Disney's Parks Chief Emerges as Contender to Succeed Iger

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Look, all I'm saying is, people put Walt on some pedestal as if he would absolutely shun every action the company makes today. I think that is absolutely so far from the truth and we forget that he was around in a completely different era of show business where the things we're talking about just simply did not exist then.

You're probably correct. I just wish the company that bears his name would go back and remember what made it so successful in the first place...and stop treating "Walt" like some mythical creature who started it all. I don't think its out of line to wish a creative company would stay that way, or even go back a bit to reflect more of its founder's goals and ambitions.

 

[Disney Irish]

You're probably correct. I just wish the company that bears his name would go back and remember what made it so successful in the first place...and stop treating "Walt" like some mythical creature who started it all. I don't think its out of line to wish a creative company would stay that way, or even go back a bit to reflect more of its founder's goals and ambitions.

I think others have said most of what I would say on this topic.

I will just add, You don't know what the Walt of today would have done different, if anything, than the company is doing. So to compare the two eras is silly and just a war of futility.

And I think its us in the fandom that treat Walt like this mythical creature, as you put it, with no faults. And since you quoted Walt, let me put one out there:

"Around here we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Walt Disney

So stop looking backwards to what Walt did and how he would do it different today. The man has been dead 51 years, leave him in peace. Look forward and just hope for the best.

 

[Phroobar]

It all started with a rabbit mouse.

 

[SSG]

 

[TROR]

"Around here we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Walt Disney

This is really my greatest problem with TWDC nowadays. No longer are they the leading inventors and creative force, they're no longer the trend setters, TWDC only copies what it sees as successful and redos what it has already done that's successful. The idea that Disney will try new things, even if they might fail, is no more. That's disappointing to me.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I think others have said most of what I would say on this topic.

I will just add, You don't know what the Walt of today would have done different, if anything, than the company is doing. So to compare the two eras is silly and just a war of futility.

And I think its us in the fandom that treat Walt like this mythical creature, as you put it, with no faults. And since you quoted Walt, let me put one out there:

"Around here we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Walt Disney

So stop looking backwards to what Walt did and how he would do it different today. The man has been dead 51 years, leave him in peace. Look forward and just hope for the best.

In seriousness though, its easy to yearn for Walt's creativity, but there's no way to know for sure what the company would have turned into...

SO, let's move on.

 

[dweezil78]

The idea that Disney will try new things, even if they might fail, is no more.

I personally think the big investment in building Pandora was a huge gamble for the company, one they got a lot of flack and 'what were they thinking?' for, and one that hasn't exactly paid off the way they were hoping.

 

[Disney Irish]

This is really my greatest problem with TWDC nowadays. No longer are they the leading inventors and creative force, they're no longer the trend setters, TWDC only copies what it sees as successful and redos what it has already done that's successful. The idea that Disney will try new things, even if they might fail, is no more. That's disappointing to me.

In seriousness though, its easy to yearn for Walt's creativity, but there's no way to know for sure what the company would have turned into...

SO, let's move on.

Remember without Roy there would have been no Walt. Without Roy Walt would have been just sitting in that garage drawing nice little pictures of rabbits and mice. Its Roy's financial sense that allowed Walt to be the creative dreamer we all look up to today. Without that financial sense there would be no TWDC today, as Walt would have likely gone bankrupt long before ever creating DL.

 

[TROR]

I personally think the big investment in building Pandora was a huge gamble for the company, one they got a lot of flack and 'what were they thinking?' for, and one that hasn't exactly paid off the way they were hoping.

But even that wasn't a risk in their eyes. To Disney, they saw Avatar as what it was, the highest grossing movie of all time, but they failed to look at all the warning signs. They viewed it as a sure bet with zero chance of failure. Further, it was only done as a response to Potter at Universal, showing that Disney is still only trying to emulate the success of what others have done.

Remember without Roy there would have been no Walt. Without Roy Walt would have been just sitting in that garage drawing nice little pictures of rabbits and mice. Its Roy's financial sense that allowed Walt to be the creative dreamer we all look up to today. Without that financial sense there would be no TWDC today, as Walt would have likely gone bankrupt long before ever creating DL.

Yes, a pairing. You can't just have Walt. You can't just have Roy. You need both.

 

[Phroobar]

Remember without Roy there would have been no Walt. Without Roy Walt would have been just sitting in that garage drawing nice little pictures of rabbits and mice. Its Roy's financial sense that allowed Walt to be the creative dreamer we all look up to today. Without that financial sense there would be no TWDC today, as Walt would have likely gone bankrupt long before ever creating DL.

