wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
Interesting thoughts WDW1974. Do you have any ideas on what you like to see the new folks do, given their previous records? Or not do as the case may be!!! Thanks! Marie
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George K to Replace Meg Crofton as WDW head in early 2013
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Josh D'Amaro, who currently runs the company's Adventures by Disney high-end tour operation, is taking over at DAK. Some folks find that to be a surprise although I've heard very good things about Josh. No, he's never run a park, but that doesn't seem to even be on the checklist when Disney moves people around.
More on Colglazier:
He is someone with a strategic planning background and one wonders how he'll be welcomed in Anaheim. No one is ever universally loved, but Matt Ouimet came closest as I've seen. Despite Al Lutz's original PR, George wasn't beloved in Anaheim by a long shot. And between them was 'Invisible' Ed Grier who seemed to accomplish plenty of things, just not personal PR. Colglazier also doesn't come into a perfect situation. Sure, DCA 2.0 is everything the company wanted and more. But there was to be a Phase II and you haven't heard a peep about that. DL has an E-Ticket about to start construction, DLH expansion, a parking nightmare and a third theme park that Bob Iger seems eager to push through based on a theme that simply is Marvel characters (not a UNIversally loved concept).
Ken Potrock is replacing Claire Bilby, who had run Disney's time-share business since August 2011. Remember this was after former DVC President Jim Lewis was fired (and then reached some settlement where Disney gave him money and a recommendation) after some serious financial inpropriety on his watch. Bilby really lucks out and heads to Paris to become a SVP of sales and marketing for DLP. Here's a hint when you trade O-Town for Paris, you're doing well.
I was expecting Karl Holz to go, he had said he'd leave when Disney launched its two new ships, but with them in the market for another and a cushy position it looks like he'll stay a bit longer. That's a shame because his No. 2, Tom Wolber, was in line for his job and instead winds up running both Disney's Sports Enterprises business along with DD. It's a strange marriage for an employment brief and while the sports business is doing great for the Mouse (take a look at how many races, RunDisney now has annually), DD is still the same mess it has been for years, with no solid plan for its future. BTW, friends dined at Splitsville earlier this week and their review was not glowing.
More on Colglazier:
He is someone with a strategic planning background and one wonders how he'll be welcomed in Anaheim. No one is ever universally loved, but Matt Ouimet came closest as I've seen. Despite Al Lutz's original PR, George wasn't beloved in Anaheim by a long shot. And between them was 'Invisible' Ed Grier who seemed to accomplish plenty of things, just not personal PR. Colglazier also doesn't come into a perfect situation. Sure, DCA 2.0 is everything the company wanted and more. But there was to be a Phase II and you haven't heard a peep about that. DL has an E-Ticket about to start construction, DLH expansion, a parking nightmare and a third theme park that Bob Iger seems eager to push through based on a theme that simply is Marvel characters (not a UNIversally loved concept).
Ken Potrock is replacing Claire Bilby, who had run Disney's time-share business since August 2011. Remember this was after former DVC President Jim Lewis was fired (and then reached some settlement where Disney gave him money and a recommendation) after some serious financial inpropriety on his watch. Bilby really lucks out and heads to Paris to become a SVP of sales and marketing for DLP. Here's a hint when you trade O-Town for Paris, you're doing well.
I was expecting Karl Holz to go, he had said he'd leave when Disney launched its two new ships, but with them in the market for another and a cushy position it looks like he'll stay a bit longer. That's a shame because his No. 2, Tom Wolber, was in line for his job and instead winds up running both Disney's Sports Enterprises business along with DD. It's a strange marriage for an employment brief and while the sports business is doing great for the Mouse (take a look at how many races, RunDisney now has annually), DD is still the same mess it has been for years, with no solid plan for its future. BTW, friends dined at Splitsville earlier this week and their review was not glowing.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Between giving the CMs the finger over the parking situation.. and then signing off with the 'No more Christmas party' bang.. I'm sure there are plenty of front-liners willing to kick him on the way out down Main Street. I really can't think of any improvements he did for CMs during his tenure. He like Ed before, have been graced by the horrible labor market making people happy to have a job, vs threaten to leave in droves when you treat them like crap.. like what was happening prior to the economic meltdown.
