The Role of the President
As a someone who is nowhere near the position of President, but is a big admirer of the Disneyland Resort and has public relations experience, I offer some “outside�? suggestion to the President of the Disneyland Resort: Make sure that, every once in a while, you take a step back and look at your job from the eyes of an innocent little child. Forget the corporate ladder, the dull meetings, the union negotiations, the vicious attacks online. Pretend for a moment that the job is really like a little kid would think it is. Live the dream. You get to “live�? at Disneyland! You “rule�? Disneyland! You get to pal around with Belle, with Minnie, with Aladdin- how neat is that?

Wouldn’t it be nice to work like that all of the time?

Think about it. It seems to me that Vice-Presidents can handle all of the details, drudgery and dirty work. The President should be able to delegate all of that stuff and spend time at ceremonies, celebrations, and events, talking with guests, chatting it up with cast members, promoting the Resort, schmoozing with sponsors and participants, and concentrating on improving the Resort as a whole. Get out of the office and walk around. While there will always be people who resent authority, people tend to like a visible, accessible, strong leader who talks with them.

Perhaps corporate management should also look at the role of Disneyland President in that light for a moment. Maybe they should encourage a Presidency that is a cheerleader for the Resort and is mainly devoted to discovering concepts that make the guest experience better and improve the brand.

This goes back to Walt Disney. Disneyland was Walt’s toy, his dream, his baby. A little research reveals that Walt Disney didn’t have an official title and position of power with Walt Disney Productions. Yet, there was no mistaking that he was the feared leader of the company, the guy who called the shots with much tempering from his brother, Roy Oliver Disney. Walt came across on television as kindly, warm “Uncle Walt�?. To many, he was as much the Disneyland mascot at Mickey Mouse.

Remember, the Disneyland Resort isn’t just a place, it is a show.

C.V. Wood seems to have been quite a character. He went on to be involved in all sorts of interesting ventures.

Jack Lindquist, experienced in the ways of Disneyland, came across with warmth as the sunny-smile grandfatherly type.

Paul Pressler, younger and angling for higher corporate power, wasn’t so fortunate.

Cynthia Harriss comes across as a warm, motherly or big-sisterly sort, happy and excited to be President of the Disneyland Resort.

Expectations
We can’t expect miracles from the President. She doesn’t work in a vacuum. She works in concert with so many people. It is up to Walt Disney Parks & Resorts management and corporate management to support her. It is up to Imagineering to provide her with quality product. It is up to her to maintain it. It is up to us, the audience, to submit to it with the proper attitude, expectations, and behavior.

The tone for Disney is set by Chairman & CEO Michael Eisner and the Board of Directors. Don’t think for a minute that the President of the Disneyland Resort could do anything that deviated much from their plan and still maintain her position. It is naïve to paint anyone in that position as either a rebel battling corporate “suits�? or a dastardly villain out to secretly plunder the Disneyland Resort for professional advancement, corporate management unaware.

However, you and I know that the Disneyland Resort isn’t just a place, it is a show. It needs to have a host.

That is why I’d be so happy to see corporate management look at the Resorts as places that need mayors, and shows that need hosts, and free up the President positions to fill those roles. It sure would be good for the President of the Disneyland Resort to truly be the Happiest Job on Earth.

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?