Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek writes in his new memoir that current Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro was the “tip of my spear” on the Disney Park Pass reservation system and a “key ally” in changing how guests experience the theme parks.
Chapek covers pricing, annual passes and guest mix in a chapter titled “The Theme Park Revolution” in Behind the Castle Walls, which Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, released on September 29, 2026. The chapter follows his years running the parks and later as CEO.
Chapek Says Passholders Paid Far Less Per Day
According to the book, Annual Pass tiers ran from $300 to $800 when Chapek took over the parks in 2015, and demand had far outpaced supply. Some passholders entered the parks as many as 200 times a year, he writes.
Chapek says those frequent visitors contributed about $25 per day on average, while other guests were willing to pay an average of $150. His answer, he writes, was to raise prices and restrict access relative to the price of the pass. He compares the approach to airline pricing, noting that Delta raises fares when demand climbs.
Chapek writes that he kept Disney’s least expensive daily ticket at $99 throughout his five years as president of parks. He credits the strategy with 18 percent compound annual growth in parks profits. By his estimate, the guests it upset made up 20 percent of total attendance.
Chapek Credits D’Amaro With Shaping The Pass Changes
Chapek says D’Amaro helped shape the pass changes from the first round of analysis. He writes that Michael Colglazier and D’Amaro, who was leading resort operations in Orlando at the time, studied the annual pass issue with him in detail.
According to the book, the two executives said the passholder experience was a fantastic deal for passholders and a terrible one for Disney. Rather than eliminate annual passes, Chapek says, the group chose to raise ticket prices and shape demand through new ticket categories and structures.
Walt Disney World required a reservation for every park entry when it reopened in July 2020. Chapek writes that the Disney Park Pass system forced guests to be intentional and gave the company predictability. Knowing how many guests would show up each day let Disney plan staffing and pricing, he says.
Chapek, who was CEO when the system launched, says it was he who was “tarred and feathered” when reservations proved unpopular with superfans. He adds that the strategy boosted parks profitability, which helped him respond to cast members lobbying for $20 an hour.
Disney named D’Amaro its next CEO in February 2026, and he took over on March 18, 2026. Earlier excerpts showed Chapek taking credit for D’Amaro’s rise to Disney CEO.
Chapek Says Iger Later Changed His Tune On Prices
Chapek writes that Bob Iger and the board cheered the strategy on, and that Iger’s only concern was that prices might rise too high and hurt demand.
After Disney fired Chapek, he says, one of Iger’s first remarks was that Disney’s prices were too high. Chapek adds that Iger then raised prices a number of times over the following two years.
The pricing chapter joins other claims in the memoir aimed at Iger, including Chapek’s account of why Iger closed Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
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