Eisner legacy: A bigger Disney
Theme parks, region flourished during his tenure
Jerry W. Jackson | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 28, 2005
There are no airports named for Michael Eisner in Central Florida. No major roadways or subdivisions. But the outgoing chief of the Walt Disney Co. has left his mark.
For better or worse, many community leaders say, the area was shaped by the ego and ambition of the company's long-serving chief executive.
As the top boss at Walt Disney Co. since 1984, Eisner made the critical calls in California that molded much of the economy and culture of Orlando and indeed all of Florida during the past two decades, a range of leaders say.
"He made the big decisions," said Linda Chapin, former Orange County chairman, now serving as director of the Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies at the University of Central Florida.
Disney during Eisner's tenure pumped billions of dollars into capital construction in Central Florida with two new theme parks, thousands of hotel rooms and time-share resorts. The building boom created tens of thousands of jobs at what would become the nation's largest single site employer -- Walt Disney World Resort.
With 57,000 full- and part-time workers, Disney World employs more people than the entire populations of many cities in Florida and pays out about $2 billion a year in payroll and benefits. When Eisner took control, Disney World's employment was less than 20,000.
Two of Disney's four parks -- Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom -- were Eisner creations. He also conceived and oversaw the launch of Disney's successful cruise ship business, based in Celebration, a mixed-use community created by Disney from scratch.
Not everything Eisner touched turned to gold in Orlando. The concept of the Disney Institute, where guests would take classes and expand their minds while on vacation, failed as first conceived. The buildings that housed the institute have since been converted to time-share vacation resorts, although the work of the institute continues in a more dispersed way across Disney property.
Orlando also was supposed to be an animation hub for the company, but that grand plan collapsed as the company in recent years yielded to economic pressures and changing animation trends.
A micromanager, Eisner had a hand in most every detail. Orlando business leaders say his early successes clearly helped lift Disney's fortunes.
"He was the right leader at the right time for the company," said Rick Walsh, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Darden Restaurants Inc., one of two Fortune 500 companies based in Orlando.
"I think different leaders have different strengths, and he came in at a time when there was a desperate need for leadership [at Disney]," Walsh said. "Clearly, the company rebounded under his leadership, and he built the business. It's a much bigger business and a better run place than it was when he arrived. So his impact has been huge, and huge here in Central Florida."
Disney under Eisner not only bulked up on the business side but increased its philanthropy in Central Florida as well, Walsh said, setting a high bar for other companies.
While Eisner's background and strength was mainly in the movie and television industries, "my sense is that he had a true affection for the theme parks," Walsh said.
Eisner spent a fair amount of time in the Orlando parks, particularly early in his tenure, generally sporting a polo shirt with a ball cap and shades, checking out the rides and chatting with guests. In that respect, he followed in the footsteps of Walt Disney himself, returning time and again to the theme that much of the company's magic was vested in the parks.
Widely recognized for his ambition and ego, Eisner dubbed the 1990s "the Disney decade" and made sure that the last Orlando resort he conceptualized and built, Animal Kingdom, was the largest of any of the Disney parks worldwide.
Animal Kingdom never lived up to the early hype and hope, however, at least in terms of attendance and popularity -- peaking at 8.3 million visitors in 1999, it has since failed to climb back above 8 million, remaining the least attended of the four Disney parks in Orlando. And Disney's economic woes, management battles, shareholder revolt and other widely reported scraps took the shine off Eisner's halo late in his career.
But during Eisner's reign Disney helped "create a brand for Orlando as an exciting place to be," said Bill Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Whether intentionally or not, they did help create that brand, and that will have a lasting effect," ensuring part of Eisner's legacy, Peeper said.
Eisner hobnobbed with Hollywood elite, partied in Paris, frequented New York and never was exactly a regular in Orlando's corporate scene. Peeper, who has spent nearly 25 years at the top of Orlando's leading tourism lobbying organization, recalls meeting Eisner exactly once. "Sometime in the 1990s," Peeper said.
Disney's Orlando executives through the years have insisted they had plenty of autonomy and resources, to keep the Orlando empire humming. Disney's corporate headquarters -- and investors -- certainly benefited from the generous cash flow of the Orlando resort, one of the entertainment giant's main economic engines.
Chapin, Orange County's top government leader during the 1990s, said that while critics have pointed to the low pay for many of Disney's jobs and the service economy that it spawned, the company always offset that to some extent with good benefits and a clean, inclusive work environment that attracts applicants from throughout the country and world.
The dramatic growth of Orlando International Airport is largely the result of Disney's growth, Chapin said, making it attractive for other companies to choose Orlando because of the quality air service.
Disney's relationship with Orange County government also improved during Eisner's reign, Chapin said.
Although former Disney executive Dianna Morgan, who retired as Disney World's senior vice president of public affairs in 2001, has been widely and correctly credited with spearheading the new era of cooperation and community involvement by the company, Chapin said, Eisner "clearly gave that signal. It was a sea change of attitude."
