Okay dumb question, but who is at the top of Disney now?

[Kamikaze]

Bob Iger? Can't say I have heard of him. I thought one of the Disney grandchildren would be involved at the top somewhere. How did Iger get to the top?

How did Iger get to the top?

Well, a bunch of loonies (such as the ones you see on this message board) were convinced that Michael Eisner was running the company into the ground.

They staged a long campaign against him, which caused him to step down after a no-confidence vote at an annual shareholder meeting.

Iger was viewed as not being one of Eisner's favorite people near the top of the company. (As evidenced, like someone said, by his demotion before he was elected.)

I can't say Iger has done a bad job, but that is because he has positioned people that know what they are doing in the right positions, and that shows when you can see the strength of some of the divisions. You can easily see where the wrong people are.

As far as Horizons still being at 'EPCOT Center' if Walt was still kicking. Not a chance. EPCOT Center would never have existed. Walt would have built E.P.C.O.T. - you know, the CITY. That was his project, his baby. The theme park would never have come to light. And, as I've said before, TWDC would probably have gone bankrupt trying to build E.P.C.O.T. to what Walt wanted.

As an aside, there really hasn't been a Disney family member in a real power position since Eisner replaced Ron Miller in 1984. Roy's position was really a title only type of deal.

 

[SeanC]

The Walt Disney Company is a publicaly traded corporation ultimately "run" by the stockholders through a board of elected directors. The board hires officers to manage the corporation. The current "hired gun" is Iger, prior to that was Eisner, and before that Walt's son in law Ron Miller, Card Walker, Donn Tatum, and Walt's brother Roy. Until Walt's death there was no official CEO and while the company was public it stands to reason Walt and Roy maintaining enough shares to have a controlling interest, though I do not know this to be true.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I think they need a mind like Disney's running the parks. Someone who is a complete genius with a creative background. I know no one can replace Walt Disney but they need someone with the same mentality to bring the parks back up to top notch. They are still great and Magic Kingdom hasn't really gone to far but I see things that could be worked on.

 

[Kamikaze]

I think they need a mind like Disney's running the parks. Someone who is a complete genius with a creative background. I know no one can replace Walt Disney but they need someone with the same mentality to bring the parks back up to top notch. They are still great and Magic Kingdom hasn't really gone to far but I see things that could be worked on.

That was Frank Wells under Eisner's tenure.
It is true that the Company works best under those circumstances: One creative mind, and one keeping an eye on the books.

Walt and Roy.
Eisner and Wells.

There will always be a responsibility to the stockholders of the Company.

John Lasseter could be the next to take on that role. The way he talks, his passion, is very Walt-like.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Lasseter could be that guy.

 

[disneysroyal411]

We all are in trouble then. No one will EVER be happy. :zipit:

Disney would be bankrupt, the parks would be shut down and so on...:lookaroun

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I just want to see an epcot with the 2 double decker buss transportation, entertainment every corner, future corps and the rides at their best past their original glory. I see lacking in other parks but not as bad. But then The extra might bust be extra detail that was just not necessary.

 

[worldfanatic]

Walt would have never called it MGM studios...

Agreed. MGM Studios was a pathetic name for a Disney park.
Hollywood Studios is just fine.

 

[Tom]

No. It's Walt. His brain is frozen and locked in a room below PotC and he controls the entire company through wires and a super computer.

That is absolutely ABSURD! Not even CLOSE to true.




The PotC building is just barely above the ground water table. There's no way a super computer could operate in those conditions.....

 

[BrerFrog]

That is absolutely ABSURD! Not even CLOSE to true.

The PotC building is just barely above the ground water table. There's no way a super computer could operate in those conditions.....

I am just reporting what I saw. True story. :lol:

 

[Computer Magic]

Obviously it isn't Walt. It isn't Roy anymore either. It isn't Roy Jr. and it isn't Michael Eisner who my dad thought it still was. Who is the person that makes the final decisions nowadays on the movies and parks etc? Or is it more of a committee?

Disney is Disney only by name at this point. The closet Disney to play a role was Roy Jr. He passed away not that long ago. I'm not sure which Disney even holds the most stock. Most stock is held by an INSTITUTIONAL and fund groups. As for single stock holders Steve Jobs holds the most stock and that is only about 7%. I think Eisner is next in the most own stock. So as you can see Disney is Disney by name only. If you want to see a place that is Disney, visit the new walt disney museum in CA. There you will learn about the man Disney and not the company Disney.

 

[Phonedave]

So is Iger good or is he just another Isner? I have to say Disney hanst seemed to get ay better with him but thats just my perspective. I notice most negative effects in Epcot.

He is neither good nor bad, he is just different. He and Eisner did not see eye to eye on a lot of things, but then there is not always just one right way of doing something.

As someone else mentioned, when the shareholders (and Roy) were on their anti-Eisner kick, Iger was the perfect go-to guy. He was second in command of the company, and he was also anti-Eisner

One thing to remember is that the Walt Disney Company is more (much more) than the parks. TWDC has their hands in more pies than you can imagine.

