Hot Girls Are Staging Emergency Group Chat Sessions With Ex-Coworker Because Bob Iger is Back in as Disney CEO
bet you didn't expect to see that headline in your inbox.
Though I feel like I talk about this too much online and weirdly infrequently in real life, I recently spent 6 months working at Walt Disney World - more specifically, the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom - as part of the Disney College Program. It’s an aspiration (participation in the program that is, not specifically the Mansion) I’ve held since middle school, and a program I had originally been set to participate in before COVID wrecked those plans. Anyways, long story short, I hugely enjoyed my program - and am continually realizing as time passes further and further from my participation that returning to Disney as a cast member is something I’m genuinely considering.
All that to say that though I’m not as heavily immersed in the goings-on around Walt Disney World as I was when I worked there (which, it’s difficult to explain the social and hierarchical scene of Disney employees without being a cast member yourself), I still very much keep up with news of the parks and the company, especially now that I’m considering returning in some capacity. So, imagine my surprise when less than an hour ago, I see this headline while scrolling on Twitter:
Again, though I’ve always been relatively disinterested in anything relating to Fortune 500 higher-ups and the inter-office politics of major companies, the Disney community (both cast members and guests) has always held an understandable interest in the position of CEO and the men who hold it. Especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and Iger’s ousting to make way for Chapek, both Disney fans and cast members have been vocally displeased about Bob Chapek’s cost-cutting, project-tabling, price-raising tactics, especially when contrasted with the success of his immediate predecessor in revitalizing the parks in the wake of the early 2000s economic collapse.
As such, the sentiment among Disney fans and cast members during the time I was most heavily involved with the parks was always general distaste for Chapek and reluctant acceptance that Iger’s approach to handling the parks creatively and financial would be a distant memory. This news that Iger is returning as CEO is certainly a shocking and dare I say juicy one, especially considering the amount of speculation that the suddenness of the ousting will likely generate.
As for the future parks, the ever looming question suddenly holds a more positive, hopeful hint than a reluctantly negative one - with the combination of Josh D’Amaro and Bob Iger once again at the head of Disney Parks, the hope by cast members and Disney lovers that the parks may see some more dedicated love and re-consideration could become a reality.
Do I think we’ll get any drastic announcements right off the bat? As fun as that would be (I’m always holding out for Indiana Jones or Black Panther making its way to Animal Kingdom in place of Dinoland) I don’t see Iger making any huge changes in the coming weeks. I’d mostly expect internal re-alignment, and most optimistically re-opening discussions about shelved projects (half of Epcot says hello) and working to re-open existing but under construction attractions, like the ever-shuddered Magic Kingdom railroad.
So, with Iger back in the driver’s seat, it feels like another sign from the universe that the Disney Parks might also be back in my future - though when or exactly what that looks like, I’ve no idea. Either way, welcome back Bob Iger - I mean it when I say we’ve missed you.