You have to love this guy! (Roy Disney)

If Eisner leaves, I nominate no-nonsense Gordon Bethune (of Continental Airlines fame) to take over. He'll be available come next January, and he knows a thing or two about making a company prosper during hard times.

I had the opportunity to work for the mouse during the Disney Decade. Things were pretty good back then. New attractions like Splash were coming on line, the animated movies were can't-miss-hits, heck...it seemed like everything they touced turned to gold.

The strength of Disney post 9/11 was that part of their business was always thriving. If the parks weren't doing well there was a movie that was a big hit. If a lesser live action movie came out there was still the booming merchandising at the Disney Stores and Catalogue.

9/11 was a blow to Disney more so than any other amusement park operator. The numbers of International Tourists fell dramatically at the American parks. Unfortunately, the movies weren't doing well post 2000 either so the box office wasn't a big help. Merchandising didn't do very well and I attribute that to a loss of focus at the Disney Stores. Finally, ABC was a distant third network and they were relying on one show, Millionaire, to keep them afloat.

I certainly think you must point to Eisner and say his leadership through this crisis hasn't really kept the ship upright. I don't think it is all doom and gloom but there are some legitimate concerns.

I don't really get into the whole Disney thing like many fans, but for some reason I find the whole situation to be interesting.

Oddly, I can see both sides point of view on this. I do believe the Disney quality (or 'magic') has been lacking for the past several years, but I also wonder if those days are lost forever.

It's a different world now than when Walt created this whole thing. There's more to running a successful business than numbers and there's more to running a sucessful park than throwing up all these "wow" attractions without thinking of the bottom line.

I do see where both sides are coming from, however I lean a little more towards where Roy is coming from. I think you can put the 'magic' back in Disney and still keep the shareholders happy. I don't think Eisner has killed Disney, but he's certainly willing to trade the guests experience for a few dollars in the end.

I guess it's all about where you're willing to draw the proverbial line in the sand. Mine would be between Roy's and Michael's.

I hear you. I'm willing to concede that Disney is not at the top of its game, far from it, but the gloom and doom of Disney rats and Roy seems to be overstating things.

That said, the next two or three years will be very telling. Eisner's position is not one I envy, because the institution for which is he is the primary caretaker is tied to a lot of intense emotion. He's very nearly Jesus if he gets it right, but scum of the Earth if he doesn't.

"Disney Rats" are all doom and gloom, regardless of what happens. If things are bad, they'll talk about it, and if things are good, they'll talk about how they'll soon be bad once again. If there was ever a group of people that was impossible to please...

As far as Disney never being able to return to its former glory, I disagree. Before Eisner took over, Disney was far from being at the top of its game. The next decade, under Eisner and Wells, proved that Disney still had what it took to be a player in the entertainment industry. I believe that they still posess the resources to assume that position once again, but the person in charge of those resources isn't allocating them effectively.

Here is a copy of the SEC filing from Roy Disney:

http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/secdoc.xhtml?ipage=2574309&doc=0&attach=on

It outlines the reasons that Roy Disney sees for removing certain officers from the board.

From the link that jpb posted:

Disney's "succession plan" consists of a sealed enevelope to be opened in the event of Mr. Eisner's death.

Why is that funny to me?

I'm sure someone can answer this... Is Roy's beef something that has been brewing for ages? I ask because if it is, it didn't make many headlines until the board booted him.

I dunno... Roy seemed to be pretty happy until it became known that his age would prevent him from remaining on the Board. The man was pretty silent until he got knocked out of the picture... same with the guy (Stan Gold is it?) that he partnered with for this whole "Save Disney" campaign.