Disney has been no stranger to public battles lately.
Spaceship Earth
From the situation with Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (what critics called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) and the resulting response from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to the repeal of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, threats made against copyright law that protects some of the Company’s key characters, and calls for a repeal of Disney’s no-fly zones — Disney’s name has seldom escaped the news recently. And now it seems Disney’s corporate reputation has taken a hit.
We already took a look at a poll investigating whether the public prefers Disney or Governor Ron DeSantis (those results might surprise you), but now we’re looking at another set of survey data — this time from the Axios Harris Poll 100.
This poll is based off a survey that included 33,096 Americans in a “nationally representative sample.” They start this process each year by surveying the public’s awareness of certain companies that “either excel or falter in society.”
The 100 “most visible companies” are then rated by another group of Americans across various dimension of reputation. This is then all compiled to create a ranking of those companies essentially based on their corporate reputation based on the survey/poll results.
Magic Kingdom
Among the companies that were within the group of the 100 most visible were Trader Joe’s, Amazon.com, Tesla Motors, Apple, Netflix, Costco, TikTok, Disney, and more. At the top of 2022’s list in terms of corporate reputation, with a score of 82.4 was Trader Joe’s. At the bottom of the list, with a score of 54.5 was The Trump Organization.
So what about The Walt Disney Company? For the 2022 poll, Disney had a score of 73.4 and ranked 65th on the list. This is actually a DROP of 28 spots compared to its position last year.
Disney at #65 ©Axios The Harris Poll 100
It was actually included on the list of the fastest droppers for 2022, just below Spectrum and Pfizer. Based on its color code, Disney falls in the green or “good” category. There are 2 categories above that — very good and excellent.
Fastest Droppers List ©Axios The Harris Poll 100
Compared to other companies in the Media category, Disney was below Spotify in rankings, but above Comcast and the Fox Corporation.
©Axios The Harris Poll 100
In terms of the individual category scores, Disney’s lowest scores were in Trust (59.6); Ethics (60.8); and Citizenship (61.2). Its highest score was a 69.5 in Growth, followed by 68.6 in Vision.
©Axios The Harris Poll 100
Compared to Trader Joe’s (which, again, was in the #1 spot), you can see the dramatic difference in those scores.
©Axios The Harris Poll 100
Of course, this is the result of just this poll, but it is interesting to see a snapshot of what thousands of Americans feel about the Disney Company on these topics, as opposed to other companies.
We’re constantly watching for updates about the Walt Disney Company, it’s reputation with the public, and what changes could be on the horizon. To read more about that poll we mentioned above which analyzes whether the public prefers Disney or Ron DeSantis, click here. To see how some big things could CHANGE for the Disney Company in the future (including, potentially, the way it handles big, political topics) click here.
We’ll keep an eye out for more information about the Disney Company and we’ll be sure to share that all with you.
Boycotting Disney isn’t new — but does it work? Click here to see
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In my opinion, polls and ratings don’t mean much if people keep going to the parks and keep spending money at the parks and on Disney products. Even as the Disney shares go up and down, as long as they are making a profit Bob Chapek is good with that. Just like all business’s, what is most important is profits, not ratings or pols.
The main problem is that people dislike Chapek so much that it is affecting Disney’s reputation. However guest and fans still love Disney. I believe Chapek who be replace when his contract expires next year. I would think that the new CEO priority (besides profits) would to build and gain back trust with guest and fans.
It’s kind of like our government. Americans love this country, but depending on what side of the aisle you’re on, They dislike the leadership at times. Same thing with Disney right now as people love Disney, but dislike its current leadership. Like it or not and be it good or bad, Disney will prevail as it is too big to fail.
Maybe this will be the wake up call the the executives at Disney need because so far they seem to be in their own world and they are not listening to their “Guests”.
Also taking sides in a political argument and choosing one side over the other side is a losing game for any company that attempts to do it. The Walt Disney Company is Exhibit A of that
This latest survey will not decrease the amount of people coming to the Disney Parks, or cruising on their ships. I was getting annoyed at the price increases at Disney, but it seems every company is doing this…and making record profits. Does it tick me off less knowing they’re all doing it? Nope, but Desantis attacking Disney for sharing their opinion about the ‘don’t say gay’ bill has put me solidly on team Disney and I just don’t care about the rising costs. They can put out surveys all day long, it isn’t going to affect park attendance anymore than #boycottdisney did.
