Disneyland General
Topic: Eisner Friend or Foe to the Park

#	Author	Message
41	Dabob2 Wed 4/30/2008 12:53p	FWIW, I've read many places that Walt himself could be a right "illegitimate child" of a boss at times also, and not very nice to some of his employees. That Eisner may have been so also takes him down a notch in my personal estimation (I always feel there's no good excuse for nastiness, including in boss/employee situations) but not in my estimation of what he did for the company. Which is decidedly mixed.
42	RoadTrip Wed 4/30/2008 1:44p	<<To exound upon my DAK statement. I feel the DAK is a beautiful park, but it is lacking in sveral departments. 1. Lack of attractions 2. the lack of any way to keep the place open past dark. Its a slightly more than a half day experience. We were done with the park by parade time and no one had any desire to return later in the vacation.>> That is rather like criticizing Epcot because the World Showcase doesn't interest you. It is not that the AK is lacking; you just aren't interested in what it offers, and that is fine. I've never had any problem spending two full days at the AK, and that was before Expedition Everest. The Animal Kingdom is one of the finest zoological gardens in the United States. It also has a few great attractions and shows in addition to that. If you can't spend a lot of time on the zoo component it will be a half day park for you. That doesn't mean it is a poor park. It just means it is a park that isn't meant for you. As Disney's advertising said when they first opened the AK: "Animal Kingdom... a different kind of theme park".
43	mstaft Wed 4/30/2008 1:52p	It is different and wonderful- and needs more attractions.
44	Schmitty Good Vibes Wed 4/30/2008 3:07p	From post 13: >>>Eisner, although seeming a little "possessed" toward the end basically save Disney from a huge takeover attempt.<<< That was actually Roy Disney Jr.'s work. He's the one who more or less took over Disney and installed Eisner and Wells, with a promise from Eisner that if Roy Jr. ever asked him to step down, he'd do so immediately. Eisner was great, but he got power mad. "Hey, look! Change only four letters and my name in Japanese is Disney!!"
45	Schmitty Good Vibes Wed 4/30/2008 3:19p	On the balance, Eisner did much, much more good for Disney co. and all the parks than bad. Yeah, he did a lot of bad stuff after his ego got out of control, but he really did a lot of good. But if you think he 'saved Disney', you need to read some books. He did a lot to 'save Disney', but so did Wells, Roy Jr., the Bass brothers and many other players. I don't know this for a fact, but I belive Pressler came to him seeking to kill the Indy ride at DL and Eisner made sure it went through. I'd be happy to accept any correction or clarification on that.
46	dshyates Wed 4/30/2008 4:04p	"That is rather like criticizing Epcot because the World Showcase doesn't interest you. It is not that the AK is lacking; you just aren't interested in what it offers, and that is fine." No, its not at all like that. We didn't feel like repeating things. We saw all it had to offer, with the exception of Tarzan Rocks/Nemo as the theater was transitioning shows, and were still done with the place by 3pm. It DOES NOT have a lot to do. Unless you consider a park bench an attraction. If you aproach DAk like any other Disney park with an organized game plan you really have to slow yourself down not to slam through the place by 1:00pm. I can't possibly imagine what you would do in the park for 2 full truncated days. A lot of bench riding and vibe soaking. "If you can't spend a lot of time on the zoo component it will be a half day park for you." Half of the animals you get a fly by from a truck. There aren't really all that many actual animal exhibits. No I can't spend a full day on the paltry number of animal exhibits. "Animal Kingdom... a different kind of theme park". Yeah, one with few attractions that CAN'T stay up past dark.
47	dshyates Wed 4/30/2008 4:36p	I should add, I really like DAK. The themeing is spectacular. And the attractions are really well done (C&Hs excluding). KS is the best, most naturalistic African exhibit I have ever seen. Very cool. The themeing in the Pangini Jungle Trek is also superb. I think the only things we pass on because of lack of appeal is C&Hs. And sometimes ITTBAB, 3D films don't really seem to have as much return appeal as an attraction like KS or EE. But DAK felt slight whan it opened, and the additions in the Asia area are well done but don't really fluff the place with the attraction count. I always felt the promised beastly kingdom was needed. Not to fulfill the mythological beasts hinted at in the sign out front, but to add an attraction intensive area which will be needed to carry it into the night. Along with some sort of nightime something. Parade, flotilla parade, nightime spectacular theater. Something. I think the big problem was they told me when it opened they were adding BK and would soon be open into the night. So I percieved it as slight, they promised more, and 10 years later we are close to where we were 10 years ago. I know it rained and 9/11, the intranets, and we don't get it, but it still feels slight to me.
48	mstaft Wed 4/30/2008 5:32p	"Yeah, one with few attractions that CAN'T stay up past dark." HILARIOUS!
49	trekkeruss Wed 4/30/2008 5:50p	<<If you aproach DAk like any other Disney park with an organized game plan you really have to slow yourself down not to slam through the place by 1:00pm>> And that was your mistake right there. I guess since you are a theme park junkie looking for rides, DAK is not for you. <<Half of the animals you get a fly by from a truck. There aren't really all that many actual animal exhibits.>> The park is best enjoyed, as you say, by "bench riding," and just watching the animals. It's not about looking at an animal for a minute before racing off to the next ride or show.
50	dshyates Wed 4/30/2008 6:05p	"I guess since you are a theme park junkie looking for rides, DAK is not for you." Yes, theme park junkie. Rides maybe. Attractions definitely. I consider Pangini Jungle trek an attraction, So we do it and enjoy it. But i really won't spend more than about 10 mins watching the tigers. We do it all, we just don't do a lot of sitting unless its at a show. At one of the most expensive theme parks in the world it is asking a lot of the guest to sit on a bench and watch the exotic botanicals grow then leave at dark.

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