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Disney Veteran Meg Crofton Named President of Walt Disney World; Jim Lewis Promoted to President of Disney Vacation Club

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 17

Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, today announced two key leadership changes at the Walt Disney World Resort. Meg Gilbert Crofton, a 27-year Disney veteran who has held executive leadership roles in worldwide Human Resources, Operations and Sales, has been promoted to President of the Walt Disney World Resort. In addition, Rasulo announced that 10-year Disney veteran Jim Lewis has been promoted to President of Disney Vacation Club. Both Crofton and Lewis will report to Al Weiss, President of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

"I look forward to Meg's leadership at the Walt Disney World Resort, where she will continue to focus on growth, creativity, innovation and excellent Guest service," said Rasulo. "Jim's promotion is well deserved in recognition of his strong leadership of our rapidly growing, very successful vacation club business. Both Meg and Jim are strong leaders with an excellent command of our business -- and both know what it takes to ensure an experience for our Guests that only Disney can provide."

Meg Crofton, President, Walt Disney World Resort

"The combination of Meg's leadership experience, in-depth knowledge of the company's operations and her incredible passion for our Cast Members and the Guest experience make her the right leader of the Walt Disney World Resort," added Weiss. "Throughout the past 27 years, Meg has assumed more responsibilities and gained extensive perspective and practical experience -- all of which will be invaluable as she represents more than 57,000 Cast Members at one of the most popular resort destinations in the world."

Most recently, Crofton, 52, served for four years as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. In this role, Crofton had global responsibilities for all HR-related services for 99,000 Cast Members worldwide, including Employee/Labor Relations, Diversity/Inclusion, Compliance, Recruitment, Disney University Training and Development, Organizational Development, Benefits and Workforce Planning. Crofton reported to Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

"Thanks to Meg's leadership, we've made great strides in creating a world- class HR organization that is focused on providing the best experience and work environment for our Cast around the world, as well as furthering the business objectives of our segment," said Rasulo, who added that Crofton's replacement would be named shortly.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the Walt Disney World Resort," said Crofton. "Central Florida is my home and it's where I spent the majority of my career -- and it has always held a very special place in my heart.

"I look forward to working closely with the talented Walt Disney World Resort leadership team, as well as with our dedicated Cast, as we continue to provide families around the world a fun and memorable experience," added Crofton.

Throughout her tenure at Disney, Crofton has consistently taken on roles with increasing levels of responsibility. Prior to her promotion to Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2002, Crofton served for five years as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Improvement at the Walt Disney World Resort, where she oversaw all HR services and strategies for the resort's Cast Members. Prior to this, Crofton served as Vice President of Human Resources, focusing on Guest satisfaction and Cast excellence.

Crofton also has extensive local and international experience, serving from 1987 to 1994 in several executive roles with Walt Disney World's Resort Operations. During this time, Crofton was responsible for hotel operations, as well as for convention sales and account services. She also served as the task force leader for 10 resort hotel openings at the Walt Disney World Resort and led the task force responsible for the successful opening of Disneyland Resort Paris in 1992.

She began her career at Disney in 1977 at Vista-United Telecommunications. After a brief departure to work for AT&T, Crofton rejoined Disney in 1981 as Operations Manager of Vista-United Telecommunications. Three years later, she became General Manager of The Disney Inn.

Crofton serves on the Board of the Rollins College Hamilton Holt School in Winter Park, FL. She attended Rollins College and received her BS degree in Marketing and MBA from Florida State University.

Jim Lewis, President, Disney Vacation Club

"Under Jim's leadership, Disney Vacation Club achieved significant growth, bringing total membership to nearly 300,000 individuals in 100 countries," said Rasulo. "Jim's strong business acumen and passion for Guest and Cast experience have been key to this growing segment of our business, and he is poised to expand the operation into new markets."

Lewis, 45, most recently served as Senior Vice President/General Manager of Disney Vacation Club (DVC). Prior to joining DVC in 2003, Lewis served as Senior Vice President, Multi Market Business Development and Public Affairs of the Walt Disney World Resort. In addition, he previously led the Operations Finance team at Walt Disney World.

"I am clearly very excited about this promotion, my very talented team, the Disney brand, and the opportunities that lie ahead," said Lewis.

