The Man Who Was Vilified

Throughout the history of Disney there have been people who have been labeled as legends, visionaries, and saviors. Others haven't been so lucky. Some people were labeled villains and run out of the company. In some cases the action taken against them was well deserved. However, in at least one case the label of villain put a tarnish on all he accomplished.

A lot of people talk about Michale Eisner as if he abused animals and murdered children. Is that fair?

When Eisner took over things were bad. For years Disney had been a target for companies who wanted to take it over. The movies were crap. Disney World itself was struggling to meet it's guests demands.

What happened over the next two decades? (not in chronological order)

1 - On property hotel rooms expanded from 5k to over 30k
2 - Disney Hollywood Studios opened
3 - Animal Kingdom opened
4 - Disney Vacation Club
5 - The Littler Mermaid released
6 - Aladdin released
7 - Lion King released
8 - Beauty and the Beast released
9 - Wonderful World of Disney made a comeback
10 - Revival of the Disney Parks
11 - Grand Floridian
12 - Wilderness Lodge
13 - Swan and Dolphin

How many people who are Disney fans today grew up in the late 80's through the 90's? My parents took me to the parks and movies during that time period. It seemed like every time we went there wasn't just a new attraction but ton of new stuff to check out. There seemed to be a buzz that you couldn't explain. It really seemed like Disney was firing on all cylinders.

I don't know where everything went wrong. It seems like you never hear the same story twice. What I do know is that Disney is around today because of what took place in the late 80's and through the 90's. There are a lot of fans today that became fans during those years.

Growing Up Disney

I've posted a new video to YouTube. It's called "Growing Up Disney" and it takes tracks a family at Disney World over a 25 year period from the mid 80's to 2010.

From the beginning you know it's the 80's. The hair, the fashions, and even Disney all scream 80's.

From there we move on to the early 90's. Again you see evidence of the era in not only what people are wearing but also the fact that Roger Rabbit was still roaming the parks.

The next step is the mid to late 90's. You will start to notice large changes in the family members as they age but some of the Disney experiences have remained the same but are now viewed from another angle.

There are a couple of photos from the mide 2000's. You'll see a new generation introduced to Disney. You'll also see the last photos of one member of the family in Disney World. Another thing you might notice is the lack of some of the family members. The last Disney vacation with all the family members took place in the late 90's.

The final photos are from 2009 and 2010. You can see what 25 years does to the little kid in the first photo. However, Pluto is still Pluto.

The entire slideshow is set to the music of "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow."

You can see the video here.