Completely avoidable and self-inflicted; complete mis-management from the current leadership. Very out of touch with Main St. America, causing deep depreciation not only in stock price but other investor-held investments as well, such as DVC.
Sad but true, the Disney Dream is over. Over the years, when management changes enough, the people who become management forget the original vision. This has happened to many companies that have morphed into something the public can no longer recognize.
I would rate them low because of the recent price gouging and complete lack of interest in their lifelong fans. The DeSantis squabble was handled poorly on both sides, but that wouldn’t effect whether I go to the parks.
I’ve been a stock holder sense 1974 when it still had Walt’s dream , ideals , innovation and imagineering , fast forward 25 years all that was great has slowly diminished now in 2022 Disney Corp. has become this entity of progressivism that has spread though out it’s Management, there Entertainment and there core values . Several of us stock holders are wondering are they acting in the best interest ? It’s apparent they are not as seen in stock prices plummeting and the popularity on a serious decline. At best it Disappointing , and time for a restructuring.
Disney’s reputation is dropping so much that the four Parks, Disney Resorts, Disney Springs, surrounding Orlando hotels, resorts are jam-packed with Disney vacationers…. and it’s not even summer yet. As a Floridian, living 10 minutes away from the parks, our neighborhoods, resorts, grocery stores, shops are loaded with Disney visitors. Disney’s reputation is not taking that big a hit. Besides…. I think Disney is taking the right stance. Live and let live. Respect and acceptance. For the religious – judge not, lest ye be judged. Not religious & still negative – get off your high horse. Disney truly does make everyone’s “dreams come true” without prejudice.
The main reason for people not liking Disney as much (or at least it is for me) is their continuing focus of profits over customer experience. Customer experience might still be a #2 priority for Disney but it’s a distant #2.
I have been saying that Disney is in self destruct mode for the past two years.
I once considered myself a Disney idiot, self proclaimed Disneyholic. I have been to Disneyland more that 1000 times. I have been to Disney World a Dozen times (I live in Washington State). After my last visit to Disney World this past Christmas I have had enough of Disney and their money grabbing tactics. Lack of customer service and lack of respect for customers. While Disney continues to raise prices the also continue to decrease product and services.
It started with the cancellation of the Magical Express, Than Fast pass, Extra Magic hours, dining plans, room service. Check in and check out services. Reduced park hours, Reduced Park hopper hours (even tho they still charge the same amount)
Now they add Genie plus for a cost, transportation to and from the airport for a cost, pay per ride on the newest and most popular rides. Virtual Ques. Increase Park entry price, increased hotel prices (which are already way over priced on top of the cancelation of room service) Food prices raised while serving size reduced. Many programs canceled (some of this I will give them a pass on because of covid, but not all of it) Festival of the Lion King, Fantasmic, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Dive Quest, all the behind the scenes tours. Meet and Greets. Parades, Fireworks, Daily park reservations (they say to reduce and control crowds, what a joke, In December when we went I have never seen a more crowded park ever)
I have been buying Disney Stock since I was 19, I have cashed it all in because I don’t have faith in Disney any longer.
I won’t ever be back to Disney unless things make a major reversal back to the Family Entertainment, Guest experience that Walt Created and aspired too.
If Disney goes broke and folds at this point I could care less and they have no one to blame but Disney.
Be careful what U wish for Disney 😂
It’s saddening to remember the years when our kids were young and we travelled from NC to Florida four times a year, leaving with a heavy heart, but knowing we’d return very soon… Mow our kids have kids of their own … now it’s saddening to know we’ll NEVER RETURN! The Disney we knew is gone forever…. The magic, the joy, the sparkle…. Once a dream vacation, now just a bad dream!
Disney is feeling the same issues that the whole country is. We are becoming a heavily polarized land; politics invades places that you wouldn’t have expected it a few years ago. I don’t think that Disney has changed, per se, but perceptions and attitudes in the wider country have.
I have been to Disney about 100 times in the last 25 years. I have a Disney Visa card. DVC 795 points. Annual pass holder for 20 years. I have never been so disappointed in Disney as I am now. My family and friends are moving on from Disney. We have a Universal vacation planned and a Holland American cruise. Not renewing annual pass. Planning a Hawaii and Vero Beach trip then selling the DVC. Disney is no longer a premier vacation. On the last two years it has gone down hill fast.
What about the opinions of those of us who aren’t American?
Disney markets internationally.
