Half the street shuttered – Now that’s MAGIC!!

[crusader]

Not to digress to McDonald's again but I have to clarify one thing. Their burgers have dropped in price for the same reason Disney is offering discounted vacation packages - decline in sales.

The shrinkage of the burgers and substitution of real ingredients has been gradually passed on for years with no reduction in price.

When Walt was running the place it was for the sheer Entertainment of his guest..and the place made money hand over fist.

That may be true but Walt started the company and had less mouths to feed. He benefits from a time when Made in America meant something and people were passionate about demonstrating virtue above vice. You can say that about most inventors. When they build something with their bare hands they take pride in the craftmanship and offer a flawless product.

Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult to maintain given the variable cost components. You can try the show approach and keep things open even if they're empty to give the appearance of stability but when the costs keep escalating, something has to give.

 

[raidermatt]

I am continually amazed at the lengths to which some will go to excuse sub-standard work...be it their own or someone else's.

 

[crusader]

Well Matt it's safe to assume you're probably directing that at me. You of all people should understand that stating the facts does not mean anything is being excused.

It's easy to say a decrease in quality is bad for business. It's much harder to preserve quality without passing on increases to the consumer. You want to ignore all the variables and apply a macro approach which is fine in theory but not necessarily realistic in practice.

 

[HB2K]

Fifty years ago at DL is a different situation then now at WDW. We can only speculate as to what Walt would have been able to accomplish in todays business world.

Forget back in Walt's day....wasn't Disney a for profit business 10 years ago (back when the parks were packed and these silly cuts were non-existant)?

I know Disney is just a business....the fact is they just aren't a good one right now. I can't think of ONE successful business model which plans on remaining profitable through customer service cutbacks and leaning on a crutch of supposed never ending brand loyalty.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I saw this rumor on Screamscape a while ago. I was hoping it wouldn't prove true. Oh well . I have to agree with Herr Baron that locked doors and shuttered windows are bad Show. Disney has to find another solution besides slashing costs by cutting services. With all the MBA types they hire you would think they could be a bit more creative.

Now for my regularly scheduled (although less frequent) disagreement with Mr. Baron . With respect to Rasulo being a Pressler in sheeps clothing, I'm not ready to agree that the new boss is just the same old, same old. Not yet. Yes, Rasulo may be dictating cuts, just as Pressler did. However, if his cuts result in a quality Expedition Everest whereas Presslers gave us DinoRama - that would be an improvement I think.

 

[crusader]

I can't think of ONE successful business model which plans on remaining profitable through customer service cutbacks and leaning on a crutch of supposed never ending brand loyalty.

Have you purchased anything from Nike?

Maybe the difference is Disney doesn't have a big enough celebrity endorsement PR war chest to assist in selling their products.

All things aside - I get the point.

What I want to know is this:

How many have really stopped patronizing Disney because of all of this adversity?

Why aren't the recent management decisions being given any consideration?

Why are we automatically presuming this has nothing to do with training in anticipation of the increased attendance?

 

[DisneyKidds]

How many have really stopped patronizing Disney because of all of this adversity?

Now for the obligatory detour into the attendance arena .

Why aren't the recent management decisions being given any consideration?

Well, said actions do not yet represent a trend .

....................at least these are the answers that most of our 3/4 friends will give you, although I'm not buying everything they are selling.

 

[HB2K]

How many have really stopped patronizing Disney because of all of this adversity?

I'll raise my hand.

I haven't seen a Disney produced movie all year (Nemo was a Pixar movie Disney happened to distribute....so I like to think I was patronizing Pixar and just tried to ignore the Disney attachment).

I will NOT go to the Disney parks until I see a marked turn around....and closed shops at 6PM isn't that turn around.

Imagine walking around the park and the place is locked up other than the rides....

So all in all I'm voting with my dollars. I refuse to pay premium prices for a second rate vacation.

And yes, the statistics show others are as well.

Why aren't the recent management decisions being given any consideration?

Because talk is cheap....and because as they announce one thing, they hack another.

Why are we automatically presuming this has nothing to do with training in anticipation of the increased attendance?

Because there have been press releases with Ei$ner et al preening like a peacock about the cutbacks in labor in the parks.

It's not a training issue....and even if it was, it's the middle of summer....the training should have been done LONG ago.

