George K to Replace Meg Crofton as WDW head in early 2013

[WDW1974]

I have heard the the JP project should get started in earnest just after Transformers construction wraps up. One of the attractions may be an expanded interactive Camp Jurassic.

That would definitely explain somethings I have heard ...

 

[PhotoDave219]

I hear things like this and I wonder how mentally ill so many of these folks are ... they make threats on each other in the Twitverse, call others including people they don't agree with (like say me) names and get into massive urinating contests with each other ... so again I ask, what is in this for Disney?

That Sir, is one excellent question. Free PR i suppose.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'll have to leave it to you insiders to tell me whether I should be excited about this or not. Hopefully, this is a good thing. Maybe, as a welcome gift, we should all mail him this picture of the hole-y polar bear cub from Maelstrom...

Wow, when did it start looking like this?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Tilikum?

 

[RSoxNo1]

That's just the thing, though.

The TDA culture isn't going to work at TDO anymore than vice versa. George learned that when he was in Anaheim the first time and was convinced he could slap the WDW model on DL and all would be fine.

And TDA still has its issues (look at everything from not being able to execute a merchandise signing event with John Lasseter to not being able to come up with a way to have dinner packages for the Candlelight Processional after deciding to suddenly expand it from two nights to 20 nights this year ... and next year George has plans in the pipeline to WDWize DLR by moving CP to DCA's Hyperion and killing a tradition to charging extra for Christmas entertainment much the way WDW has been extorting it from guests for years now)

Actually, I think Candlelight Processional in the Hyperion Theater makes quite a bit of sense.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I can't make that judgment without knowing what could have been built. ... But that's not the point. The fact the man was willing to fight for dollars for his park is praiseworthy.

It's a shame that fighting for the park you oversea is considered praiseworthy.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's a shame that fighting for the park you oversea is considered praiseworthy.

What's worse is that the business structure of Walt Disney World has parks (and restaurants and hotels and shops and everything else) fighting against each other.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Sometimes, change is good. I think exec's get comfy and when they get praised for something running a certain way, they don't change. Bring on some new road blocks!

 

[JEANYLASER]

I think George K is Perfect for Disney! I hope George K bring Carsland at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

 

[wedway71]

Isn't GK a lifelong Disney guy? I thought he was a dishwasher at the Contemporary or something like that back in the early 70s. For some reason I really like the idea of him taking over Meg's spot. Seems he is one of the few left that have a wide array of experience and understands Disney culture... Just my opinion.

 

[SirLink]

I've been away, dropping in occasionally, so to get an easy over under:

We are still in Kansas waiting on the tornado of more cuts - we still have a yellow brick road of recovery to go before we get to the City of Big Spirited Change.

 

[SirLink]

Isn't GK a lifelong Disney guy? I thought he was a dishwasher at the Contemporary or something like that back in the early 70s. For some reason I really like the idea of him taking over Meg's spot. Seems he is one of the few left that have a wide array of experience and understands Disney culture... Just my opinion.

Well Phil Holmes is kinda that way but prefers the size of his Bonus over respecting the Legacy and Brand kinda like all of TDO.

 

[wedway71]

Well Phil Holmes is kinda that way but prefers the size of his Bonus over respecting the Legacy and Brand kinda like all of TDO.

I agree. The issue is when they diminish the Disney brand like allowing bad show. What they do not understand is that if they continue to let the brand go to hell, Disney is NOT Disney anymore and the consumer will not continue to pay a premium for a sub par product. They are making too many decisions on MBA business models and looking too much at the bottom line. The way to increase sales and profits is to invest in the brand by never lowering the bar to simply fatten up gross margin.

 

[WDW1974]

Actually, I think Candlelight Processional in the Hyperion Theater makes quite a bit of sense.

When you're having it for 20 nights, which likely will become 30 or more, it does. ... The thing is this has always been traditionally a one weekend deal at DL. But this will allow for dining packages and even tickets. But a bit more tradition dies.

I believe George was leading EPCOT when the CP (nope, just realized it was his predecessor Greg Emmer) moved from the MK to EPCOT with dining packages etc.