Lifelong Disney family, Vacation Club et all. We are done. Little by little the people at the top ruined everything. I just can’t look away anymore. Not a penny more from us.
Finally people are telling the truth about how bad Disney has gotten. Maybe this may change the corporate culture. Bob Chapek is leading Disney to a big fall.
Everyone needs to flood Disney executives emails with tips and constructive criticism. Wether they read them or delete them, it feels good to put it out there. Someone at Disney has to be responsible for customer satisfaction. Does anyone know who that is that really May care? Does any Disney family member still have board seat?
I don’t know who these polls are asking but i have yet to ever be invited to participate in one. That’s fine with me. I used to work on polling and know that it’s all a matter of how many people are polled, the nature of the questions asked (phrasing is everything) and the areas interviewed. At any rate I am living in Florida and not all of it’s citizens agree with Mr. DeSantis on a lot of things. I imagine that many people are upset with Disney at the moment more for pricing, the manner in which one can attend the parks and the fact that the place is “under construction” more often than not. Not belonging to either party in Florida I can usually look at all sides. however, the representatives in my area don’t listen to anyone but the Governor and their own base.
I have personally tried to contact the reps and all I’ve gotten are letters of “self congratulations on the wonderful job we are doing” when the letters I’ve written question some of those “very things they consider good”. Obviously no one is reading the letters or they clearly don’t /can’t answer my concerns. I did notice that when Disney contributed to certain politicians there was no problem. Corporations are made up of people and should pay attention to the concerns of their employees. In the case of some of the Governor’s bills he is doing the very thing he claims to fix. If you are going to stress listening to parents…maybe you should take the time to listen to all parents..not just the ones who agree with you.
It’s hard to know if the decline is due to Chapek’s recent gouging and other changes, for which I would give low scores, or for standing up to DeSantis and his dictatorial attack on their first amendment rights, for which I would give high scores. I hate Chapek’s magic-less ways, but as soon as DeSantis attacked our beloved Disney itself, I got immediately profoundly defensive! LOL
Glad to know my perceptions were not unique. We’ve visited annually for past 12 years with kids and formerly a Florida resident growing up and visited in the 80’s with my own family. For the past decade, every time we went I would notice a particular “removing” of a magic characteristic however, the price never seemed to go down. Going to Universal this year instead.
The parks are busy only due to 24 months of pent up demand from Covid. The polls are correct, particularly with the changes Disney made since Bob Chapek has become CEO. He has done everything wrong. Prices are too high and services and experiences cut. He can’t fix it because to him it’s not broken.
I do have to disagree with those putting all the blame on Chapek . I can’t stand the guy and he can’t be gone soon enough for me but the Disney magic started disappearing before he took the reins. You have to include the previous CEO who began to chip away the perks one by one. When they started charging parking for resort guests the writing was on the wall. Chapek just continued what Iger started. And with this new complicated system they have put in place for the guests, it’s scaring many people away. Also, no matter which side you fall on regarding the Florida bill, CEOs should be smart enough to publicly stay out of politics for you will always alienate the other side. Why would you want to lose half of your fans?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we are done with Disney. We are six adults who have been vacationing at WDW (twice a year) for many decades. Our next trip is at Universal. I don’t think Disney’s bottom line will change because of our decision. I do know that they won’t be getting the thousands of dollars we usually spend there. Our last trip we had a two bedroom villa. We are not DVC members and paid thousands of dollars for our nine day trip to stay there, never mind how much we spend on property. I do think there has to be some kind of effect on Disney’s bottom line though if hundreds (or more) of disgruntled Disney guests (like us) spend their money elsewhere.
Reputation doesn’t mean that much to companies like Disney because as long as they are making money, all is good for them. A lot of people are currently upset with Disney, but many are not and couldn’t care less about what political turmoil issues that Disney is currently involved in. They may have lost some guest, but many other guest will keep coming to the parks (just look at the crowds and lines). Chapek will most likely be gone when his contract expires, that alone will boost up Disney’s reputation.
Wake up , Disney! Make changes that bring the magic back. Give your loyal fans back the Magical Express , the dining plan, and free fast passes! Show us that you still care for the “average income” American!
I use to love Disney but that changed. Now I am focused on other vacation destinations & experiences. I don’t know when I will return to Disney, which is a huge change – because I would travel with the family yearly, sometimes twice in a year. All of the cut backs (i.e. Magic Hours, Disney Magical Express with luggage service, Fast Pass, Dining Plan, missing shows – Fantasmic, etc.); along with the price increases (more money for park tickets, Genie+, Individual Attraction Service, dining expenses, hotel, etc.) and the early morning pressure of reserving rides – has caused me to choose alternative vacation spots.