 

[raidermatt]

You want to ignore all the variables and apply a macro approach which is fine in theory but not necessarily realistic in practice.

There is nothing unrealistic about it at all. It simply requires a belief, desire, and talent. It is much easier, however, to blend in and follow the crowd. That's fine if your goals are simply to produce the same results as any other schmo. Its just that those types of results don't result in your company having legions of fans and Internet communities based on your company.

How many have really stopped patronizing Disney because of all of this adversity?

A never-ending debate around here...

Why aren't the recent management decisions being given any consideration?

One of those decisions is exactly what this thread is about...

Why are we automatically presuming this has nothing to do with training in anticipation of the increased attendance?

Are you suggesting they might be closing the stores so CMs can be trained? Or did you mean something else?

Even if higher attendance is coming, its going to be higher relative to the same period a year ago, not relative to now. A strong Sept/Oct is still not going to be as busy as June/July.

 

[crusader]

It simply requires a belief, desire, and talent

They still have to cover the cost increases without charging the customer. This is a big problem and will take alot of talent to disguise behind the curtain.

Because talk is cheap....and because as they announce one thing, they hack another.

Talk is worth nothing if you can't rely on someone's word. Unfortunately this company has damaged its' credibility and it will take much more than a few new attractions to restore consumer confidence and get people back. But the recent decisions are favorable and will make quite a difference which is deserving of some consideration.

The reason for the question is that I don't see as many leaving based on these changes as you imply. I think people are upset about the loss of amenities and are heavily voicing their complaints on a discussion forum but really have no intention of going elsewhere. Deep down they love this place despite its' flaws and can't bring themselves to abandon something which has become almost routine in their lives. They will complain as easily as they will praise because it is such a personal experience.

Are you suggesting they might be closing the stores so CMs can be trained? Or did you mean something else?

I think there is a reason beyond cutbacks and see a substantial shift in mgt's philosophy regarding the parks. This means everyone needs to be handed a refresher course on how to proceed with the new guests coming in to insure they retain this group for future bookings and send everyone home on a positive note. If they have shops empty that's another problem which will have to be incorporated as well. Why waste someone's time at an empty post if you can better utilize these hours by preparing them for what's about to happen.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Mr. Crusader. A few points. First…

You said, in apparent response to my post, and what seemed to spark quite a debate:

Give the people everything they want?

May I ask where you got that from? It certainly wasn’t me. And it most certainly wasn’t Walt. What he said and I printed was: “Give the people everything you can give them”. You may consider it a minor variance of a few words, but it is truly vastly different in both intent and meaning. It is a difference so vast and so basic to Walt’s philosophy that it could very well be the most salient. The difference that quite possibly put Disney miles ahead of the competition.

I will grant you that Walt had a knack for knowing what people wanted before they knew they wanted it. But it’s still not the issue. It boils down to “everything you can give them”. And that means before the debt is paid on GO.COM, the bills are due on idiotic cable channels, the ratings (and accrued debt) from ABC, and all those other boneheaded moves that our (anti)hero can be credited for.

How can you possibly “Give the people everything you can give them”, when the cash is demanded elsewhere?

Since the closing of stores has no bearing on me I could give a rat's @$$.But since the closing of stores may impact someone else, by all means, give them what they want no matter the reason? We should all be entitled to have it all - oh and by the way, did I forget to mention that our overhead has tripled due to insurance, litigation and benefits? So you won't mind paying three times as much for your vacation to help us maintain all services at your full satisfaction.

Afterall - a disney vacation IS a premium vacation and only the elite should be priviledged enough to patronize this fine organization given its' vast array of extravagant indulgences.

I assume since we cleared up the misquoting that happened and can now appreciate the difference between the two statements, this passage now becomes irrelevant. Right?

But you did say something that struck a chord with me. You paragraph’s opening sentence. “Since the closing of stores has no bearing on me I could give a rat's @$$.”

It has bearing on us all, if we want to see Disney maintain the standards that set them apart from the rest. High standards indeed. But very, very necessary if they are to remain Disney and NOT sink to the levels of their competition. Surely you can see that! Can’t you?

