Eisner or Iger????????

[Bob Roberts]

Who do you prefer as CEO of the Mouse? Personally I think that Michael Eisner had more of Walt's spirit then Iger. Look at what he did with WDW during the 90's with Frank Wells, amazing really. Unfortunately it became more about the $$$$$$$ into the 2000's for Michael. But at least he believed in the Florida project and did alot with it. Michael at least came across like he had a bit of an imagination. With Iger, he has the typical glorified accountant stiff type CEO mentality. I bet the guy could not name 5 resorts located at the Walt Disney World resort.

Old Bobby Boy.

 

[dwheaton]

It's definitely Eisner for me. He did start the idea of the parks as more expensive places that is continued with all the ticket increases today. He also started the move toward homogenized merchandise. However, he understood the key point of what makes Disney great. He pushed new attractions! The '90s were an amazing time for new attractions at Walt Disney World. Eisner made mistakes and was hardly perfect, but he still seemed interested in expanding the parks and making them exciting. The growth has been far too static in recent years.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I totally agree with the previous posters!.., Iger was looking for nothing more then making the bottom line maxout while he was in command.

There is much more to running a corporation, especially one with the special nature and history like Disney, then just a good bottom line. You have to know how to build a company, but just try and run on the Glory that the people before him achieved.

I am so glad he's leaving soon and Disney is starting to repair the damage he did as demonstrated in the renewed maintenance, new projects starting to come down the pike, etc.

AKK

 

[Spacedog1975]

Change is good. I loved Eisner in the 80s, and even the 90s, but eventually he had overstayed his welcome. If Iger can be credited for saving the Pixar deal alone, his tenure will have been worth it. Of course that has less to do with Iger and more to do with "not Eisner".

It remains, though. Change is good.

 

[Chuck S]

Who do you prefer as CEO of the Mouse? Personally I think that Michael Eisner had more of Walt's spirit then Iger. Look at what he did with WDW during the 90's with Frank Wells, amazing really. Unfortunately it became more about the $$$$$$$ into the 2000's for Michael. But at least he believed in the Florida project and did alot with it. Michael at least came across like he had a bit of an imagination. With Iger, he has the typical glorified accountant stiff type CEO mentality. I bet the guy could not name 5 resorts located at the Walt Disney World resort.

Old Bobby Boy.

I think this is where you hit the nail on the head. Michael Eisner, partnered with Frank Wells, were an unbeatable team...much like Walt Disney and his brother Roy. But in both cases, together they were far greater than just the sum of one plus one. Divided, one was not as effective without the other.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I think this is where you hit the nail on the head. Michael Eisner, partnered with Frank Wells, were an unbeatable team...much like Walt Disney and his brother Roy. But in both cases, together they were far greater than just the sum of one plus one. Divided, one was not as effective without the other.

Well put Chuck! I totally agree.

AKK

 

[OKW Lover]

I liked "early Eisner" but hated what he became later. He (and Frank Wells) did some really good things in the first half (or so) of his tenure. Unfortunately, he lost some acumen when Frank Wells died and Michael couldn't find the right sidekick to pair with. Towards the end of his reign he was more obstructionist than anything. Probably the best illustration of this was his refusal to negotiate with Pixar (Steve Jobs), almost loosing that great franchise entirely. It was only after he left and Iger came in did the Company patch things up with the Pixar folks, which ultimately lead to Disney acquiring Pixar. So for that, Iger gets good marks.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) OMG!
2) I can't believe I am saying this!
3) Rather have Eisner back than continue to live under Ogre (I mean Iger).
4) Yes, Eisner was a "corporate man".
5) But, HE DID CARE ABOUT THE GUESTS!
6) One gets the major impression that Ogre does not care about guests.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

There's no doubt that the team of Eisner/Wells saved Disney, with the help of Walt's nephew Roy. I haven't seen anything substantial from Disney since Iger came on board, with the exception of the DCA expansion, which you can't give Iger credit for.

