The server change restored my password and the Captain's come down with the scurvy! Thanks for the homage LandBaron...Don't remove it on my account...I'm a legend in my own mind!
Jeff, the general consensus is that Eisner - Wells made less odious financial decisions but that is just more speculation (IMO). Certainly Wells & Eisner were best friends and respected each other, but Eisner was in charge, he's always been in charge and Wells deferred to Eisner's final decisions. Now, perhaps because of their close personal relationship Eisner listened to Wells more than those who came later, I just don't know.
But the key here is the internet (IMO), the DIS, Screamscape, Laughingplace, et al. Disney is now under a microscope that didn't exist just a couple years ago, true they have always been under the press's microscope but they don't dwell on the minutia as we fanatics do. We argue real rumors, false rumors, speculation and it all gets jumbled. We must remember that Disney seldom shares their ideas with us and our passions regarding favorites, failures, hopes, dreams & attitudes are laced with those passions. Eisner isn't making decisions based on whats in his heart (much to LandBarons shagrin) but rather whats in is head as any competent CEO would.
I understand where you're coming from with the "fingerprint" commnet now, but what about Test Track? And SPACE? How about Kilimangaro Safari? Or Soarin' Over California? These are all recent attractions doing things that heretofore haven't been done before. Further Disney has definately leaned toward Show innovation lately and is that a bad thing? Beauty & The Beast, Hunchback, Lion King, Tarzan, Fantasmic...They add a NEW demension that before Eisner, wasn't a part of the MAGIC. I agree that the Shows are a different venue altogether, but to infer that innovation & imagination have decreased just doesn't seem right to me.
The reason I say you & DVC are looking at the small picture is because you're looking at one phase of a huge company and examining it under a microscope. Yes, Theme Parks have been the most profitable venue, but in today's world , like it or not, we all have to accept the size and breadth that Disney must maintain in order to reamin independent. We often criticize Eisner for micro-managing but I think he receives criticizim from detractors who only care about a portion of what he's responsible for, making a fair look at what he's trying to accomplish nearly impossible...
Sarangels report on the DisBiz suggests the permitting process for DL is, in fact, the start of gate three, so that's where I'm coming from on that...
As for Dino-Rama, appearances can be deceiving. Our friend Safari Steve repeatedly cautions us to wait & see, judge with our own eyes and I'm willing to do that with DinoLand. Perhaps you and DVC will be right and it'll be just a cheap, quick fix...But I see the glass as half-full. The rollercoasters will have big lines and the Carney games will harken us back to a time in Americana forgotton...Disney style. Remember, Walt never said he didn't like the carnival atmosphere, quite the contrary IMO, he didn't like the sleazy & dirtiness he found in what was being offered at the time. Rest asured Disney won't resemble those traits.
OK, I've given you guys enough fodder, I think and you should keep in mind that while I don't disagree with your views on appearances in a lot of cases, the hard-line anti-Eisner stance sometimes taken makes it tough for us to find a common ground. I like WDW BETTER than ever before and so do gcurling, DisDuck and others. Perhaps it's because it's our time, gcurling, JeffH & I all have young children, but for whatever reason it still 'takes me away' every single time, to a place like nowhere else!