Will the real LandBaron please stand up!

[DVC-Landbaron]

I thought I was quite clear! It goes to philosophy and what is utmost in the minds of the current administration.

When Walt was in charge (heck even Walker/Miller) the SHOW, creativity and the guest was the ultimate aim!! Did they make money? You bet!!

But it is quite clear from this example (and THOUSANDS of others we've talked about on this board) that the ultimate goal of this CEO is NOT the guest, creativity, the SHOW or even the company itself!!! His only concern is his own personal wealth! Period! Plain and simple!! Something AV and others have alluded to many, many times before. It’s just that this example hit home with me. I guess it didn’t for you.

Was I not clear enough in the first post?

 

[DisneyKidds]

Was I not clear enough in the first post?

Given that I still need some clarification, I guess I'd say yes .
Let's look at your initial comments, and try to discerne exactly what in this situation gives you such displeasure. First you have...............

Into these rooms they cram in 6 college students (2 to a bedroom) and charge them a pretty penny for the privilege.

As you say, this isn't a big problem for you, but it must have left a bad taste in your mouth or else you probably wouldn't have mentioned it. I will take the opportunity to point out that this has absolutely no bearing on SHOW.

Then you have............

the location the complex. I could have sworn that it was on Disney property, but I was informed that it was not. It is a privately owned company that developed the student housing. The story goes that the land was sold to her for a very cheap price - - - From Disney!!

And this does appear to be a problem for you, but I really have to ask why? What impact does this have on SHOW or Philosophy? As you point out, the Philosophy is based around giving the people everything you can give them. I'll go out an a pretty sturdy limb here and say thet "people" in this instance would be the Disney guest. How does the location of CM housing have any impact on what WDW gives the guest?

Lastly you have...............

the real shocker................... The owner of the company. Her name, it seems, is … (drum roll please) … Mrs. Eisner!!!

OK, putting your distaste for the Ei$ners aside, the bearing on the SHOW here is....................... I guess your implication with subsequent statements like this..............

that the ultimate goal of this CEO is..............his own personal wealth! Period! Plain and simple!!

..............is that ME is taking money that could be used to enhance the guest experience and lining his own pockets with it. That may or may not be true in a number of examples, and no one disputes he is getting rich beyond what he should be given how the company has been performing, but I don't see how the (unconfirmed) possibility that Mrs. ME might be involved with the Company in some capacity could be some epiphany that finally ties it all together and pushes you over the edge.................ooops, sorry you said it didn't do that, I guess it just made you go off the deep end . Even if she is involved, do you know the structure of the arrangement? Do you know anything about Mrs. ME and her business background? Is it your blanket position that no contract should be let to a relative of any individual who works for Disney? IF Mrs. ME is involved, and IF she is getting paid $1,000,000 to do what another company would have done for $100,00, and IF Mr. and Mrs. were the only parties to the deal, I'll call the Times and we'll expose ME for it..............but do you know any of that to be the case? So, IF Mrs. ME is involved and the contract fees are for the going rate and the contract was negotiated like every other Disney contract, would you have a problem?

I have to say that the one thing you have done for me is answer a question that I have always had. I love Disney (as do you). As many who love Disney might do, I get thoughts every once in a while about how great it might be to work for Disney. But then I always wonder............"if I were a part of the Disney Company as an employee, outside of the nirvana of vacation land, would the place be somewhat less Magical?". Well, you have someone behind the curtain now. You have seen the other side. After seeing that side it does appear that all is not what it seemed before you actually stood behind the curtain. The thing is, what is behind the curtain today is probably not much different than what was behind the curtain 30 years ago. Think about that for a few..................... It has always been rumored that Walt wasn't the easiest guy to work for. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that even back in the day, back on those Magical days when DL or WDW opened their doors, there were behind the scenes examples not all that unlike the one you bring up now......it's just that you could never see them.

You have known for a long time that there was a man behind the curtain. You have seen that man for some time now. Now you have stood with the man behind the curtain..............and it appears to be too much for you . That is too bad.......................but don't you think it might have been a little idealistic or naive to believe there was anything else back there?

 

[Bstanley]

Oh No ... now you've done it Mr. Kidds.

You've impugned the honor of Herr Baron's guru.

I recommend doning your Nomex apparel now...

 

[DisneyKidds]

You've impugned the honor of Herr Baron's guru.

Hey, I just state the facts ..................................I'll leave that open for others to determine what is implied or impunged .

 

[YoHo]

TO the best of my recolection, Roy O Disney was the ONLY relative to have a position higher then park employee when Walt was alive. AND, if they did hold a higher position, you can bet they were there, because of thier skills, not their name.

As to this

the location the complex. I could have sworn that it was on Disney property, but I was informed that it was not. It is a privately owned company that developed the student housing. The story goes that the land was sold to her for a very cheap price - - - From Disney!!

And this does appear to be a problem for you, but I really have to ask why?

This is a problem, because the sole purpose of buying all that land was to allow Disney to maintain control and keep Disney World well Disney World. Why didn't they simply lease the property out? why sell it? Wouldn't leasing it out generate revenue?
Further, they sold it to a company headed by the CEO's wife.
What kind of special deals did either company make in that sale? What kind of bonus might Mrs. Eisner have gotten?

