[MouseMan]

The following Thread is devoted to archiving the current situation with the Disney Company. Inside this thread you will find all articles and other information with which to keep abreast of the resignation of Roy Disney and Stanley Gold as well as their letters to the Micheal Eisner and much more. So do check out this thread in it's entirety for all of the latest developments in this intriguing time of the Disney Company's History. - Anim8ed

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Walt Disney Co. Vice Chairman Roy E. Disney submitted his resignation from the company board on Sunday and called for Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner to step down from his own positions.

Mr. Disney, nephew to the late Walt Disney, sent Mr. Eisner a tough three-page letter severely criticizing his leadership during the past seven years. "It is my sincere belief that it is you who
should be leaving and not me," Mr. Disney wrote. "Accordingly, I once again call for your resignation or retirement."

In his letter, Mr. Disney said that Mr. Eisner deserved credit for a successful first decade after
taking the helm at Disney in 1984. But he then detailed seven areas in which he said Mr. Eisner
has failed the company in the past seven years. The list of complaints included everything from the performance of the struggling ABC broadcast networks and Disney theme parks to Mr. Eisner's reputation for "micro-management of everyone around you."

The resignation comes in advance of a Disney board meeting this week. Mr. Disney's letter seems to indicate that the Disney board's nominating committee had decided to leave his name off the slate of directors to be elected for the coming year. Mr. Disney also indicated that he would also resign from his position as chairman of Disney feature animation.

A Disney spokeswoman initially declined to comment.
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Sunday November 30, 2003
Wall Street Journal
Bruce Orwell

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[urfavtourgide]

Wow.

[MouseMan]

Yup! Pretty incredible! I can't believe that Roy would resign from the family company! Unless it's a ploy to get Eisner to backdown and change his ways...it could backfire! However, and I know many here don't want to hear it...but the word out on the internet amongst those working at the studios out there is that Roy is livid over the Haunted Mansion debacle in cinemas now and that was the "straw that broke the Mouse's back"!! Evidently Roy is tired of Eisner's pandering and pilaging the history and quality the company used to represent and thinks it's time to make a major statement by pulling out in this fashion!

One can only hope for the best...but it seems that there's indeed larger troubles at "The House Of Mouse" than a lackluster recent cinematic release! It's the actual survival of the company and it's future now! I'm hoping that this is an internet hoax...but with it appearing in the Wall Stret Journal...well..it's pretty cut and dry! This is bad folks...very bad!

[MouseMan]

The New York Times Article!
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November 30, 2003
Roy Disney Resigns and Urges C.E.O. Eisner to Follow Suit
By CARLA BARANAUCKAS

The vice chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney, resigned from the board of directors today, citing his ``serious differences of opinion'' with the chairman, Michael D. Eisner, ``about the direction and style of management in the company.''

Mr. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, also called for Mr. Eisner's resignation. In addition, Mr. Disney stepped down from his position as chairman of the feature animation division.

The resignation lays bare a sharp conflict in an entertainment and media company that has called its theme parks ``the happiest place on earth.''

``You well know that you and I have had serious differences of opinion about the direction and style of management in the company in recent years,'' Mr. Disney wrote to Mr. Eisner. ``For whatever reason, you have driven a wedge between me and those I work with even to the extent of requiring some of my associates to report my conversations and activities to you. I find this intolerable.''

Mr. Disney noted that the nominating committee had excluded him from the slate up for election to the board of the publicly held company, ``effectively muzzling my voice on the board.''

Just last year in a boardroom power play, Mr. Eisner prevailed over his chief critic and fellow board member, Stanley P. Gold, investment adviser to the family of Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney's nephew.

After that episode, the board was reconfigured, in a move that was said to reduce the influence of Mr. Eisner's critics.

Mr. Disney acknowledged that he fell into the category of critic.

``Michael, I believe your conduct has resulted from my clear and unambiguous statements to you and the board of directors that after 19 years at the helm you are no longer the best person to run the Walt Disney Company,'' Mr. Disney wrote, adding that in the last 10 years the company ``has lost its focus, its creative energy, and its heritage.''

The Disney company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares closed at $23.09 on Friday.

