money he can squeeze out of everyone. Walt must be shaking his head at the company now. Fire his ass and send him down the road

    1. Clean house

      Everyone Iger hired needs to go. Chapek is one of them. Get back the pre-Iger people like Joe.

      1. Julian H

        Agreed 100%

      2. Tim

        Actually Chapek was hired under Eisner. Albeit, He was hired as a marketing type guy for home entertainment and was subsequently promoted through the years by Igor.

        1. Technicalities

          If Iger is owning “hiring” him, I’ll let it be, even if it’s not technically true.

          1. Trump would find a way to make it cheaper for the rich and more expensive for the poor folks (reverse robin hood) and then cook the books in his favor. Trump deserves to go to jail sooner than later.

      3. Charlotte

        Would all the people pre-Chapek bring the magic back?

  12. pattimarie

    Nice piece of fiction, shuteye. If you run a business dependent now and into the future on the goodwill of your customers, it’s not nice to piss them off so much they boo the sight of you. I’ve know businesses who robbed me blind and I didn’t see it til later because they were just so much better than Chapek is at this. He doesn’t even throw guests a bone–just takes away and takes and takes away. The emperor has no clothes, despite your blind eye assessment of him. We all know it.

    1. Julian H

      Pattiemarie – Never a truer and sensible word said.

  13. Lori Lynn Nicklas

    We are so disappointed that Chapek has destroyed Disney and all of the people who loved it. Since he has eliminated the Mears deal to and from the airport, the “+” things now as well as raising the price countless times we have went to Universal Studios and now heading to Hawaii and we have a family of 15+ that would go there yearly. $ we’ve given to other companies…their loss. We have no interest in returning.

  14. Jan

    I agree since he took over my stock has tanked. He is ruining the Disney breaks.

  15. Musk me daddy

    Now that Musk pulled out of Twitter, can he look into Disney?

    1. Steve

      Musc can keep his facist, overcompensating, right-wing junk out of Disney’s butt.

      1. Tim

        Well what you dispise about Elon is what seems to be the popular right now. The left has ran its course. Besides Musk is not a Right wing person he is a centerist and what most people prefer. However Musk me daddy, this is not Elon’s cup of tea. What Disney needs is someone that thinks outside the box and is creative. Oh wait the perfect guy would be George Lucas, however he is not interested in that.

      2. Why y’all leftist always gotta bring politics into Disney 😂😂💀💀
        (I’m centerist so don’t even start)

      3. Same rules

        Keep your left-wing junk out, then.

  16. Out out out!

    Walt would fire all the communists, because that’s exactly what he did.

    1. faackanders2

      I believe you meant union supporters. But he did fire the union leader which Walt called a communist, and testified at the McCarthy hearings. It was Roy that stopped the Disney animator strike.

  17. EricJ

    How about following in the footsteps of Roy, Iger, and starting a “Save Disney 2.0” movement?

    It worked the last time Michael Eisner survived his first board-impeachment, and with Galactic Starcruiser on its deathbed, it’s good timing.

  18. DonB

    Chapek has done damage to true Disney fans that will take a decade to repair after he’s gone. As a 22 year highly invested DVC member who’s family has been to WDW more times than I can remember, the Disney magic has been replaced with Chapek’s in your face greed. DVC has been stripped of many of the benefits that enticed us to join , and with Magical Express gone , the free Fast Pass system replaced with a profit center ,and numerous other changes that degrade the experience, we have lost our enthusiasm to make WDW our vacation destination. We have a wall in our garage of WDW license plates that span from 2002 to 2019 that represent every consecutive year we’ve gone and now even those keepsakes have been eliminated by Cheapskate.

  19. Roe

    The way Disney fires their employees, its time for Disney to fire Chapek along with the board of directors who renewed his contract. What were they thinking or drinking?????

    1. faackanders2

      Shareholders can try to vote out the board who renewed Chapeks contract for 3 years.

  20. You're Pathetic

    Shut up with your Trump shtick. Trump can’t dynamite a peanut.

    1. All he did was name someone who recently was a “CEO” of something, and successfully ran the “company”

    2. End of the Bobs

      Trump would run Disney better than Iger or Chapek, but he wouldn’t be my choice. He has the wrong vibe and doesn’t strike me as a theme park person.

      No, let’s get Joe Rohde back and make him CEO.

      1. faackanders2

        Trump would find a way to make it cheaper for the rich and more expensive for the poor folks (reverse robin hood) and then cook the books in his favor. Trump deserves to go to jail sooner than later.

