To many Disney fans, Michael Eisner is the devil. The former CEO of The Walt Disney Company is perceived to have run the company into the ground. The situation degraded so much that Eisner had Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy E. Disney, removed from the board. Later, the same man would lead the charge for the termination of Eisner as leader of the company.
This story is one that most Disney followers know. Since Roy E. Disney was treated so poorly, people picked his side over Eisner’s, which was easy enough since The Walt Disney Company was underachieving at the time. Since then, theme park analysts have eviscerated Eisner’s legacy due to their dislike of him on several levels. Is that a reasonable perspective, though? Eisner’s tenure certainly had its fair share of failures, but it had some breathtaking successes as well. Here are the best seven things that happened to Disney under Michael Eisner.
1. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Image: DisneyI’m ordering this list a bit differently. I want to start with the strongest aspects of Eisner’s tenure. If I went the other way, I’d lose you pretty fast. Some of the items discussed here were once deemed disappointments. Over time, opinions have evolved on the subjects, though. And I should state in advance that theme parks are heavily factored into this list. It matters because, for all of Robert Iger’s triumphs as CEO of Disney, he has spearheaded only one new park opening in 15 years, Shanghai Disneyland.
When you think of the situation in these terms, the greatest triumph of Michael Eisner is Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Yes, critics have ripped him for failing to bring Beastly Kingdom into reality. In doing so, they’ve ignored the majestic achievement that is Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney himself had once wanted live animals on Disneyland’s opening day. His Imagineers were apoplectic at the thought and finally talked him down.
Image: DisneyFor more than 40 years, the idea of hosting several different species of animals at a Disney theme park seemed impossible. During Eisner’s vaunted Disney Decade, however, Imagineers proved once again the truth of one of Walt Disney’s favorite quotes. “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
For more than 20 years, Animal Kingdom has combined the thrilling attractions of a theme park with zoological habitats. Many species live at the park full-time, yet there’s never been a major incident between an animal and a guest. From day one, Disney has done a remarkable job in controlling the pungent smells of its residents. And the park’s continually improved with attractions like Expedition Everest and the introduction of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Animal Kingdom is an unqualified success in every facet.
2. Stock Price/Company Valuation
Image: DisneyOne of the fascinating parts of Eisner’s Disney legacy is the breakdown of proponents/detractors. Disney theme park fans and movie lovers generally loathe him. Financial gurus discuss his tenure, especially the first 15 years, in awed tones. In fact, even Roy E. Disney’s daughter, Abigail, once stated that her family didn’t become uber-wealthy until Eisner took over.
In the months prior to Eisner’s becoming CEO of The Walt Disney Company, the company’s stock had hovered around $1, sometimes falling under that amount. Yes, a share of Disney stock cost less than the price of a Quarter Pounder at the time.
In less than five years, Eisner quintupled the value of Disney shares. By 1990, he’d raised them by a factor of 12. The explosive growth would occur later that decade when the CEO organized the purchase of Capital Cities/ABC. While framed as a merger, Disney acquired all of the significant assets, most importantly the ABC Network and 80 percent ownership of ESPN.
Image: DisneyDisney stock reached $40 after that, meaning that Eisner had overseen an improvement in the corporation’s value by a factor of 40, not counting stock splits. He did this in 11 years. To put that number into perspective, someone who bought $5,000 worth of Disney stock on the day Eisner was hired would have earned $200,000 in 11 years without lifting a finger.
During the early 2000s, Eisner’s frugal nature set back the company in several ways, one of which we’ll discuss at the end of this article. It was only then when the knives came out, and several loyalists to the Disney family called for Eisner’s ouster. Even when this happened, Disney stock was still at $26.40. For all of his struggles and missteps, Eisner still steadied Disney, preventing it from being purchased from a larger conglomerate, one that would have ruined the brand.
3. Second Golden Age of Disney Animation
Image: DisneyMichael Eisner was a studio boss before he became CEO at Disney. Some of his hits included Grease, Beverly Hills Cop, Footloose, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. As an observer of pop culture with skin in the game, Eisner understood how far Disney animation had fallen during the 1970s and early 1980s. He embarked on a place to revitalize one of the staples of Disney’s business model.
At Eisner’s behest, illustrators returned Disney to its roots. They mined several classic fairytales and fables for inspiration. Their combined output is like a who’s who of Disney’s greatest hits. Starting with The Little Mermaid, the animation arm produced blockbuster after blockbuster. Classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Mulan were released during a fruitful decade. Perhaps the only modern analogs are Pixar and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Without these films, Disney theme parks wouldn’t have several wonderful attractions. Even worse, we’d live in a world without Mickey’s PhilHarmagic, and I shudder at the very thought of that. Under Eisner’s stewardship, Disney underwent a second golden age of animation. These same films have become the basis for live action remakes today, meaning that Eisner’s still making Disney lots of money.
4. Disneyland Paris
Image: DisneyYes, the opening of Disneyland Paris was famously described as a “cultural Chernobyl.” Yes, Disneyland Paris is primarily perceived as underachieving for most of its time in operation. Let’s throw such perceptions out of the equation and focus solely on facts.