[minnie*mickey]

im very upset about this, the one person in the disney family that was still part of the buisness and he leaves, very disheartening

[Disneyguy]

OMG!!! I can not believe this! I am really worried at what will happen now. I mean I thought that Disney has been doing really well, but then again I have only been around for 14 years. Oh jeez if Walt could only see us now. Shame shame on some of the "big heads" in the Disney Co. 'Tis a sad day.

[effect4_disney]

Ack! This is scary AND sad.. eep:/ Like you all, I'm scared for Disney's future :/ I hope Eisner will resign/retire and things will get better.. eep

[iluvstitch]

I know I'm not the only one afraid here. I guess this all falls on Eisner's shoulders now. Un-happy holidays.

[YensidFan]

I recall this happening once before years ago (roy leaving disney) ... and after some slick manuevers - Roy was in charge.
another ploy?!

[MouseMan]

Many, many, MANY people are hoping so!

[10 min to wdw]

sometimes people make moves that don't seem like the best thing at the time but then you see why he made the move and this maybe one of those times. its to early to be nervous folks we just have to wait and see what happens.

[WDWChrissy]

I tend to side with Mr. Disney. I think in the past few years the whole company has fallen into disrepair. Some "new blood" might do the company good. I also think that Disney needs to refocus and regroup. Disney is a heritage of us all, and needs to be maintained. Maybe some of those Disney "muckety-mucks" should spend quality time reflecting on the legacy that was Walt Disney. Without him, and us by the way, their 7 figure paychecks would cease to be.

[10 min to wdw]

lets hope esiner does step down and someone who cares about the guest expierence and not so much the money steps in.

[minnie*mickey]

i agree chrissy, disney has gotten off track, and is becoming no better then other greedy companies, and that should not be, disney stands for much more, and it needs to thrive and continue its high standard for the generations to come

[MouseMan]

Conflict at Walt Disney bursts wide open
By Christopher Parkes in Los Angeles and Peter Thal Larsen in New York
Published: November 30 2003 23:14 | Last Updated: November 30 2003 23:26

Roy Disney resigned as vice-chairman of the Walt Disney entertainment group on Sunday and called for Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive, to follow suit, bringing to a head a conflict that has been brewing for a decade.
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"It is my sincere belief that it is you who should be leaving and not me," he said in a bitter letter that criticised Mr Eisner's performance and style on seven counts.

The departure and open hostility of Mr Disney, nephew of Walt and still a substantial shareholder, are likely to reignite the debate about its direction.

It marks the end of a relationship that dates back to 1984, when Mr Eisner was appointed to rescue the company from break-up raiders, and which has been increasingly antagonistic.

The letter detailed criticisms that Mr Disney had offered privately and had been repeated in writing to Mr Eisner from Stanley Gold, a board member, and head of Mr Disney's private investment group, Shamrock Holdings.

It said that the company, under Mr Eisner's leadership, had "failed during the last seven years in many ways".

It had failed to bring the ABC network's primetime schedule "back from the abyss", he wrote.

Attacking the "timidity" of group investments in its key theme parks in California, Paris and the resort under construction in Hong Kong, he said "you have tried to build parks on the cheap and they show it and the attendance figures reflect it".

Under his control, the company was seen by virtually everyone associated with it as "rapacious, soulless, and always looking for the quick buck rather than long-term value, which is leading to a loss of public trust".

Also included in his catalogue of complaints were the "creative brain drain", which he described as "real and continuing", and which was especially trying for Mr Disney who, as chairman of the feature animation division, has seen his empire whittled down by heavy lay-offs.

Mr Eisner had also failed to build constructive relationships with its successful Miramax film subsidiary, and Pixar, the computer animation company responsible for most of the Disney-branded hit cartoons in recent years.

Mr Disney also referred to the chairman's consistent refusal to establish a clear succession plan, and accused him of eroding morale across the company with his "consistent micro-management of everyone around you".

Mr Disney, who could not be reached for comment, has been a consistent critic of the way the group has been run, especially since 1994, and played a leading internal role in pressing for the implementation of recent moves to improve corporate governance.

In the past two years, an enlarged board and other measures have quieted most external criticism.