Rasulo on the Parks

[Peter Pirate]

Reuters is carrying an article with a conversation with Jay Rasulo. In it he says "We are not waiting for a rebound to create new attractions and events."

Sounds good but the question is does he mean it? Is Disney changing direction?

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[Another Voice]

It's just part of the ongoing anti-Roy campaign. I can't open my e-mail without getting a dozen press releases touting all the magic® spewing forth from The Walt Disney Company these days (like one that says ABC News' website is projected to turn a profit next year based on increased web sales and charging people more for video downloads - yup, that's real news).

Expect anyone who works at Disney that owns a tie to be trouted out infront of news cameras. The offensive will continue until Eisner feels safe again.

 

[Peter Pirate]

That's what I feared. Does this mean Rasulo's in Eisner's camp or does he really have no choice?

 

[Another Voice]

Well, Eisner promoted him over more senior executives in the Parks group. Promoted him over people with much more experience with parks in general, and more experience with the domestic parks. And if you look at Euro Disney's performance it's very hard to make the case Rasulo is a business genius with a knack for turn-arounds.

There are rumblings all throughout the company that people have essentially been ordered to spread good cheer. I general expect them to say whatever The Street and The Ego want to hear - we're being aggressive/we're going to reap the rewards of past investments.

As far as I've heard there aren't a lot of plans out there. Even I don't think Disney could push through a major expansion of their parks business - and they've got plenty just to fix that they don't seem to getting around to.

Then again, simply keeping any of the parks open past sunset probably qualifies as a major "add".