DVC-Landbaron
What Would Walt Do?
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2000
First I'd like to say how much restraint it took not to incorporate my standard "$" within his name for the thread title. It's the first time I've spelled his name right in many months.
Anyway, on to the question at hand. In another thread the good Captain said:
Anyway, I can certainly see some good things that have happened. But it seems that for virtually every good thing, there is a story that goes along with it, to make it, in my view at least, a little less 'great'. Sometimes it's the lost potential. Sometimes it's outright boneheadedness. And sometimes it's just greed. But by and large his 'Great Deeds' seem always to be tainted somehow.
And it's equally frustrating that implicit in any Ei$ner (ahh! that "$" felt good) bashing argument is the yearning (almost a requirement) to defend past practices, especially by the Walker/Miller tag team. And that shouldn't be the case. They had their share of successes and failures, and should not have to be woven into an Ei$ner debate.
Case in point: RESORT BUILDING
I think I've pretty much driven everyone crazy with my constant harping regarding the caste system of Disney resorts, so I won't beat that dead horse (unless someone else brings it up again. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED). But there is another aspect. Whether the Walker/Miller team were visionless or more like deer caught in the headlights is a subject for some other thread. Suffice to say that WDW was a little stagnant under their care. So the natural 'Great Deed" for Ei$ner was to build some resorts!!! A no brainer that anyone, even the most incompetent bum of a CEO imaginable, would have done. So what did he do that was so great?
And this is where I have a hard time with this guy. Yes, he build some resorts. Yes, they are nice resorts. But he lacked vision!!
"What!!!" You say. "LandBaron, the Floridian or Beach Club lacks vision?!?!? Have you lost what little sense we thought you had?!?!"
OK! OK! Just hear me out. What he brought us (beside a huge price increase) was pretty mundane stuff. Pretty mundane compared to the vision of what could have been. The Asian, Persian, Venetian, Mediterranean, etc. Any exotic place on the globe. But what did he give us? Cape cod. New York. Yellowstone. Key West. Hmmm. Pretty pedestrian, isn't it? Pretty 'American'. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It just could have been sooooo much cooooler. With just a little vision. But it's hard to fight this concept because the resorts he gave are certainly nice. (Not sure I made my point.)
TRANSPORTATION
Again, we must really try to remember the past in realistic terms. Disney transportation always sucked!!! From day one it was confusing and time consuming. Today you have to plan an hour and half (at least) in order to get from 'here' to 'there'. Let me be the first to say that it was no better in the 'good old days'. In fact, it might have been worse in some ways because no one drove their own cars, on property. The roads were not marked and security was well let's say a little less than "Disney" friendly. The only saving grace was that the place was tiny, compared with what is now there.
But what has this 'great deed' kind of guy done about it? NOTHING!! What should have been one of his highest priorities, he has ignored. I find that depressing at the least. And typical of his mindset.
So, with just a couple of these thoughts thrown out there, I ask all of you (especially the car #1 people): Just what "Great Deeds" did Ei$ner do?
Have fun.
Anyway, on to the question at hand. In another thread the good Captain said:
So, this got me thinking. Just what has he done that was so great? I'm really (for a change) trying to be serious about it. And I don't mean that trite "saved the company" routine. We've been down that road before. I think we all understand that Wells was to play a much more important role that Ei$ner ever hoped to, and since his assumption of power the "takeover" has taken place. Internally. He has done NOTHING different than a raider would have done, short of busting up the company.I believe he [Eisner] has done some great things for Disney
Anyway, I can certainly see some good things that have happened. But it seems that for virtually every good thing, there is a story that goes along with it, to make it, in my view at least, a little less 'great'. Sometimes it's the lost potential. Sometimes it's outright boneheadedness. And sometimes it's just greed. But by and large his 'Great Deeds' seem always to be tainted somehow.
And it's equally frustrating that implicit in any Ei$ner (ahh! that "$" felt good) bashing argument is the yearning (almost a requirement) to defend past practices, especially by the Walker/Miller tag team. And that shouldn't be the case. They had their share of successes and failures, and should not have to be woven into an Ei$ner debate.
Case in point: RESORT BUILDING
I think I've pretty much driven everyone crazy with my constant harping regarding the caste system of Disney resorts, so I won't beat that dead horse (unless someone else brings it up again. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED). But there is another aspect. Whether the Walker/Miller team were visionless or more like deer caught in the headlights is a subject for some other thread. Suffice to say that WDW was a little stagnant under their care. So the natural 'Great Deed" for Ei$ner was to build some resorts!!! A no brainer that anyone, even the most incompetent bum of a CEO imaginable, would have done. So what did he do that was so great?
And this is where I have a hard time with this guy. Yes, he build some resorts. Yes, they are nice resorts. But he lacked vision!!
"What!!!" You say. "LandBaron, the Floridian or Beach Club lacks vision?!?!? Have you lost what little sense we thought you had?!?!"
OK! OK! Just hear me out. What he brought us (beside a huge price increase) was pretty mundane stuff. Pretty mundane compared to the vision of what could have been. The Asian, Persian, Venetian, Mediterranean, etc. Any exotic place on the globe. But what did he give us? Cape cod. New York. Yellowstone. Key West. Hmmm. Pretty pedestrian, isn't it? Pretty 'American'. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It just could have been sooooo much cooooler. With just a little vision. But it's hard to fight this concept because the resorts he gave are certainly nice. (Not sure I made my point.)
TRANSPORTATION
Again, we must really try to remember the past in realistic terms. Disney transportation always sucked!!! From day one it was confusing and time consuming. Today you have to plan an hour and half (at least) in order to get from 'here' to 'there'. Let me be the first to say that it was no better in the 'good old days'. In fact, it might have been worse in some ways because no one drove their own cars, on property. The roads were not marked and security was well let's say a little less than "Disney" friendly. The only saving grace was that the place was tiny, compared with what is now there.
But what has this 'great deed' kind of guy done about it? NOTHING!! What should have been one of his highest priorities, he has ignored. I find that depressing at the least. And typical of his mindset.
So, with just a couple of these thoughts thrown out there, I ask all of you (especially the car #1 people): Just what "Great Deeds" did Ei$ner do?
Have fun.