Eisner also loved building parks that were incomplete/half built. Corporate scam that screws the customer. I understand he made the company money but don't like the way he went about it. Even though I don't like him as a leader, I think he does love the company. So I guess there is something to be said for that.
Eisner is the one that started this mess in the first place. Underfunding attractions, Strategic Planning, cutting quality in favor of the bottomline, etc. all began under his watch about twenty years ago. So I don't understand where your sentiment is coming from. If anything things have slightly improved under Iger.
Early Eisner (with Wells) was determined to make "Disney" synonymous with "innovation, creative risks, and quality." Mid Eisner (immediately post Wells) began reducing the company to patterns. Movies were formulaic; WDI shifted to over-contrived back stories; theme park operations started their slide downwards. Late Eisner (late 90s – mid 00s) seemed determined to ruin his own legacy in order to sabotage the next CEO. Let's not pretend the man's final years were anything but disastrous.
Eisner understood the intangibles that make Disney successful and ripped them out of the parks. From land-specific entertainment to after-dinner chocolates, from empty sub lagoons to the shell formerly known as PI, from DCA to WDSP, and faded paint to broken lightbulbs, and the Wand to the BAH, the list is too extensive to post here.
Iger has proven to be little more than an IP collector, showing no understanding of his own company or affection for the existing, highly successful IP he was hired to promote. Yet he at least understands he can't micromanage everything, and he gave each film division a leader who DOES "get it"; most of the people he has put in movie-related positions excel at making Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, WDA, etc. successful (the Muppets notwithstanding). But he seems to hate the parks.
In fact, WDI and the Parks have been decidedly mixed under Iger. The parks are better maintained than the late days of Eisner but still not up to established standards; areas are slightly improved in odd places without really fulfilling crowd demands or needs (New FL, Frozen-strom). Originality doesn't matter because IPs sell merchandise. Hotels are severely overpriced, yet amenities and service levels are below Hampton Inns. For a decade, ticket prices rose dramatically without necessary capex being reinvested. Star Wars and Toy Story are finally on the way.
In an ideal world, we'd have early Eisner back at the helm; and coupled with a strong businessperson, the WDC would be wowing us along the lines of EPCOT Center expansions, Splash Mountain, ToT, D-MGM, PI, TL, and BB—not to mention the hotels and cruise line. The movie division would be releasing the next BATB or Lion King.
But the silver lining is that because he's not a micromanager, Iger allows VPs to run their own divisions; and WDI should flourish under Weis.
