Shining a Spotlight 6.25.09: WDW and the IWC

Posted by Michael Weyer on 06.25.2009

An examination of the interesting comparisons between the IWC and Walt Disney World complainers and how they both undermine their own arguements.



Pretty bummed to see Candice Michelle released as the woman really had improved in the ring since her debut and was working through injuries. She should be able to land on her feet but annoying to see this happen as I rather liked her.
　
I have several passions in life besides wrestling. Comic books, TV shows, action films…and Walt Disney World. I know, that may sound crazy but I admit it, I'm a Disney fanatic. Tell me I won a trip to Paris or London and I'll think it's nice. Tell me I won a couple days at Orlando and I'll be jumping up and down. I can't explain it, I've always been a sucker for that place ever since I first went there at nine years old. From 1991 to 1995, my family lived in Jacksonville, Florida, only two hours away from Orlando and we were able to take advantage of Florida resident deals to head there several times a year and you'd be amazed how much you can do in those parks in a single weekend when the crowds are low. This was the "glory period" of WDW, so many rides and attractions opening every year and all supplying the Disney magic, a period I still recall as one of the happiest of my life. After we moved from Florida, we still managed to do annual trips there for family vacations which made it seem a bit more special.

The bloom comes off every rose, of course, and with Disney, 2001 seemed to signal that. The company was struck hard by the post-9/11 plunge in tourism and economic troubles but of course they also faced some major management problems that affected company growth. Today, Disney World is in a unique position, adding new attractions but not quite with the same passion from their long-time supporters.

That's the reason for this column. An examination of something that hit me, which is that the IWC guys who moan about how bad wrestling is have a lot in common with the Disney fans who complain about how the magic is dead. The similarities are rather striking and as it touches on two things I love so much, I thought I'd compare them a bit.




The Complainers and the past
I don't want to turn this into a link fest so I'll simply point out how The Disney Portal is a great spot for links to other Disney-related sites. When you skim over these, you'll see quite a few who complain about what Disney is like today. The complaints are familiar in many ways:
*"It was so much better in the old days."
*"They don't care about the fans anymore."
*"Forget all the stuff for a new generation, just go back to the way it was."
*"They don't plan anything out properly."
*"It just isn't as entertaining as it was."

As I said, they're familiar complaints, especially among the most vocal sites. I admit a lot of them have merit, especially those discussing attractions I rather liked that were taken out or transformed too much. But at the same time, these people can make it sound like they're living too much in the past and looking at it with rose-colored glasses.

That's a feeling I've gone into before about wrestling fans, that too often they look back at the past as better than it once was. The territory days were filled with backstabbing and political backlash as large today, if not more so considering quite a few of the old guard practiced tactics that make Vince McMahon a candidate for sainthood. There were bad characters and bad booking there that is evident looking back and steroid complaints today are nothing compared to the massive drug use back in the ‘80's all over the place.

A lot of the Disney fans on these sites are like that as well, acting like it'd be better for Disney to tear out stuff like Test Track and Space and put back the old Horizons and World of Motion pavilions. Now, I loved those places greatly and agree they had something special. But I recognize the fact that to many of the younger generation, they just wouldn't have the "wow" factor of the current rides. I adored the Horizons pavilion a lot but I cannot remember a single time the wait line for it was more than five minutes long. Spending millions of dollars a year maintaining a spot for a small percentage of people just doesn't make a lot of sense. But that mentality extends to a lot of Disney rides, their fans too tied in to what's there to see the benefits of change. Generations change in taste, wrestling has proven that and what worked for audiences in the ‘80's probably won't for the Internet age. Yet Disney fans, like quite a few old-time wrestling fans, still think the old ways can work always, a rather annoying attitude.




The Man to blame
For wrestling fans, when stuff goes bad, Vince McMahon is often mentioned at fault. For Disney fanatics, the name to trash is Michael Eisner. It is interesting to note the similarities between Eisner and Vince. Both rose through the ranks of their businesses, learning the ropes and the inside tricks before getting their shot at power. They're known for being driven and single-minded to the point of ignoring all else. Each has wanted to expand big time, Vince with stuff like the XFL while Eisner has put Disney in everything from cruise lines to clothing lines and more. And of course, both are noted for their egos and being borderline crazy at times with some of their ideas.

Eisner can be at fault for overreaching Disney's grasp and interfering too much in things. But his detractors will ignore the tiny fact that without Eisner, the Disney Company wouldn't be the powerhouse it is today. The company was on the verge of going under when he took over in 1984 and it was he who spearheaded its developments in theme parks and movies. Jeffrey Katzenberg deserves praise for handling the studio side of things but quite a few times it was Eisner who championed films Katzenberg thought would never work and became hits. As for his ego, well, it's like Vince in a way; In a company filled with big egos, it makes sense the one in charge has the biggest and Eisner was able to maintain control for quite a while.

There are similar complaints about how both men ignore the caution of others too often. Vince does not surround himself with yes men but rather has a great way of winning people to his way of thinking. Eisner did let his own pride get in the way. In fact, you can trace the swing downward of his reign to the death of Frank Wells in 1994. The company exec was the one who could sooth Eisner's temper and help smooth over deals with the parks. Without his influence, Eisner, refusing to acknowledge anyone in the company to be on his level (which can pertain to quite a few wrestling promoters) took on sole reins of everything and the results speak for themselves.

