| # | Author | Message |
1
| mstaft
Mon 4/28/2008 8:29a | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
What do you guys think?
As a posted on my blog this morning, the results are clearly mixed.
Is he a hero- as seen in greenlighting Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones- or a foe of the parks, viewed as dumbing down Disneyland with character infusions and allowing California Adventure to come to fruitition as it did?
www.insightsandsounds.blogspot.com |
2
| mstaft
Mon 4/28/2008 8:29a | I dont know why the garbage dashes on the post bove- sorry! |
3
| Witches of Morva
Mon 4/28/2008 9:20a | ORGOCH: Never mind whether er not he's a friend ta the parks! A better question is whether er not he's a friend er foe ta the whole dang WORLD!! I say he's big ol' THREAT, myself! Lock him up 'n throw away the key!! Put him underground with the rest a the demons down there! |
4
| RoadTrip
Mon 4/28/2008 9:27a | Friend. He green-lighted Animal Kingdom.
|
5
| mawnck
Mon 4/28/2008 9:58a | Foe. He greenlighted Pressler.
(Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the joke above are not necessarily those of the poster, who's kind of neutral on the whole thing.) |
6
| davewasbaloo
Mon 4/28/2008 10:05a | Friend. Without Eisner, there may not have been any more Disney parks, let alone DLP, DAK, or TDS. He turned around dining and hotels, making them much more interesting, and really did green light far more good than bad! |
7
| Dabob2
Mon 4/28/2008 10:23a | Why the need to categorize? Why the need to choose between A and B, good or bad, friend or foe, hero or villain? Why so binary?
Why can't we say his legacy was mixed - this was good, not was not so good, this was bad? IMO, he was around a long time and made his share of both good and bad decisions.
That may not be as satisfying an answer viscerally - just more accurate. |
8
| mawnck
Mon 4/28/2008 10:56a | +1 |
9
| Mickeyfan1
Mon 4/28/2008 11:04a | I must agree with Dabob2 and davewasbaloo. Michael Eisner was a major shot in the arm for the entire company in his early years. The team of Eisner and Wells could not be beat. Had they not come on board I honestly don't think there would be a Walt Disney Company today, and who knows who control the theme parks would be under. In my opinion Eisner and Wells saved the company when they came on board. However things really changed when Wells was killed in the unfortunate helicoptor crash in 1994. Michael and Frank reminded me of Walt and Roy. Like Walt, Michael would come up with these wonderful ideas, and like Roy, Frank would figure out a way to reel him back in at times or find the necessary ways to make the dream come true. As mentinoed earlier thanks to Eisner we saw such growth at Walt Disney World and then working with Roy Jr. the rebirth of Disney animation. After Wells' death the team was broken and Eisner just could not let go of things. The departure of Katzenberg was also a blow to the company I feel. It's two bad Michael and Jeffery could not work better together. Personally I think they would have made a great team.
I think the real downfall came with Paul Pressler. I was working at Disneyland at the time and Pressler truly wanted to turn Disneyland into a giant Disney Store that had a few attractions around them I feel. That is when all the,what I call, speciality non-Disney items started to leave. By this I mean the "California" made items we carried in the Emporium, the Men's and Women's counter which carried some very unique gift items, and the Doll counter which was on of Mrs. Disney's favorite places to stop by when she came into the Park. I still consider it a highlight of working at Disneyland when I got to help Mrs. Disney at the Doll Conter one day. What a nice lady. Anyway this is also when things started closing down and the Park in general begain to fall apart. Cynthia Harris was not much better, but thankfully Matt Ouimet came on board and Disneyland was returned to it's pristine look for the 50th Anniversary. Sadly Matt has now left.
When Michael finally "retired" I think it was time, but I honestly think we need to look at his legacy with mixed emotions. He did many good things for the company and Disneyland. Let's not cut his legacy too short. Again, my opinion only. |
10
| Witches of Morva
Mon 4/28/2008 2:51p | ORDDU: My sisters and I used to think highly of Michael Eisner--until after Frank Wells' unfortunate death. Then Mr. Eisner's true colors started to show. A good Imagineer friend of ours who used to work with him back in the late 80's and early 90's had plenty of things to say about what a scoundrel he was towards her and others. When Mr. Wells was alive, he kept Mr. Eisner under control. Without that control, a monster was unleashed. |
