Roy Saves Feature Animation, Veterans Lead Other Divisions
Roy Edward Disney returned to the company and was instrumental to the revival by convincing the new management that the division behind "The Black Cauldron" was worth saving. Without Roy, there wouldn't have been "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "The Lion King", or all of the Disney animated hits of recent years. Arguably, the whole modern revival of American animated features wouldn't have happened.

Walt Disney Productions (soon to be renamed The Walt Disney Company) certainly was going to be a different company - it was now run by business-focused Hollywood veterans instead of visionary farm boys from Missouri. But at least it was still around, and still had Disney family members involved. In addition, while studio management was overhauled, the new corporate leaders kept other veteran division leaders -most of whom had known Walt- in place: Marty Sklar still helmed the Imagineers, Bo Boyd still lead Consumer Products, and Dick Nunis still ruled at the theme parks.

Things did change- some clearly for the good, some more controversial. The numbers don't lie, though, and the Company grew enormously in size and shareholder value from 1984 into the 1990s. The drama of 1984 and the subsequent revival of the company's fortunes were documented in several books, including Storming the Magic Kingdom, The Disney Touch, and Prince of the Magic Kingdom.

Seeds From the Past
A couple of the decisions in particular of prior management were of great assistance to the new team. Creating a new brand, Touchstone, allowed the studio to produce films and television shows that would not mesh well with the "Disney" brand name. Not only was this another source of revenue, it was also a way to draw established talent to the studio or develop talent. Disney wouldn't have Bruckheimer producing "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" for Walt Disney Pictures if he hadn't already been at the studio doing films like "The Rock" and "Armageddon".

Also, the decision to go ahead with the Oriental Land Company's Tokyo Disneyland project pushed Disney into the international business world, brought in extra revenue, and gave Imagineers more projects to work on, even if Burbank didn't own and operate the park.

Team Disney (Eisner, Wells, etc.) took the ball and ran. They moved ahead with plans for a theme park in Europe while they aggressively expanded Walt Disney World Resort with more hotels, Disney-MGM Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and Pleasure Island. They brought a then-incendiary team of Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Michael Jackson to create what amounted to an elaborate, extended 3-D music video - "Captain Eo" for Disneyland Park and EPCOT Center and had George Lucas partner with them on "Star Tours", which also proved to be an extremely popular attraction. They had also secured rights to develop attractions based on Indiana Jones.

Expanding Disney
A commitment to existing parks such as Disneyland Park and EPCOT Center were demonstrated with Splash Mountain and Wonders of Life, respectively, which were substantial expansion additions - instead of replacements or renovations of existing attractions. By then, management was quietly planning a transformation and expansion in Anaheim, as well as a possible project in nearby Long Beach. In fact, Disney was getting set to marketing the 1990s as the "Disney Decade" with major projects throughout the company. Disneyland Park was further expanded with Mickey's Toontown in 1993 and the huge, long-awaited Indiana Jones attraction in 1995.

An employee's suggestion gave rise to a whole new arm of the company, The Disney Store, the first physical outposts of Disney outside the boundaries of theme parks and resorts. Experiments like The Disney Gallery, Mickey's Kitchen, and Club Disney would come and go, as would ambitious plans for Disney Quest and ESPNZone sites, but Disney Stores popped up everywhere and were highly successful for many years.

Meanwhile, back at the studio, the magic had been revived as it seemed like every Disney Animated Feature performed better and better at the box office, reaching a peak with 1994's "The Lion King", and inherently merchandisable film with catchy music and magnificent artistry.