WHAT WOULD WALT DO? (or What is Eisner & Co doing wrong?)

[I wish I were at Disney World]

Walt wouldn't sell beer in the parks. MGM studios smells of it over by Tower of Terror. Parents should be able to make it through one day without a beer.

Rides would be built on STORIES and MAGIC. Rockin Roller Coaster may be a cool ride but it deserves a better, more magical "story" or "theme"

Castmembers would be really into their roles. When I was a teenager, it seemed like castmembers were less like ride management employees and more like ACTORS. I remember the host at the Haunted Mansion would stand right behind you and give you "the evil eye" -- and in the Great Movie Ride one of the castmembers in the theatre part would run down the aisle with his hands waving in the air like he's one of the people in the musical up on the screen. It just really put a smile on your face and made the whole experience more magical.

So much of what makes the Great Movie Ride great is when you get a kid who is a real HAM driving your car. If they are not really playful and into their role, it's pretty boring.

Ok and don't hate me for this one, my fellow women. I am NOT sexist, but I just think the jungle cruise drivers should be GUYS not girls. I want Indiana Jones driving my boat, not Indiana Jane.

Who else has suggestions for bringing the magic back into Disney?

 

[ptrbryant]

Well, in regards to Disney Co. and not necessarily WDW, they should sell their Mirimax studios---most of their films are controversial, to say the least, and alienate those who may otherwise be Disney investors. The t.v. shows could just maybe occasionally show happy, well-adjusted families (yes, they DO exist) without dumb parents and bratty kids.
JMHO!
Karla B.

 

[WDSearcher]

I think Walt would have changed with the times -- in fact, he'd have been ahead of the curve. There probably would have been thrill rides long ago, if Walt were here. (The storylines would probably have been better though!)

When Walt started Disneyland, it was one of a kind ... didn't have to compete with Six Flags and Cedar Point and all the rest. I think if he were around now, he'd realize that rides like Rockin' Roller Coaster were necessary in order to keep people coming back.

And maybe CMs would have still been totally into their roles, but that's not something Walt can control. When you're hired into a job, it's YOUR responsibility to have the proper attitude and work ethic. That's instilled in you by your parents, teachers and yourself. Walt just had a bigger pool to draw from back in the beginning. He could afford to be pickier. Not as easy now. Not every Disney CM is off target -- it's still a pretty darn small percentage when you look at how many CMs you interact with during a total visit. Not to mention what it's like at other theme / amusement parks.

It's easy to say that Walt would have never allowed certain things, because Walt is no longer around and no one can get his opinion or his input. Walt wasn't super-human. He just existed in a simpler time when his industry was brand new. Based on his reputation for running a business, I bet he'd be just as cost-conscious and profit-centered as anyone else these days.

 

[okwoodsmith]

So when are we going to start seing WWWD (what would walt do) jewelry for sale?

Life's too short folks!

 

[eeyore0062]

I have no problems with adults responsibly enjoying an adult beverage in the parks. Maybe Walt wouldn't have it, which is why MK is still dry.

As for the CM's they are just as wonderful as they were when I was young... perhaps the magic is in the eye of the beholder?

As for the Jungle Cruise, I have no problems with women pilots... this is the 21st century, and that is an equal opportunity job. Sexist comment...well, ...yes!

I have no desire to revisit the 1950's.

My only comment is that they finish what they start...ie: Animal Kingdom's Beastly Kingdom, and give us the wonderful themed adventures instead of rides you can find in any theme park all over America... that is the only thing lacking... the magic is still there...perhaps we just aren't open to it!

 

[Eeyore2U]

Since Walt only had MK, we know what he would do there. Also Walt was a businessman and would change with times. Visionaries see all, not just what we want them to see.

 

[luv2nascar]

It's impossible to say how some one would have changed in 10, 20, 30 yrs etc.
We have no way of knowing what Walt would be like
prime example I love young Elvis but Vegas Elvis
We could have had Vegas Walt ripping up those theme parks & rides

 

[I wish I were at Disney World]

i wasn't a teenager THAT long ago!!! Wasn't even born yet.

But WDW has definitely lost a lot of its magic regarding castmembers in the opinion of me and my friends. A lot them seem to be just going through the motions. I"m glad folks on this board don't agree -- that's awesome for you guys.

