Really shocked to see this earlier. But with the release of The Princess and the Frog just last Friday it's rather like "you're on your own now, folks". He's saved them twice now. So incredibly sad, but what a time to bow out.
I don't know how much he was personally involved with DLP, but he surely had a huge impact on how it turned out. They started thinking about another resort after Tokyo opened in 1983. The next year, he resigns from the board and the whole company is turned upside down. Eisner and Wells arrive thanks to Roy and take the European project as their own, for Eisner in particular it was the big showpiece to prove he and the new company could do quality the way Walt did -- and then some.
If it weren't for Roy shaking things up at that pivotal moment we'd probably still have a Disneyland Paris, probably even one with no burden of debt, but it wouldn't be the one we love. A carbon copy of Tokyo. No Chateau. No Phantom Manor. No hotel at the entrance. No inspiration for us all to dream big and stand up for quality.
I hope he gets some kind of commemoration within the parks in the future.