I am sure most folks here have no idea the CP was ever held at MK, yet it was from 1971 to 1993 or 94.

 

[WDW1974]

What's worse is that the business structure of Walt Disney World has parks (and restaurants and hotels and shops and everything else) fighting against each other.

This is a sad fact.

It wasn't always like that, but now every aspect of WDW has a bottom line. And that does pit parks against each other and restaurants against each other etc.

If DAK gets Pandora: Gateway to Blue Alien Sex Kittens and the US Military Types Who Want To Commit Genocide, then the likelihood that EPCOT will get anything but new dining locations goes down.

The four parks are viewed as one whole and that is stifling them all.

 

[WDW1974]

Isn't GK a lifelong Disney guy? I thought he was a dishwasher at the Contemporary or something like that back in the early 70s. For some reason I really like the idea of him taking over Meg's spot. Seems he is one of the few left that have a wide array of experience and understands Disney culture... Just my opinion.

Yes, he is. And, yes, he did start out that way. But he also was upper class when he started. His Dad was a well-known leading citizen in Winter Haven (I believe the elder Kalogridis was a pharmacist when there were only a few in town).

George understands what makes Disney special, don't get me wrong, but there's a reason why he's been able to remain with the company as he closes in on 60. He is the perfect political animal ... but he can be a charming one as well. And he certainly comes off as more of a real person than Meg does.

 

[HMF]

Yes, he is. And, yes, he did start out that way. But he also was upper class when he started. His Dad was a well-known leading citizen in Winter Haven (I believe the elder Kalogridis was a pharmacist when there were only a few in town).

George understands what makes Disney special, don't get me wrong, but there's a reas on why he's been able to remain with the company as he closes in on 60. He is the perfect political animal ... but he can be a charming one as well. And he certainly comes off as more of a real person than Meg does.

I swear seeting Meg & Co. talk I feel like I am hearing a human press release that someone in the marketing departmrnt programmed in that morning.

 

[SirLink]

This is a sad fact.

It wasn't always like that, but now every aspect of WDW has a bottom line. And that does pit parks against each other and restaurants against each other etc.

If DAK gets Pandora: Gateway to Blue Alien Sex Kittens and the US Military Types Who Want To Commit Genocide, then the likelihood that EPCOT will get anything but new dining locations goes down.

The four parks are viewed as one whole and that is stifling them all.

Is their anyway to get each park as singular park instead of this cumulative approach - or has WDW jumped the point, so much, that it will be unlikely that each park will be seen as their own affair.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This is a sad fact.

It wasn't always like that, but now every aspect of WDW has a bottom line. And that does pit parks against each other and restaurants against each other etc.

If DAK gets Pandora: Gateway to Blue Alien Sex Kittens and the US Military Types Who Want To Commit Genocide, then the likelihood that EPCOT will get anything but new dining locations goes down.

The four parks are viewed as one whole and that is stifling them all.

Is their anyway to get each park as singular park instead of this cumulative approach - or has WDW jumped the point, so much, that it will be unlikely that each park will be seen as their own affair.

Oddly enough, seeing Walt Disney World as a whole is the old business model that allowed for unique retail and food experiences that may not have been as profitable as the same plush and burgers being everywhere. Creatively, the parks need to be viewed as separate, but as of now they're all amorphous blobs based on the kiddified Magic Kingdom with slightly different wrappers. The need to be seen as unique pieces to the same machine.

 

[SirLink]

Oddly enough, seeing Walt Disney World as a whole is the old business model that allowed for unique retail and food experiences that may not have been as profitable as the same plush and burgers being everywhere. Creatively, the parks need to be viewed as separate, but as of now they're all amorphous blobs based on the kiddified Magic Kingdom with slightly different wrappers. The need to be seen as unique pieces to the same machine.

I also perceive this notion to kinda be ingrained in WDI as well, when you have Eric Jacobson involved in 3 of the parks ... and everything is kinda the same ... then you go to AK ... it has a different feel - yes its run down, but it doesn't feel as though it has given into ADD children and OCD parents ... yet!