-
Disney’s CEO was alarmed by rising prices at its theme parks, the Wall Street Journal reported.
-
Bob Iger made a surprise comeback as Disney’s CEO on Sunday, returning less than a year after leaving the company.
-
Daily admission prices at Disney’s theme parks have risen to $189 this year.
If you feel like everyday expenses have gotten way too pricey over the last couple of years, you’re not alone.
Disney’s top executive Bob Iger thinks prices at the company’s theme parks have gotten too high, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people close to him.
Iger, who reclaimed the CEO position on Sunday after leaving the company less than a year ago, complained to friends at length about the decisions of his successor, Bob Chapek, according to the paper. He was unnerved by price hikes at Disney’s parks, which include Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and others, sources told the Journal.
Iger, who ran Disney from 2005 through 2020 and served as chairman through the end of 2021, felt that Chapek focused on Disney’s streaming business to the detriment of the company’s other divisions, including theme parks and TV, the people said.
“He’s killing the soul of the company,” Iger reportedly said.
Disney did not return a request for comment.
It’s unclear exactly which prices Iger was referring to. Ticket prices rose this year, along with the cost of concessions. Disney also said it’s making more on hotels. Chapek told investors in May that people were spending 40% more at Disney’s theme parks than before the pandemic.
This month, Walt Disney World announced that daily admission prices would go up starting on December 8. Currently, the most expensive ticket is $159. Soon it will be $189. The cost of annual passes will also increase.
This year, Disney also increased daily and annual ticket prices at California’s Disneyland Resort and bumped the cost of its line-skipping add-on, Genie Plus.
Read the original article on Business Insider