Then for APs.. the first to actually sign off on hard ticket events for holloween.. the looming christmas ticket... the whoring of Processional.. the massive AP price hikes.. the lackluster AP 'events'.. People have a real short memory when they have Carsland on the brain.
At the end of the day, though, what most of you likely give a damn about is Georgie K and what him moving home really means.
And you probably don't want to hear that it might be good, might be bad or might be more of the same. But that's the truth and that's what I play in (anyone at Celebration Place able yet to give a straight answer as to whether Lou Mongello is a Disney CM or paid BRAND ADVOCATE yet?)
George is a great park OPs guy and he knows WDW as well as anyone. He hasn't been involved in the day-to-day operation of a WDW park since he left as EPCOT VP in summer 2000 to head to Anaheim to be Cynthia's No. 2/DCA fall guy. His barely three-month stint as DD VP in 2002 was simply Al Weiss creating a place for him after he had been booted from Anaheim and could have wound up done with Disney (that will not be mentioned in any media coverage of George's homecoming).
George cares about the basics and has Disney in his blood. But he also can be as cold and botton-line oriented as any corporate exec anywhere. If he is given the resources, then he'll spend them and WDW will improve. If he isn't, then he won't. And if he has to cut quality to make the numbers what Burbank/Wall Street demand then you can bet he'll do that.
The fact George worked from 2002-2006 at the Travel Co when Destination Disney was being created, which was the precursor to everything Disney is attempting to do with MyMagic+, factored into the thinking of bringing him back.
I look foward to seeing what develops and wish him well. On a personal level, never has so little, cost so much (right, George?) I hope to speak to George in the not too distant future. It may be telling as to how the next three years play out at TDO.
And you probably don't want to hear that it might be good, might be bad or might be more of the same. But that's the truth and that's what I play in (anyone at Celebration Place able yet to give a straight answer as to whether Lou Mongello is a Disney CM or paid BRAND ADVOCATE yet?)
George is a great park OPs guy and he knows WDW as well as anyone. He hasn't been involved in the day-to-day operation of a WDW park since he left as EPCOT VP in summer 2000 to head to Anaheim to be Cynthia's No. 2/DCA fall guy. His barely three-month stint as DD VP in 2002 was simply Al Weiss creating a place for him after he had been booted from Anaheim and could have wound up done with Disney (that will not be mentioned in any media coverage of George's homecoming).
George cares about the basics and has Disney in his blood. But he also can be as cold and botton-line oriented as any corporate exec anywhere. If he is given the resources, then he'll spend them and WDW will improve. If he isn't, then he won't. And if he has to cut quality to make the numbers what Burbank/Wall Street demand then you can bet he'll do that.
The fact George worked from 2002-2006 at the Travel Co when Destination Disney was being created, which was the precursor to everything Disney is attempting to do with MyMagic+, factored into the thinking of bringing him back.
I look foward to seeing what develops and wish him well. On a personal level, never has so little, cost so much (right, George?) I hope to speak to George in the not too distant future. It may be telling as to how the next three years play out at TDO.
One more note on George before I wade back through some of what I missed, but he is widely viewed in Burbank now as a 'Mr. Fix It' for troubled or underperforming parks/projects. So, much of this is his own work, but some is just a case of being in the right place at the right time.
DCA is certainly an example of the latter. All he had to do was show up and not screw anything up and he did that to perfection.
But EPCOT was definitely a situation where he came in and the attendance had been falling for years and the park was getting stale and he took the bull by the horns, made sure the Milennium Celebration was focused on his park and that money for a major new addition (Mission Space) was allocated.
DLP was a bit of both. He came in and fixed some major operational issues, but he also took advantage of an influx of capital for the resort's 15th anniversary.
