Talking with Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger

ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) – Robert Iger, 55, president and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co. Iger was interviewed by Scott Powers.

Question: This company has so much reverence for its founder. Do you ever ask yourself, when you have a tough decision: What would Walt do?

Answer: It's interesting because a lot of people allegedly ask just that question. I don't really ask myself that per se. I spend a lot of time studying him, and I'm intensely curious about him. ..... And interestingly enough, I was given something a few weeks back that Walt wrote for a time capsule in 1956, and he was asked basically to project what the world of entertainment would look like in 2006, 50 years hence. I devoured it and have already quoted him. So I wouldn't say that I necessarily ask what he would do. He would probably be the first to admit, if he could, that while there are a lot of similarities to what was in his writings in 1956, the world also is very different. One of the things he said that was interesting, he said no matter what the world looked like people would want to be entertained and refreshed. This was the first time I'd actually heard that. He was obviously encompassing his theme park business at the time. Disneyland was then a year old. He was thinking about it as entertainment and refreshment.

Q: In all the parks, what's your favorite attraction?

A: I love the traditional. Pirates [of the Caribbean] is probably my favorite in that regard, because it's still a great experience. I think it was built in the mid-60s. So you're talking about 40 years old. Forty years later it's still a great experience. But I also love the new, what I would call "highly engineered," attractions. Soarin' is probably the one that is at the top of my list there because of the many senses it combines.

Q: As you discuss globalization you seem to suggest that the domestic theme park market may have limited growth potential right now. Is it saturating?

A: Well, I don't really mean to suggest that. At the moment, we don't have plans on the drawing boards to build what I would call new parks in the United States. We certainly have plans, and the desire, and the ability to expand what we currently have. Today [with the grand opening of Expedition Everest] is a good example of that. The building going on for our vacation club is another great example of that. There is a list of concepts either in the dreaming phase or on the drawing board that will fuel both this facility and the one in California for many years to come. So growth is far from over.

Q: Would Adventures by Disney, Disney Vacation Club, Disney Cruise Line, is this the area domestically that we're going to see a lot of growth?

A: Yes. When you think about it, we obviously occupy a great space in terms of the family vacation market. But in reality, from a percentage basis, it's relatively small. The family vacation business is huge, and we capture only a small part of it. I think we all believe there's an opportunity to use our creativity and the service that we provide to extend the Disney vacation experience and to grow into the market.

Q: You talked a lot about all the developments you've got going on right now with the explosion of digital media platforms. In addition to opportunities those platforms provide you, does that affect what's going to be happening with cinema and TV in coming years?

A: It's a changing world, no question about it. And there is much more competition for people's time. But what's also interesting is people's ability to access media is growing enormously. So I believe people will spend more time consuming what I call media. That's everything from video games to TV to motion pictures. The key to all of this, in terms of how people interact with it, is creativity and quality. So that's our primary focus. I don't believe you'll see any of the traditional businesses going away at all. In fact, I think they have an opportunity to continue to flourish. But it'll definitely be more challenging. Our goal is to continue to generate great films for large screens and great television shows for TV in the home. But also transferring those experiences onto multiple platforms, because that's what consumers today want.

Q: You've got two young children. What do you learn from them about what Disney needs to do?

A: It comes down to one thing: great experiences. Quality entertainment. Whether you're watching High School Musical on the Disney Channel, that's a great example. Something that came out of nowhere, that no one expected. It's not overly expensive to make. A lot of talent in there. And becoming memorable for my son. I watched his eyes. He was awestruck last night when he met the cast. It's all about making great things. It's more than anything else what's behind Pixar. The incredible value that we've created over the years when we made great animated films that transcend one medium, motion pictures that spread across all of our business. It's incredible. We have to continue to do that. I want to do more of that.