Disneyland Resort President Resigns
Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet, credited with overhauling the Anaheim theme park leading up to its successful 50th anniversary celebration, was named Tuesday to run the hotel operations of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Ouimet, 47, will be replaced by Ed Grier, a 25-year Walt Disney Co. veteran who most recently headed Tokyo Disney Resort. Grier’s portfolio will include Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the resort’s three hotels.
Jay Rasulo, Disney’s theme park chief, said having seasoned executives poached by other companies came with the territory.
“You can’t have the luxury of managing a strong team and not occasionally see great opportunities come up for them on the outside,” Rasulo said.
Rasulo said he considered “a wealth of choices” before deciding on Grier. One of the highest-ranking African American executives at Burbank-based Disney, Grier, 51, has been in Tokyo for the last two years. Before that, he served as general manager of Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Fla. “He’s been a masterful leader,” Rasulo said. “He is steeped in Disney and knows how to create Disney magic all over the world.”
Grier has a hard act to follow. Ouimet was a popular executive who spent hours walking through the park and talking to visitors and employees. He took the reins in late 2003 after a series of cost cuts had hurt park morale.
“Matt’s reputation is that he walks on the Rivers of America,” said park watcher and author David Koenig, referring to the waterway that cuts through Frontierland. “Everything turned around when he came on board. Disneyland’s biggest problem is that it was falling apart. All the cameras were rolling to the park for the 50th and in less than two years, he got the place looking beautiful.”
Despite his lengthy career with Disney, Grier is relatively unknown to Disneyland fans, said Alex Stroup, chief executive of MousePlanet.com, a website that monitors the parks.
“He’s pretty much an X-factor at this point,” Stroup said. If the parks in Japan are any indicator, Grier comes with good credentials. “They do enjoy a reputation of being very well-managed, very strong in the Disney ethos,” Stroup said.
In a statement, Grier said he was “honored to have the opportunity to lead such a special place.”
Ouimet’s job with White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood includes supervision of 850 hotels worldwide operating under such well-known names as Sheraton, Westin, W and St. Regis.
Before joining Disneyland, Ouimet served as president of Disney Cruise Line. Ouimet worked at Disney for 17 years.
As head of the resort, Ouimet is credited with helping to conceive such ideas as a new parade and fireworks show for the 50th anniversary and overseeing the building of a Finding Nemo attraction inside the defunct Submarine Voyage.
In a letter to the Disneyland staff, Ouimet wrote: “From my office window, I can clearly see the Matterhorn, Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror -- and I am certain my new office will have a much less compelling view. In a three-minute walk I can enter Toontown and wander the park. Most of the time I’m just enjoying our guests and our cast ... and that is what I will miss most of all.”