For Disney fans, Eisner has become a name to curse for turning everything "corporate" and ignoring the joy to be had. There are some good criticisms and points but too often, folks can take this to a ridiculous degree, especially given the fact that Eisner has been out of Disney for several years and continuing to blame his influence for the company's woes seems silly. Vince McMahon is no saint to be sure but to blame him for every single evil and ill of the entire industry is way too much. The Disney fanatics will forget the good Eisner did, the success he brought the company and focus only on his failings and how he couldn't help the parks along. Which leads to another similarity of wrestling and Disney fans…


I can do it better
I've written in the past the annoying factor of many in the IWC to assume their armchair booking can work absolutely perfectly when set in motion. That idea forgets stuff like backstage politics, possible injuries and of course, the tiny fact that the majority of fans might not like the angles at all. Disney fans have that mentality as well, holding to how they know better how to run the parks so much. Everything from managing capacities to worker behavior to creating new rides, these folks are sure their ideas can work.

To say that's a bizarre attitude is understating it. It's one thing to think it up for wrestling where budgets are relatively low. But to claim you know how to run a company that deals daily in billion dollar issues when you have pretty much no experience in that stuff is pretty naïve. As I pointed out above, some folks have crazy ideas like taking out the thrill ride stuff and putting in the old ‘80's style rides that got almost no attendance at all. I agree that maintaing good behavior for workers is good but you just can't control people totally and it's foolish to think you can.

As with wrestling, there's also the issue of how the general public will take this. I've noticed that a lot of the site complainers are folks who visit Disney three or four times a year and can be hyper critical of every tiny flaw. They'll rail like mad at removing stuff like that giant wand on Spaceship Earth or the big hat in the Studios but when Disney tries to give a new ride of some sort, they'll complain it's not good enough. I've read Imagineers taking issue with that attitude and saying that they're not trying to please the annual passholders but the folks who only go once every few years and those people seem to like what they do. It's like how the IWC forgets they aren't the vast majority of the fan base and what they hate, the folks in the arenas like it quite a bit and that's who promoters listen to.

There's also the issue of running stuff with the public as there are major issues with construction and unions and such to handle. A prime example of unexpected difficulties for Disney was in 1993 when they announced plans for an America-themed park in Virgina that promised quite a lot of fun. Rather than see this as a chance to boost the state's coffers with tourism and thousands of jobs, the state higher-ups blew the whole thing out of proportion and spread lawsuits and stories like how Disney was going to bulldoze Civil War battlefields. So the park (which would have been changed quite a bit by the time it reached construction) ended up being canceled. It's one thing to play in your mind with some wrestling angle, another to think you can make million-dollar rides and attractions with no problem whatsoever.




Forgetting it's a business
More than anything, IWC folks and Disney complainers have a major link: Forgetting the key reason for these companies is to make money. Wrestling has always been about the money, an attitude existing long before Vince was born and will continue to after he's gone. Disney World offers fun and entertainment but it's not like Walt himself was letting people in for free. The man was a genial guy in public but could be a really hard-flint businessman behind the scenes yet people forget the profit levels when complaining of Disney actions. They ignore stuff like bad economy and slows in the tourism industry and think Disney should be top dollar all the way, no exceptions at all.

David Koenig, who's written several excellent behind-the-scenes books on Disney parks, offered a brilliant line that can pertain to wrestling as well: "Everyone knows it's a business. They just don't like it when it acts that way." As I pointed out above, try to change a beloved Disney attraction and you'll get a firestorm of criticism, forget if anyone really goes on the damn thing. It boggles the mind how many people will forget the sheer amount of money that goes into maintaining parks like this and even Disney has a budget. Just like so many people in the IWC will forget Cena sells tons of merchandise, Disney fanatics will forget it doesn't come cheap to run this place. Just as these armchair bookers will have nightmares making things work if they actually got the chance, these Disney folks would find themselves drowning in dollars before they could make a single one of their "Brilliant" ideas work. And I highly suspect a lot will be surprised at how their visions will be curtailed by budget restraints. More importantly, wrestling fans can forget how a lot of the paying customers don't really care about the intricate details of a bout or demand utter perfection, they just want a fun show. Both sides can have the mentality of being too wrapped up in the details to really appreciate a fun time and hold to the idea that just because it's not what they want, then no one else can like it either. That mentality can rob you of the sheer entertainment before you when you look at what's there instead of what you want.


Summation
This may be a wild comparison but it's interesting to note how Disney fanatics and IWC complainers have so much in common. Both cling a lot to the past and look at it a lot more fondly than it actually was. Both will moan and groan over the state of management today but have no clue of the challenges they face with budgets and running personnel. And both are convinced their ideas will work flawlessly, ignoring how the majority of guests/fans may not react that way. There is the difference in how Disney works with much larger and more permanent issues but as both are ingrained in our culture, it's interesting to see how it works. It proves that there will always be people thinking the past was better and the present doesn't work as well. But maybe a bit of distance might help them see that it's not as easy as they think being on the outside. Either way, Disney and wrestling have one thing in common: Once it gets in your blood, it's hard to get rid of and even when you complain, it just shows your passion and that's a feeling you don't want rid of.


Also around 411mania:

Chin talks the Importance of Thunder

For the Record also discusses IWC vs. WWE stuff

The Bard remembers a wrestling legend

Five-Star looks at Trump in WWE


Don't forget Column of Honor, Triple Threat, 4 R's, Fact or Fiction and all the rest.


For this week, the spotlight is off.