DisneyWar: A Peek Behind the Magic Curtain

I recently finished reading DisneyWar by James B. Stewart. In his book, Stewart chronicles Michael Eisner’s journey as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2004.  It’s a lengthy, yet fascinating read. If you’d rather not know some of the darker details behind the magic of the Walt Disney Company, then this book is probably not for you. If you’re interested in the corporate side of things, as I tend to be because of my background, then I think you’ll find it worth your time. It may also help if you’re a fan of old TV dramas because oddly, this true story reads like one. Think Dallas more than Melrose Place.

I didn’t know much about Michael Eisner before reading this book. To me, he was the guy that hosted the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid. Naturally, that made me want to like him. More recently, I  learned he was also the man swinging the golf club in the original Soarin’ attraction at EPCOT and Disney’s California Adventure.

According to Stewart’s book, Eisner doesn’t even like golf. That contradiction seemed appropriate as I kept reading.

Eisner is a difficult man to understand. In some ways he seems like a genius and in others, well, not so much. He oversaw a period of incredible growth for the Walt Disney Company, increasing corporate revenue from $1.6 billion to $30 billion in his first 20 years. (I double-checked the numbers!) He also added more than 700 films to the company’s library, managed the acquisitions of ABC and ESPN, launched Disney’s Broadway shows and earned 140 Academy Awards. (Again yes, double-checked the numbers!) In other words, his corporate management of the company was phenomenal.

Yet, Eisner’s people skills weren’t quite as awesome. According to Stewart’s book, Eisner undermined his coworkers. He second guessed his direct reports’ decisions. He fired or helped fire so many executives he originally helped recruit, that I lost count. It wasn’t pretty and it swayed my opinion of him a bit.

Beyond the boardroom drama, the book also shares a lot of interesting Disney insights. For example, Stewart tells the story behind the development of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels in Orlando. In the late 1980s, there was internal debate over whether Disney could successfully manage the growth of its hotel business at Disney World. The Contemporary Resort and Polynesian Village Resort both opened with Magic Kingdom in 1971. Other projects stalled. The predominant opinion was that the company was better off partnering with external partners on future hotel projects rather than managing them on its own. Crazy to think about now, don’t you think? Sixteen resorts and numerous Disney Vacation Club properties later?

Following the external partner strategy, Eisner entered into an agreement with Marriott and a developer named John Tishman. Tishman was to design the hotels and Marriott would operate them. Eisner was less than thrilled with their recommendations. Then, after seeing his own Imagineers’ plans for what would become the Grand Floridian hotel, Eisner broke the contract with his external partners. Tishman sued, and the result was a quasi-ownership arrangement where Marriott would own two hotels on premium space at Disney World, while Disney would maintain the rights to design the hotels and specify the service levels. Consider it something to ponder the next time you’re floating past these hotels on the boat from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios. Or, when you’re wondering why you can’t purchase the meal plan or use your MagicBands quite the same way as other Disney resort guests.

One of the other interesting story lines, at least to me, was the relationship of Jeffrey Katzensberg with Eisner. Katzenberg, as you may already know, oversaw the animated division at Disney from 1984 to 1994. His tenure included Disney classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Aladdin. Eisner and Katzenberg were constantly at odds, apparently over personality conflicts and differing management styles. Ultimately, Katzenberg left Disney, started DreamWorks with Steven Speilberg and David Geffen and went on to successfully compete with Disney for years.

See what I mean? There’s so much drama in the book that spills right into Disney’s more recent corporate history.

In 2016, Katzenberg and partners sold DreamWorks to Comcast’s NBC Universal for $3.8 billion. One of the executives at NBC Universal involved with the acquisition was Steven Burke, another former Disney executive who worked under Eisner and left partly because of him. Steven Burke also made a bid for Disney during his early days as the CEO of Comcast in 2004.

In 2018, Disney beat out a bid by Comcast to purchase select assets from 20th Century Fox. The company also invested a reported $200 million on a new venture with Jeffery Katzenberg.

It’s nice that the company doesn’t hold grudges.

The book covers other dramatic storylines too. I haven’t even mentioned the plan to overthrow Eisner which led to the book’s title. You’ll also find interesting side stories regarding Disney’s relationship with Pixar, the launch and reimagining of Disneyland Paris and the numerous creative projects that Disney originally believed were low risk winners (Pearl Harbor!) or high risk losers (Johnny Depp as a speech-slurring pirate?).

Beyond all the drama, DisneyWar gave me a greater appreciation for just how difficult it has been for Disney to remain Disney for all these years. Mickey Mouse will celebrate his 90th birthday this year. Disneyland recently turned 60. How does a company remain this successful for so long?

Strong leadership? Brilliant creative? Deep pockets? The book suggests maybe a combination of the three.

Eisner, despite his flaws, clearly had a stake in making Disney the company that it is today. He knew that the company had to grow in order to fend off potential suitors and remain faithful to its family-oriented core business. The book details many of the steps that he took to get there and several costly mistakes too. Yet, Disney has bounced back from numerous failures and pioneered unbelievable successes. I for one, am so glad they have.

Add a little magic to your world.