Opinions on past CEO Michael Eiser

[tomorrowland]

How do you feel about Disney's past CEO/President Michael Eisner?

I read his book Work In Progress, and I agree with some of his decisions like launching The Disney Store, Tokyo Disney, and other ways he expanded Disney and generated more revenue for the company. But, I'm not sure how I feel about his actions on Disneyland Paris (laying off several CM's and almost filing bankruptcy) and allowing alcoholic beverages in parks, something Walt Disney would never condone.

[tiggerguy]

The first ten years of his reign were great, with Frank Wells as his right hand they brought back Disney from near extinction. However with the death of Frank, Eisner seemed to lose focus oh what was needed to keep Disney on top.

[nick.jeschke]

My biggest problem with him was with the shutdown of the Animation Department (2D), and then having problems with Pixar. But he did do some great things, such as expanding the company and not just keeping the magic in the USA. EuroDisney (Now DisneyLand Pairs) almost became one of the biggest flops in Disney history though...The Disney Store idea is good, but I think it lost some focus. When I go into the Disney Store here in Tampa (We have 3), I'm not very interested. It just looks like a kids clothing store. But when I went to the Disney Store in Venice for a short bit, it was the Disney Store I remember as a child. Being able to look through the Toys, Kids and Adult Clothes, Collectables, and so many other things. It was what reminds me of the World of Disney store.

[GalPal]

You don't even want to get me started on this one....

IMHO -

I'll just say this, Mr. Eisner was a self-absorbed, egomaniacal, control freak with the artistic vision of a short-sighted cyclops and the business sense of my six year old niece. He had zero leadership ability and certainly did nothing to inspire loyalty or passion among the CMs.

The only good decisions he ever made were in the early years...a time when he was surrounded by the likes of Frank Wells. After, Mr. Wells' untimely death, it seems like decisions were made on a whim with an air of parenoia.

Remember...JMHO. I say "Thank God" for Bob Iger!

[Veritas]

I read the book Disney Wars, that is pretty much my only insight to Eisner. he certainly isn't portrayed as a likeable sort there. Somethings do come through though. He did expand Disney Corp from two parks and a small Studio to a major economic engine. Some of his decisions were questionable (like the whole go.com internet thing, how he figured he'd compete with AOL etc is beyond me), I think the Euro Disney thing was a flop- more because of the way Europeans do vacations rather than it being a bad idea. Actually Disney Paris has come around and theme parks have sprouted up in Europe in reponse (there is a big one in Spain, Germany,and England has several as I understand, most are the euro equivalent of Six Flags as I understand it). Eisner's biggest problem seemed to be how threatened he was by others, a good idea by someone else seemed like a threat, as portrayed in the book. Got to give him credit for the resort ideas though. Building the rsorts really plussed up the impact of WDW!

[Ghost_Hostess]

I think he did a good job at first .. then he shut down the 2D which.. loses him like 100 points! but 2D animation is coming back..

[catfish28]

I agree at first he did a good job but then he shut dowm animation then neglected wdi, i say that because look at the stuff that they put out in the recent past. wdi was no longer the place to go to if you study engineering and art, as one my friend's dad put it, it became a sweatshop. the reason tokyo disneyland remained so vibrant is that disney does not own the park and therefore eisner was willing to let wdi go all out on their rides and ques because they paid disney for them to. eisner became a tightwad and became more concerned about quantity and not quality at the end. i won't completly bash him because the work he did for the turn around in the mid 80's (oliver and company anyone?) but he lost sight of walt's vision. I hope lassater does not do the same later down the road because roy jr. will not be here to save the company again (already did it twice, don't see how he can keep doing it). if only walt lasted a bit longer so a generation after roy jr. could see how he ran his own business, but that's another thread lol

[tiggerguy]

nick said

When I go into the Disney Store here in Tampa (We have 3), I'm not very interested. It just looks like a kids clothing store. But when I went to the Disney Store in Venice for a short bit, it was the Disney Store I remember as a child. Being able to look through the Toys, Kids and Adult Clothes, Collectables, and so many other things.

One reason why it looks like a kids clothing store is because it is owned by The Children's Place. The stores in Europe are still owned by Disney.

[disneyfanatic101]

I agree the Disney store byme have kids toys, shirts, etc. They have some nice things for the adults and things in general but it's not the best Disney store in the world.

My mom said there is a huge Disney store a little drive away form us and we might check it out in the near future.

[GalPal]

Sorry to say you will encounter more of the same...just on a larger scale. All the stores have virtually the same merchandise.

[disneyfanatic101]

My great aunt used to work there and she brought stuff home all the time. Some of the stuff she had was pretty cool...figurinies, pictures, and more!

I hope they haven't changed over the years! But we'll see when we go.

[GalPal]

If it was more than 18 months ago, your Great Aunt worked to The Disney Store when it was still owned by Disney. Now, all the US stores are owned by Hoop Retail, who also own The Childrens Place. While the quality of children's clothing has improved, the variety of merchandise has been dramatically reduced.

[disneyfanatic101]

Your probably right, I don't know when she stopped working there. The variety has definitely reduced.

[wdw4us2]

Where to begin my rant about the Evil Dark Lord. . .

Seriously, I believe he started out decently when he had Frank Wells to keep him in check. Once he died, Ei$ner was free to run amuck. The fact that he took away over three quarters of a BILLION dollars in salary, bonuses and stock makes me sick when I see what he eliminated/wasted money on during his tenure. Comparitively speaking, I don't believe the Disney brothers (Walt & Roy) earned anywhere near that amount during their years with the company.

I also do not like the fact that he took credit for things which were started by Ron Miller before he was so unceremoniously dumped. Touchstone pictures, The Disney Channel, Disney's first Broadway show, giving Tim Burton a creative outlet, acquired the rights and started production on Roger Rabbit, initiated Disney's first steps into computer animation - these were all things he was responsible for while he was CEO of Walt Disney Productions.

We are lucky to be rid of him although I'm not too impressed by Iger's reign, thus far.

[Disney05]

Just started reading Disneywar. Anyone else read this?