Think of this. Imagineers develop tons of concepts for new rides. Some of these concepts, such as Time Racers, are leaked to the public. But the great majority of their work is kept secret, and we may never know about these ideas until they decide to actually build it.
Knowing this, if any of us (by some incredible luck) were to become Disney's next CEO, we would have the authority to choose which of these ride concepts get funding. I bet you, if any of us get so lucky, the first thing we would do is go to Glendale, CA, and visit the Imagineer's model shop, where every ride that they ever dreamed of, built, or unbuilt, lay waiting for approval by any future CEO that may visit.
When Eisner was made CEO, and when he toured the model shop for his first time, he went with his son Breck, who saw the model of Splash Mountain. "Hey, dad, look at this! This is what Disneyland needs... a water ride!" And his father agreed and asked why it wasn't built. The answer was that previous management never okayed it. So Eisner said, "I'm, okaying it, so build it!" And it was built.
Delighted that Eisner just approved almost $100 million for a new ride, the head of Imagineering said, "While you're here, let me show you some other models..." They showed Eisner the model for The Great Movie Ride, which was being proposed for EPCOT. Eisner said that he tried to get Paramount be build a movie park while he was working over there, and that this ride would be a great centerpeice for a movie park at WDW. The Imagineers were delighted to hear this, as they had proposes for a movie theme park as well. Combining The Great Movie Ride and the movie park proposals, Imagineering were just authorized another $400 million.
"Wait, before you leave, let me show you some more models!" the Imagineering cheif must have told Eisner before he left because they got Eisner to approve Wonders of Life, Norway, Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon, and Star Tours.
That one visit must have been the costliest visit any where by a single CEO of any company in history! (Well, I have no idea, but it's up there some where) When Eisner discovered that Imagineers were just full of ideas and concepts and that he had just barely seen all of them, Eisner decided it best not to spend so much time there and to keep his mouth shut.
As I read some where, he actually said "The stockholders are scared [of him going over to Glendale] because we end up with a huge bill because of a few words [of approval] I say [to Imagineering heads]."
Now, Imagine one of us being in his shoes. How could ANY of us say "No" to the creative concepts they dreamed up? I'm sure there would be many we don't like, but with so many great ideas there, we would be like Eisner on his first day there, with one exception: We won't be able to know when to stop approving things! And, unlike Eisner, and very much like Walt Disney himself, I'm sure we would make Glendale one of our favorite places to routinely visit in the company. (Eisner decided if he were to make routine visits there, he would bancrupt the company)
Fortunately for Walt Disney, he had his brother Roy to keep him in check and stop him from going crazy and approving everything Imagineering dreams up. If it wasn't for his brother Roy, Walt would have bancrupted the company simply by not having the discipline not to say "yes" to everything he likes.
I don't believe any of us would have such a disciple and we most certainly would drive the company towards bancrupcy. Just look at all the projects that never got built that we know about, such as Westerm River Expedition and even Time Racers. I haven't heard anyone here say they wouldn't build it. And that's just for the projects we know about! Multiply that by hundreds and that's the reality of the number of proposals waiting for approval. Just approving a handful of them would make the stock go tumbling down.
Even Don Tantum, CEO of Disney during the late 70's and early 80's had this problem. EPCOT was supposed to get built for $400 million, but ended up costing over $1.2 billion because Imagineering kept presenting him with great ideas for things to add to it. Tantum wanted EPCOT to be a success, and he was the first CEO outside the Disney family to build a theme park for the company. With such high expectations set because Walt Disney set the standards so high with the Magic Kingdom, Tantum took no chances on sacrificing anything that would make his EPCOT better. So, he approved most of what Imagineering recommended, adding much to EPCOT's final cost.
EPCOT's cost overrun almost bancrupted the company. When Tantum stepped down, Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller took over. Instead of controlling costs, he approved Horizons, The Living Seas, Morrocco, and the new Fantasyland at DL. With the company almost bancrupt, the Board of Directors fired Miller within a year, setting the stage for Eisner and company to move in. By the way, right before he was fired, he approved three more World Showcase countries and a Tron Arcade, but were never built.
So, you see why it would be dangerous if any of us were to become CEO? Maybe we'd spend all of the company's money's, but, you know what, we'd have fun doing so and Disney parks world-wide would have some pretty incredible rides in the process!!!!!
