The next president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company must be revolutionary—someone willing to break the cycle of bowing to greedy executives and powerful investment groups like BlackRock and Vanguard. These firms, along with current leadership, have prioritized shareholder returns over guest experience, leading to the erosion of Disney’s core values.
The Destruction of Free Perks: A Direct Result of Investor Pressure
For years, Disney Parks prided themselves on offering value and magical experiences that justified their cost. That’s all changed. Magical Express? Gone. Free FastPass? Replaced with paid Lightning Lane. Annual Pass benefits? Gutted. Why? Because firms like BlackRock and Vanguard, which hold billions in Disney stock, demand constant revenue growth—no matter the long-term damage to the brand.
It’s easy to blame Bob Iger, Bob Chapek, and Josh D’Amaro for price hikes and the elimination of these perks. To some extent, they failed to stand up for the Disney Parks consumer, but the truth is that these decisions ultimately stem from investment firms that prioritize short-term profits over guest satisfaction.
This Pattern Isn’t Unique to Disney
We’ve seen this exact scenario play out in other major companies. Recently, Southwest Airlines abandoned its beloved “Bags Fly Free” policy—a defining feature of its brand. Why? Because an investment group pressured them to monetize baggage fees, a move that immediately backfired, with loyal customers vowing never to fly Southwest again.
Disney Has Abandoned Walt’s Philosophy for a Corporate Cash Grab
Walt Disney famously believed that if you focused on creating the best product, the money would follow. Sometimes to his brother Roy’s concern. Today’s Disney leadership, under the thumb of Wall Street, has reversed that philosophy:
- Jack up prices first and hope people still come.
- When attendance drops, “generously” offer discounts—even though the “discounted” price is still significantly higher than what guests paid 5–10 years ago (even when adjusted for inflation).
- Lower quality, cut entertainment, reduce staffing—all while expecting people to pay more for less.
These investment groups have a stranglehold on Disney, forcing the company to cash in on decades of goodwill rather than reinvesting in its own legacy. They are milking the brand dry, banking on its reputation to carry them forward, rather than delivering the kind of guest experience that built that reputation in the first place.
The only way forward is leadership that stands up to these investors and prioritizes the guest experience again. If they don’t, Disney risks losing the very thing that made it special—and once that magic is gone, no amount of stock buybacks or corporate restructuring will bring it back.