Personally, I NEVER shop. I NEVER even go into those stores. My wife and three daughters more than make up for my share!!!! But I can take myself outside of my personal experience and try to grasp the ‘big picture’ (I really try to do this whenever I post). Like Walt did when he ordered that little stand opened in Adventureland. I think it’s safe to say he had no personal stake in it. I don't think he wanted to buy anything at that moment. Heck, he even stood to gain some income if it remained closed. But instead he saw the ‘big picture’ and instantly understood the value of leaving it opened even though it was losing money. He ‘Got It’. Current management does not. And judging by your statement you might not either.

But the recent decisions are favorable and will make quite a difference which is deserving of some consideration.

Such as?

The reason for the question is that I don't see as many leaving based on these changes as you imply.

How ridiculous!!! So we see how low we can go before they start jumping ship!?!?! Tell me where THAT fits into the Disney philosophy!!!

I think people are upset about the loss of amenities and are heavily voicing their complaints on a discussion forum but really have no intention of going elsewhere.

Others may voice complaints about ‘amenities’. I do not. I voice complaints about lowered standards and eroded (if not completely ousted) philosophical ideals. The things that drew me to Disney in the first place. Again. Vastly different things.

Mr. King:

Fifty years ago at DL is a different situation then now at WDW.

I asked bicker a couple years ago and he was hard pressed for an answer. I will ask you the same thing. What are these differences? Please be specific. Thanks.

 

[raidermatt]

They still have to cover the cost increases without charging the customer. This is a big problem and will take alot of talent to disguise behind the curtain.

Of course it takes talent. In fact, I already said it takes talent. But it first takes a belief and a desire, which are not present in the upper echelons of Disney management.

So they instead have chosen the easy way out, which is to focus on budget items first and foremost, instead of the integrity of the product. Consequently, they have lowered costs, and are finding they now have to lower prices through discounting.

Again, saying something requires a lot of talent is no reason to excuse sub-standard performance.

This means everyone needs to be handed a refresher course on how to proceed with the new guests coming in to insure they retain this group for future bookings and send everyone home on a positive note. If they have shops empty that's another problem which will have to be incorporated as well. Why waste someone's time at an empty post if you can better utilize these hours by preparing them for what's about to happen.

That's quite a theory. Problem is we haven't heard anything about CMs being "re-trained". Further, even if attendance is expected to rise dramatically, Sept/Oct is not going to be busier than June/July. It might be better than the same period last year, but June/July is the busiest extended period of the year, period.

Even further yet, part of any real change must include the realization that shuttered restaurants, shops, and/or attractions is BAD SHOW.

Nope, rest assured the main point in shuttering the shops is to save labor costs, not merely transfer them to the "training" column.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I know, viKing, I'm just not used to seeing KNWVIKING refered to as Mr. King. I don't care, it's just that when scanning thru threads my eyes don't pick it out. Anyhow....

"I asked bicker a couple years ago and he was hard pressed for an answer. I will ask you the same thing. What are these differences? Please be specific. Thanks."

What was Walts competition back then ? DL was extremely unique. Today there are parks for every budget and thrill level. Busch Gardens,Universal,Seaworld,Cedar Point and I'm sure others offer a great product compared to what Walt did. It's not as easy to "WOW "us today with IASM.

Do you think Walt could possibly put together a 47 sq mile land deal at the dirt cheap price he got WDW for ? It wouldn't fly under the radar today.Maybe instead of 47 he gets 4.7.

Assume he still comes up with the land. Do you think any state would give him the authority to be his own little country the way Florida did back in the '60s ? WDW gets to play by rules that IOA/US would kill for.

From what I've read,opening day at DL was a nitemare. Would a park survive a similar opening today ? Forget the snail slow newspapers, boards like this would shread it moments after the gates opened. The fact that DL was so different then helped it survive the opening. Today the gap between DL/WDW and US/IOA is a lot closer the DL and carnivals.

Speaking of boards like these:Walt did a lot of great things, but he also had his share of clunkers, he wasn't perfect. But mostly those mistakes were only known by the people who experienced them- guests that actually rode the ride,saw the show or ate the meal. Mistakes could be corrected before it was plastered all over the internet. Everything he'd do today would be scrutinized to the 'nth degree.

