News Catherine Powell's position eliminated

[jpeden]

On top, Kalogridis is leaving WDW apparently with D'Amaro's promotion:

"In addition, Disney has promoted George Kalogridis, who has led Walt Disney World Resort since 2013, to the role of president of Disney segment development and enrichment. He will also lead the Disney Institute. Kalogridis started his career at Disney as an original cast member from Walt Disney World’s opening in 1971. He has been with the company for nearly 50 years.

Kalogridis will use his operational knowledge from nearly five decades at Disney to put together a set of best practices for site leads that have less experience.

“George really wants to make sure he’s doing everything he can for the segment,” Chapek said, noting that he is a valuable asset to the company’s growth.""

So, what does this mean for WDW/Kalogridis? This sounds almost like he was forced out of his role at WDW but they couldn't/didn't want to fire him and he wasn't ready to retire.

 

[bcoachable]

Kalogridis is a great guy...
Glad he still will have an opportunity to make a meaningful impact

 

[ImperfectPixie]

im not sure why Disney is trying to break the mold with Star Wars. Both the land and the hotel seem to really be missing the mark of what people want. I have friends who went to Orlando... they had no interest in seeing the Star Wars land and went to universal the whole time. They like universal and wanted to go during Halloween horror but still.... if Star Wars doesn’t steal people from universal something is wrong....

RIGHT?!? It's not rocket science. There are existing business models for creating the "immersion" Disney promised that actually work and draw crowds year after year. I don't know why they thought they could do better and decided to reinvent the wheel.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Remember when John Lasseter paraded around his stint as a Jungle Cruise skipper and everyone thought he'd be the second coming of Walt? How times change.

All this is, is an attempt for out-of-touch executives to sound like "one of us".

Lasseter got us a lot. In my opinion he saved the subs, got them to do a lot right with cars land, and helped to get the re-do of DCA properly funded.

 

[VJ]

Lasseter got us a lot. In my opinion he saved the subs, got them to do a lot right with cars land, and helped to get the re-do of DCA properly funded.

But only if his own IP was involved. He didn't care about Disney. He cared about Pixar.

 

[HauntedPirate]

But only if his own IP was involved. He didn't care about Disney. He cared about Pixar.

Very true. But he did, IMHO, help turn around DFA, which was really floundering badly. But the subs he fought so hard to keep for Nemo are not long for DL, if rumors are to be believed.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

But the subs he fought so hard to keep for Nemo are not long for DL, if rumors are to be believed.

Hey if it wasn’t for him I would have never gotten to experience them so just for that I’m happy. Every time I visit I ride them knowing it could be my last time. Such a great classic Disney attraction.

 

[Surfin' Tuna]

Lasseter did a lot of good, and I think many still consider him a genius. He had/has his personal demons that sank him at Disney, but I think he really gets it. He understands entertainment and even the parks a lot more than some of the other current exec's.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

At face value, I think this is a ridiculous idea, but I have been thinking it for a few days myself. She was always nice, and she seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the parks (might have been an act - who knows). Last week most of the key execs were at WDW for several days of team building and meetings. It was odd that she was not there, but it all makes sense now.

I remember when she first took over at DLP, she had been doing her "fan" research as she was a listener to DLP Podcasts and even done an interview with one of them where she referenced many things they had discussed on their show over the years.

 

[asianway]

You weren't kidding when I heard DLP fans were very upset.

Probably because the first thing Colglazier will do is disband Inside-Ears. Them bloggers love their free %#*!

 

[NoChesterHester]

Lasseter did a bad job with his swan song at DCA (Pixar Pier). Cars Land was also a bad design besides the E Ticket ride.

Cars Land is not a bad design. It was a lovely unique immersive addition to a park that had none of those things at the time.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Lasseter did a bad job with his swan song at DCA (Pixar Pier). Cars Land was also a bad design besides the E Ticket ride.

Lasseter did Pixar pier?!?!?

I think cars land is very well designed, personally. Radiator Springs is a great e-ticket, the 2 outdoor rides are fun to ride and provide a lot of fun energy to the land both visually and audio wise. The land has a lot of life to it. It’s a fun land to explore.

 

[tirian]

Lasseter did Pixar pier?!?!?

No, he oversaw Paradise Pier 2.0 that included Toy Story Midway Mania, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, and a ton of gingerbread trim.

I can’t get aboard the Lasseter Train because he only promoted projects of personal significance. That meant Pixar attractions and some DL classics received TLC while others fell by the wayside.

Everything was deeply personal for him, apparently including his touchy-feely rapport with female coworkers.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Good thing Dreamworks has to deal with him now...

Umm...no he is at Skydance not Dreamworks.

 

[larryz]

Cars Land was also a bad design besides the E Ticket ride.

I didn't hear one person say that while I was there.

Not one.

What I heard was "this is just like the movie!" A lot.

 

[larryz]

That’s why it’s bad.

Oh, you mean "bad" as in "good." My "good"...

 

[ChipNDale79]

There's no passion for the parks in Iger or Chapek. Business is business I know, but what's good for the short-term bottom line isn't always necessarily best in the long-run. Overindulging in the current fanaticism for Marvel & SW could lead to some quickly outdated lands in 10 years. They have no eyes for the timeless IP that has provided steady profitability for decades - THOSE don't provide the quick cash and unsustainable growth like superheroes and lightsabers.

I still believe that Star Wars is an IP that can be a very big win for Disney, i'll say this without seeing the land and it only being half open, they just flat out fumbled it. They did what the current disney leadership has always done. They focused more on finding a way to get another penny out of the guests via a lazy way, more gift shops, then by doing it the right way by doing the land right and drawing more people there.

 

[MisterPenguin]

That’s why it’s bad.

You know it's bad, it's bad. Very bad.

 

[WDW Pro]

Josh D'Amaro is also in the hot seat, which really, really sucks... he knows what he is doing, is trying to soften the poor decisions of Chapek... but he'll go down before Chapek does over the current issues.

Well... consider me wrong on this one big time. I was informed that Josh's time over DLR was quickly coming to an end; I mistook that to mean he was being cut, not that he was being moved to WDW. This is really great news for WDW; D'Amaro is a fantastic individual within Disney and really cares all the way from the newest hire to the biggest ideas.

 

[Ghost of Disney Past]

While I do agree with this on a lot of levels I actually chuckled at the insinuation that Marvel and SWs aren't timeless IPs. They have both had a huge fanbase for decades and will continue to. The issue(s) we're seeing all have to do with terrible execution and a sad lack of imagination / risk on the part of Disney. They're no longer the company that sets the standard. They are the company that takes the easiest, cheapest solution and slaps an IP on it.

Haha yes, I didn't mean that they aren't timeless IPs. I more feel that the dedication of entire lands to each IP, and then permeating every park with these IPs, even in areas where it doesn't make sense (ie Guardians in EPCOT) is overextending based on the current popularity. I feel there will simply be too much of it and I agree with you that it is being executed poorly and that there seems to be little thought with how they insert the IP other than "well, it's wildly popular right now so let's just plop of bunch of it into the parks."

Classic attractions are each unique, and in many cases, are based on their own stories/standalone films, not based on some large, interconnected universe. And it may just be personal preference but I prefer the standalone/original attractions far more compelling.