This.
Look at what happen after Walt's death. Disney had to fight off corporate raiders. Without Roy, Disneyland would be part of Cedar Fair.

 

[dweezil78]

But even that wasn't a risk in their eyes. To Disney, they saw Avatar as what it was, the highest grossing movie of all time, but they failed to look at all the warning signs. They viewed it as a sure bet with zero chance of failure. Further, it was only done as a response to Potter at Universal, showing that Disney is still only trying to emulate the success of what others have done.

You seriously think that while a group of fans on a message board could see it was clearly a risk that senior execs within the company itself couldn't see that?

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Remember without Roy there would have been no Walt. Without Roy Walt would have been just sitting in that garage drawing nice little pictures of rabbits and mice. Its Roy's financial sense that allowed Walt to be the creative dreamer we all look up to today. Without that financial sense there would be no TWDC today, as Walt would have likely gone bankrupt long before ever creating DL.

I understand that. And the thing that really bugs me about Iger and co. is the fact that today (using your analogy) the company is only run by a "Roy". There is no "Walt" to speak of. Everything is just a careful non-risk financially minded decision with extremely little creativity and innovation put into it. There is no "keep moving forward" mentality...only "keep mining IP for merch and park attractions until the public gets sick of it and we throw something else at them."

 

[TROR]

You seriously think that while a group of fans on a message board could see it was clearly a risk that senior execs within the company itself couldn't see that?

Yes. I truly believe they were that out of touch with reality and blinded by arrogance.

 

[Disney Irish]

But even that wasn't a risk in their eyes. To Disney, they saw Avatar as what it was, the highest grossing movie of all time, but they failed to look at all the warning signs. They viewed it as a sure bet with zero chance of failure. Further, it was only done as a response to Potter at Universal, showing that Disney is still only trying to emulate the success of what others have done.


Yes, a pairing. You can't just have Walt. You can't just have Roy. You need both.

I understand that. And the thing that really bugs me about Iger and co. is the fact that today (using your analogy) the company is only run by a "Roy". There is no "Walt" to speak of. Everything is just a careful non-risk financially minded decision with extremely little creativity and innovation put into it. There is no "keep moving forward" mentality...only "keep mining IP for merch and park attractions until the public gets sick of it and we throw something else at them."

That is where many people have things wrong. While Walt was the face, it was Roy who actually ran the company. Today's corporate structures of company's are vastly different to how things were done in the 20s-60s.

Roy was the CEO of the company going back to 1929, but without the official title until 1968. So a financial guy was the head of the company.
Walt oversaw the creative side of things such as the Studios, but he wasn't the CEO or even Co-CEO of the company.

Flip to today, the company is different as its much larger, so a "Roy" is needed at the very top. So Iger is the overall CEO (A financial guy).
Each division has their own chairman ("Roy"), and Presidents ("Walt"). Now some will argue that some divisions don't have a "Walt", but I think that isn't true. There are "Walt's", like Lasseter before his recent issues.

Point is you need a "Roy" at the very top. And then each division needs a "Roy", and somewhere in those divisions are the "Walt" to help run those divisions.

This.
Look at what happen after Walt's death. Disney had to fight off corporate raiders. Without Roy, Disneyland would be part of Cedar Fair.

Yep many people forget how many times TWDC was almost sold off. And it was Roy and his son, Roy E., that help save the company many times.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

That is where many people have things wrong. While Walt was the face, it was Roy who actually ran the company. Today's corporate structures of company's are vastly different to how things were done in the 20s-60s.

Roy was the CEO of the company going back to 1929, but without the official title until 1968. So a financial guy was the head of the company.
Walt oversaw the creative side of things such as the Studios, but he wasn't the CEO or even Co-CEO of the company.

Flip to today, the company is different as its much larger, so a "Roy" is needed at the very top. So Iger is the overall CEO (A financial guy).
Each division has their own chairman ("Roy"), and Presidents ("Walt"). Now some will argue that some divisions don't have a "Walt", but I think that isn't true. There are "Walt's", like Lasseter before his recent issues.

Point is you need a "Roy" at the very top. And then each division needs a "Roy", and somewhere in those divisions are the "Walt" to help run those divisions.



Yep many people forget how many times TWDC was almost sold off. And it was Roy and his son, Roy E., that help save the company many times.