Across the board, TWDC has been fairly stagnant since Iger took over. The television networks have seen little to no growth. The parks have been flat, with no new park openings since Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005. Carsland at DCA and the FLE are the only major park enhancements domestically.

Disney has lost the creative edge it had for so many decades. Under Iger, the company has opted to acquire companies and studios, rather than lead the way in creativity and innovation. People decried Eisner for being all about the mighty dollar. He was nothing in that department compared to Iger.

Hindsight's 20/20, right? It wasn't that long ago that everybody on these boards wanted Eisner out. Now we are experiencing buyer's remorse. Or has history written a more positive book on Eisner than people expected in the early 2000's? It's kind of like politics. It wasn't that long ago (actually about the same time) when people were up in arms about a certain President. But today, in many people's eyes, the perception of that President has changed. There's an interesting irony in all of this.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . It wasn't that long ago that everybody on these boards wanted Eisner out . . . There's an interesting irony in all of this.

1) Unfortunately, I agree.
2) I admit to being a major Eisner critic.
3) I guess, we
. . . should have stayed with the devil we knew
. . . instead of the devil we didn't know

 

[jimmyzluck]

ok so change is good,when is the next one because as far as I am concerned money is all its about.I saw something last week I had only saw at universal until now,I saw a family seperated on a ride.we were in line at thunder mount. and they had 6 people in there group and were told they had to sit in 2 cars instead of waiting for one.luckily 2 girls in the car swapped out and let them get together so they could ride and get photos.Disney has gone downhill
for years now.I am sure everyone doesnt agree and I have been going every year since 1994 so I am not a hater but I just feel for the money not just new but cutting edge new should come at a regular basis.

 

[snowweisz]

There's no doubt that the team of Eisner/Wells saved Disney, with the help of Walt's nephew Roy. I haven't seen anything substantial from Disney since Iger came on board, with the exception of the DCA expansion, which you can't give Iger credit for.

Across the board, TWDC has been fairly stagnant since Iger took over. The television networks have seen little to no growth. The parks have been flat, with no new park openings since Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005. Carsland at DCA and the FLE are the only major park enhancements domestically.

Disney has lost the creative edge it had for so many decades. Under Iger, the company has opted to acquire companies and studios, rather than lead the way in creativity and innovation. People decried Eisner for being all about the mighty dollar. He was nothing in that department compared to Iger.

To me, this is what it all boils down to.
Although Michael did a lot of stuff, even in the 1980's and the 1990's, that I wasn't very happy about; he was very aware of the fact that the films drove the Disney company. He invested in the creativity, in the creative people and their environment. He brought amazing minds into the company, Jeffrey, Menken/Ashman, Tom Schumacher and Peter Schneider. And a lot of those people that came after he brought Jeffrey in, came precisely because of his excellent decision to appoint Jeffrey.

Iger has relied way too much on the Pixar deal for the creative production. And the Pixar deal simply gave way too much power to people that don't know how to handle it. As a result, we get sequels upon sequels, subpar musical animation, and a movie about talking planes. Not to mention the embarrassment that is Flop Carter and the not so subtle way in which it was attempted to pass it off as a Disney film, as opposed to a Pixar film.

John Lasseter and Ed Catmul are no Roy Disney and Peter Schneider. But Iger gave them precisely the kind of power that Roy and Peter had and they are running Disney and Pixar into the ground with their power trip. It's ridiculous. And, at the end of the day, it is exactly the thing that Michael Eisner was rushed in to stop and change.

That being said, if we don't get any great movement from the creative side as far as filmmaking goes, then it will be really hard for the parks to grow as well. Roy says on Waking Sleeping Beauty that the film business is the heart of this company, and from the film business comes the merchandise and the parks and the expansions.

So of course there is no growth there either. It's a chain reaction, and it won't change unless the board finds it's necessary to sweep in and make a change to fix what's going on before we see The Black Cauldron 2.0 in a couple of years.

