Eisner Tells Shareholders of Disney Plans

Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael D. Eisner, at the company’s annual shareholders meeting here Tuesday, presented a litany of plans for worldwide expansion of Disney’s theme parks over the next 10 years.

While most of the plans had been discussed publicly in the past, the presentation by Eisner and Disney President Frank Wells underscored their determination to expand the parks during what they have termed the “Disney Decade.”

The Disney officers didn’t give any clue that they were closer to choosing between Anaheim and Long Beach as the site for a future park that could cost $1 billion or more to build.

But the pair told shareholders of vast growth plans that include a revamped Tomorrowland and a new Hollywoodland attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim; a doubling of tour capacity at the Disney-MGM studio attraction in Florida; expansion of hotel capacity at Orlando’s Walt Disney World to 21,000 rooms by 1995 as part of a drive to capture more convention business; production of a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical at the Orlando park, and the introduction of a studio tour attraction in Japan, among other things.

The slickly produced meeting was convened with the words “Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog!”--uttered by a giant video image of the Muppet character, which Disney acquired with its purchase of Henson Associates last year. Eisner said Disney is planning to use the Muppets in every phase of its activity, from feature films to theme parks.

Asked by a shareholder about repeated rumors that Disney might acquire CBS Inc., Eisner cited company policy against commenting on acquisition rumors. But he added: “There are always ridiculous rumors. . . . That was kind of a comment.”

Although several microphones were open for questions, no shareholder queried Eisner about high salaries at Disney. Both Wells and Gary L. Wilson, who recently stepped down as chief financial officer, received about $50 million apiece in long-term compensation from Disney last year, according to the company’s proxy materials.

At the meeting, five company-approved candidates--Wilson, Roy E. Disney, Ignacio E. Lozano Jr., Sharon Disney Lund and Samuel L. Williams--were reelected to Disney’s 14-member board. The board also voted Tuesday to increase Disney’s quarterly cash dividend to 14.5 cents a share from 12 cents.

One shareholder queried Eisner about the safety of possible plans to build a new park on about 200 acres of landfill near Disney’s Queen Mary attraction in Long Beach and claimed to have technical information about earthquake danger at the site.

Eisner referred the shareholder to company planners but said he was assured by his staff after last year’s major earthquake in San Francisco that the landfill could be designed to hold up better than “natural land.”