For me Disney is still the happiest, most magical place on earth -- but it is definitely slipping. There is a lack of attention to detail. It's the SMALL things in the corners of the park that make disney magical.

also thrill rides are fine -- i'm all for them actually! but they should definitely have IMAGINATION and STORYTELLING. I don't see that Rockin Roller Coaster has any imagination involved. Also, why isn't it about movies? That ride just feels very "Universal Studios/Great Adventure" to me -- whereas Tower of Terror is TOTALLY Disneyesque.

I've been on the Great Movie Ride MANY MANY TIMES and had many LAME drivers. I had one AMAZING ride where the driver and the actors were SUCH hams and so TOTALLY into it that it was hilarious and a blast. I think this can also depend on your carload of people. If you have a boring carload of 'guests' it's hard to find that energy as an actor/castmember. I think I would be a LOUSY castmember precisely because I am NOT a big ham -- too shy and inhibited to be much good. My boyfriend however is a TOTAL HAM and playful and funny and likable and would be the IDEAL Disney Castmember.

We're going in December and CAN"T WAIT!

 

[I wish I were at Disney World]

i wasn't a teenager THAT long ago!!! Wasn't even born yet.

But WDW has definitely lost a lot of its magic regarding castmembers in the opinion of me and my friends. A lot them seem to be just going through the motions. I"m glad folks on this board don't agree -- that's awesome for you guys.

For me Disney is still the happiest, most magical place on earth -- but it is definitely slipping. There is a lack of attention to detail. It's the SMALL things in the corners of the park that make disney magical.

also thrill rides are fine -- i'm all for them actually! but they should definitely have IMAGINATION and STORYTELLING. I don't see that Rockin Roller Coaster has any imagination involved. Also, why isn't it about movies? That ride just feels very "Universal Studios/Great Adventure" to me -- whereas Tower of Terror is TOTALLY Disneyesque.

I've been on the Great Movie Ride MANY MANY TIMES and had many LAME drivers. I had one AMAZING ride where the driver and the actors were SUCH hams and so TOTALLY into it that it was hilarious and a blast. I think this can also depend on your carload of people. If you have a boring carload of 'guests' it's hard to find that energy as an actor/castmember. I think I would be a LOUSY castmember precisely because I am NOT a big ham -- too shy and inhibited to be much good. My boyfriend however is a TOTAL HAM and playful and funny and likable and would be the IDEAL Disney Castmember.

We're going in December and CAN"T WAIT!




one last thing. I'm pretty sure walt coudn't stand CARNY STYLE STUFF. Disneyland/world was NOT supposed to be anything like a carnival. Is that what California Adventure is like? I haven't been.

 

[Denine]

Stop making carnival rides that only 5 year olds like and start putting some money and imagination back into the rides.

Sell ABC and stop siphoning off money from the parks to pay for failing ventures.

Sell the sprots teams. You can't make money on sports teams.

Start remembering that the adults are the ones that grew up with Disney. I feel forgotten lately.

 

[anniet]

I agree that the driver on the Great Movie Ride, can make or break the experience. I always try to help out by clapping wildly and cheering when the driver comes back. But I thought part of this was just because I visit in January and there are many Brazilians there so I figured the people on the ride just didn't speak English that well!

As far as Walt being "cost conscious" and a "businessman" I have to disagree. Anybody who has read any of his biographies knows that Walt always looked at Cost LAST. His projects alwyas went way beyond what his studio could afford. He wanted to do something and Roy was the one who had to find out how to finance it, which caused many a rift between the two. His dedication was to creativity, to making Animation look real, and I think as far as the animated movies that are out there now, I think he would be very impressed.

If Walt were around EPCOT wouldn't be what it is today. It would be an actual city with people living in it, and I think it would be far better run than Celebration.

The thing that I see that sorely misses Walt's touch is anytime Disney tries to interpret the future. The last scene in COP, Spaceship Earth...anytime they come close to trying to tell what the future MIGHT be like, the fall apart, IMO. The makers of the movie "Minority Report" hired a panel of futurists to help them create what the future might be like and I think they did a far better job than anything I've seen at Disney. Since seeing that movie I've often wondered why Disney doesn't do the same thing? I'm holding out hope for the new ride in EPCOT, but I'm not expecting much.

