Everyone knows the saying made famous by E. Cardon Walker, “what would Walt do?” This question became a sentiment that was ingrained into the very fabric of the Walt Disney Company in the wake of Walt Disney’s passing in December of 1966. From the recreation of Disneyland in Florida, to the attempt to complete Walt’s vision of EPCOT and all things before and after, there have been many that lived in the shadow of the ghost of Walt Disney.
Some people just wanted to continue what Walt wanted, like his brother Roy, Card Walker and to some degree his son-in-law, Ron W. Miller. Others, like Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to “be” the next Walt Disney. This led to many issues that, in some cases, led to the almost destruction of the company that they were trying to control. This series will focus on how it all went wrong, was fixed and went wrong all over again in a way that not only educates, but also, sparks questions.
To begin, there has to be a starting off point, a place to jump off from. To start all the way back from Walt’s beginnings would send us too far into the past, but to pickup in the creation of Walt Disney World seems like the most logical point to begin with, as it is one of the last things Walt Disney worked on, and sadly, never saw completed.
As Walt Disney was buying land in the Florida Everglades for pennies on the dollar, and creating his grand plan for what would become Walt Disney World and EPCOT, he was also working on grooming his successor. Walt knew that he did not lead the most healthy lifestyle, and he also knew that he would like to step away at some point. His choice to groom his son-in-law, Ron W. Miller, to be his successor was the simplest choice he could ever make, as it set up his daughter, Diane, and their family for life, as well as allowing his voice and his ideas to remain, as well as his influence to continue to be strong. He invited Ron to join him onboard as an assistant director after watching him take a few hard hits while playing Tight End for the Los Angeles Rams. His choice to go into the movie production business was a way to prolong Ron’s life, as Walt was sure he would “get killed” on the football field.
After Walt’s passing, Card Walker eventually took over as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Walt Disney Company from Donn Tatum, and Ron W. Miller became the President of Walt Disney Productions in 1976. In preparation for the construction and opening of EPCOT in a modified version of Walt’s initial design, Walt Disney Productions had seen a tremendous drop off in its ability to develop a story and the quality of animation. Much of this was attributed to Ron Miller’s leadership at the studio. Things took such a negative turn that Roy E. Disney (Walt’s nephew) eventually quit in 1977 as an executive for the studio, because of what, he believed, was a lack of creativity and quality in the Disney brand. Roy continued on as a member of the board of directors, but his disagreements and lack of faith in Ron Miller had already been cemented.
Disney continued to flounder during the early 1980’s. With the disappointing opening of EPCOT to the theory of most teenagers that “I wouldn’t be caught dead a t a Disney movie”, the Walt Disney Company found itself in serious trouble. The only area where Disney was turning a profit prior to EPCOT’s opening was the theme park side, and with floundering returns from EPCOT coupled with its astronomical cost (approximately $1 billion) the profits there were disappearing as well. Disney needed a change, they needed to move to a mindset suitable for the 1980’s, not one that existed in the 1960’s.
In our next installment, Ron Miller takes over, the corporate raiders try to take over and Roy Disney attempts to “Save Disney”. Stay tuned to the next installment in this series “From ‘Saving’ Disney to Trying to be the ‘Next Walt Disney’: How Disney’s Corporate History Turned Ugly“