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The controversial Disney park reservation system - a post-COVID system that requires guests to book park reservations every day of the visit as well as valid theme park tickets - has again been praised by Disney CEO Bob Chapek in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. Chapek claims that the park pass reservations "guarantees a great experience" for all guests. He compares it to hotels and flights and how they control their capacity. He finishes by saying:
It's not only good business practice in terms of maximising shareholder value, but more importantly, it protects the guest experience so that when you get into the park, you can have confidence it's not going to be overcrowded.
Bob Chapek then was asked about his thoughts on the passionate Disney fans, to which he said:
I ran parks for seven years, so I was quite familiar with how passionate (fans) can be. If we move a churro cart 10 feet, it's a big deal. If we change an attraction from Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy, some complained, while the lines went from 30 minutes long to 6 hours long.
Bob Chapek then went on to address a question about if he's concerned he's not well-liked. He said he doesn't prioritise his "personal feelings" in making decisions about Disney's business, and then went on assigning meaning to the "D" in "Disney".
My own personal feelings aren't really important. What's important is how people think about our company, and so I take myself out of it. And I think that's sort of the surprise, is everybody sort of wants to be loved and everybody wants everyone to like them," he said. "But in this in this world, that's not always necessary, so I wash all that away and say, 'What do we want the ‘capital D' Disney Company to stand for?' And if we're doing right by the 'capital D' Disney Company and can sleep at night, then I can be Teflon and know that we're doing the right thing.
About The Author
Ash Hales is a British Disney Parks writer and the voice behind Mickey From The UK. Based in the South of England, he's been visiting Disney Parks for over three decades and launched Mickey From The UK in 2017 to provide practical, straight-talking advice for British guests - without the American bias.