Then there is the legal world. 50 yrs ago if you spilled hot coffee on your crotch did your name suddenly appear on the Forbes list of richest American's ? Slip,fall,bump,trip = cha ching,cha ching,cha ching. Before my boss passed away several years ago he commented to me that it just wasn't fun anymore to own a business. The government and lawyers had managed to turn him into a miserable paper pushing administrator rather then and back slappin' handshaken truck salesman. Would Walt even get to enjoy the park he built.

Then there is the audience for Walts great show. I don't know what the CM's get paid to keep smiling when some idiot is demanding PAP's for the entire family because his Coke had too much ice in it, but it ain't enough. I'll stop there because I think you know what I'm talking about.

Lastly, the stock market. I know very little about the world of mega money but with the internet making it very easy to track my retirement accounts I'm learning a few things and noticing trends. In my simple minded understanding, Disney's value or worth is the sum of stock price times number of shares, or 10 gazillion. Now watching the market over the last few days, Dis dropped about 10%, or 1 gazillion. Why ? Nemo is doing great. Movie totals for the year are generally good. Parks aren't doing terrible,costs have been cut. Nothing unusual really happening at all, yet Dis is worth a gazillion less.And those million stock holders want it back.NOW. Everything in the business world is dependant on the markets, yet the Enron's and Worldcom's have ruined the trust it once held. Would Walt even be able to get the financing he'd need to put 24 carat gold plating on castle spires or crystal chandeliers in restaurants ? Or would stock holders and bean counters demand yellow paint and glass ?

Probably not as specific as you'd like LB, but my opinion is that Walt would hate todays world of business and even more of his great ideas would have died with him.

 

[Another Voice]

Well let’s see…

"What was Walt's competition back then ?"

Hmm…Knott's Berry Farm, just up the road from Anaheim, had already been running as an amusement park for several decades before Walt bought his first orange grove. There was the Fun Zone on Balboa, the Pike in Long Beach and Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica, and another amusement park in the (back then) undeveloped west side of L.A. Universal had been offering it's studio tour and shows since before pictures had sound. For the tourist crowd there was all kinds of special Southern California attractions like Hollywood Blvd (in the days you could walk it), Farmer's Market, Wilshire, the San Diego Zoo, the beaches – heck, southern California was already pretty big tourist destination before Walt built his castle (even Lucy and Ricky came out here).

It wasn't that Walt lacked competition – he simply made a better place and beat them at their own business.


"It's not as easy to "WOW "us today with IASM."

Actually I've heard that when you account for inflation and such, the development of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' cost over nine times what it cost to develop 'Mission: Space'. It wasn't cheaper or easier to "WOW" people back then – it was just different.


"Do you think Walt could possibly put together a 47 sq mile land deal at the dirt cheap price he got WDW for ?"

I actually know an individual that owns a chunk of land bigger than that (Hollywood connections you know) and it's real under the radar. Besides, didn't Disney buy an entire island recently for their cruise ship? And given the weekly posting of "Disney's building in Texas/Nebraska/Your State Here" rumors on this very board there's no reason to think they couldn't easily find a similar plot of land today. Yea the country club set of Virginia might not wanted Disney, but I'm sure the Chamber of Commerce in Deer Tick, New Jersey would be more than willing to help with the purchase (and Orlando was less than swampland when Walt bought in – he had confidence people would come to his place; Eisner needed to highjack them from an existing tourist center).


" Do you think any state would give him the authority to be his own little country the way Florida did back in the '60s ?"

Perhaps because people trusted Walt Disney. All they see from Michael Eisner is that's he's trying to cheat a widow out of royalties from a cartoon bear, that he siphons hundreds of millions of dollars into his vast personal fortune (Hey, he got five million the same year they laid of thousands of employees to save costs), and keeps being voted as one of the worst CEO and one of the worst boards in the country. Walt was an entertainer who created magic; Eisner is a business out to take your money. It's not surprising people treat them differently.


" From what I've read, opening day at DL was a nightmare. Would a park survive a similar opening today ?"

Actually the opening day was broadcast on live television to the entire country (two full hours). All the problems (and there were plenty) flooded into living rooms across the country. And the newspapers in town breathless reported every problem of that day. Then again, Walt didn't have his own broadcast network, news organization, magazines, cable channels, radio network and pixie fans flooding the Internet with breathless accounts of how "magical" everything was. Disneyland survived not only because it was different, but because it was good.