Prior to joining Disney, Lewis spent eight years at PepsiCo in a variety of finance and operating assignments before joining Disney in 1996.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana State University and received his MBA from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue University. Lewis is also a CPA.

Since moving to Central Florida, Lewis has become an active community leader. He represents the Walt Disney World Resort on the boards of Enterprise Florida, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the Coalition for the Homeless. He is also a board member and 2006 Chairman of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is where dreams come true and magic comes to life. This segment of The Walt Disney Company encompasses 11 theme parks at five of the world's leading family vacation destinations -- Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. It also includes the Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney; Disney Regional Entertainment; World of Disney stores in New York, Orlando and Anaheim; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs Disney parks, resorts and attractions. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts had more than $9 billion in revenues in fiscal 2005.

(source: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts)
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Disney has released its US third quarter earnings results, reporting a .53 per share dividend on $1.13 billion in net income. All business units reported increased revenues. As predicted here during the previous quarter (third item), Cars was a key factor in the growth of the studio entertainment division, and Pirates is expected to continue the trend through quarter 4.

Analysts are cautioning that the consumer products sector may not perform during quarter 4 as well as desired due to slower than anticipated sales of Pirates merchandise (ed note: That's what happens when you slap a pirate hat on a plush Marie toy from the 1970 animated feature The Aristocats and expect Pirates of the Caribbean fans to snap them up "because they're pirates." They don't.)

The report may be viewed at this link. (requires Acrobat Reader)
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The Anschutz Film Group, better known to most as the parent organization of Walden Media (producers of The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) and Bristol Bay Entertainment (producers of the 2004 Oscar®-winner Ray), has announced a surprising partnership with Fox Filmed Entertainment to capture a portion of the profitable family film business.

Many insiders assumed Disney and Anschutz would be a natural fit, since Walden and Disney are moving forward with Prince Caspian, the next installment in the Narnia franchise. Walden has several projects in process with various studios, including the upcoming The Water Horse with Sony, scheduled for an early December release.

David Weil, Anschutz Film Group's CEO, explained the decision this way: "Disney needed us less than other companies that are striving to get into that [family film] area. Fox recognized that their needs and our interests overlapped. It was a direction they were already pointing in."

Specific terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
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The Oriental Land Company has released its first quarter financial results for fiscal year 2007 (period ending March 31, 2007). OLC is the majority interest holder in the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. You can view the report at this link. (requires Acrobat Reader)
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Dead Man's Chest steamrolled the competition and broke records in its first several days of release. Shortly after its second high-grossing weekend, the studio announced a nearly 20% reduction in its work force, including some high-profile individuals such as Karen Glass, executive vice president of Buena Vista Motion Picture Group, and Disney Production President Nina Jacobson. Disney stock fell following the surprise announcement.

Last week, Matt Ouimet, President of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, left the company to pursue opportunities with Starwood Resorts and was replaced by Ed Grier, President of the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. Ouimet, fans may recall, is credited with making major improvements to the Disneyland Resort, including maintenance that had been neglected as well as adding new attractions.

Late Thursday/early Friday, actor Mel Gibson was stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence in Malibu. According to reports, Gibson's blood alcohol level registered at 0.12%, well above the legal limit, and he unleashed a torrent of anti-Semitic remarks, some of which are documented in the police report. He also is accused of threatening a deputy.

Gibson's next film, Apocalypto, is scheduled to be released in December--by Disney. Click here for MSNBC's recent report on the incident and what it may mean for Gibson and Disney. Gibson, who apologized for the remarks, has reportedly checked in to a rehabilitation center.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that a Holocaust miniseries being developed by Gibson's production company and ABC Television, part of the Walt Disney Company, has been dropped.

Capping off a decidedly downbeat week, Dead Man's Chest lost its number one box office position to Miami Vice. A disappointment, to be sure, after winning the number one slot the previous three weekends...and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the new title for GameBoy Advance and PSP gaming systems, is garnering less than favorable reviews.

Somewhere high up in the organization, someone is probably thinking, to paraphrase Lloyd Bridges in 1980's Airplane!, "We picked a bad week to be Disney."
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