Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterates his belief that park reservations are now an essential part of Disney's theme parks business

Oct 26, 2022 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Chapek

Posted: Wednesday October 26, 2022 3:04pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

During an interview with the Wall Street Journal today, Disney CEO Bob Chapek again discussed the importance of theme park reservations for Disney's theme parks.

Chapek referred to Disney's theme parks as operating like an airline, where reservations and variable pricing protect the guest experience while simultaneously providing shareholder value.

Bob Chapek

The interview with WSJ Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray also includes discussion on Disney's streaming service, plans for the Metaverse, Disney fandom, and even his beard - which was apparently Chapek's wife's idea.

You can watch the full interview below.

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el_superNov 15, 2022

I wonder how many potential-AP sales have been converted into single park visits. That would be a huge win for Disney. Probably negates the need to keep the program around.

mattpetoNov 15, 2022

AP sales not likely to resume before the end of the year. per Scott Gustin.

dreday3Nov 15, 2022

Too bad we already have our tickets for next year or I would totally take advantage of that! 😂 😉

Tha RealestNov 15, 2022

Two words: Variable. Churros.

HauntedPirateNov 15, 2022

You got higher and variable pricing on park hopping, isn’t that enough? 😉

dreday3Nov 15, 2022

Yes, but no change for resort guests. Still hopping after 2, still need to make reservations as this change is only for single day tickets, although I'm happy to at least still have the ability to change parks. I was hoping we'd get something about park hopping. Or some kind of perk like Genie + at a discount. Or something, anything.

TQQQNov 15, 2022

And Martin correct again....News hit

updownandsidewaysNov 15, 2022

I'd bet dvc spends the most money since they are the most invested in disney

nickysNov 15, 2022

In the UK we can buy tickets over a year ahead. Making me book the parks at that point is ridiculous.

Tha RealestNov 15, 2022

Set aside all the customer service stuff. How can anyone look at the Epcot Communicore/Cosmic Rewind/Tron development as examples of effective leadership.

aaronmlNov 15, 2022

Agreed. Why bother removing the park hopper restrictions also if they are doing this? Seems like maybe they are shifting away from tightly managing per-park capacity, and instead moving towards managing resort-wide capacity? That might get messy though if some guests (e.g. APs) still have to make per-park reservations. Also because Park Pass in its current form has allowed TDO to spread out guests across the parks as they so desire, rather than guests just going to whichever park they prefer to be at. This would be a welcome change IMO if they indeed go this route. Would be nice not to have to plan which park you are going to months in advance.

SteveAZeeNov 15, 2022

I already map out what parks I'll be in on various days, mostly so I can get the ADR's I want. I may be in the minority on this. I also try to match up to which parks are predicted to have lower crowd levels.