Bob Iger Sends the Right Signal to Disney Imagineers
When you run a corporation the size of The Walt Disney Company, you hire a lot of people over the years.
Bob Iger has personally signed off on hundreds of executives, possibly even thousands. So, I try not to read too much into his hires.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
However, the latest move by Disney’s CEO merits a deeper dive. Bob Iger has sent the right signal to Imagineering by bringing back an icon.
The Past Few Years of Imagineering
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering
Let’s start with the frustrating part of this conversation.
I suspect all of us would agree that Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) embodies the best of Disney as a whole.
Photo: D23
Anyone who can call themselves an Imagineer has dedicated their life to bringing joy into the lives of others.
Imagineers create new theme park attractions and experiences that provide park guests with unforgettable memories. All Disney fans are in their debt.
Photo: Readers Digest
That’s what has confused us so much during the past few years. And much of the blame falls on one person.
I’m not the “BOB CHAPEK WAS THE LITERAL WORST” type, as I believe he faced an impossible situation as Disney’s CEO during the pandemic.
Source: CNBC.com
I frequently described him as a wartime consigliere, as that’s how I perceived his job assignment.
Still, I feel pretty much the same way about him as everyone else…but for different reasons.
Photo: Disney
During Chapek’s tenure as the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, he downgraded the company’s reliance on Imagineering.
Generally speaking, Chapek wasn’t a creative and didn’t perceive the value of Imagineers the way that someone like Bob Iger would.
Photo:NYpost.com
Iger came up through television and worked with creatives throughout his career. While Wall Street adores him, Iger is a creative at heart.
Chapek, on the other hand, may bristle at the term “bean counter,” but that’s what he is. Dude never met a spreadsheet he didn’t love.
Photo: Disney
Under Chapek, Imagineers felt less revered because, bluntly, they were.
In 2020, when Chapek became CEO, Imagineers could read the writing on the wall…and that was before the Lake Nona fiasco.
Chapek Demands 2,500-Mile Move
Photo:Congress
That headline is a whopper, isn’t it? Somehow, that’s what happened, though.
Early in his tenure as CEO, Chapek believed that he had found a BFF and permanent ally in Florida’s governor.
Photo: skillastics.com
Disney had donated to that campaign, and the governor countered by offering Disney lucrative incentives to build a corporate headquarters in Lake Nona, Florida.
That town resides about 20 miles from Magic Kingdom’s front gate. So, Chapek loved two things about the move: the proximity and the tax credits.
Photo: Central Florida Development Council
Disney had notoriously lost a $267 million tax incentive in Anaheim, California, and Chapek sought a more expedient build in Central Florida.
Alas, the new headquarters came with a catch. Disney wanted Imagineers to work at this campus, as opposed to their old one in…Glendale, California.
Photo: Disney
I’ll save you the Google here. Glendale resides more than 2,500 miles from Lake Nona, Florida.
Chapek, in his infinite wisdom, demanded that Imagineers uproot their lives and move to Florida.
Photo: Matt Stroshane/Courtesy Disney Parks
Several quit, while others promised they would move. Reports and anecdotes suggest that many of the Imagineers had no intention of moving.
Instead, they agreed while they either found other employment or earned more tenure/salary with Disney.
Photo: Washington Post
The latter group believed they could figure out a plan later and kicked the can down the road by staying with Disney.
Nobody in WDI was happy about this move, though. It occurred during a pandemic, when California and Florida proved polar opposites in terms of health practices.
Photo: centralfloridaprimerealestate.com
Then, we had the political component wherein some Imagineers felt that Florida…wouldn’t be a good fit for them ideologically.
Leadership Changes
Photo: parkinsonsmorethanmotion.com
The other impacting factor in Imagineering morale involved a changing of the guard.
Chapek hired new leadership at WDI. He imported the highly respected Barbara Bouza from Gensler.
Photo: edensdealmakers.com
You will never read me say a single disparaging thing about Bouza. She’s one of the few people I follow on social media because I found her profoundly impressive.
Still, Imagineers inside the building in Glendale couldn’t help but wonder why Chapek hired an outsider rather than a long-tenured cast member.
Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Deep down, they knew the answer, though. Chapek prioritized fiscal precision over creative daring.
Bouza absolutely is a creative in every way that counts, but she still faces the perception that she’s the money person in Imagineering due to that Chapek connection.
Photo: LuxeSource.com
I can dismiss this assertion by pointing out something quite lovely.
When former President of WDI Bob Weis left the company, he joined…Gensler. There’s a ZERO percent chance that’s a coincidence.
Photo: Gensler
Bouza undoubtedly set up the connection between Weis and her former company, not that Weis needed the help.
The point is more that Bouza has made friends quickly. Meanwhile, Bob Chapek had a falling out with Florida’s governor. Maybe you heard…
Photo: Disney
For this reason, Disney pumped the brakes on a forced move to Lake Nona.
Chapek’s absolutely brutal termination and the delay on the cross-country move to Lake Nona mollified Imagineers.
Photo: Hollywood Reporter
Still, when Iger returned, he recognized that he needed to do more. Enter Bruce Vaughn…
Bob Iger Sends the Right Signal to Imagineering
Photo: Disney Parks
I’m not asking you to know every big name at WDI, but Bruce Vaughn is one I’d hope you know.
From 2007 to 2016, Vaughn worked as the Chief Creative Executive and Co-Lead at WDI.
Photo: The Wrap
When theme park writers covered stories about new attractions and experiences like the Fantasyland reboot at Magic Kingdom, they spoke with Vaughn.
This executive claims much of the credit for Disney’s decisive move toward more interactivity on rides and in attraction line queues.
When Disney built Cars Land/Radiator Springs at Disney California Adventure, Vaughn spearheaded the project.
Similarly, the Imagineer deserves tons of credit for Shanghai Disneyland and some of Hong Kong Disneyland’s best attractions like Mystic Manor.
Photo: Disney
On a more basic level, Vaughn anchored the redesign of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! as a ride with randomization.
Each Star Tour will play out differently due to several potential story sequences in each segment. Those ideas come from Vaughn’s office.
While I could go on and on regarding his accomplishments, I’d rather share an anecdote as well.
When Tony Baxter, my favorite Imagineer, retired, his departure note indicated that he’d still accept interviews.
Credit: Disney
Baxter asked that all such requests go through…Bruce Vaughn’s office. In addition, Bob Weis worked as Co-Lead with Vaughn before the latter gentleman left.
Two of Disney’s greatest Imagineers ever mentored and worked side-by-side with Vaughn.
Photo: Disney
You may know Joe Rohde’s name more, but you’ll find Vaughn’s fingerprints at all Disney parks.
By rehiring Vaughn, Bob Iger has sent a simple but powerful signal to Imagineers.
Photo:AirBnB newsroom
This act of contrition acknowledges that things got rough for a while, but the worst is over.
Disney has hired one of its most accredited Imagineers to Co-Lead alongside Bouza.
With a single hiring, Iger has apologized AND promised better times ahead for Disney Imagineers.
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