You have to love this guy! (Roy Disney)

"Disney merchandise once was known for its quality, its fantasy, its originality... today it is a shell of its former self, and the Disney Stores are being phased out. The cost of a visit to a Disney Park was once within reach of nearly everyone ... today it's for the well-to-do only. The parks were once bright and shiny refuges from the world around us ... today they suffer from cutback after cutback, while continuing to raise their prices. And how about something new for a change? How many Towers of can they build?" —Roy E. Disney

All I can say is that I love this guy! O BTW if you sign up on their site www.savedisney.com you get a free Save Disney Bumper Sticker! I must say this, Roy Disney is an Awesome guy! Someone I would love to meet!

*** Edited 2/2/2004 2:15:41 PM UTC by Wildfire01***

The bigger they are and the quicker the rise, the harder and faster they fall. Disney's gonna run into problems for the next few years, you can't have that much success without a little un-success. Ying and Yang and all that stuff ...

I do support the guy that Eisner should leave if nothing more than just to get some new ideas, but I don't think there should be this world crisis that Disney isn't tops anymore. You can't rule forever ... just ask the Romans ;)

Disney is also a business, and its theme park business has faced in recent years its only real challenge that I can think of ever. It took 9/11 to change tourist habits in such a way that park attendance would take a hit. ABC suffered because of soft advertising (normal for any recession).

I think that Mission Space, the rehab of Spaceship Earth and the forthcoming Everest demonstrate that they're working to get things back on track. I don't agree with eliminating a large portion of the animation division, but I think the Eisner haters are not seeing the bigger picture.

Wasn't Roy E. Disney on the board of the company that put the Disney theme park experience out of the reach of all but the "well-to-do"? He's only complaining now that he is too old to still be on that board.

Like I've said in the past- I support Disney and his quest to oust Eisner. IMO, Eisner lost sight of what he was doing. Where, for many years, he improved the company, it now seems that the he has become the thing that he fought so hard against during his first decade or so. Every decision that he makes is in the interest of the company's bottom line and not in the interest of the creativity that is the one and only thing that makes Disney successful. When the economy took a dive and the return on investment slowed down, he panicked and made cuts- something which looked good on paper but is going to have nasty long-term consequences.

I think Roy Disney is right, although I don't agree with everything he says. Too many Towers? That's like saying too many Magic Kingdoms. His intentions are good but I think he comes across as a bit of a hypocrit.

Eisner is past his *use by* date, IMO. He might indeed still be viable to the company, albeit in a different position. Now, I don't think Disney is going to hell in a handbasket, and I doubt it ever will.The company is far from being on life-support, but Eisner needs a blood transfusion, stat!

You're blaming a CEO for being worried about the bottom line?

If that bottom line slips too far, he'd lose is job anyway. Sounds to me like he's damned no matter what he does.

I'm not blaming a CEO for being worried about the bottom line. I'm blaming a CEO for compromising his company's creativity- its reason for success- in the name of the bottom line. It seems to me that his budget cuts were knee-jerk reactions to a declining economy... call it over-compensation for forces beyond his control. I think that many feel he slashed budgets for important things a little too much, and the company is suffering (and will continue to suffer) because of that.

No one is blaming Eisner for being making "CEO decisions". He is being blamed for BAD "CEO decisions".

I'm not worried about the company going under but I am worried about the quality of their animated features. When you cut funding on animation in Disney its like cutting the blood off to the heart of the company! Fact is things are going down hill and if they want to admit it or not is up to them. All decisions have an outcome and most of their recent decisions spell disaster for the movie aspect of the company!

Its true the themeparks seem to be getting better but the themeparks are just a small part of a huge company and I'm sure it wont be long and he will be cutting costs at the parks again! And then everyone will be ready for Eisner to leave!

Eisner definitely has had a pretty good run...to ME, he's just lost the "forward-thinking perspective" that for so many years had kept Disney ahead of the pack.

Trust me, I know how much ALL of FL's tourism has suffered in the post-9/11 downturn...but Disney seems to have suffered more than others. My *belief* as an ex-SP-holder for Disney is that the "attention to detail", and making EACH guest feel special....has gone significantly downhill. The maintenance issues (the boat incident, BTMRR) seem to be part of a larger trend where corners ARE being cut....and I don't think that was EVER "the Disney way" before....

Is it due to being spread too thin? Heck if I know...I do know however, that it's been quite a while since I've held a Disney season pass...and I'd like to think that a day will come (sooner rather than later, hopefully) where I'll want to have one again...

I'll agree that the theme parks are seeing some nice additions, but I wonder if that was planned or merely coincidence? Is it a sign of things to come (improvements all around the company) or just a short-term thing to bring about a bump in attendance?