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5721or jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com.
Theme parks, region flourished during his tenure
Jerry W. Jackson | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 28, 2005
There are no airports named for Michael Eisner in Central Florida. No major roadways or subdivisions. But the outgoing chief of the Walt Disney Co. has left his mark.
For better or worse, many community leaders say, the area was shaped by the ego and ambition of the company's long-serving chief executive.
As the top boss at Walt Disney Co. since 1984, Eisner made the critical calls in California that molded much of the economy and culture of Orlando and indeed all of Florida during the past two decades, a range of leaders say.
"He made the big decisions," said Linda Chapin, former Orange County chairman, now serving as director of the Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies at the University of Central Florida.
Disney during Eisner's tenure pumped billions of dollars into capital construction in Central Florida with two new theme parks, thousands of hotel rooms and time-share resorts. The building boom created tens of thousands of jobs at what would become the nation's largest single site employer -- Walt Disney World Resort.
With 57,000 full- and part-time workers, Disney World employs more people than the entire populations of many cities in Florida and pays out about $2 billion a year in payroll and benefits. When Eisner took control, Disney World's employment was less than 20,000.
Two of Disney's four parks -- Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom -- were Eisner creations. He also conceived and oversaw the launch of Disney's successful cruise ship business, based in Celebration, a mixed-use community created by Disney from scratch.
Not everything Eisner touched turned to gold in Orlando. The concept of the Disney Institute, where guests would take classes and expand their minds while on vacation, failed as first conceived. The buildings that housed the institute have since been converted to time-share vacation resorts, although the work of the institute continues in a more dispersed way across Disney property.
Orlando also was supposed to be an animation hub for the company, but that grand plan collapsed as the company in recent years yielded to economic pressures and changing animation trends.
A micromanager, Eisner had a hand in most every detail. Orlando business leaders say his early successes clearly helped lift Disney's fortunes.
"He was the right leader at the right time for the company," said Rick Walsh, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Darden Restaurants Inc., one of two Fortune 500 companies based in Orlando.
"I think different leaders have different strengths, and he came in at a time when there was a desperate need for leadership [at Disney]," Walsh said. "Clearly, the company rebounded under his leadership, and he built the business. It's a much bigger business and a better run place than it was when he arrived. So his impact has been huge, and huge here in Central Florida."
Disney under Eisner not only bulked up on the business side but increased its philanthropy in Central Florida as well, Walsh said, setting a high bar for other companies.
While Eisner's background and strength was mainly in the movie and television industries, "my sense is that he had a true affection for the theme parks," Walsh said.
Eisner spent a fair amount of time in the Orlando parks, particularly early in his tenure, generally sporting a polo shirt with a ball cap and shades, checking out the rides and chatting with guests. In that respect, he followed in the footsteps of Walt Disney himself, returning time and again to the theme that much of the company's magic was vested in the parks.
Widely recognized for his ambition and ego, Eisner dubbed the 1990s "the Disney decade" and made sure that the last Orlando resort he conceptualized and built, Animal Kingdom, was the largest of any of the Disney parks worldwide.
Animal Kingdom never lived up to the early hype and hope, however, at least in terms of attendance and popularity -- peaking at 8.3 million visitors in 1999, it has since failed to climb back above 8 million, remaining the least attended of the four Disney parks in Orlando. And Disney's economic woes, management battles, shareholder revolt and other widely reported scraps took the shine off Eisner's halo late in his career.
But during Eisner's reign Disney helped "create a brand for Orlando as an exciting place to be," said Bill Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Whether intentionally or not, they did help create that brand, and that will have a lasting effect," ensuring part of Eisner's legacy, Peeper said.
Eisner hobnobbed with Hollywood elite, partied in Paris, frequented New York and never was exactly a regular in Orlando's corporate scene. Peeper, who has spent nearly 25 years at the top of Orlando's leading tourism lobbying organization, recalls meeting Eisner exactly once. "Sometime in the 1990s," Peeper said.
Disney's Orlando executives through the years have insisted they had plenty of autonomy and resources, to keep the Orlando empire humming. Disney's corporate headquarters -- and investors -- certainly benefited from the generous cash flow of the Orlando resort, one of the entertainment giant's main economic engines.
Chapin, Orange County's top government leader during the 1990s, said that while critics have pointed to the low pay for many of Disney's jobs and the service economy that it spawned, the company always offset that to some extent with good benefits and a clean, inclusive work environment that attracts applicants from throughout the country and world.
The dramatic growth of Orlando International Airport is largely the result of Disney's growth, Chapin said, making it attractive for other companies to choose Orlando because of the quality air service.
Disney's relationship with Orange County government also improved during Eisner's reign, Chapin said.
Although former Disney executive Dianna Morgan, who retired as Disney World's senior vice president of public affairs in 2001, has been widely and correctly credited with spearheading the new era of cooperation and community involvement by the company, Chapin said, Eisner "clearly gave that signal. It was a sea change of attitude."
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5721or jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com.
