Random Disneyland and Walt Disney World tidbits too time-sensitive or inconsequential to cram into a formal article.
Disneyland President to Spend More Time with His Family
Posted 10-05-2009 at 01:51 PM by David Koenig
There's something about a three-year anniversary that must have Disneyland presidents beginning to box up the trinkets around their offices, as they are suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to "spend more time with their families."
Sure enough, Disneyland's elusive leader "Senator" Ed Grier has now walked the plank, 72 days after celebrating the magical "3." My prediction on how long he'd last was made, yup, just under three years ago (http://www.mouseplanet.com/7042/Mous...ag_compilation).
If you've got a scorecard, Jack Lindquist was president 3 years 1 month, Paul Pressler 3 years 1 month, Cynthia Harriss 3 years 10 months, Matt Ouimet 2 years 9 months, and Ed Grier 3 years 2 months. Disneyland's five presidents spent a combined 119 years working for Disney—and, except for Pressler, that "dream job" turned out to be the last stop for every one of them. My suggestion to the next Disneyland president: postmark your resume to Fall 2012.
Sure enough, Disneyland's elusive leader "Senator" Ed Grier has now walked the plank, 72 days after celebrating the magical "3." My prediction on how long he'd last was made, yup, just under three years ago (http://www.mouseplanet.com/7042/Mous...ag_compilation).
If you've got a scorecard, Jack Lindquist was president 3 years 1 month, Paul Pressler 3 years 1 month, Cynthia Harriss 3 years 10 months, Matt Ouimet 2 years 9 months, and Ed Grier 3 years 2 months. Disneyland's five presidents spent a combined 119 years working for Disney—and, except for Pressler, that "dream job" turned out to be the last stop for every one of them. My suggestion to the next Disneyland president: postmark your resume to Fall 2012.
Total Comments 2
Comments
-
how many of those folks were under Mr Rasulo? is it fair to say that micro-management from the old Eisner days may be on the way back with Iger?Posted 10-05-2009 at 04:59 PM by olegc 
-
Added Thoughts
Disneyland's five presidents were each selected (and ultimately rejected) for very specific purposes:
• Lindquist was a Marketing old-timer brought in to grease the wheels for Westcot and as payback to Old Disney with the coming shift to New Disney.
• With Westcot abandoned, increased profits could only come from squeezing more out of Disneyland. Pressler came from Retail to sever ties to tradition, cut to the bone, and maximize sales per square inch.
• When Pressler moved up to work his magic with WDI and other parks, he handpicked fellow Retailer Harriss to continue his work at Disneyland with a fresh face and get DCA opened as efficiently as possible.
• With high-profile tragedies and DCA's shortcomings exposing Disney's vulnerabilities, Ouimet—known for both Financials and friendliness—arrives to quickly restore the resort's image before the world's cameras showed up for the 50th Celebration.
• Grier, another Accountant, was the politician elected to maintain the status quo, pretending that everything's just dandy as they tore apart DCA.
The priorities of Iger and Rasulo's next "three-year plan" for the resort will tell us a lot about whom will be chosen as the resort's next president (and vice versa).Posted 10-05-2009 at 05:02 PM by David Koenig 
