"You can exhale now, Bob Iger. This week, Disney named Josh D'Amaro as its next CEO, and he will be taking the Mickey mantle in March. As we noted yesterday, the future head of a multibillion-dollar company making TV shows and movies has "no real experience making TV shows and movies." He has, however, worked at Disney for 28 years, most recently as chairman of Disney Experiences, so in some ways, D'Amaro is Mister Experience."
"Crowning the guy who runs Disney's theme parks, cruise ships, and hotels to head the entire company telegraphs how the megacorporation envisions its future; it is one of the last major Hollywood studios, but it might see other arms of its business as bigger priorities. You would think theme-park heads would welcome the news, but on Reddit and Twitter, Disney adults are raising concerns."
"For decades, Disney Parks' FastPass system was free to all theme-park guests, allowing them to nab passes (first paper, then digital) to wait in shorter lines for rides and attractions. It was a perk available to all who could get past the learning curve. In 2021, one year into D'Amaro's tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines."
Josh D'Amaro will become Disney CEO in March after 28 years overseeing Disney Experiences, including parks, cruise ships, and hotels. He lacks experience producing TV and movies but brings deep parks management expertise. The appointment suggests corporate priorities may shift toward experiential businesses rather than core studio production. Fans on social platforms express concern about that direction. Under D'Amaro's parks leadership, complimentary FastPasses were replaced after COVID with paid Lightning Lane options requiring advanced booking and tiered pricing. These paid skip-the-line products can cost dozens of dollars per day or per attraction, raising trip costs and customer frustration.
Read at Vulture
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