Usually, I like to let my words do the talking when I post here. But I couldn't help and feel that the following words, from a very well-respected member of the LP.com community, tells it from the POV of someone who has worked for WDW, in both the good old days and more recently ... it nails home plenty of the points that have been discussed on many threads, including this one ... so ...
"Iger is just a product of corporate America. As CEO he has one job and that is to make a profit for the company. Since most of the stockholders for Disney are other corporations there is no one even talking about what the right thing to do is. The people running the company are all business majors who have never worked in the parks. They run the Disney Company as a business and decisions are made in terms of business.
In the 1980's the policy at Disney was promotions happened from within. The feeling was that you needed to have lived in the Disney Company culture to understand what made the company unique and successful. After Eisner came aboard he gradually forced all the Walt and Roy people from their management into "retirement". I will never forget spending a morning with a VP of the WDW Property when Eisner was on property filming something. It was a busy day in the MK and the filming was creating havoc for the guests but when the VP approaced Eisner wrapping up he got a pretty good dressing down. As the VP walked away he looked at me and said "I dont think I will be around for much longer". He was gone within the year. Not too long after that we began to get new managers from outside the company. They had degrees and worked for companies like the Gap and other reatilers. They were very anti Disney culture. When you would try to tell them that Disney doesnt do things a certain way they would often give you a stare then say...this is the way we do things now. One of my last bosses (that I trained) ran an area of a couple of hundred CM's and dozens of attractions. He was clueless even several months into his time at Disney. He would often turn to me and say...What do we do? when something went wrong. Finally one day I said "Your in charge, you tell me" He kind of hemmed and hawd and said "What do you think we should do?" I said "I will do whatever you want me to do". So he made a decision (not a good one) and he got a talking to. He was mad that I didnt "support" him. I told him that he was obviously hired because of his talents and experience and it was his area and that I worked for him. and would support any decision he made. I was transferred 2 weeks later. That is a long round about way of saying that when you decide to chuck the things that made you great in the first place you shouldnt be surprised when quality falls.
A couple of years ago I came to the decision that WDW would never again be the place that I loved and worked for. The people who remember and worked for Walt are long gone and much of the goundations they laid in the 70'a and 80's has been erased by psuedo Waltism. For a while I wouldnt even go on property. It was too depressing. Now I go and enjoy the things I like (including some great new things like Soarin) and remember what a great place it used to be. But the reality is that Disney is a BIG business and is run like one. Which is why the Walt guys built a park like EPCOT and the Eisner guys built DCA."
~This Says It All: Hope Mom Likes it!~
To be honest I think this posts is one of the best posts ive ever read. It sums up disney perfectly, and although my intution told me thats what happened, im glad to hear that im villified and im not THAT out of touch (by not working at disney).
Your right disney WAS about creating a cuture (or a clut) of people that was different, it was magical, it was all alone. With people like eisner and greedy shareholders, disney is changing in a VERY bad way. Walt and his people built disney up to be SOOOO magical, thats why there stil is magic around, even if its few and far between, when in the past you were emerced in it.
110% fact and spot on. We dont live in a pseudo "socialist" society where all jobs are secure and safe. ( some would like that)...
This is life. Life can be tough, get over it.
And that is exactly why my sig line has "life IS great" Cause its ALL up to US to make it that way.
And, Disney, IMHO has ran this company BRILLIANTLY during this recession.
They are STILL making money. That to me is the key, (still making a profit!) My best friend is in WDW as i speak, i talked to him earlier just after the storms. The park is is in great shape and people have smiles on their faces.
After all, thats what its all about.
No one is doubting that life cant be tough, but do you even know what disney was built on, what walt worked day after day doing? Creating a world that was DIFFERENT, a place where people can get lost in and live like they never have lived before.
No one is saying that disney has done a crappy job getting people into it's parks, you would have to be crazy not to see that, but you need to think wider. Disney has been doing this profit > quality for DECADES. Eisner wasnt around during this recession and that was hardly what WDW was talking about.
Disney sold its quality to you, quality no one could capture because no one had a kid for a CEO, except disney when the man was running the show. The fact remains that UNTIL we get a CEO that cares and isnt in the 5:1 dollar bussiness, disney will continue to go down hill.
Now they live by the, 'if it aint broke dont fix it' reasoning, while the man who BUILT the magic lived by the 'what can't we build' reasoning. He turned water into wine and hes turned generations into believers. If you build it they WILL come, if you sit on your hands and keep all the profits you will eventually be swallowed up by your own greed, take a look at banks.
Look at the signature and someone write the check so we can right the ship
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