There is nothing wrong with a CEO worrying about and reacting to a bottom line. The problem is that with "modern business philosophy" the thought of putting money INTO something that is failing is not ever considered. The whole "cutback to the bone" on budget will only serve to prolong or worsen something that needs help. When you get a cut on your finger you put on a band-aid, you don't attempt to stop bloodflow to your hand.

I'll admit that this philosophy of more money in will not work in most businesses, but it DID work for Disney when Walt was in charge. He always attempted to IMPROVE the quality of what Disney was putting out, and while this may have caused short-term losses, they always turned into long-term profit. Walt was able to elevate Disney and all it produces to a higher level, and due to massive public approval, was able to make it all work.

Eisner may have taken chances like Walt did in the past, but not anymore. He is hopelessly locked into the bell-curve idealology of when sales decrease, reduse costs accordingly. In a downwardly spiraling business this will eventually kill the business from the inside out.

Pretty easy to be a risk-taker when the economy is booming and your business is growing at a reliable pace....the INNOVATOR (read: Walt) will grow a business in a sluggish economy, or invest when everyone else is cutting back.

WISE investment is key...."throwing money at a problem" only results in more well-funded problems...;) (Can I TM that?) :)

I wish I had a drinking problem that was well-funded. ;)

Anyway, time for Mikey to retire to the mouse island. ;)

Wait a minute!!? Do you think they won't replace him until they find another CEO with a Disney Character name? Perhaps they should hire Daisy Fuentes as his replacement!

(or Donald Trump) ;)
*** Edited 2/3/2004 3:36:51 PM UTC by janfrederick***

Throwing money at problems... is building a new park in Paris an example of that? ;) Or giving Eisner a raise?

Love this guy? I can't see any reason to other than feel sorry for him.

Disney merchandise doesn't stink of quality anymore as it all looks and feels the same as it did 15 years ago. My question is, aren't you a little tired of having a stuffed Mickey in your home now? I love visiting the parks, but I honestly don't have much use for useless merchandise.

Secondly, prices for the parks have gone up, and so has your salary. Inflation? Yes. It's everywhere. McDonald's burgers used to be $0.35 when I was young. Now I have seen them listed for $1.20. As far as I remember, Disney has ALWAYS been expensive.

Another thing, I went to the Savedisney.com website and sent an email with thoughts to Roy Disney via the contact link and had it returned to me stating that it was considered spam. Roy seems to be operating on the same wavelength as our "great" president. "You all have a choice, as long as it is on Roy's terms!"

So many here seem to think they know how to run a big business. If Roy knows so much then why did he retire? And why is he so gungho on taking Mike with him? Is his smug attitude because he fears he got out too early and still wants to play ball with the big boys? Or is he just suffering from fear of abandonment?

Roy, there is a wonderful geriatric community in Laguna Hills and I am sure you will make friends in your stretching class. Please REALLY retire and let the beasts decide their own fate and leave your name behind. Disney can survive without you.

soulrat7: The merchandis has always been a little pricey, but there is a huge market for it. Just because YOU seem to have tired of it doesn't mean that others have as well. I guess you don't have kids.

If you don't agree with Roy's statements at savedisney, then he isn't looking for your support. If you agree with him, then he is. Pretty simple there. He's not going to answer every anti-Roy message. (assuming that was the content of your message) I sure as hell wouldn't answer every hate message if I were in his shoes.

I never pretended to claim I know how to run a business the size of Disney, but it's obvious to me that others have had different philosophies than Eisner currently has. What worked in the past should work in the present and future. And the reason Roy left was volintary, because he was sick of seeing the way Disney was being run under Eisner's rule. He ABSOLUTELY wants to continue to run with the big boys, and is looking for finantial support to do so.

If I ever had a company bearing MY name being run into the ground, I would do everything in my power to get it back on track, no matter how old I was. Roy ain't ready for Leisure World just yet.

Whether or not he should support Disney isn't the issue, it's whether or not he's worth supporting that is the focus of the discussion. I can't blame Roy for taking the position he does, but I can't even for a minute pretend to know how much of it is ego-fueled. The only thing we've got to go on is our own opinions about the product and the financials.

I for one have never been able to totally buy into the doom and gloom of the Disney nuts.

Amen, Jeff!

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I guess you don't have kids.

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The cool thing about having kids as your target audience: they keep makin' more of 'em.

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Robocoaster said:
Eisner is past his *use by* date, IMO. He might indeed still be viable to the company, albeit in a different position. Now, I don't think Disney is going to hell in a handbasket, and I doubt it ever will.The company is far from being on life-support, but Eisner needs a blood transfusion, stat!

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There is a concept in management theory referred to as "The Seasons Of A CEO's Tenure", that basically states a CEO wears out his usefullness, and becomes dead wait, after a certain amount of time. Usually, the peak is at seven years, after which performance of the company declines. Conveniently, he had been president of Paramount about seven years when he jumped to Disney. Eisner has been ceo at disney for 20 years now.

Of course, the same text book had a big case study on just how great Enron was.....