One of the great tragedies at
the Magic Kingdom of the last 10 years is the exodus
of veteran cast members, who—often by no choice of their own—have
traded in their mouse ears for consulting careers or rocking chairs.
These are the folks who truly understood the importance of Show, who
really cared about and believed in what they were doing. They were the
caretakers of Walt’s dream, transfused with pixie dust by Walt’s disciples
or, in many cases, by Walt himself. They were “Disneylanders.”
The old-timers are mostly gone now. They’ve taken their decades of experience
with them. Unfortunately, their successors are loathe to learn from their
ways. Today’s Disneyland management never calls in the old guard for advice
— only for a photo op. Walt’s aging believers—like the founder
himself—no longer influence policy; they have become promotional
gimmicks.
So, how genuine, how awe-inducing do you expect Disneyland’s 50th anniversary
celebration to be as devised by a group of executives that resents Disneyland’s
past?
That’s why it was so encouraging when word leaked three months ago that
recently appointed theme park head Jay Rasulo was underwhelmed by what
Disneyland proposed for its Golden Anniversary. The modest plans featured
an 18-month, multi-park celebration themed “A Magical Moment in Time”
and centered on a rebuilt Space Mountain, a gold overlay on the castle,
a fireworks show, a parade, and a theme song by the composers of “Believe
— There’s Magic in the Stars.” Yawn.
It was doubly encouraging when, two months ago, Rasulo was seen walking
the park with former Disneyland president Jack Lindquist. Soon after,
another “Club 55er,” former executive vice president Ron Dominguez,
was spotted inside the Magic Kingdom.
Immediately, the rumors started swirling among cast members, Web reporters
and discussion boarders. Was Rasulo contemplating giving Cynthia Harriss
the boot and bringing back the old-timers to save the day?
No, Lindquist insists, that was never a consideration. Lindquist says
he went to Disneyland to have lunch at Club 33 with Rasulo, who is an
old friend. He says he’s “flattered” to learn how excited fans
were at the possibility of his return, but “you can’t go home.”
Dominguez, also more than happily retired, was in the park about the
same time, to be interviewed for a Travel Channel documentary.
But it’s not all bad news. Although Disney is uninterested in rehiring
its legends, at least it may be willing to listen to them again. Next
week, Disneyland executives will meet with a long line of old-timers to
solicit their ideas and advice on how to celebrate the park’s 50th anniversary.
Those asked to attend all got their start at Disneyland in the 1950s,
1960s and 1970s, and include Lindquist, Dominguez, former Disneyland International
president Jim Cora, former Disneyland public relations manager Mary Anne
Mang, Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook, and Buena Vista Special
Events v.p. Bob Gault.
That the Company is even asking these people for advice is encouraging.
“We’ll tell them what we think, and then it’s up to them,” Lindquist
says. “At least, it won’t cost them anything.”
Lindquist admits the Disneyland executive of today is far different than
the pioneers of ’55. “The fun was there was no book to go by,”
he says. “You wrote the book everyday. Probably our greatest strength
was having a group of people who were stupid enough not to know that the
things they were doing couldn’t be done. That’s a big plus. I think today
that’s a big problem. You’ve got people afraid to do things because they
might fail. Well, when you have a blank sheet, you don’t know you can
fail.”
Hopefully, some of that creativity and daring will rub off on those in
charge of planning the 50th anniversary celebration. If not, they’ll discover
that, with expectations so high, cautiousness will guarantee failure.
