Kenversations™ - Apr 25, 2003

Kenversations™
Page 3 of 4

State of the Presidency
Ever since Paul Pressler bolted Disney for The Gap (which is kind of a funny thing to do after you've repeatedly told your employees you're determined to make the division the "Employer of Choice" - apparently it wasn't for Paul!), some have speculated that Cynthia would either follow him or leave Disneyland Resort for some other company.

Some people seem determined to encourage this.

I hope it doesn't happen, because I like Cynthia. I don't know her all that well, but from my limited interaction with her, I've found her to be very personable. While she was still a Vice-President, I was one of maybe three guys who sat in a meeting with her about some organizational matters. I've bumped into her a few times here and there, and she's very friendly and seems to be good at remembering people. She even made that special appearance at one of the Haunted Mansion events.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah that's all well and good, Ken, but what about cast member morale, what about park maintenance, what about new E-Tickets? What about Disneyland Park's 50th Anniversary???"

That's exactly my point.

Not the Fun & Games a Kid Might Imagine
Remember what I said about childhood impressions of Disneyland and the President of Disneyland? If not, go back and read it over and over again, mister/missy!

Most adults understand that a working position as President of the Disneyland Resort is not all it is cracked up to be in a childlike mind.

Innocent children don't know that there are people who hate someone in that position simply because they are higher up in the company than they are. They don't stop to think that there are people with a relatively new worldwide forum blasting the person's every move. They don't know that such a person has dozens of people underneath them and countless others outside of their organization angling for their job. They don't stop to think of the pressure and demands the President of the Disneyland Resort must endure from her bosses.

The President of the Disneyland Resort can't simply do anything he or she wants. The President must follow the dictates of Disney corporate management, laws and regulations, and work with the resources available. The Walt Disney Company is a publicly traded corporation, accountable to its owners- the shareholders. The Disneyland Resort is part of that corporation, and is expected to contribute and not be a drain.

If someone’s favorite restaurant gets a menu change, if prices go up, if her favorite attraction closes, if he doesn’t see his favorite character all day, if she sees chipped paint on the new railing at the front of the Mark Twain riverboat (railing that the boat got along fine without for 48 years), if his favorite bench is moved, it must be the fault of the President. If a cast member isn’t happy with his pay, it must be the fault of the President. If an annual passholder feels the Resort isn’t catering to her enough, it must be the fault of the President, according to such thinking.