Are Disney fans out of their minds?

By: Scott Dennis

Posted: 8/13/08

Haven't the Olympics been great so far?

Okay enough of that.

Perhaps even more surprising than the U.S. victory in the men's 400 meter relay is that Disney will no longer allow guests to turn in written complaints or compliments regarding its theme parks.

Disney's legal department has determined that written comments are too much of a liability, so all guest comments must now be made verbally to the cast members in Guest Relations. While this new system may put off guests who'd like to complain but are too antisocial to complain face-to-face, it surely won't stop the segment of guests who comment the most - Disney fans.

These enthusiasts are distinctly different from your run-of-the-mill "OMG-I-love-the-Disney-Channel" fanatics. They're usually over the age of 12, for one thing.

But the most important distinction, and indeed the thing that proves most irksome to the current company management, is that these Disney aficionados often know the company's history better than those running it. Unfortunately, the relationship between Disney fans and Disney executives suffers from not so much a failure to communicate but from one-sided communication.

In a situation similar to that of the American colonists in 1771, the Disney fans (e.g. the colonists) are plenty vocal when they feel that the company (e.g. the British government) isn't doing its job, but the company either doesn't understand the fans, or just doesn't care.

Poorly researched analogies aside, the Disney company has shown time and again that it is incapable of understanding why its fans are so devoted and yet so often critical. They must figure that since these devotees jump every time someone across the room mentions "Disney," they should be the company's best customers. This isn't the case.

Sure, they try to visit the theme parks as often as possible, but the desire to do so comes not from blind faith in company, but from the knowledge that there are a couple of things Disney has remained good at through the years. Running theme parks is one of them.

The fans are probably among the most discerning of Disney's customers, comparing the company's latest product to its predecessors. They know what the creative types within the company are capable of producing, and expect Disney to allow them to do their best (which isn't always the case - see California Adventure circa 2001 and Walt Disney Studios Paris circa 2002).

What frustrates Disney fans the most, however, is that they know all too well that the Disney Company has, since the executive changeover in 1984, become almost indistinguishable from every other profit-obsessed entertainment corporation.

When people try to compare recent U.S. presidents to the likes of Lincoln and Roosevelt, such comparisons may not be entirely fair. But in the case of a company, such as Disney - whose very name is that of its founder - one might expect that company to at least respect its founder's philosophies. But Walt Disney's philosophies (not pandering to particular demographics, placing quality and innovation above all else, and keeping prices affordable to the common family) don't mesh well with today's company executives.

And it's this fact, this obvious distinction between old and new Disney, that places the current Disney Company in such an odd position.

On one hand, the Disney Company has inherited the prestige and goodwill built up by Walt and his immediate successors, which gives it a built-in audience.

But on the other hand, the modern version of the Disney Company wants, above all, to make a growing profit every year, and doesn't really care if it shatters a few of its founders' decrees in doing so. Yet while it goes about its money making at-at-all-costs, it must maintain peoples' perception of the company as it was in the old days.

Disney buffs, though, have the erudition to perceive the difference. They know things have changed and that the company that risked its life savings on such risky ventures as "Fantasia" and the EPCOT Center has gone with the wind. Yet despite the current administration's profit-minded attitude, Disney fans remain loyal. Not because they love every production the Mouse makes, but in the hopes that - with the company's desire to remain linked to its distinguished past, in the public's eye, at least - it may still produce a marvel that hearkens back to the glory days of creativity.

And that if it does, it will be a day worth waiting for.