Al Lutz of MiceAge on Disneyland Turnover

I've been waiting for MiceAge's Al Lutz, who seems to have a number of very reliable sources at Disney, to give us the real scoop on why Disneyland President Matt Ouimet suddenly jumped ship.

Today Al comes through with a report on the backstage frustrations which may have led Matt to say yes to an offer too good to refuse.

It's very sad, because as Al writes, "Disneyland just lost a man widely considered to be the best executive leader it had seen in decades. ...when the news was released last week that Ouimet would be leaving not only Disneyland, but the Company, the reaction amongst both the hourly Cast Members out in the park and the salaried management in Anaheim offices was universal sadness and dismay. Compared to the last time Disneyland saw a sudden executive shake-up, and there was actual glee and excitement from the salaried ranks, the news of Matt's departure hit everyone really hard. Matt Ouimet will be very missed, and his replacement has some very, very big shoes to fill."

It's a shame that Disney didn't work harder to keep Ouimet...

On an up note, new Disneyland President Ed Grier's track record of improvements at Tokyo Disneyland is encouraging.

And more good news is that "Club Buzz" is no more; it is now being returned to its traditional Tomorrowland Terrace name. (I don't know how I'm going to keep my eight-year-old son away from the new Jedi Training Academy!)