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:) Liz;

Well, there are some prime examples with DCA (Disney's California Adventure) of exactly WHY the whole "Well, I've got my MBA" line is just so much nonsense.

When Disneyland was designed, Walt made certain that Artists and Designers were given authority over the "business types". He never trusted them, simply because their desire was NEVER focused on improving the Guest's experience, but wholly on the idea of the bottom line.

With DCA, this was apparent.

Artists and Designers were looked at like pests and annoyances, and it shows in just about every square foot of that park.

They cut so many corners, the park's logo should be a perfect circle.

Originally, the designs were stunning. It would have been spectacular. Then the planning meetings started. Enter the Accountants, and Business School Geeks.

I mean, don't get me wrong, Business type have their place, but in an area like Entertainment or Theme Parks, special Dungeons need to be built to house these Morons. I was appalled by the nickle and diming these guys pushed for. If the General Public had even the beginnings of a clue just exactly how badly that park went from Crown Jewels to Catbox liner, they'd never pay to get in there.

I was in one planning meeting where they were discussing "Paradise Pier" the area with the Roller coaster (That and the "Soarin over California" ride are literally the only things in that park worth a damn). The Business Idiots sat their on their self built thrones and demanded that for every Ride, there needed to be at least 3 venues to sell Stuffed animals and T-shirts. Well, that resulted in the elimination of a number of rides. Keep in mind, a Ride Building has a larger footprint than a "store". So, what did the MBAs decide then, "Well, now we can have more stores and restaurants".

The Imagineers were faced with an impossible task, try to make this smoldering turd into something that didn't reveal what happens when you put the Business types in charge of anything other than a calculator and a pencil sharpener.

Unfortunetly, it shows.

One glaring example is a Ride I worked on called "Superstar Limo" Originally, this ride would have been kinda cool, albeit more for the younger crowd. Add to this thing Budget cuts, Princess Diana's car crash, and a whole slew of MORONS from the Corporate tower insisting on stuffing this thing to the brim with cheap (expensive, budget draining, constantly changing) plugs for their ABC Drek.

What came out of this MBA Gangbang, was the sloooooooooooooowest ride in Disney History. Small World was a High Speed Thrill Ride by compairison. It's original story gone, replaced by glorified 3D puppets of some stupid looking "Agent", this thing simply stank. It was an embarassment.

I had the unique opportunity, on one of the preview days (Days when they open the park for the employees, before it's opened to the General Public or the press). I was in the que line right behind Michael Eisner and his entorage.

When we were exiting this now closed ride, I heard Michael Eisner commenting on what a piece of crap it was.

Go figure, months earlier, we had a virtual parade of Butt Kissing MBAs blowing smoke up the Suit's skirts about how wonderful this ride was going to be, and how many "guests" could be cattled through it in an hour...

Do I sound bitter? Well, I think the biggest curse to befall the House of Walt isn't what most people think it to be. After having seen it in action, it's my honest opinion it was the MBA/Accountant types that have deluded themselves into believing that they have even the spark of a clue what is Entertaining. Artists, whether you like them or not, are the ones that drove the Disney Ship in the early years. Walt was always first and foremost an Artist, albeit, even by his own admission, not the best one on the planet. He surrounded himself with the best Artists he could find, and their work can be seen in every square foot of the Magic Kingdom. His brother Roy, was the Business man, and he, while driving the finacial portion of the company, was always 2nd to Walt.

Now days, the Disney culture is Business types and Lawyers. Sadly, one month after Michael Eisner publicly announced that there would be no layoffs because of 9/11, 4000 people, Companywide, were "downsized". With additional thousands in the following months. As you can imagine, surprisingly, very few "Business Types" faced that axe, the vast number were Artists and Creative Types, fairly well gutting Walt's "Magic Lab" Imagineering.