Hey, look! I actually got one right!
Those of you who slogged through my “Fall Into the Gap” story back on Friday may recall that I predicted that the three top candidates for Paul Pressler’s old job would be Disneyland President Cynthia Harriss, President of the Walt Disney World Resort Al Weiss and Chairman & CEO of Euro Disney SCA Jay Rasulo.
Well, imagine my surprise when – yesterday – one of the candidates that I named in Friday’s story actually won the position. In a hastily issued press release, Disney CEO Michael Eisner revealed that James A. (Jay) Rasulo was the new president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide.
Why Jay and not Cynthia or Al? To be honest, Harriss and Weiss are desperately needed in their current positions. Weiss has to help the Walt Disney World resort dig itself out of an awful hole (Never mind about the low attendance levels at the parks. WDW has a much more serious problem to deal with these days. As in the Mouse has ‘way too many on-property hotel rooms in Orlando. 5000 more than the company actually needs, according to some internal documents. Which is why Disney’s Pop Century, though basically complete, remains shuttered. And why Disney’s Caribbean Beach was suddenly closed earlier this fall – allegedly because a restaurant there needed to be rehabbed. So Eisner’s looking to Al to find a way to make all of these empty hotel rooms go away. Which may mean – sometime in the not-so-distant future – one of WDW’s signature resorts may end up getting leased out to Loews. But – hey – you didn’t hear that from me).
As for Cynthia … She’s already got a lot on her plate:
1) Oversee the relaunching of Disney’s California Adventure theme park (Which gets underway in earnest early next month with the opening of “A Bug’s Land” featuring “Flik’s Fun Fair’).
2) Speed up the Disneyland Resort’s transition from being a place that wants to be a destination resort to becoming a place that REALLY IS a destination resort. Walt Disney World West.
3) Help get Disneyland Park ready for its 50th anniversary celebration in 2005. A year when the Anaheim theme park will become the centerpiece of a worldwide celebration.
So – at least to Eisner’s way of thinking – it was crucial that Al & Cynthia remain right where they were. Putting out fires in Orlando and Anaheim.
Whereas Jay … Well, as Uncle Michael put it, “(Rasulo’s) vision and extensive experience in the international arena will be invaluable as we continue to grow the business globally.”
Translation: Theme parks-wise, the Walt Disney Company’s pretty much tapped out the stateside market. Which is why you rarely hear any talk anymore about a fifth theme park for Walt Disney World, a third gate for the Disneyland Resort and “Disney’s America.”
On the other hand, the overseas market … Well, let’s just say that that second Chinese Magic Kingdom (the one that may go into Shanghai in 2008) will be the first of … Well, not many. But several. Several Disney theme parks that will pop up all around the globe over the next 18 years.
Where will these new “Magic Kingdoms” be built? Well, that’s where Jay comes in, kids. Rasulo’s going to be the guy who determines if an Australian Disney theme park (Which has been held up for years now because that country’s population is still supposedly too small to profitably support a Disney theme park) finally gets built. Or whether South America (A continent that the Mouse would dearly love to drop a “Magic Kingdom” into. Except for the unstable governments as well as the wild currency fluctuations) gets the nod.
It’s felt that Jay’s experience with the Disneyland Paris resort will make him invaluable as the Mouse attempts to grow its brand globally. Even though this 17-year Disney Company veteran is a native New Yorker, Rasulo’s reportedly handled his overseas assignment with great skill and aplomb.
So – when all was said and done – Jay was the right guy for the job. At least according to Michael Eisner.
I mean, if Uncle Mikey had really thought that the Walt Disney Company’s future lay in the construction of new stateside theme parks, Cynthia or Al would have had a serious shot at Pressler’s old job. But since Eisner truly believes that the Disney Company’s financial future hinges on the successful launch of several new overseas theme parks, Jay was the guy that he chose for the job.
And – as for those of you out there who are saying that Rasulo is the second coming of Pressler just because of the meager assortment of attractions that Disney Studios Paris currently offers – Well … Do any of you recall the meager assortment of attractions that WDW’s Disney – MGM Studio theme park offered back in 1989? It took the Imagineers (who had actually originally designed Disney – MGM to be just a half day park) almost five years to get enough rides & shows up and running in that park.
Disneyland Paris resort insiders will tell you that a similar plan is already in place for the Disney Studios Paris theme park. That – once the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Little Mermaid’s lagoon are in place (supposedly by the end of 2004) – this theme park will at least start to look like a full day theme park. And with the arrival of “Fantasmic” in 2005 and (provided that the Walt Disney Company can successfully close out its negotiations with EM.TV to acquire the Jim Henson Company this November) “Muppetvision 3D” in 2006 … DSP could actually become a worthy companion to Disneyland – Paris sometime before 2010.
So don’t sell Jay short just yet, folks. There is a plan in place to grow Disney Studios Paris into a halfway decent theme park. Here’s hoping that Rasulo will soon get a plan in place that help revive the Walt Disney World & Disneyland resorts’ theme parks.
I mean, yes, it’s sad to think that we’ve probably seen our last new stateside Disney theme park (At least for the next decade or two). But I guess I could stomach that development if I saw WDI drop some truly innovative new attractions into the Orlando & Anaheim resorts over the next few years or so.
Your thoughts?