I think Walt was ahead of his time, and I think he was a true visionary.

And while I think he would probably be pleased with parts of "Disney" such as the animation and SOME aspects of the theme parks, I think he would be horrified to see what his namesake has become. I think he, himself, would be more dedicated to creativity and imagination than profit.

 

[I wish I were at Disney World]

I agree HOWEVER, I think even disney animated films are slipping.

Walt was definitely a visionary -- i don't think he would try to rehash old ideas...

Treasure Planet?????? Gak.

Sorry that seems SO LAME to me.

And I acutally walked out of Atlantis.

And that Tarzan movie was lame. The (silent) trailer was amazing -- the actual film, not.

I feel like Disney has fallen into a FORMULA for their animated films.

The heroine. The funny sidekick(s). I feel like they make their movies thinking about what toys they'll be able to market. How they'll be able to turn it into a parade.

That's hollywood anyway. Formula, formula, formula. What did we do last time that made a lot of money? Let's do that 10 more times until people get tired of it and we have to figure out a NEW money making formula.

I'm so sorry to sound so bitter. I'm actually not usuall

I just love WDW so much. And I think everyone posting on this board -- all of us as a group -- could run WDW better than the people actually in charge. Because we 'get it' and care like mad about it!!!

I'm off for the weekend. Everyone have a great one!

 

[el_tigre]

Originally posted by I wish I were at Disney World
also thrill rides are fine -- i'm all for them actually! but they should definitely have IMAGINATION and STORYTELLING. I don't see that Rockin Roller Coaster has any imagination involved. Also, why isn't it about movies? That ride just feels very "Universal Studios/Great Adventure" to me -- whereas Tower of Terror is TOTALLY Disneyesque.

You may not read this but I thought I'd throw in my two cents anways.

I think the RnR is very well themed for that side of the park. That section of MGM is trying to transport its guests to L.A. (a la Sunset Blvd.). L.A., the movie capitol of the world, is also the record capitol of the world. And RnR definitely tells a story. I happen to think it's a better attraction than ToT, which I personally find overrated. But that's obviously just my opinion.

But to me, the problem with new Disney attractions lately is that they rarely push the envelope and do things that have never been done before. Just from DL here, I'm talking about rides like the Matterhorn, Star Tours and Indiana Jones. Disney used to have a history of doing that, but the company has gotten away from doing that recently. Neither RnR nor ToT do it. RnR is an updated Space Mountain and ToT is nothing more than a dressed up freefall ride from our Six Flags. Sure, both have great theming, but both rides have been done before. Innovation was Walt's biggest legacy, and that's exactly what many of Disney's newer attractions are lacking.

 

[GeorgeG]

Walt was very much into planning Epcot, so I think he may have been willing to serve beer in the proper venue.

I do think Walt would have changed with the times, to a degree. I think he would have stayed much closer to the basics, though.

 

[wdwguide]

This is an interesting topic, and I have been entertaining the though of writing an article about this later this year. For the time being I wanted to throw out an interesting question to think about, just for fun:

When, after Walt's death, did Disney management operate under a strict "What Would Walt Have Done" philosophy? What was the result of this approach in terms of quality and economic success?

 

[wdtv]

The "What Would Walt Do?" philosophy was abandoned when Pressler was hired.
Up until he was hired to "improve" the company (Yeah ... whatever), execs would respond to every new project w/"What would Walt do?"

Now that Eisner's "post-Wells" short-term profit gamblings are doing what we've predicted for years, in that they're biting him in the egoccentric a$$, this WWWD philosophy doesn't seem so absurd,.

 

[I wish I were at Disney World]

all i can say is what walt would do is...

magic, magic, magic, imagination, imagination, imagination, story, story, story

I don't think Eisner or the higher ups are driven by this. I think they are driven by money, money, money.

what they DON"T realise is that magic, imagination and story will convert into BIG TIME MONEY!!!!

It's my understanding that the Imagineers are also frustrated with the lack of imagineering they are allowed in new ride planning. It was my understanding that 'off the record' the imagineers CAN"T STAND the California Adventure park. (NOt sure how they feel about rockin rollercoaster)

Also, as for "keeping up with the times", the fact is imagination, magic and story are TIMELESS.