There's a lot of rotten smell coming from that. The mere sale of the property should be cause for concern.

that the ultimate goal of this CEO is..............his own personal wealth! Period! Plain and simple!!

I suspect, that the issue at hand is slightly complex.

To understand, perhaps you need to look back over Landbarons posts over the years and see what he in the past has said about Eisner.

In general, in the past, he has said that Eisner is inept, stupid, dumb, couldn't bring about magic if it was a natural body process. Incompitent.

There are certain other contributors who talked about Eisner's greed and personal wealth goals which Landbaron acknowledged, but stuck to his guns about his ineptitude.

This is a shift. This isn't Eisner being inept, this is Eisner making a decision NOT in the company's best intrests for the sole purpose of making money. It's a revelation for Landbarorn, because he realizes that it isn't about ineptitude, it's about greed. And quite frankly, Pure greed is a lot less tolerable.

Every hour cut, every virtual smack in the face, every carnival ride is designed for the sole purpose of lining isner's already goldlined Pockets. IT's disgusting and runs counter to everything Walt Disney EVER stood for.

Walt ate in the comissary with the rest of the peons, because executive DIningrooms didn't make good movies, Walt short changed amenities backstage so that more money could be spent onstage, Walt slumed around in the company Machineshop building steam engines.

Walt made sure the every endevour he was involved in, HE had creative control regardless of how much less money he was making.

Eisner buys a T.V. studio, not because its a good investment, but because he's always wanted to be head of a T.V. Studio and screw whether that's what DIsney should do. Eisner thinks traditional animation is stupid, so we get none. Eisner doesn't care about his image or the success of this company one little bit. All he wants is money.

 

[Bstanley]

Well, boys and girls, I really didn't want to waste this much energy on so obviously a bogus "I hate The Big ME" rumor, but I just couldn't inhale Mr YoHo's rancorous rantings without spewing forth some truth and accuracy myself to help keep a balance in the universe...

This isn't rocket science - most all public records on on the web nowadays.

Vista Way (and Chatham Square and The Commons) are all owned by "The Walt Disney World Hospitality and Recreation Corp" and have always been owned by them - at least as far back as 1988 when the first structure ws built on the land. At least according to the Orange County Property Appraisers office!

BZZZT - So... sorry, wrong answer.. Thanks for playing.

You may all get back to your regularly scheduled "I hate the Big ME" rant now.

Cheers!

 

[DisneyKidds]

Mr. B - thanks for clearing up this little matter and we can stop getting so upset at the possibility that the (wo)man behind this particular portion of the curtain might be Mrs. ME.

Now, I wonder if the Baron still has a problem with what he's seen behind the curtain if it isn't an Eisner with a gun holding up the joint?.

 

[Bstanley]

*&^%&^% - As much as I hate to admit it - I have a thread of information that indicates Mrs Big ME may manage to make money on the Vista Way apartments in some fashion after all.

If I find out more I'll let you know.

 

[crusader]

I'm not convinced were done yet.

"The Walt Disney World Hospitality and Recreation Corp"

First, Is this a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney?

Second, is there a building lease and if so, to whom?

Third,

Well I suppose The Mrs Big Me could be a silent partner at Epoch Properties of Winter Garden

which no one has confirmed or denied.

There are many ways to siphon: sell; lease; leaseback; sublease; sublet; manage; contract; subcontract; consult and invoice (to name a few)

 

[caseymaureen]

LandBaron~ I also heard as a cast member that the Eisners were involved in the company which runs the Disney bus services (no proof, just something I heard )

BStanley~ According to my managers, RCA's, and anyone of authority while I was in the CP (Fall 02) Chatham Square and the Commons are not owned by Disney. This was the reason given as to why buses go in and out of Vista but can only park outside of Chatham. Now, this could just be an excuse made up to satisfy inquiries or it could be true, but I did hear it from several different sources. In addition, the rent paid by CPs goes to a company called Price Management which is not part of Disney. PM employs the security guards, desk workers, maintenance people, etc, at tge complexes. I am not sure if the same is true of Vista.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

*&^%&^% - As much as I hate to admit it - I have a thread of information that indicates Mrs Big ME may manage to make money on the Vista Way apartments in some fashion after all.

If I find out more I'll let you know.

Well?

Anyone?.... Anyone?... Bueller?...

 

[Bstanley]

Sorry Herr Baron, I cannot produce a smoking gun one way or the other, other than that Mrs. The Big ME doesn't actually 'own' them.

But there is money being made by parties outside of Disney Corp with various contracts on operating the apartments and it will take more than the internet to untangle who's who with them.

If someone were of a mind to try to have The Big ME removed, exposing such things might help.

Of course it might also taint the name Disney, and lose a lot of investors even more money on their (already depressed) stock.

"Life's full of tough choices, idn't it?"

 

[YoHo]

At this point, I'd have to say the investors are very well aware of the difference between Disney and Eisner.