Team Disney at Walt Disney World, Photo: Offbeat Training LLC

Walt Disney built a very specific kind of company. It’s promise? Happiness. As Walt explained when talking about Disneyland, “I felt that there should be something built where the parents and the children could have fun together.”

The nearest his company got to politics was American patriotism and right and wrong morality. There was no focus, except for character development, on gender. And where Disney made mistakes in stereotyping, it followed the norms of then current society.

Current Disney leadership has, sadly, forgotten the intent of the company they run. It’s not beloved because it takes political stances or inserts itself into issues its employees care about. It’s beloved because it makes people happy.

But what about making gender specific individuals happy? When dedicating Disneyland, Walt said, “To all who come to this happy place, welcome.” He did not single out categories of people. 

The point was to leave those differences aside when experiencing Disney entertainment. Who you were didn’t matter. As long as you didn’t do anything obscene, abusive, or dangerous in the parks, you were welcomed with open arms.

But Disney is now taking sides in the culture war. The problem is you can’t support one side of an issue, any issue, without offending the other side, and that risks the very reason for Disney’s existence.

Must everything be viewed through a political filter? It no place off limits? What happened to simply having a good time? We need more good times. They are sorely lacking these days. Sadly, the Mouse has placed itself in a position to make many of its devoted fans  unhappy. It’s the opposite of what Walt build and puts the whole company at risk.

Walt’s words bear repeating and emphasizing, “To ALL who come to this happy place, WELCOME."

Postscript:

So, what happens now? Former CEOs Michael Eisner and Bob Iger both understood the Disney promise. And, both were savvy when it came to the media. Current CEO Bob Chapek is likely following an inclusive initiative Bob Iger started. But this Bob, in his comments, doesn’t demonstrate an understanding of Walt’s legacy and has proven inept at both public communications and employee control. I suspect he will ultimately be the scapegoat for the predicament Disney finds itself in. It’s all a very unDisney, unhappy situation.

My apologies to anyone who finds this post offensive, but I cannot be an honest Disney reporter  if I do not address issues that come up.

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