Michael Eisner Lies

[lokheed]

If you happened to see the press conference yesterday with Michael Eisner, you may have heard him say:

"I came down to Disneyland specifically to lend my support to our cast, to express condolences to those people that are injured, to the family of the deceased, and commit that this company will continue on its mission of guest safety and guest satisfaction."

That is an absolute lie. Mr. Eisner was at Disneyland as part of a long-planned ABC Prime-Time Weekend promotion. He had already been checked into the Grand Floridian Hotel well before the incident happened. He has taken the death of a park guest and turned it into a self-promotional opportunity. Whatever dwindling respect I had for him is now completely gone.

Regarding maintenance, here is a quote from miceage.com:

Quote:
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It was discussed that a crew of six machinists properly supported, could keep Big Thunder running in a safe condition, as it was run since it was built. It was suggested that the recent changes are forcing a lack of attention to detail on repairs. As reports must be completed before the ride can be released to the operators, they become the priority. Doing actual repairs is secondary to finishing the paperwork, although that is also to be fully completed. It was felt that this was not possible, especially on a third shift schedule, for staff to remain sharp enough mentally to do an adequate job on all these tasks. It was also felt that now that inspectors are involved, awaiting their arrival to check and sign off their work also slows things down, forcing a rush to complete that work. As it continues this way, it becomes more and more likely that something could be overlooked.

Many also felt that the management teams responsible for upkeep are also now reactive and not proactive when it comes to ride upkeep. They cite the recent emergency closure of Space Mountain as an example of something that was allowed to break down before it was shuttered, as opposed to taking action before something serious could have happened.

The people I spoke with hope parks head Jay Rasulo finds it necessary to change how things are currently run and replace the current Team Disney Anaheim staff with people who understand just how to manage a theme park maintenance division. These same sources point to the record the park had before these changes took place and suggest the blame for these recent injuries and deaths should be placed squarely on the current resort leadership's shoulders. They strongly suggest that past policies of ride operation, upkeep and maintenance be returned to, and that the budgetary process which has prompted changes for the worse be reconsidered to make ride safety the primary consideration yet again.

It could well be that due to the specific nature of this accident, that the proper focus is finally placed on management in charge and the current changes in polices, and that blame will not be shuffled off to cast members who were operating the attraction. In the past it has been noted that the company seems to try and place blame on staffing itself as opposed to the policies it puts in place. It was also noted by a few of the sources that since the 1998 Columbia death good changes have been made by the authorities, and the park is now more open about what had happened in these kinds of events. Accidents can be investigated as they should be.

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The article also notes that the changes in maintenance procedures and operations in the past ten years are unique to Disneyland and have not been implemented at Walt Disney World.

Heads are gonna roll here, folks.

Comments

[damashita.livejournal.com]

as long as the heads belong to management and employees and not more customers who trust their lives and the lives of their children to these people.

Guess i will have to make the cross-country trip to see you and DisneyWorld rather than re-visiting my childhood memories at DisneyLand. *sigh*

Oh well, at least i'll get to see you! :D