Usually it’s the other way around. Universal Studios sends its middle
managers snooping around the local Disney theme parks, hoping to gain
a competitive advantage from learning what its rival down south is up
to.
But if Disneyland’s incoming president, Matt Ouimet, and his newly named
lieutenants are smart, they’ll pay close attention to the changes that
are about to get underway at Universal. NBC—the new majority owner
of Universal’s theme parks—will be spending all of this week and
next on site at Universal Studios Hollywood, both in the public areas
and in the offices, looking for waste.
On the surface, it might sound like a precursor to another round of budget
cutbacks sure to result in less live entertainment and less ambitious
attractions. But word has it NBC could be different. Their primary focus
is said to be not on eliminating entertainment, but on improving it by
thinning the bureaucracy.
“NBC has already let go some of the USH [Universal Studios-Hollywood]
administrative assistants. It seemed like every manager had hired one
the last couple of years,” revealed one insider. “Senior managers
were told [last] week that there are too many wasted dollars and resources
on the tour, and that major changes must come to the fiscal and office
management.”
He admits, “Less Office/More Show does sound too good to be true.
Personally, I’ll believe it when I see it. Yet the Teamsters (tram drivers),
American Guild of Variety Artists (the USH characters union), and the
Screen Actors Guild (which consults AGVA) were recently able to communicate
their concerns to senior NBC management regarding the 10-year shift from
‘small office staff/lots of characters and street shows’ to just the opposite
now. We will see if NBC makes major changes, but they do have a reputation
for running a tight fiscal operation, and they have stated to the above
unions that they do want labor peace at Universal.”
The bloated bureaucracies at both Disney and Universal are problematic
for countless reasons. Decision-making is slowed and diluted (case in
point: the still-not-yet-finalized plans for Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary).
Office politics fester. And, worst of all, finances are diverted from
onstage (adequate staffing, operating hours, adding new attractions, maintenance)
to pay for the monolith growing offstage.
In addition, the layers of separation increase between the front lines
and the true decision-makers. As the ranks of administrators grow, they
forget where the magic is really being made. The theme park becomes a
product to market and manipulate, not a place to visit. In turn, the hourly
“guest contact” employees become faceless; they’re just numbers
on a spreadsheet.
Now, Disney didn’t always Manage by Memo. Walt was himself a hands-on
leader, and he insisted that management at Disneyland spend as much time
as possible onstage, watching and assisting the guests play and the cast
members work. It resulted in a long line of Operations executives who
believed in being visible in the parks, from Dick Nunis, Bob Mathieson,
Bill Sullivan and Ron Dominguez on down.
Although support functions, such as administration and security, might
be housed in a non-descript office or converted ranch house backstage,
for decades Operations management at Disneyland had their offices well
inside the berm, such as above the Adventureland Bazaar or in Frontierland
behind the false storefronts of Rainbow Ridge. When Walt Disney World’s
Magic Kingdom was designed in the late 1960s, the top management offices
were placed on the second story of the Main Street shops.
As Disney World added theme parks and other attractions, it became more
practical to base the top Operations executives at a separate “Team
Disney” facility. About 10 years ago, when Disneyland got its own
plush quarters—the “Team Disney Anaheim” Building—old-timers
just shook their heads.
Walt never wanted the managers to get too comfortable in their offices.
He wanted the guests—not company executives—to be the VIPs.
“Walt hated spending money offstage,” confided the late Van
Arsdale France, founder of the Disney University. “He wanted to spend
it on the guests. The only reason he built the old administration building
was because they needed a building for the Primeval World diorama.”
Let’s hope that NBC gets things right at Universal and reduces the barriers
between park management and the front lines—and that a certain competitor
takes note.
