Disney CEO Bob Chapek is plotting a Disney+ metaverse that will mimic their parks online

Disney is plotting a metaverse that would allow people to experience the most magical place on Earth without ever setting foot in the theme park.

CEO Bob Chapek said the media giant’s metaverse would exist on its streaming platform, Disney+, and let “the 90 percent of people who will never be able to go to a Disney park” experience it in virtual reality. .

“We call it next-gen storytelling,” Chapek said in an interview with Deadlineand noted that he didn’t like to use the phrase metaverse “because there’s a lot of hair on it.”

But regardless of what Chapek prefers to call the planned platform, many have responded by calling the move away from Disney’s fanbase, arguing that if the parks stopped raising prices, more people would be able to visit.

The move comes as Chapek — who took over at Disney in 2020 — struggles to make a name for himself in the shadow of his innovative predecessor, Bob Iger, and survive amid controversies ranging from the rising prices of the park to Disney’s stance on Florida’s Do Not Say Gay Account.

Last week, Chapek broke a months-long silence over an apology he issued in an effort to quell Disney staff outraged at his failure to speak out against the controversial bill last spring, saying he’d support it. chose to keep quiet about this because he didn’t want to get Disney caught up in a “political subterfuge.”

Disney’s metaverse move comes as Chapek – who took over at Disney in 2020 – struggles to make a name for himself in the shadow of his innovative predecessor, Bob Iger.

Chapek characterized the Disney metaverse as a way to experience the theme parks for the masses of people who can’t take the trip personally.

“We wish everyone would have a chance to come to our parks, but we realize that this isn’t a reality for some people,” he told Deadline, “we have an opportunity to move from what was a movie service platform to an experiential platform.” to make. platform and give them the opportunity to ride Haunted Mansion from a virtual vantage point.”

He said metaverse users would have an experience beyond regular park visitors, and be able to get off the ride-cars to explore sets and interact with characters.

“Maybe we’re giving them the chance to do what everyone else in the park wants to do, and unfortunately too many of them do it just to get rid of the attraction. Look how it works, watch those ghost dancers move,’ he said.

But many responded to the news by saying that if Disney stopped raising its prices, more of those 90 percent of people who can’t visit the parks could.

‘Damn Disney. Just put it this way, tech critic Juan Carlos Bagnell wrote on Twitter: “90% of the HUMAN POPULATION are too poor to visit our parks, but hopefully some are less poor enough to own VR goggles and enjoy our rides in a metaverse clone…’

Commentators on the Deadline interview were equally unimpressed, with one saying, “The reason 90% of people may not be able to experience the parks is because you keep increasing the cost of GOING to the parks beyond what most people can actually afford, Bob.’

‘The costs are rising in the parks. Morale seems to be down. Iger had imagination and could adapt,” said another.

Prices of the Disney parks have skyrocketed since Chapek was fully taxed in Disney in 2022. In California parks, ticket prices rose 6 percent to $164 for single-park passes, while the price of getting to more than one park over the course of a day rose 9 percent to $319.

In Florida’s parks, the price to enter the park after 2 p.m. rose to $169, while fans were asked to pay more than $194 before 2 p.m. Those prices can also increase each day based on increased demand.

“If you’re the kind of person who budgets or saves for vacations, Disney Parks are no longer for you,” one weary customer wrote on Reddit, “That’s a Premium Physical Experience, and there are plenty of wealthy families nationally and internationally to look after.” to go indefinitely.’

And in August, as inflation seared the US economy, Chapek warned those prices could continue to rise.

“It’s all up to the consumer,” he said. The New York Post: ‘If consumer demand remains the same, we will act accordingly.

Disney’s metaverse would allow people to experience park rides like the Haunted Mansion without ever setting foot in Disney World

Chapek noted that the virtual reality experience could go beyond just sitting in the car and experiencing the ride as parkgoers do, but would allow people to step off the tracks and explore the ride sets up close.

Chapek has hardly been the happiest CEO on Earth since he took over the reins at Disney.

After starting his tenure in February 2020, he was immediately thrust into the chaos of navigating Disney through the perils of the pandemic, leaving the media company’s primary revenue streams — theme park revenue and movie tickets — like a pair of glass slippers. . at midnight.

In order to keep the ship stable, Iger – much to the ire of Chapek reportedly – was kept in a leadership position until 2021.

But once Chapek took full control in 2022, his price hikes raised eyebrows among customers as to whether he was in the same boat as the visionary Iger.

Those doubts were doubled by Disney staff after Chapek decided to remain silent about Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law, a law that prohibits schools from discussing sexuality or gender with children between kindergarten and third grade.

Many Disney employees viewed the law as homophobic and an affront to Disney’s inclusive values, and publicly expressed outrage that Chapek did not speak out against it.

Chapek said the metaverse would also work in conjunction with actual visits to Disney theme parks

Disney is plotting a metaverse that would let people experience the most magical place on Earth without ever setting foot in the theme park

He later apologized to staff, publicly dismissed the bill, and announced that Disney had halted all of its Florida political donations.

Last week, Chapek spoke that apology for the first time since issuing it, saying he’d struggled to balance the needs and beliefs of all of his employees and customers.

“What we’re trying to do is be everything to everyone,” Chapek said The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview, “It’s often very difficult because we’re The Walt Disney Company.”

“We certainly don’t want to get caught up in political subterfuge, but at the same time we also realize that we want to represent a better future for all types of families, no matter how they define themselves,” he said.