One thing I'm sure of is George will be out in the parks starting 2/1, think of him as a face character, rubbing elbows with CMs and guests and making sure the bloggers and social media whores have time with him. I believe Thomas Smith just set up a one-on-one between George and Lou Mongello for 2 p.m. that day near the Swan Boat Landing!
His current challenge, maybe the challenge of his career for a man pushing 60, is to make NEXT GEN work and, even more importantly, sell it to guests, fans and CMs alike. As for the privacy issues that folks like my pal @flynnibus don't think are issues, he already was seen schmoozing Governor Voldemort. George knows how to work it with politicos. That may not be enough, but I'd stay tuned to my other thread for that subject.
DCA is certainly an example of the latter. All he had to do was show up and not screw anything up and he did that to perfection.
But EPCOT was definitely a situation where he came in and the attendance had been falling for years and the park was getting stale and he took the bull by the horns, made sure the Milennium Celebration was focused on his park and that money for a major new addition (Mission Space) was allocated.
DLP was a bit of both. He came in and fixed some major operational issues, but he also took advantage of an influx of capital for the resort's 15th anniversary.
One thing I'm sure of is George will be out in the parks starting 2/1, think of him as a face character, rubbing elbows with CMs and guests and making sure the bloggers and social media whores have time with him. I believe Thomas Smith just set up a one-on-one between George and Lou Mongello for 2 p.m. that day near the Swan Boat Landing!
His current challenge, maybe the challenge of his career for a man pushing 60, is to make NEXT GEN work and, even more importantly, sell it to guests, fans and CMs alike. As for the privacy issues that folks like my pal @flynnibus don't think are issues, he already was seen schmoozing Governor Voldemort. George knows how to work it with politicos. That may not be enough, but I'd stay tuned to my other thread for that subject.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I CAN FIX IT!!!!(TM)
I think Al has the skill set to be a professional journalist, by NO means, is that to be construed that he is one now or has ever played that role. Doesn't mean that he hasn't broken more Disney stories than the LA Times and OC Register combined in the last 15 years. And he should be respected for that.
Now, do I have issues him? Hell yeah, not the least of which is his site passed off his column yesterday and George K's new job as 'news' when I broke that here last month (and much of his column is a patch-work of what I've been writing online for a long time). And he has a long history of this.
It's sorta classless. Miceage/Micechat didn't break anything. They put up a crazy rumour about LoTR. But when it comes to WDW and these moves, they 'borrowed' to put it kindly. And I don't appreciate it.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
The question is though will he fight for anything at WDW beyond the current TDO minions??? What about a shakeup inside TDO apart from him? Otherwise were in the same place we are now. It will take time of course. Over anything though I am hoping he brings park maintenence back to life and will be in the parks himeself more often than Meg ever was.
edit---WDW1974 I read your recent posts now that popped up after I wrote the paragraph above so questions already answered lol.
edit---WDW1974 I read your recent posts now that popped up after I wrote the paragraph above so questions already answered lol.
It's okay. Al Lutz gets blamed regularly for just about everything on the Internet related to a Disney theme park. That little mistake you made won't make much difference, and it's nice of you to apologize so graciously.
He also takes misplaced credit as does his site. Regularly.
I posted after his column yesterday on his site and got no response. Today, Todd/Dusty Sage was reporting the George K stuff like it was news that no one else had reported earlier ... say me on 12/22 right HERE!
Um ... as like the biggest Lost fan out there (I once tried to steal Michael Emerson's Emmy! REALLY!), those numbers will always be my lucky ones.
And money isn't everything (what all my friends who have never had to worry about money always say!)
wedway71
Well-Known Member
I know it may be too much to ask but for once I want a person in charge that makes decisions based on being the right thing to do. The Disney way. Someone that asks if Walt was unfrozen today and toured this park, what would he think??? Would he say its ok to lower standards to save money or would he rip off his own mustache in anger that we let his legacy go to crap???