During its first year of business, 8.9 million people visited EuroDisney. Folks, this happened in 1993. Universal Studios Florida wouldn’t experience that many visits until 2015! Islands of Adventure didn’t until 2016! The “disappointing” attendance that people reflexively reference at Disneyland Paris would have been good enough to qualify as one of the 15 most popular theme parks in the world…in 2016.
The Paris theme park wouldn’t suffer a decline in attendance in its second year, either. Many theme parks have this happen due to the opening year rush factor. Disneyland Paris would experience year-over-year growth throughout its first five years in operation. It would reach the 12-million guest plateau in 1997…and has never fallen under that level in the two decades that followed.
Image: DisneyAttendance at EuroDisney is as consistent as any place in the world. You just don’t hear about it because the numbers get reported individually for its two gates, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. The staggering attendance number is that 320 million people visited Disneyland Paris during its first 25 years in existence. It’s easily the most trafficked theme park in Europe and a world-renowned tourist mecca.
There’s a reason why Disney purchased a controlling interest in June of 2017. The company recognizes that any place with that much foot traffic is a rare, lucrative business opportunity. And Michael Eisner was the one who pushed for this sort of international exposure. He didn’t focus exclusively on Europe, either…
5. Hong Kong Disneyland
Image: DisneyHave you ever wondered why Disney movies perform so well overseas? At the time of publication, Disney owns seven of the top 10 global blockbusters ever. One of the keys to Disney’s success is their coordinated effort to indoctrinate other parts of the world about the glory of Team Mickey Mouse. A few years ago, Disney went so far as to release the entire Star Wars Holy Trilogy to show Chinese citizens what they’d been missing.
Eisner deserves a great deal of credit for these successes. He opened the door to relationships with China and several other countries who were historically icy with American corporations. Under Eisner’s leadership, Disney brokered an unprecedented deal with Hong Kong officials. The city’s government owns a controlling interest in Hong Kong Disneyland. While they own 53 percent of the park, Disney manages it and holds its own stake.
Image: DisneyThe seemingly awkward relationship has worked well enough for the most part. The early knock on Hong Kong Disneyland was that Disney went too cheap on many aspects of it. As usual, Eisner pinched pennies to the detriment of the overall product. Even so, the park has had a halo effect on Hong Kong citizens, who have grown to love all things Disney, especially Marvel and Pixar movies/characters. Without the success of this park, the immediately successful Shanghai Disneyland wouldn’t have been possible, either.
6. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Image: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company operates six themed gates in North America. Including The Oriental Land Company’s two gates, there are 12 in total at the six Disney theme parks around the world. As the totality of this list indicates, six of these gates opened during Eisner’s tenure. He was responsible for the extension of Disney’s theme park reach.
Without Eisner’s influence, we’d have only Epcot and Magic Kingdom in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim. There would be no European or Chinese presence of the Disney Parks brand. You’d have only half as many options as theme park tourists.
Image: DisneyDisney’s Hollywood Studios is derided for its struggles over the years. Critics who make these assertions miss the forest for the trees. This place is where you could find The Great Movie Ride for almost 30 years. It’s the place that transported guests to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Guests who wanted an intergalactic Star Tours ride or the limo treatment on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith visited here. And the shows have always been the best at any American Disney park.
For all of the park’s faults, Hollywood Studios has delivered more than 30 years of high-end entertainment for guests. Eisner gets the same credit for the park’s successes as he does for its failures.
7. Disney California Adventure
Image: DisneyLook, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Disney California Adventure (DCA) was a debacle from BEFORE day one. Disney cut so many corners on this project that the only things that they really got right from day one were Soarin’, California Screamin’, and Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa. Everything else was either mediocre enough to diminish the Disney brand or an abject failure.
Why does DCA deserve a spot on this list? To his credit, Eisner understood the hidden benefits of Disney’s corporate mandate to plus everything. Many cast members fall somewhere between evangelists and crusaders for all things Walt Disney. I include the developers of attractions in this. When something hurts Disney’s reputation, these employees will work tirelessly to overcome any obstacles on the path to greatness.
Image: DisneyAs was the case with Hollywood Studios, EuroDisney, and Hong Kong Disneyland, DCA improved over time. The huge advance happened with the introduction of Cars Land, a dazzling recreation of Radiator Springs from the Cars movies. Then, Disney repurposed one of its themed lands into Pixar Pier and began the conversion of other property into a Marvel section. DCA remains a work-in-progress, but it truly qualifies as better than ever at the moment. A couple of years from now, it’ll seem that much better.
So, Eisner does deserve credit for having the vision to double the potential parks and traffic to the Disneyland Resort area. For everything that Iger has done masterfully, we haven’t gotten that oft-rumored fifth gate at Walt Disney World during his tenure. Eisner doubled the number of gates at Disneyland and Walt Disney World alike. We’re all in his debt for that, no matter how we feel about his overall job performance at Disney.