A host of movie studios, television companies (ABC), cable channels (and not just Disney channel, they have Lifetime, A&E, History Channel, Military Channel, and more), The whole ESPN deal, they have overseas television interests, they have all their online crap, they own a stake in Hulu, there are their retail stores, baby Einstein, they have an English as a Second Language program, they are all over the place.

The point is, Iger may think about the parks once a week - maybe. He is more concerned with shareholder relations, overall finances, and ORR readouts from his department heads. He may decide that the parks are in dire need of help, but he will not be the one to fix them. It will be whoever he puts in charge of the parks, give their marching orders to, and most importantly, gives financial backing to.

Jay Rasulo was head of all Parks, until this year when Staggs was given that mantel. Staggs is the person you want to watch and blame/praise

-dave

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

That is absolutely ABSURD! Not even CLOSE to true.




The PotC building is just barely above the ground water table. There's no way a super computer could operate in those conditions.....

It's not the POTC in the MK. It's the POTC in DL. That attraction was Walt's baby. POTC wasn't even in the original plans for MK.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Obviously it isn't Walt. It isn't Roy anymore either. It isn't Roy Jr. and it isn't Michael Eisner who my dad thought it still was. Who is the person that makes the final decisions nowadays on the movies and parks etc? Or is it more of a committee?

None of these people really ever made all of the decisions in the way that you are implying. Even Walt learned early on that he could not be trusted in making financial decisions. As the company grew, and his attention turned elsewhere, even Walt became less and less involved in the day to day activities. The Walt Disney Company is a massive corporation that requires many people. Decisions that go to the top are big decisions. The various divisions of the company are given their own budgets who each have heads that and sub-dvisions that are pretty free to use that money as they see fit.

 

[Did Knee]

If you really want to know the details on Isner, Iger, Roy Jr and how things got the way they are I recommend the book Disneywar by James Stewart. A great read. I sense that there may be some bias in this book, but nevertheless it is a fascinating look at the events at the top of the company since Walt passed away.

That being said, can someone in the know point to or put together a current Organizational chart for the company? I bet posting one would be a great way to start a new lasting thread!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

It's not the POTC in the MK. It's the POTC in DL. That attraction was Walt's baby. POTC wasn't even in the original plans for MK.

That's correct. People assume Pirates was an original at MK. It was not. It came in 1973 along with Haunted Mansion. For whatever reason when MK was built in 1971 those two rides were not added in MK despite the ongoing popularity at DL. Eventually, they relented of course

 

[Mansionfan]

That's correct. People assume Pirates was an original at MK. It was not. It came in 1973 along with Haunted Mansion. For whatever reason when MK was built in 1971 those two rides were not added in MK despite the ongoing popularity at DL. Eventually, they relented of course

Well, that's true about Pirates. Haunted Mansion opened with MK in 1971 - it was actually one of the first attractions built and ready to go as the park was under construction...

 

[BrerFrog]

That's correct. People assume Pirates was an original at MK. It was not. It came in 1973 along with Haunted Mansion. For whatever reason when MK was built in 1971 those two rides were not added in MK despite the ongoing popularity at DL. Eventually, they relented of course

I may be wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that PotC was not initially planned to be on MK because the people who planned the park thought Florida was way too close to the Caribbean and so guests over there wouldn't be interested on the ride.

However, the flood of complaints Guest Services had to hear from fans that went to the MK hoping to experience a version of the famous DL ride only to discover that it was not there led the company to build the WDW version of the ride in record time.

As I said, though, I could be mistaken since my memory is not that good.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

He is neither good nor bad, he is just different. He and Eisner did not see eye to eye on a lot of things, but then there is not always just one right way of doing something.

As someone else mentioned, when the shareholders (and Roy) were on their anti-Eisner kick, Iger was the perfect go-to guy. He was second in command of the company, and he was also anti-Eisner

One thing to remember is that the Walt Disney Company is more (much more) than the parks. TWDC has their hands in more pies than you can imagine.

A host of movie studios, television companies (ABC), cable channels (and not just Disney channel, they have Lifetime, A&E, History Channel, Military Channel, and more), The whole ESPN deal, they have overseas television interests, they have all their online crap, they own a stake in Hulu, there are their retail stores, baby Einstein, they have an English as a Second Language program, they are all over the place.

The point is, Iger may think about the parks once a week - maybe. He is more concerned with shareholder relations, overall finances, and ORR readouts from his department heads. He may decide that the parks are in dire need of help, but he will not be the one to fix them. It will be whoever he puts in charge of the parks, give their marching orders to, and most importantly, gives financial backing to.

Jay Rasulo was head of all Parks, until this year when Staggs was given that mantel. Staggs is the person you want to watch and blame/praise

-dave

Who is in charge of the parks? I know all the shareholders are a big priority but why not have a head show and park decision maker just for the parks. No busyness decisions, go by the budget given by Iger.

 

[unkadug]

That's correct. People assume Pirates was an original at MK. It was not. It came in 1973 along with Haunted Mansion. For whatever reason when MK was built in 1971 those two rides were not added in MK despite the ongoing popularity at DL. Eventually, they relented of course

I know for a fact that the Haunted Mansion was indeed open and operating in March of 1972.