I understand that people get scared to rock the boat and go against the grain... Wish someone would just grow a pair and fix it. It takes money to make money. Disney is more than a brand-it is a culture and legacy. As a person in executive leadership, I have angered my peers and superiors by taking the side of the customer. My stance is EVERY DECISION made needs to have only the customers best interest in mind. If I get fired, I can sleep at night knowing I did what was right.
I understand that people get scared to rock the boat and go against the grain... Wish someone would just grow a pair and fix it. It takes money to make money. Disney is more than a brand-it is a culture and legacy. As a person in executive leadership, I have angered my peers and superiors by taking the side of the customer. My stance is EVERY DECISION made needs to have only the customers best interest in mind. If I get fired, I can sleep at night knowing I did what was right.
dreamscometrue
Well-Known Member
yoyoflamingo
Well-Known Member
This is why I love your posts. Not only is the information much appreciated, but extremely entertaining. I hope I can schedule my Fastpass+ to greet George K, but I'm sure it'll be hard to get, even at 6 months out.
luv
Well-Known Member
I didn't comb through the whole, long thread.
Is this a promotion for Meg or no?
I once quit a job and got a call the next day that someone was getting ready to make me an offer but wasn't ready to fire the person in that position yet. "Why didn't you call me before you did that?" Lol. (Because I had no idea you were getting ready to call me about a job. Duh.)
So I stayed 4 weeks instead of two, but then I left and took my new job. But they still hadn't fired Dimwit yet. They brought me in with the same title she'd held. We worked for two weeks like that - me getting into gear and then, finally, she was let go.
It was very uncomfortable for me. She HAD to know I was replacing her...and so did everyone else. They kept asking me and I had to keep saying, "I don't know what you mean" and "It's a big job. There is enough for two people to do" and "You'll have to ask Jay if he plans to fire one of us." Nightmare. Hated it. She must have hated it, too.
Is that what has happened to Meg? Have they brought in her replacement while she is still there? Or was she promoted?
Is this a promotion for Meg or no?
I once quit a job and got a call the next day that someone was getting ready to make me an offer but wasn't ready to fire the person in that position yet. "Why didn't you call me before you did that?" Lol. (Because I had no idea you were getting ready to call me about a job. Duh.)
So I stayed 4 weeks instead of two, but then I left and took my new job. But they still hadn't fired Dimwit yet. They brought me in with the same title she'd held. We worked for two weeks like that - me getting into gear and then, finally, she was let go.
It was very uncomfortable for me. She HAD to know I was replacing her...and so did everyone else. They kept asking me and I had to keep saying, "I don't know what you mean" and "It's a big job. There is enough for two people to do" and "You'll have to ask Jay if he plans to fire one of us." Nightmare. Hated it. She must have hated it, too.
Is that what has happened to Meg? Have they brought in her replacement while she is still there? Or was she promoted?
DocMcHulk
Well-Known Member
Do you have the LOST Encyclopedia? I got it for Christmas! I might give you a run for your money on the LOST front, I was pretty addicted.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I was kinda hoping that Ghengis Khan and his army would be teleported through time and space to the present day. Then proceeding to raid and pillage the offices of TDO...
I guess I was asking for too much.
I guess I was asking for too much.
Hey brotha, (see the LOST reference there)...
I appreciate the rumors you post on this site, but what do you expect Al to do in his article? Quote you? Reference you? You are a person posting on a rumor board. You are hidden behind the vail of secrecy that is your User Name. Quoting a rumor board post in an article would have discredited Al's article.
For someone who is CONSTANTly going all Locke on social media, you seem to have missed a big part of how it works. Though you have gained the trust of this board with your pretty accurate inside information, that doesn't mean that your rumors are worth quoting in a 'news' article. Social media is not really a solid reference, much in the same way you shouldn't use Wiki when writing a paper. Quit complaining about it and get back to providing why people (myself included) read your posts: your intelligent, insightful, insider information...
Sorry, it's late and I just needed to get that thought off of my chest.