The Current State of Disney, part 1

  Walt Disney. A name so ingrained in the culture of the world and it is synonymous with quality, fun and guest satisfaction. Until recently, that is. 

  A Little Background. I went to Walt Disney World with my family in 1978 for the first time. It was magical. EPCOT wasn't built yet and Eisner had yet to take over. The park had only been open for about 7 years and it was an event. Fast forward to 1995 when my brother started working there after college. I was working with a formerly huge food home delivery service. I flew down to see him and we went to the parks. It was extremely new for me, even though I had been there before. EPCOT was my favorite place, and having a fascination with Japan(at the time), it was the place for me. DHS was still MGM Studios at that time and Animal Kingdom hadn't been built yet. I loved it. I visited there numerous times over the next 4 years. I started in culinary school in 1999 and towards the end I decided that that is where I wanted to go. The Most Magical Place on Earth. 

 So I did, the roundabout way. I worked near SeaWorld in Orlando for roughly 3 months for my externship from school, and shortly after finishing I was hired and working for the Mickey. Mouse, that is. Magic, fun, food. I was hooked. I started my Disney Journey at the All Star Resorts, with future stops at Port Orleans(when it became French Quarter), EPCOT(2 locations), Caribbean Beach(twice) and the Contemporary. I met some of the best people on the planet and I am glad to say they are family, not just friends. But I digress(I do that a lot!)

 I have seen the Millenium Celebration, the departure of Michael Eisner and the arrival of Bob Iger. I was there with the renaming of Disney-MGM Studios to Hollywood Studios. The company's purchase of Marvel, and the addition of Disneyland Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland and all the issues with money the company had/has. 

 Oh the stories I could tell. Meeting celebrities and working through 4 hurricanes in one season. I left in 2016 when I felt I had lost the edge I had and I felt the magic had gone from the company and place I had worked for 16 years. Sure I made enemies and didn't do the best I could have. I will leave those storied for another post. So I am not just an outsider, I have seen the inner workings of where the Magic and it's subsequent decline.

  Over the years I have seen the departure of co-workers to other theme parks and others that h have been fired. 

So where is the Disney Company now? Well, it isn't good. After Eisner's departure the company took on a positive attitude thinking that Bob Iger would overhaul it and spend money on the parks here in the states instead of sending more and more money overseas. The feeling that many I knew then, had the same thoughts on the company's building of Disneyland Hong Kong and the building of Shanghai(the money pit). The decline of the parks and lack of new updates and rides. Iger did actually did more for the parks that Eisner did. Now not to bash Eisner for everything, he did have his greatness. He and Frank Wells led a renaissance of Disney entertainment. After Wells death he took over and had MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom built(awesome parks BTW) and the animation was rebuilt and hit home runs with films like Little Mermaid and Lion King.

 But Eisner's time was coming and the struggle between him and Roy O Disney was very poor press for the company. In addition to the 'fued' with Roy, but also with Pixar's Steve Jobs. The animosity between Eisner and Jobs was not good. Many cast and guests took Roy's and Jobs' sides and that made Eisner look even worse. Then he left. Bob Iger came over from ABC and took over. I did research on him and learned he loved to outsource and change the paradigm of the companies he worked for, but he was successful. He delivered on what he said he would. Outsourced many things and spent a lot of money upgrading the parks in the US and still had Shanghai Disneyland built. Iger mended fences with Jobs and Pixar(in 2006) and ended up purchasing the company as well as the Muppets(actually during Eisner's reign in 2004) made acquisitions that helped them in their growth. 

 The US parks were doing great, EuroDisney had been changed to Disneyland Paris and resurged, Tokyo Disney was doing well on its way and HOng Kong was the silent child, whereas Shanghai had issue after issue. Then in 2009 TWDC bought Marvel Entertainment and its growth into a monster company was swelling. In 2012 Iger took over as CEO, President and Chairman and essentially had total control of the company. And later that year Lucasfilm was bought and added to the world of Disney. The 'Renaissance' of the parks, and Disney World in particular was in full gear. The additions of Galaxies Edge and Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios was in full swing. And in the next years beloved rides and attractions made way for, well, less than magical ones. The Fantasyland expansion was added to Magic Kingdom and the increasing number of resorts and things to do in Lake Buena Vista was growing. Downtown Disney had a name change to Disney Springs and it's rebuilding was very impressive. Aside form the film industry, we in Florida knw that the company's success awas the constant influx of traffic into WDW, and to a lesser extent, Disneyland Anaheim. 

  Since I arrived in 2000 I have seen the further decline of the Magic. I mean there have been good things, don't get me wrong. The Magic Band system was a great idea, as was the addition of Pandora to DAK(not for what most thing, but that is for another time). Little things distracted the masses from the major issues growing in the shadows. Iger was unstoppable, he could do whatever he wished at this point. And he did. Changes were coming, and not all good.

to part 2....