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Former Imagineer Blames Bob Iger For “Eroding” Disney Parks

Bob Iger in front of Splash Mountain
Credit: Disney Dining

The Walt Disney Company has been in existence for just over 100 years, and for more than half of those years, Bob Iger has been a big and essential part of it. Iger began his career with ABC in 1974, before it was owned by Disney, but the studios have had a close working relationship since the 1950s.

From joining ABC in 1974 as a laborer on television sets to being made the head of ABC Entertainment in 1989 to moving over to Disney in 1999, Iger has made his mark on the company in a number of ways.

Bob Iger

Credit: Glennia, Flickr

In 2005, Iger achieved the ultimate goal of being named Disney’s newest CEO. He replaced Michael Eisner after Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold started a campaign to oust Eisner. Roy E. Disney and Gold agreed to drop the campaign against Eisner when he announced that he would let Iger take the reins.

During his 15 years as CEO, Iger was responsible for some of the largest and most successful acquisitions in Disney’s history, including Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. He was also responsible for the opening of Disney’s sixth theme park resort in Shanghai.

Bob Iger at the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland Resort in 2016

Credit: Disney

Related: Bob Iger’s Family Sets Sights Beyond Disney With New Business Venture

In February 2020, Iger stepped down as CEO and Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek took over, although Mr. Iger did remain with the company as Executive Chairman. Unfortunately for Mr. Chapek, his time as Disney CEO was short and full of controversy. He was fired by Disney’s Board of Directors after less than three years, and Bob Iger returned to the role he knew so well.

Sadly, Mr. Iger’s second go-around is not going nearly as well as his first. Iger was one of Disney’s most beloved CEOs, and now he is receiving almost the same amount of criticism Bob Chapek did.

Bob Iger and Bob Chapek at the kick off of Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary

Credit: Disney

Related: What the Heck Happened to Bob Iger?!

Walt Disney famously said that Disneyland would never be complete as long as there was imagination left in the world. Disney Imagineers have tried to keep that promise Walt made and are constantly thinking of ways to reinvent the parks and bring something new to guests.

Those changes do not always go over well with fans, who think Disney is erasing everything that made what Walt built special.

Disney has really jumped all in on bringing its IP to the parks, and guests have seen that with the creation of Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort, Pandora: The World of Avatar in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT, the announcement a Cars (2006) theme was coming to Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom, and more.

Pandora Flight of Passage

Credit: Disney

Should We Blame Bob Iger?

Many Disney fans are disappointed with company’s current direction and are looking for someone to blame. According to one former Walt Disney Imagineer, that dishonor can go to Bob Iger himself.

Frank Mezzatesta worked for Disney for years and worked on a number of iconic Disney attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Muppet*Vision 3D, Space Mountain, EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, and more.

Mr. Mezzatesta shared on X (formerly Twitter) that he read the bombshell report from The New York Times, which dug deep into the power struggle and animosity between Big Bob (Iger) and Little Bob. And he had some thoughts.

Finally got time to read the NY Times article about Bob Iger/Chapek. It made me feel a little sorry for Chapek, a feeling I didn’t have before now. He was absolutely the wrong choice; my vote was for Tom Staggs. Over the years as leaders of Disney, Parks, and Imagineering came and went, you could tell how they handled their first tough situation on how good a leader they would be. Chapek, a nice guy but not a leader. Kareem Daniel, a nice guy but not a Disney leader. Blaming Shanghai on Staggs is wrong, much of it was problems building in China and there are others to blame for problems with Shanghai. I think many Disney employees are happy to see Iger back, but he is not as good as he used to be, not sure what that is about.

Related: Bob Chapek’s Wife Called Her Husband Bob Iger’s “Lapdog”

When Bob Chapek took over as CEO, he made the controversial and unpopular choice of stripping power away from the creatives and concentrating it with his loyalists. When Mr. Iger returned, he said that he was giving power back to the creatives. But that does not seem to be true when it comes to the creatives behind the theme parks.

Mr. Mezzatesta said that Imagineers used to decide what went into the parks, with just a little bit of input from corporate. However, Bob Iger has decided that the corporate side will be mostly in charge of the Disney experience, which has led to the “erosion” of what guests love.

By the way, those that are upset about the direction of EPCOT and eroding of Disney classics in the parks, that is Bob Iger. He is the one pushing for everything in the Parks being tied to a successful movie franchise. Early in my Imagineering career, it was Imagineering that decided what went into the Parks, not the Parks and not corporate. Yes, corporate had the final say but they did not interject much. That changed years later and the Parks were given the authority. Being operators, they would take ideas and lean them to easier to operate. Then Iger pushed ideas to the intellectual properties. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a great example of this. Does it really fit in with what EPCOT is supposed to be?

Related: Bob Iger “Obsessed” With Avoiding Another Bob Chapek Mistake

When Mr. Iger returned in November 2022, his contract was set to run through the end of 2024. However, in the summer of 2023, Disney extended his contract through the end of 2026.

A committee has been formed to help Iger find the right person to take over when he finally leaves. Iger has admitted that appointing Chapek was a mistake, even calling it one of his “worst business decisions.”

Four people are currently in contention to take over for the Disney executive. Iger and the committee are reportedly considering Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro, Walt Disney Entertainment co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

Do you think Bob Iger needs to leave the theme park changes to Disney Imagineers? Is he destroying everything Walt built? Let us know what you think in the comments!

About Krysten Swensen

A born and bred New England girl living the Disney life in Southern California. I love to read, to watch The Golden Girls, and love everything to do with Disney and Universal. I also love to share daily doses of Disney on my Disney Instagram @BrazzleDazzleDisney!

One comment

  1. Actually I do. They seemed to have a better idea of what should work and where it should go. I’m seeing things literally being shoe horned into areas that they don’t fit. I also think they should extend the search for a new CEO. The names mentioned are pretty much same ol’ same ol’. They need new blood. And they need someone who will move it away from woke-ism and get back to doing what always worked for everyone – no distinctions.

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