 

[Chuck S]

I think what it boils down to is that it really takes two people to run a good amusement park/entertainment company. One with their mind on the finances, the other with a mind set of "how can we "Wow" our guests, and create great story lines. It would be extremely rare to see both of those attributes in one person. And this two person cooperative effort worked well for the Disney brothers and for Eisner and Wells.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Bob Iger comes across as the typical modern CEO with the "what's in it for me?" type of mentality. Michael Eisner at least took pride in the Disney product and valued its name.

Does it ever make you wonder how guys like Iger move up the ranks of big corporate company's so easily? I scratch my head over and over about it, but I think I have figured out. Bob Iger is not a dynamic or outgoing individual. When a big company is looking to promote some one, the middle man are like "hey should we promote that young guy who has drive and honestly cares about the company or should we promote Bob?" "Well Bob at least will not make us look bad so lets promote him" leaving the good ones at the bottom. It sucks, but that's the way it is.

Bobby Boy

 

[Chuck S]

Bob Iger comes across as the typical modern CEO with the "what's in it for me?" type of mentality. Michael Eisner at least took pride in the Disney product and valued its name.

Does it ever make you wonder how guys like Iger move up the ranks of big corporate company's so easily? I scratch my head over and over about it, but I think I have figured out. Bob Iger is not a dynamic or outgoing individual. When a big company is looking to promote some one, the middle man are like "hey should we promote that young guy who has drive and honestly cares about the company or should we promote Bob?" "Well Bob at least will not make us look bad so lets promote him" leaving the good ones at the bottom. It sucks, but that's the way it is.

Bobby Boy

Don't forget the part that Wall Street plays in modern business. Investment groups and fund managers are demanding profitability and ROI above any other attributes.The reason Eisner got the no confidence vote wasn't because he "lost the magic," it was because the stock was performing poorly.

Nevermind the recession, credit and banking problems...Wall Street demands profits, not pixie dust. To heck with the guest experience, as long as the $$$ is rolling in. It simply is the way business works in this century, as much as I think it is the wrong.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Don't forget the part that Wall Street plays in modern business. Investment groups and fund managers are demanding profitability and ROI above any other attributes.The reason Eisner got the no confidence vote wasn't because he "lost the magic," it was because the stock was performing poorly.

Nevermind the recession, credit and banking problems...Wall Street demands profits, not pixie dust. To heck with the guest experience, as long as the $$$ is rolling in. It simply is the way business works in this century, as much as I think it is the wrong.

That's the world we live in today, yes companies are in business to make a profit, most companies no longer care about making a great product or having great customer service, the only thing that matters anymore is the bottom line and how much they can squeeze from their consumer before they start pushing back.

I have mixed feeling about Eisner or Iger, Eisner certainly grew WDW, and honestly I think Iger has set the company up great for the long haul with Pixar, Marvel, and Lucas. As far as theme parks, Iger leaves a lot to be desired.

It's been 15 years since a new park opened its gates in WDW, not that I think Disney should open a park every 10-15 years, but it's time for some big time improvements. I'm hoping for some announcements at D23.

 

[mnra]

So we are not going to get Eisner back and we can;t wait for Iger to go. so who would we like to see replace Iger.

 

[manning]

Splash Mountain

Eisner said they couldn't afford to build it.

frank Wells said they couldn't afford not to build it.

When Wells died that started the slippage of Disney.

 

[Vince3]

Splash Mountain

Eisner said they couldn't afford to build it.

frank Wells said they couldn't afford not to build it.

When Wells died that started the slippage of Disney.

Agreed ! When Wells died, so did Disney. Thats an undisputed fact.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Who do you prefer as CEO of the Mouse? Personally I think that Michael Eisner had more of Walt's spirit then Iger. Look at what he did with WDW during the 90's with Frank Wells, amazing really. Unfortunately it became more about the $$$$$$$ into the 2000's for Michael. But at least he believed in the Florida project and did alot with it. Michael at least came across like he had a bit of an imagination. With Iger, he has the typical glorified accountant stiff type CEO mentality. I bet the guy could not name 5 resorts located at the Walt Disney World resort.

Old Bobby Boy.

~Eisner was better for the parks, for sure. Iger is a media guy, so he is better for the Disney brand.