Knowing this, if any of us (by some incredible luck) were to become Disney's next CEO, we would have the authority to choose which of these ride concepts get funding. I bet you, if any of us get so lucky, the first thing we would do is go to Glendale, CA, and visit the Imagineer's model shop, where every ride that they ever dreamed of, built, or unbuilt, lay waiting for approval by any future CEO that may visit.
When Eisner was made CEO, and when he toured the model shop for his first time, he went with his son Breck, who saw the model of Splash Mountain. "Hey, dad, look at this! This is what Disneyland needs... a water ride!" And his father agreed and asked why it wasn't built. The answer was that previous management never okayed it. So Eisner said, "I'm, okaying it, so build it!" And it was built.
Delighted that Eisner just approved almost $100 million for a new ride, the head of Imagineering said, "While you're here, let me show you some other models..." They showed Eisner the model for The Great Movie Ride, which was being proposed for EPCOT. Eisner said that he tried to get Paramount be build a movie park while he was working over there, and that this ride would be a great centerpeice for a movie park at WDW. The Imagineers were delighted to hear this, as they had proposes for a movie theme park as well. Combining The Great Movie Ride and the movie park proposals, Imagineering were just authorized another $400 million.
"Wait, before you leave, let me show you some more models!" the Imagineering cheif must have told Eisner before he left because they got Eisner to approve Wonders of Life, Norway, Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon, and Star Tours.
That one visit must have been the costliest visit any where by a single CEO of any company in history! (Well, I have no idea, but it's up there some where) When Eisner discovered that Imagineers were just full of ideas and concepts and that he had just barely seen all of them, Eisner decided it best not to spend so much time there and to keep his mouth shut.
As I read some where, he actually said "The stockholders are scared [of him going over to Glendale] because we end up with a huge bill because of a few words [of approval] I say [to Imagineering heads]."
Now, Imagine one of us being in his shoes. How could ANY of us say "No" to the creative concepts they dreamed up? I'm sure there would be many we don't like, but with so many great ideas there, we would be like Eisner on his first day there, with one exception: We won't be able to know when to stop approving things! And, unlike Eisner, and very much like Walt Disney himself, I'm sure we would make Glendale one of our favorite places to routinely visit in the company. (Eisner decided if he were to make routine visits there, he would bancrupt the company)
Fortunately for Walt Disney, he had his brother Roy to keep him in check and stop him from going crazy and approving everything Imagineering dreams up. If it wasn't for his brother Roy, Walt would have bancrupted the company simply by not having the discipline not to say "yes" to everything he likes.
I don't believe any of us would have such a disciple and we most certainly would drive the company towards bancrupcy. Just look at all the projects that never got built that we know about, such as Westerm River Expedition and even Time Racers. I haven't heard anyone here say they wouldn't build it. And that's just for the projects we know about! Multiply that by hundreds and that's the reality of the number of proposals waiting for approval. Just approving a handful of them would make the stock go tumbling down.
Even Don Tantum, CEO of Disney during the late 70's and early 80's had this problem. EPCOT was supposed to get built for $400 million, but ended up costing over $1.2 billion because Imagineering kept presenting him with great ideas for things to add to it. Tantum wanted EPCOT to be a success, and he was the first CEO outside the Disney family to build a theme park for the company. With such high expectations set because Walt Disney set the standards so high with the Magic Kingdom, Tantum took no chances on sacrificing anything that would make his EPCOT better. So, he approved most of what Imagineering recommended, adding much to EPCOT's final cost.
EPCOT's cost overrun almost bancrupted the company. When Tantum stepped down, Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller took over. Instead of controlling costs, he approved Horizons, The Living Seas, Morrocco, and the new Fantasyland at DL. With the company almost bancrupt, the Board of Directors fired Miller within a year, setting the stage for Eisner and company to move in. By the way, right before he was fired, he approved three more World Showcase countries and a Tron Arcade, but were never built.
So, you see why it would be dangerous if any of us were to become CEO? Maybe we'd spend all of the company's money's, but, you know what, we'd have fun doing so and Disney parks world-wide would have some pretty incredible rides in the process!!!!!