Yet all the controlled media and all the orchestrated press and all the internet cheerleading and all the synergy couldn't get anyone to go to California Adventure despite its flawless opening. Again – it's quality that makes the difference, not the circumstances.


" Mistakes could be corrected before it was plastered all over the internet. Everything he'd do today would be scrutinized to the 'nth degree."

Funny, I can't recall them building a bad 'Haunted Mansion', opening it to a poor reception and then secretly closing it before anyone found out about it. Nor do I remember then putting out a movie and then quickly pulling if back from theaters to fix it before anyone noticed. You see, that's the funny thing about entertainment – there aren't a lot of second chances to make the first impression. All the internet has done is speed the buzz that already existed. The secret is not the make mistakes in the first place (say, the 'Imagination' redo).


" Before my boss passed away several years ago he commented to me that it just wasn't fun anymore to own a business."

Well Walt dealt with the guilds in Hollywood, the censors from Washington and each and every special interest group you can possibility think of (there was a religious group in the 1940's that tried to get Donald Duck banned as immoral; he didn't wear pants – we won't even get into Song of the South). You think the government is intrusive – wait till you have to slip some extra dough under the table to both the unions and the pressure groups. Business was no easier then than it was today.

Besides, Walt never had the money to pour into campaign funds like Eisner has flooded Washington with (what – you don't think Congress changed the public domain laws just because they thought it was a good idea did you?). Nor did Walt get tax kick back from the states (did you know that the sales tax you pay in WDW doesn't all go to Tallahassee?), the ability to issue tax free bonds (the good citizens of the state of Florida paid for your ability to flush a toilet in WDW), nor did Walt have the city of Anaheim pay for the infrastructure at Disneyland (but all the roads and parking for DCA comes out of my taxes now).

And far from being the victim of government, Eisner doesn't seem dissuaded from using it on behalf of himself. From is early attempt to make VCRs illegal (the Supreme Court told him no) to his current battle to regulate the Internet, tax blank CDs & DVD, and place government monitoring software on the your very own personal computer (the one you're staring at right now) – Eisner doesn't seem much concerned about rules and regulations making things "just not fun anymore" when he thinks it will give him a few more coins.


" I don't know what the CM's get paid to keep smiling when some idiot is demanding PAP's for the entire family because his Coke had too much ice in it, but it ain't enough."

Before Eisner showed up I had a guy try to land a right hook on me when I caught him wandering around one of the rides (out of his vehicle). Talk to any cast member from any time period, you'll hear the same stories – none of the circumstances have changed.


" Would Walt even be able to get the financing he'd need to put 24 carat gold plating on castle spires or crystal chandeliers in restaurants"

It was always a massive struggle and led to so much conflict between the Disney brothers they could for months not speaking to each other. Walt didn't have to deal with Wall Street, he had Bank of America to deal with. He didn't have the easy junk bonds, the ability to bribe stock analysts to giving good rating (how many free rooms at the Grand Floridian did Merril Lynch get?) or the ability to show up on a 24 hour business news channel to paint bright and cherry pictures about how wonderful the future looked. He had to prove to a roomful of bankers that his crazy idea was going to make profit. Eisner gets to sit on television and tell the world he has no idea what makes a hit movie and no one notices (gee…maybe people finally are catching on about the dip).

Walt certainly didn't have the ability to borrow the $15 billion that Eisner has on the books today. And what has Eisner got with all that cash…Go.com, Fox Family and Tiger Woods? Nor did Walt have the luxury of losing several hundred million dollars on lease for jetliners. Makes you wonder who had an easier time rasing money - they guy who sold his life insurance policy to build the the Mark Twain riverboat or the guy with a corporate jet waiting at Van Nuys airport just in case he wants to jet to New York for dinner.


So there you go – probably more specific than you wanted but it's all to prove one point:

IT'S HOW YOU RUN THE BUSINESS, NOT WHEN YOU RUN IT, THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Thank you AV!!

DITTO

You saved me a heck of a lot of typing!!

 

[SnackyStacky]

It takes one helluva debate these days to pull the Baron out of hibernation!

I have but one thing to add. I don't remember where it was said, or who said it, but someone said something about this decision not affecting them, so they didn't give a rat's @$$? I hope I got that right.

And then didn't that same person also make some argument about how we're an entitlist society?