Hear me out. I get what you're saying, but even if Walt wasn't technically CEO or co-CEO, there was still no company without him. Roy may have been "in charge" financially, but without Walt, the company ceases to be. Roy made sure things got done yes, but Walt's vision is what gave the company its legs and longevity. There's a reason its called the Walt Disney Company and not the Roy Disney Company.

 

[Disney Irish]

Hear me out. I get what you're saying, but even if Walt wasn't technically CEO or co-CEO, there was still no company without him. Roy may have been "in charge" financially, but without Walt, the company ceases to be. Roy made sure things got done yes, but Walt's vision is what gave the company its legs and longevity. There's a reason its called the Walt Disney Company and not the Roy Disney Company.

Again this is where people get things wrong.

I don't think anyone has any doubt that without Walt there would be no company, but the same goes for Roy. What people forget is that it started as Disney Brothers Studios, not the Walt Disney Company. It was Roy's suggestion to change the name, if he hadn't we'd still have Disney Brothers Studios. It was also Roy's suggestion to make Walt the face of the company and to have himself take a backseat.

Remember that Roy and Walt were equal partners. And it was Roy who kept Walt from going into dangerous financial situations. Walt also wandered in terms of vision a lot, and it was Roy who kept him going in the right direction. For example, toward the end Walt was already moving away from Theme Parks into community planning with EPCOT (not the park). Roy (along with others) kept DL going while Walt was trying to get EPCOT developed.

So its great that we all admire and hold up Walt as a great visionary. But without the business side, that visionary can't get the vision off the ground. It goes hand in hand, and the reason why the business side runs the company (and always has).

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Again this is where people get things wrong.

I don't think anyone has any doubt that without Walt there would be no company, but the same goes for Roy. What people forget is that it started as Disney Brothers Studios, not the Walt Disney Company. It was Roy's suggestion to change the name, if he hadn't we'd still have Disney Brothers Studios. It was also Roy's suggestion to make Walt the face of the company and to have himself take a backseat.

Remember that Roy and Walt were equal partners. And it was Roy who kept Walt from going into dangerous financial situations. Walt also wandered in terms of vision a lot, and it was Roy who kept him going in the right direction. For example, toward the end Walt was already moving away from Theme Parks into community planning with EPCOT (not the park). Roy (along with others) kept DL going while Walt was trying to get EPCOT developed.

So its great that we all admire and hold up Walt as a great visionary. But without the business side, that visionary can't get the vision off the ground. It goes hand in hand, and the reason why the business side runs the company (and always has).

I don't think I've made myself clear. I'm NOT now (or hope I ever was) suggesting the Disney doesn't need or benefit from the business side. Obviously a company without business sense won't last no matter how visionary its founder.

BUT my concern was and still is that currently, Disney hardly has a visionary side to speak of. For all the good JL has brought to Animation, they've really only had a major blockbuster in Frozen and Zootopia that has come directly from Disney itself.
P&R is just a cluster-muck of overpriced IP shoehorns.
ESPN is the butt of a bad joke.
WDI is a mess.

But hey look! High stock prices

 

[MisterPenguin]

So ,I just found out that Walt Disney is going to shoehorn an IP into the park based on Alice in Wonderland. The movie didn't do that well, and didn't get critical acclaim and yet, Walt's gonna slap that into the park!

And get this, it's going to be a carnival ride with a lame teacup theme. What the heck does that have to do with the movie? Alice never rides in a teacup! And there's no sequel planned,so, this makes no sense at all!

Walt's creativity has dried up and he should resign.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

So ,I just found out that Walt Disney is going to shoehorn an IP into the park based on Alice in Wonderland. The movie didn't do that well, and didn't get critical acclaim and yet, Walt's gonna slap that into the park!

And get this, it's going to be a carnival ride with a lame teacup theme. What the heck does that have to do with the movie? Alice never rides in a teacup! And there's no sequel planned,so, this makes no sense at all!

Walt's creativity has dried up and he should resign.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

This is really my greatest problem with TWDC nowadays. No longer are they the leading inventors and creative force, they're no longer the trend setters, TWDC only copies what it sees as successful and redos what it has already done that's successful. The idea that Disney will try new things, even if they might fail, is no more. That's disappointing to me.

Agreed, however it's a little naive to expect that from Disney now. They are more of a content distribution organization like Google or Facebook than the company we all grew up with.