The price of going to Disney world may not bother some people but it does bother a lot of us the cost of going there anymore is too much we l live out of state and have been annual Passholders for over 30 years and have been to Disneyworld over 100
Times it has been the only place we wanted to vacation at but now it’s too much and also the fact that we were always able to use the extended hours n the parks and now only certain guest r allowed to do that and there is no way after being n the parks all day and late n the evenings that we want to go n them at 7 o’clock n the morning we spend a lot of Money getting there by flying and spend a lot while we r there and then to b told that is how it will b is saying that it depends where we r staying at Disney we All suppose b equals and that angers us and bob chapek needs to go b cause of the cost to go there and Floridas lousy desantis needs to go he is rotten we have free speech so voters m that state needs to vote him out
To SML u said that very well u summed that up like it should b said thank u for that
I can not condone what is happening in the Executives of the Disney Company. Why did they have to become involved in politics???? They are an entertainment company. The CEO is the worst in history of the company. Please get rid of him and those with political agendas and get back to entertainment!!! Go away Chapek!!!
Just returned yesterday from a 5 day stay where we were not able to do many rides or attractions without exorbitant wait times. I realize that was our decision but we refuse to pay additional fees when the FP system was perfectly fine. Are they inflating wait times to encourage the purchase of Genie+, possibly, but waiting 30+ minutes for the People Mover or Small World? Uhm, NO. We are seriously considering selling our DVC points, and definitely know will not be going back to our 2-3 trips per year.
I went to WDW a couple of weeks ago for a spur-of-the-moment 4-day stay at Coronado Springs. We’re APs, and have been for years. Stockholders, too. Many things were good…mostly the friendly, helpful cast members who were WONDERFUL at the hotel, on the buses, and in the parks. BUT…multiple rides had non-functioning elements, the inside of Small World & Peter Pan looked like they needed a good cleaning, and the park food was truly awful. For example, my plant-based “hot dog” from Casey’s Corner, a long-time favourite, was WAY over-cooked to the point of being almost impossible to chew, the topping was slopped across the bun, and there were maybe 15 or so fries with it. Galaxy’s Edge and Animal Kingdom food had a similar lack of care. Clearly, there is no focus on making anything look appetizing. Throughout the parks, I saw chipped paint everywhere, broken animatronics, and glitching backgrounds. On Navi River, nearly 100 Genie+ people were let on for every stand-by party, making it clear that guests who paid to enter the park don’t matter unless they pay EXTRA fees. And now Chapek is gearing up to remove the theming from the Grand Floridian because the man has ZERO sense of magic. This was NOT the WDW I have known and loved my whole life. One man and his team of bean counters have destroyed the focus on guest experience, customer service, and unmatched entertainment. I can only hope it’s not too late to hand over the reins to someone who actually LOVES Disney.
I believe large corporations should be interested in their product and not get involved in politics and most of the people I know believe the same. Disney should be interested in providing good ,clean family entertainment and finding ways to make it more affordable for the average family. Until they pull out of the political fray my family, my extended family and all of my neighbors will be finding somewhere else to spend our money.
K. Collin, Disney employs a large creative team and many belong to the LGBTQ community. Disney’s comments weren’t political, they were in support of the rights of their LGBTQ cast members. Like it or not, the gay community is here to stay and they deserve to be treated the same as any other citizen. The Don’t Say Gay plan is a blemish on the state of Florida.
re:
“K. Collin, Disney employs a large creative team and many belong to the LGBTQ community. Disney’s comments weren’t political, they were in support of the rights of their LGBTQ cast members. Like it or not, the gay community is here to stay and they deserve to be treated the same as any other citizen. The Don’t Say Gay plan is a blemish on the state of Florida.”
So true. Freedom and liberty for marginalized people is not politics, it’s simple human rights. Disney would have been criticized for NOT standing up for a group of people it had consistently supported for decades if they had stayed silent. It was a no-win situation for Disney, and they came out in support for their LGBQ+ Employees, families, and guests even though they knew it would make them a target. A cynic might say they are simply playing the long game, but I’m sure it’s personal to at least some who made the choice. They simply chose love. Haters are gonna hate, but love wins in the end. Always. Is’t that what Disney movies always show at the end?