  21. Nicole

    And he’s raising prices again. Chapek has taken the magic away from Disney. Sure, Iger wasn’t the best choice but at least there was still magic. I renewed my AP and I’m sad and sick that I did. There are no real benefits anymore..tell me one more time “we have an exclusive magnet just for you”. Magnets don’t make up for the losses we have endured, and paid for. Seems like the dining plan is gone forever, News flash Chapek..bring back the things people have grown to know and love and add in some new ideas you have and you would see soooo much more come of it. Instead, he has taken away all those and keeps taking away. I’ve been an AP for over 12 years and the last couple times we have gone the parking lots have been bare.

    1. faackanders2

      Hard to get dining reservations; even without dining plan increasing demand.

  22. Kim

    I just came back from Disney 3 weeks ago. It’s definitely not even close to the same. The prices were absolutely out of control. Isn’t a Disney family member trying to get a petition to get rid of chapel before he destroys everything? He has to go.

  23. Reality check

    Let’s face it…Eisner, Iger and Chapek all have flaws which have caused the magic to dim to its lowest point yet. Having to pay for everything under the Disney banner when you make a resort trip, cruise, whatever….is “bad form”. Too bad there is no end in sight as far as price ceilings go, since there are folk out there willing to pay for mediocre services, food, etc. When you have Cast Members who seem to be just schlepping along, not caring, this Company has a MAJOR management problem. Problems start at the top and worm their way down to everyone and everything else. Only one way to fix it…stop funding Chapek’s vision of Disney!

  24. Rickey Mouse

    Well gee, M I C (see ya later Chapek), K E Y (why? Cuz you’re ruining Disney, get away from the) M O U S E!

  25. Michelle

    Good one! I needed a laugh. Thanks!

  26. Steve

    I’m a year older than Disneyland and have been going there all my life. I’ve been a passholder since that started.
    I’m also a stockholder.
    Chapek has been horrible. Park maintenance has suffered, so has staff morale. DIS is half entertainment, half hospitality. Guests can detect when the staff is unhappy.
    Also, businesses have to learn to STAY OUT OF POLITICS. There is no winning that game.

  27. Beth

    They have both ruined Disney. Not only have the made Disney political, but they have changed the whole dynamics of it. It is extremely expensive, there are no benefits to staying on site and they make it stressful with the whole Genie app. It really has broken my heart.

  28. Jennifer

    So this article already has false statements right out of the gate. The bill in Florida is NOT the don’t say gay bill! It’s a PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL SO STOP PUSHING PROPAGANDA AND DIVISION!!!!

    1. Down the middle

      I for one would like some more division. These left-wing freaks need more opposition and if they could be completely divided off from America, all the better.

    2. faackanders2

      Just like the Afordable Care Act was renamed Obamacare. It is just a nickname.

  29. Steve

    Fitting, since hiring Iger was the worst mistake the company ever made.

  30. Don

    Chapek has put Disney s reputation and product in the toliet. If it recovers it will take years.

  31. Logan Hatfield

    Chapek is tarnishing the name of disney by retheming splash mountain to a forgettable european tale also the toxic people in the replies man

    1. faackanders2

      Disney has been trying to forget song of the south.

  32. Trevor

    Bob Chapek sucks. Bottom line.

  33. T

    Chapek is the WORST thing to happen to Disney in a very long time. He’s a money hungry slug. There is no magic left for guests and Walt must be rolling watching this all take place. He has no care for Walt’s vision at all. Disgusting. WDW is not what it once was. And it’s sad. All over this greedy man’s actions. Disney needs to get rid of him fast and reverse some of his idiotic decisions.

  34. Joxua

    Disney doesn’t have any good movies or products in like over 10 years.
    Its more of a name brand and status thing now adays.
    Disney realized that folks with money will pay extra so they can be publicly treated as if they are more important then.
    VIP paid lines and seating sections are flaunted so the poor peasant class can see what they are missing.

  35. We all regret it

  36. Mickeymouse3

    Golly gee Beav. Tell us something the majority didn’t already know. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Iger either, but he wasn’t nickel and diming everything like Paycheck the penny penny-pincher does. Igor had balance.

  37. ECD

    Could be worse. Dropping Depp then dangling a few bones in front of him after proven innocent to come back? I was innocent in Jan/Feb 2016 when I took my wife and 6 yr old daughter to DW for a week stay. Instead of giving me the same bones, give them out to the cast members who put time into perfecting their role.

  38. If you want to leave an honest constructive opinion, it will post after you place any email you can conjure up.

    1. ECD

      It was just changed after I posted comment.

      1. ECD

        So yes, as soon as they find out your email isn’t real, you don’t have the time to post 2 replies. I am using a webtv email now.

  39. faackanders2

    Iger also spearheaded Disney+

  40. faackanders2

    Donald Trump belongs in jail, sooner than later.

    1. faackanders2

      Skimpflation and raising prices and reducing quantity/quality is not a crime.

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