No, we left him in peace last night.

Do you mean Ouimet, Alex, or Emmer? And if you don't mean Emmer... do you know what is happening to him?

The new guy has been onboard at TDL for a few years and I haven't heard anything but positive reactions to TDL.

Ouimet, presumably, will be going to White Plains (but maybe he is just allowed to live in the hotel of his choice). I do now plan to go up to him and say "we've met a few times, I'd like to personally ask that you get rid of those horrible beds your hotels advertise."

Grier has been at TDL since August 2004, so a little less than two years. I don't know exactly what he did but it sounds more like brand management than anything else. Oriental Land Company actually operates the parks so I don't know how involved he could have been other than setting the standards and agreeing to uses of Disney intellectual property.

But who knows, maybe he played a vital role. But he still has never been directly responsible for all aspects of a single theme park, let alone an entire restort complex. Is Disneyland now the entry-level resort-management position?

I'm cautiously optimistic about the changes. I like Steve J & John L - and I was nothing short of impressed with everything about Tokyo Disneyland Resort (OK, maybe not Ikspiari, but otherwise...). Obviously, I have no concrete reason for my optimism, but I'm pleased that Disney went within its family for this one. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes - or at least a set of eyes that has been gazing on a fantastic Disney park for a couple of years - in conjunction with the creativity that we all hope flourishes under Lasseter will bode well for the flagship resort.

iSm hasn't chimed in yet. Anyone wanna guess his response?? I'm guessing "Bah". ;)

How come no one blames Ouimet for the Depp overlay in Pirates or the crappy bride in Mansion?

I feel very uneducated on this new guy so I have no opinions as yet.

I kind of liked the bride stuff when we rode Mansion recently. Is there massive outcry over it?

I can at least vouch for Ed Grier as a personality. When he was Vice President at Disney-MGM Studios, he was personable, approachable, and very well liked by the cast members there. I really don't know what his priorities wlil be for Disneyland. I can only say that, if you meet him, you will probably like him. I'm going to go with cautious optimism for the time being.

(Side note - I got to work with Matt Ouimet on some Disney Cruise Line related projects years ago, and I had a very high opinion of him as a personality as well.)

Personally, I don't have much of a problem with the new bride. I find it to be a more neutral change. Haven't seen the new Pirates yet, but most people don't find it crappy so the amount of people blaming him would be small, I imagine.

I find this to be a real shame though. He has done a LOT of good for that park. He did more in just his short run than Pressler/Harriss did in a decade.