If you want a spin on how this WILL affect you, whether you buy the plush or not:

As people have attested to, not everybody likes the rides! Many people get a lot of satisfaction out of simply browsing in the shops. If the stores close early, (and/or open late), do you know WHERE all those people will go? That's right. Out onto the pathways.

Not to mention, I'm sure that when the sun is still blazing a dreadful 90+ degrees, and you step into an eatery or shop to take a break from that lovely sun (which in peak summer hours does NOT set until well after 8), YOU won't be able to. And the stores that are open will be even more crowded.

When and/or if I buy anything at Disney World, it's on the last day at the World of Disney. With the exception of merchandise for specific attractions, there's nothing you can't get at World of Disney. So, it doesn't affect me directly, but it will indirectly.

Anyway, I don't really have anything to add, but I hate being left out of the conversation!

 

[KNWVIKING]

*** "What was Walt's competition back then ?" ***

I know there were amusement parks back then. Aren't they where Walt learned what NOT to put in his ? My point was that on a scale of 1-10, if DL was a 10, then the next best was a 4. Today Busch,US and others offer a much better product, maybe an 8. The competion gap is much closer. I don't believe Walt or anyone can build a park that could be so much better then the current competitors the way Walt could back in the '50s.

*** "It's not as easy to "WOW "us today with IASM." ***

I'm not talking about the money involved. I'm talking about the shear mechanics of ride creation. When are "extreme" rides going to excede what our bodies can take. If Walt never existed,no Mickey,Donald,Goofy or Snow White, and someone were to build the original DL today -let's call it Vikingland- would it be successful compared to IOA/US ? I don't think so. It won't survive just because of its wonderful name. Walt's best rides in DL were heads-n-tails better then the competitors best rides. Can a ride be built today that can be that much better then say Spiderman ? Kids today are more sophisticate,informed,however you want to phrase it, then they were 50 years ago. My boys would be bored to tears with Walts DL.

*** "Do you think Walt could possibly put together a 47 sq mile land deal at the dirt cheap price he got WDW for ?" ***

The story CM's on the Keys to the Kingdom tell is that Walts shell companies started buying up land at dirt cheap prices. Soon as word got out Walt was the buyer the price skyrocketed. What would have happened if word got out that Fred the Orange Farmer was doing the buying ? Not much. Obviousely I don't know your friend with the land, but would his name or notority compare with Walt or Fred ? How much did it cost US to buy the land required to do it's expansion ? Nobody is going to get the land bargain today that Walt got then.

***" Do you think any state would give him the authority to be his own little country the way Florida did back in the '60s ?" ***

Simply comparing ME's business practice to those of Walts doesn't change the fact that no state is going to allow Walt to build a nuke plant on his land if he so choses. Do you honestly believe there will ever be a deal made today that could compare to what Walt got.

***" Before my boss passed away several years ago he commented to me that it just wasn't fun anymore to own a business."***

My bosses comments are something I hear all the time from my customers, most of which are small business owners, (nothing on the scale of Disney), who started out or took over a family business in the '60s & '70s. Something has definitely happened to discourage and dishearten these people. Maybe there is no difference what Walt went thru then and what he would deal with today, but one of my favorite pictures is one I've seen is a candid one of Walt with a hardhat on out in the construction site at the beginning of project X. He looks like a kid in a candy store. I think he would have to pose for a shot like that today.

***" I don't know what the CM's get paid to keep smiling when some idiot is demanding PAP's for the entire family because his Coke had too much ice in it, but it ain't enough." ***

The world has always had idiots, we just have more of them now. DW and I overheard a comment that basically sums up how we feel about todays society. A man a little older then us commented that in the past, people would comment about how rude or misbehaved a child was because he was the exception. Today when people comment that little Jonnie is such a polite,well mannered chid,its because he's the exception. In the past,no one even took notice of little Jonnie, he was the expected rule. In just the 15 years I've been a manager at my dealership,I've seen an incredible difference in the customer base. I don't look forward to the future.



You've focused a lot of your counter on the performance of ME, or rather the lack there of. ME plays no part in my opinion of Walt dealing with todays world. Well, actually,I take that back. The ME's of the world support my argument of why Walt would be hard pressed to duplicate today what he did in the past.