Rockin Roller Coaster is already outdated in my opinion because Aerosmith is so OVER already. A washed up rock band from the 1970s/80s (MY decades mind you that are becoming a pardoy of themselves. Steve Tyler is looking like death warmed over. Whereas Pirates Of The Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion will still be as magical and 'up-to-date' if you will in 20 or 30 more years because they are TIMELESS.

Maybe Rockin Roller Coaster would've been better done as a FILM NOIR CAR CHASE through 1930s gangster hollywood. I have no idea, but that feels more MGM studios to me.

All I want to say is the difference between say Pirates of the Caribbean and Aerosmiths Rockin Roller Coaster is the differenc between a classic and a trend. And I'm not sure the makers of WDW realize this.

I also think they completely ruined that lovely open plaza near jungle cruise by jamming in the aladdin 'dumbo' ride. It feels a lot less now like you've been transported to a far away land. I don't think Walt would've plopped that ride there. But maybe I"m wrong.

Any of my complaints about WDW come from the fact that I love the place so incredibly much. In fact, I never realized until rec.arts.disney and this site that there's OTHER adults out there who are walt disney world obsessed and actually go through Disney Withdrawal when they come back from vacation. So please don't anyone get mad at me!!!

Lisa

 

[wdwguide]

To answer the question I posted yesterday, it was Card Walker that used the "What would Walt Have Done" philosophy extensively. It resulted in the company's stock value to drop WAY below the value of their assets, and they were in severe danger of being taken over by Saul Steinberg's Reliance Inc and other raiders who were going to sell the company off piece by piece to the highest bidder.
Eisner and Wells were hired to replace Walker's successor, Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller, in the hope that they would depart from Walker's management style to prevent the potential of a hostile takeover from recurring anytime in the future.

This was more than ten years before Paul Pressler came out of the marketing and retail sector of the company to become involved with the theme parks. Still, an obvious change occured between 1992 and 1995 (probably the death of Frank Wells and the perceived underperformance of Disneyland Paris played major roles in this) that catalyzed a drastic change in management style, which eventually lead to today's problems.

In other words, the Walt Disney Company (back then it was still Walt Disney Productions) experienced its most serious crisis as a result of too much "What Would Walt Do", which prevented the company from reinventing itself to stay in touch with the public's tastes and preferences.

 

[I wish I were at Disney World]

dear WDW GUIDE -

i wonder if maybe it was a colossal flop because they WEREN"T Walt?

Obviously Walt was a man a) was CREATIVE & ORIGINAL b) KNEW WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTED and c) BROKE RULES.

So I guess I would ask did the Card Walker regime (and I know nothing about them) strive to be CREATIVE & ORIGINAL and b) UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS and c) BREAK RULES.

I mean, I could give you a script to shoot and say shoot it like Steven Spielberg would.

And I guarantee you, your film would NOT be a Spielberg film because although you can study his past films and learn about him from them you will NEVER KNOW how he would have approached THIS particular script.

I guess the problem with What Would Walt Do was that they AREN"T Walt Disney and so they had/have NO CLUE what he would do.

Disney had a VISION and a TALENT. Usually an artist grows and changes so I imagine he would have as well.

Like maybe Walt Disney in the year 2002 wouldn't care if his employees had facial hair. Although I bet he would've required that it be neatly trimmed and they they have a clean, hygenic appearance. A big part of the appeal of the parks is the fact that it is CLEAN and SAFE and the employees are FRIENDLY and NOT SKANKY LOOKING (smile). Or maybe he would still have some banishment of mustaches. I have no idea because I can't read his mind.

Neither can Eisner.

No one can.

but we can sure try our best!

I DEFINITELY want to read your article if you write it !!!

 

[wdwguide]

You are right on the money - Walker's problem was that he asked "What would Walt do" based on what Walt did in the 1960s - and the company was thus stuck with constantly repeating itself. So the answer to your three questions is NO, NO, and NO. Ron Miller, who Walt wanted to be his successor eventually, was better (he launched the Touchstone label), but he was not much of a leader and businessman. By the middle of 1984, he only lead the company on paper, the real persaon in charge was Ray Watson.
Walker's management style was what caused Roy Disney to resign from the studio and later from the board, and it is why he lobbied to get Frank Wells (who in turn lobbied for Michael Eisner) installed after he forced his way back onto the board.