What would Walt Do??

[eliza61]

I've always been curious about some thing and since an Walt Disney biography is coming on TV tonight this seems like a good time to ask.

How do we know what Walt would do?

Seriously, I always read these post that say some thing like:
"Walt would roll over in his grave"
"Walt would want XYZ" to happen
"Walt wouldn't want disney to be so expensive"
mainly to express frustration with a change we don't like.

So forth and so on. Now I've only read 1 biography on Walt and it pretty much said he had his good points (imaginative) and bad points (notorious womanizer) so I cannot profess to be a expert on the man.

But whould Walt really flip out if they started seving alcohol in the MK restaurants for example?


P.S. "Walt, the man behind the myth" airs tonight at 9:00 pm est. can't remember which channel.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

As much as I would like to believe otherwise, Walt Disney was just another business man. He had a talent for art, engineering, and marketing, but he was out to get rich, and get rich he did.

So, What would Walt do? He would find a way to profit from whatever is being discussed.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...But would Walt really flip out if they started seving alcohol in the MK restaurants for example?...

Only if it impacted the profitability or marketability of the park.

 

[Iheartdis]

It will be airing on CNBC from 9-11 eastern

 

[allison443]

I have noticed that when people profess to know "what Walt would do" it usually conincides with what they think should be done.....

 

[ols386]

As much as I would like to believe otherwise, Walt Disney was just another business man. He had a talent for art, engineering, and marketing, but he was out to get rich, and get rich he did.

So, What would Walt do? He would find a way to profit from whatever is being discussed.

I agree with this. He was a businessman.

I read somewhere that he really wasn't crazy about kids. Not sure if that's true or not.

 

[eliza61]

I agree with this. He was a businessman.

I read somewhere that he really wasn't crazy about kids. Not sure if that's true or not.

LOL, now wouldn't that be ironic...

 

[FireDancer]

I never understood the what would Walt do thing. He'd be so old he'd probably just crap his pants and wonder where he was. He founded a company that has grown to become a mutli-billion dollar multimedia empire, just like William Paley and Carl Laemmle did, yet every time CBS or one of it's affiliates or Universal Studios does something you don't hear what would William or Carl think?

Even if Walt were still alive (and I don't buy people are talking about some hypothetical unaging Walt when they say this) chances are he would have ceased to be the majority share holder years ago. For all we know it would have ended up much worse and Walt would have held out too long and the company would have been the victim of a hostile takeover and then split up.

Besides, Walt the man and Walt the myth are not the same person. Walt was a ruthless business man as anyone who read DisneyWars could tell you. He would have done what made the most profit. His real vision was aiming for the long term instead of the short term which is something many many companies need to start doing.

 

[Jennasis]

For starters, he'd be incensed that Ariel is a redhead. He thought they were trashy.

 

[BunsenH]

It will be airing on CNBC from 9-11 eastern

I was surprised to see that the show was made in 2001. When I saw the promo, I thought that it might be something new.

 

[rie'smom]

I think Epcot would have become EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It would have looked like this and would have been a functioning village: