Bob Chapek Reveals the Number of Disneyland Magic Key Holders
After years of silence, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek returned to the spotlight this week with the release of his memoir, Behind the Castle Walls: My 30 Years at The Most Magical Place on Earth.
In Chapek’s new book, the former Disney CEO clearly believes he did nothing wrong that warranted his ouster by the Disney board.
Photo: CNBC
Instead, Chapek argues that Bob Iger orchestrated a smear campaign against him after deciding that he wanted his old job back.
“My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation, leaving those close to me, outsiders and some within the kingdom trying to figure out what I did wrong,” he writes. “The answer, again, is nothing.”
Source: Variety.com
In addition to attacking Iger, Chapek defends his Disney Parks pricing strategy.
The Bob Chapek Era
As longtime Disney fans will certainly remember, Bob Chapek’s tenure as Disney’s CEO coincided with a series of changes that made trips to the Disney Parks more expensive.
Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Not only did ticket, Annual Pass, food, and merchandise prices increase, but Disney also began charging for things that were once free.
During this time, Disney replaced the complimentary FastPass+ system with Genie+, began charging for parking at its resorts, and eliminated complimentary MagicBands.
In Behind the Castle Walls, Chapek argues the implementation of higher price points and dynamic pricing were a success, reducing crowd levels while increasing guest satisfaction.
Photo: Jenn Scranton
“We’d been, at a minimum, leaving revenue opportunities on the table to avoid stirring the hornet’s nest,” he writes.
How Many Magic Key Holders Does Disneyland Have?
To illustrate his point that Disney was leaving money on the table by not raising prices, Chapek points to Disneyland Magic Key sales.
Photo: Magic Key
In Behind the Castle Walls, the former Disney CEO reveals that Disneyland has “somewhere around” 1.1 million Magic Key holders.
While increasing the price would temporarily reduce demand for the annual passes, Chapek says, passholders would always come back.
Credit: Disney
“Even with the increase in prices that were taken on the annual passes, it would temporarily soften demand, but a year later they were subscribed just like they were before,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
Prices Soared Under Chapek
During Chapek’s time leading the Disney Parks, Magic Key prices soared.
When he took over in 2015, the premium Magic Key cost $699.
By the time the Disney board ousted Chapek, the top Magic Key, the Inspire Key, cost $1,599.
“In order to build things like Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus, that takes capital,” Chapek told the Times. “That capital takes revenue.”
Photo: Disney
Looking solely at black-and-white numbers, Chapek argues that his tenure as Disney Parks chairman was an unmitigated success.
With theme park profits up 18%, the former Disney executive can’t help but toot his own horn.
Photo: Matt Stroshane/Courtesy Disney Parks
“I’m very proud of the performance of the parks segment during my time,” Chapek told the Times. “The numbers bear that out.”
Photo: MickeyBlog
