Save Disney

[rudekick]

Here's a thread I started on MousePlanet that I thought I'd pull over here. Just curious to see what people think.

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthr ... post474971

[eagle4life69]

(I'd like to preface this post by saying I know it sounds nuts, but I wanted to toss it out there.)

So I was sitting in my Corporations class today (law school) and I had a thought...

I know a ton of people are generally worried about Disneyland's direction (or, more generally, Disney's direction). Although there has been some signs of improvement, who knows if it will last. A large part of the reason why Disneyland has been deteriorating in the past couple decades is because of the increased focus on short term profits. Large, institutional investors own a TON of Disney's stock, and they put the pressure on management to produce the big bucks. This increased focus on short term profits not only has caused Disney's focus to turn away from the true "spirit" of Disney, but it's also been very counterproductive (check out the price of Disney's stock compared to the rest of the market over the past decade). So the gist here is that corporations listen to shareholders, and Disney's shareholders want money.

But what if Disney fans united, pooled resources, and purchased a large amount of Disney stock to have the same pull as a large institutional investor to make sure that Disney remains true to its roots? This wouldn't necessarily come at a cost of (long-term) profits, as there is a strong argument to be made that the reason that Disney's been hurtin' is because it hasn't been true to its roots.

Is this idea already being pursued? (Has Roy already set something like this up?) Is it just too expensive to do? Clearly one person couldn't do it alone, but there's gotta be enough Disney fans out there who care enough to donate a small amount of money that a single group (with come contractual obligation to use the funds to [insert mission statement]) could be formed that would have a significant effect on Disney's direction.

So yeah, I know this all sounds nuts, but I really think it could work. I'm just sick and tired of going to Disneyland and seeing things get ruined right before my eyes (although maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised when I visit next month!) and feeling helpless. And, yes, I realize that it would take a ton of money, but I know there are a ton of people out there who care even more than I do. Thoughts? Ideas? Comments?

[QuickGold]

http://www.savedisney.com is what you're talking about I think