AV and/or Baron, I'll give you's the last word as I'm done debating my opinion.

 

[Another Voice]

The opinion that so many people express is that we must accept low standards and low quality today because it's so much tougher, so much harder, so much more difficult today than it was in the past.

That's a lie. It was no easier then than it is today.

Success comes from a combination of talent and hard effort. Those demanding that we accept less are doing so because they do not want to do the hard work that those before them did – not because the laws of nature or human behavior suddenly switched after 1964.

Some seem willing to accept those that slacken, those that think they can easily take my money with minimal effort, those that cry "all the good ideas have already been done" so I should pay for their derivative knock-offs, and those that beg me to pity them for the difficult circumstances they have toiled under (and then hand over our money).

I will not lower my standards to meet their incompetence.

Mr. Viking you wrote about the picture of Walt standing on the construction site and how that "kid in the candy store" attitude is lost. Come with me on any given day and I will show you a young director, writer, producer or actor stepping onto a set with that same "I can make something wonderful" expression. The sprit expressed in that photograph exits in many, many people today if you but care to look.

But it does not exist in Michael Eisner and that is the true difference.

 

[crusader]

WHOA!!!

Mr. Viking and Mr. Voice, let me take this opportunity to applaud your remarks! Excellent!!!!!!!

Mr. Baron,

You asked me where I got that statement? You were correct in assuming I paraphrased (and cleverly reworked) your philosophical signatory refrain.

I did so to emphasize the fundamental difference between what a founder intends their mission statement to be and what the general public interprets that to mean.

My comments which followed were in response to that very public who don't want to hear that you will only give them "everything you can". All they care about is getting exactly what they want - when they want - and how they want it. Unfortunately in our society we have degraded ourselves culturally to expect things rather than appreciate them. We have become intolerant.

Walt lived in a different world and I'm sure he would have an extremely difficult time appeasing the objectionable demands prevalent in this business today.

Now to address a few specifics:

I will grant you that Walt had a knack for knowing what people wanted before they knew they wanted it. But it’s still not the issue. It boils down to “everything you can give them”. And that means before the debt is paid on GO.COM, the bills are due on idiotic cable channels, the ratings (and accrued debt) from ABC, and all those other boneheaded moves that our (anti)hero can be credited for.

This particularly struck me. By "people" I am assuming you mean potential customers. This sounds great but will do absolutely nothing in today's market. Walt's priority is to the shareholders, which directly involves the investment banking community. Like it or not, this is first and foremost who he must give everything he can. And as Mr. Viking so eloqently put it - the regulatory enviromnent of today takes all the "fun out of owning a business".

You may want to believe Walt wouldn't have made some major mistakes in trying to gain market share and increase margins and profitability in response to the demands of the omnipresent WallStreet but we'll never really know for sure. That's one of the great things about being a legend!

re: that comment about a rat's posterior -

It has bearing on us all, if we want to see Disney maintain the standards that set them apart from the rest. High standards indeed. But very, very necessary if they are to remain Disney and NOT sink to the levels of their competition. Surely you can see that! Can’t you?

Let's be honest - the standards have as much to do with the service as they do the ambience. "SHOW" as you like to toss around includes everything. So the question is can you change something without affecting the show? Can you add a thrill ride? Can you take a parade away? Can you reduce the portions of food? Can you add more plush? and still put on a fantastic show?

Well - from what I've been hearing around here lately the magic lives bigtime!!!!!!!! Disney is succeeding in maintaining tradition despite its' woes. That my friend means more than you can put a pricetag on. That spurns longetivity and this company knows it. The name Disney is synonomous with magic which continues to perplex me but is sustaining generations. How is this happening?

 

[crusader]

But it does not exist in Michael Eisner and that is the true difference.

Michael Eisner's been around the block AV and you and I both know what that party looks like.

I've seen those same aspiring dreamers myself and often wonder how they would handle success. Ask any of them if they want to be a millionaire. When you have nothing to start with its' easy to invest everything into your project. Once you get a taste of the other side, its unbelievably difficult to walk away from the money. It takes guts and a strong set of values to say NO to the perks and expend all efforts preserving the liquidity of your company. The veterans of the WWII era had that work ethic. The CEO of today lost it somewhere in the haze which clouds WallStreet and Hollywood.