Eisner booed - was that really necessary?

[sir clinksalot]

We all know Michael Eisner has made his mistakes. We all know he's pretty much been blamed for all that is wrong with Disney.

All that aside, I think it was in EXTREMELY poor taste to hear that he was booed during the 50th ceremony today. The event wasn't about Eisner it was about Disneyland. And when I hear that kind of attitude going on at a supposedly happy celebration I get upset.

I don't want to accuse anybody, but come on. We all know who was the bulk of the attendies today. AP's, and alot of people who probably post here.

I can say today, I'm ashamed to be called an AP when such things are happening.

[Gothemi]

I agree. Not the time, or place...

[Cousin Orville]

Michael Eisner deserves better than that. He did agree to fund all of the renovation that you see today. Matt gets the cudos but Michael signs the check to do all this stuff. i say we thank him, as hard as that may be.

[MiceMan]

I thought a lot of the harriss and pressler anyway?

[Pizzapants]

Yeah... when i read that he got booed i got a really sick feeling in my stomach. I mean, he has made mistakes, but when he first started, didn't he practically save the company? Cousin Orville is right. Matt does the things, but Eisner still signs the checks.
I know no one else liked it, but i kinda liked the "fun, cool, hip Eisner" in the Mickey Mouse Club t-shirt. Probably not the way he should've dressed, but i liked it, and i expect no one at all to agree with me.

[MiceMan]

well ... when i first saw him in the tshirt i didn't realize that it was a MM t'shirt so i was surprised but once i saw the shirt i kind of liked it too ... but that man really reminds me of a cave man ... i do have to agree though that he saved Disney a few years back ... so as much as i hate to say it ... Thanks Eisner .....

[dramaqueen]

I agree- it was suppossed to be an "insiders" day yesterday- he did ride BLAB's (come on, it's probably the first time he has set foot in the park in YEARS!) He was nicely dressed today. If he had been wearing a Motley Crue t-shirt, then maybe I would raise an eyebrow- but a MMC shirt was very much in keeping with the spirit of the celebration- come on- "Happiest Homecoming", remembering what it was like to be a child, and all that jazz.

I am sure it was not his idea to wear the shirt.

[ModHatter]

In all honesty... when Prince Michael comes down from his ivory tower and associates with the common folk, that may be the only chance for people to voice their opinions and actually make them heard. If he has no idea the kind of enmity he has inspired, this may be the only way to break through that corporate isolating bubble. But, more likely, on some level, he HAS to know how much the people who were likely to show up todat resent the way he has run this company. If the event was not supposed to be about him, it was up to him to stay home, or take his deserved lumps.

Yes, he's signing the checks, but they're past due checks, and they would have been much smaller checks if he'd done right long ago. A stitch in time saves nine years of neglect, after all.

Let's judge the man by his accomplishments... Captain E-W in a family themepark? Ruining the professional relationship with Goerge Lucas that has left us with a horribly neglected Star Tours? Need I even mention DCA and Pooh. Feautre animation has been mediocre at best for ten years. Pixar, the one thing giving Disney hope during this period, decided to sever its relationship with Disney largely because of Eisner.

Frankly, that's about a decade of boo-worthy activities... When you throw a loved one a birthday party, you don't invite the schoolyard bully without expecting a negative reaction.

[cellarhound]

Eisner showed up to the Press meeting yesterday in his Pajamas... Talk about disrespect... He deserved to be jeered...

[Sambo]

Silence would have been a much more powerful illustration...

(cue cricket sounds)

[Ghostbuster626]

I wouldnt do it but Im glad he got booed. He thinks hes above everyone and it was time to bring him down to earth.

[Mr. Eggz]

I would not have booed, had I been there...I just don't behave like that.

But I feel no pitty for that man. What he did to Roy Disney was cruel and wrong. Roy proposed to his wife on Disneyland's opening day almost 50 years ago, and he was not invited to the event. Eisner is a cruel pittiless creature who kicked a good man out of his families' company. I've met Michael Eisner and I've met Roy Disney. I wish all of you could know what I know about these two men, you would understand, but you don't, so I can't expect you to understand. However I can recommend DisneyWar for a solid perspective.

[ModHatter]

I wouldnt do it but Im glad he got booed. He thinks hes above everyone and it was time to bring him down to earth.

I would LIKE to think I wouldn't've done it either, but as the saying goes... Life happens. I can't say with certainty that, in the moment, seeing him dressed as some sad old man having a mid-life crisis AND looking like he's hocking retro Disney merchandise... I can't predict how I would have really reacted, nor can I judge anyone who did react.

[MickeyMania]

Michael Eisner deserves better than that. He did agree to fund all of the renovation that you see today. Matt gets the cudos but Michael signs the check to do all this stuff. i say we thank him, as hard as that may be.

I think Eisner probably looks at his salarly and suddently the thought of being booed by some middle-class Disneyana fanatics doesn't hurt so much. He did do a lot of good work up until 93, though.


And yeah, Matt gets a lot of credit for things he probably didn't have much to do with. The guy isn't a big Disneyland nut, guys. He comes from cruise ships. For the most part what he does is try to finangle the money out of guys like Eisner that goes into these projects. If you want to know who is the vision behind the NEW New New Tomorrowland and the Main Street refurbs, I'd guess it's Greg Emmer.

[Jazzman]

I'll have to agree with Modhatter and cellarhound. Mikey experienced that strange and beautiful thing called karma.

If you slap someone in the face and take advantage of them, repeatedly for years, and then have the audacity to show up at their party and expect to be appreciated, then you deserve jeers. Lots and lots of jeers.

I blame Eisner for showing up at all. Let it be Disneyland's day and do what you should have done a long time ago. Fade away forever.

[Mr. Eggz]

In all honesty... when Prince Michael comes down from his ivory tower and associates with the common folk, that may be the only chance for people to voice their opinions and actually make them heard. If he has no idea the kind of enmity he has inspired, this may be the only way to break through that corporate isolating bubble. But, more likely, on some level, he HAS to know how much the people who were likely to show up todat resent the way he has run this company. If the event was not supposed to be about him, it was up to him to stay home, or take his deserved lumps.

Well said.

[Ghostbuster626]

Frank Wells was the man who SAVED Disney and reignited the magic back in the 80s its just that Eisner hogged all the credit. Thats why when Frank Wells died in 1994 things went to hell in a handbasket almost overnight.

[MickeyMania]

Acutally, Eisner made some decent moves, such as buying the Disneyland Hotel and expanding that business, and his Hollywood connections certainly helped. As much as people complain about the state of Star Tours, without Eisner there probably would have been no Star Tours to begin with. Ditto the whole Disney/WB/Spielburg connection in Roger Rabbit.

[pineapplewhipaddict]

Ouch.

Eh, he should have expected it. I don't know if I would have done it either, but...

At least Matt is humble. We're praising him on this board, but I remember a thread one of us micechatters created...he bumped into Matt himself, along with an imagineer. Matt told our friend that it was really the imagineer that was currently with him that had been the main source of all the good that came back to DL in recent history.

Pajamas?!

Well, he got what he got.

BTW, if ANY of you are lucky enough to possess a link to the 50th celebration video that doesn't come from laughingplace (it's been taken off apparently), then several of us back in the video thread would really appreciate some help.

[ZedIzDead]

The booing was in very poor taste IMO. I'm no fan, but that was not the time or the place.