“Mickey’s New Magic – Disney World Unveils a $1 Billion Movieland” was the headline on the cover of the Newsweek magazine that hit bookshelves on this day in 1989. Just a month before the opening of the all-new Disney-MGM Studios, the publication took a backstage look at what the public may expect at the new park and attempted to determine what makes Disney so special. Tricks such as overestimating wait times on attraction postings, Cast Member grooming standards, and the art of Disney courtesy were all explored as contributors to the Company’s success. The author was particularly enthralled with Disney’s boyish CEO, Michael Eisner, who was named to that post in 1984. One photo caption claimed, “Family man Eisner is more Walt than Walt,” and the author followed the charmer around as he oversaw final preparations for the park (Michael was still paying attention to details such as suggesting his aide try to obtain an aircraft carrier from a nearby Naval base because it would be “fun to look at”). The Disney-MGM Studios theme park was just one of several new upcoming parks, including Typhoon Lagoon, Wonders of Life (at Epcot), Pleasure Island, and The Swan and The Dolphin Resorts. By the article’s end, it was evident that even the business-minded writers of Newsweek were simply Disney fans in business suits.
