WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Spend a day in the real world and what happens?
Another Phil Holmes thread of 10 pages! If he only knew how popular he was here then he might read this site more than LP.com!
I don't like adding to rumors, and I don't honestly know what has/is going down with Phil. I do know that two MK managers swear he was axed late yesterday afternoon. Either they know, or they are deliberating spreading a mistruth because they can't stand the guy. I won't add to that. But I am really wondering what the deal is.
I do know Cynthia Harriss was fired at DLR Prez three months before she 'resigned' to 'spend more time with family' ... of course, the fatal accident on BTMRR and Disney Legal telling Michael Eisner he couldn't pull the trigger publically on it had everything to do with that.
Again, I am NOT saying that is the case here. Just that when execs leave Disney things are often not what they seem.
But I will tackle the whole issue of the job Phil's done a bit. And the fact so many seem willing to feel bad for him if he indeed is jobless.
To be blunt, I have little sympathy for anyone at his level who loses their job, even if it isn't fair because anyone who is a seven-figure exec (and with his compensation package and years of stock options and bonuses, Phil qualifies) doesn't engender sympathy from me when people with children are living in tent cities these days. If an exec has to downsize from a mansion to a mini McMansion then so be it ... if they have to buy a car to replace the company one, again so be it. If they have to dip into their savings (since they're lucky enough to be able to put away significant sums) again sorry, but no sympathy.
As to Phil's worth as an exec, he is not highly thought of by most rank and file cast. He has allowed standards to slip across the board in a way that no other MK leader has. From a guest standpoint, I just look at the way the MK looks and operates now vs. the way it did prior to his 'leadership' ... I have met him in passing, so I have no personal experiences to base an opinion on. Others have told me everything from him being 'very personable one on one' to 'clueless' to 'an aloof (blank) hole' to 'just in over his head and wanting to keep Jay happy.'
No, he doesn't make the big decisions. But he does affect them. The top dog of each park does set a tone in the direction the park takes (again within parameters set down from TDO and Burbank). They can make a huge difference. Brad Rex (who I thought was a very nice man, but had no business running EPCOT) fought for $$$ that resulted in Soarin being added when those bucks could have also gone to MK. When Burbank approved funds for a Nightmare overlay to Mansion, Holmes balked and the money went to various 'infrastructure' improvements, which included everything from flat screens in the utilidors playing Disney commercials 24/7 to new office furniture.
Anyone who doesn't understand the day-to-day way a VP affects a park should take a look at how DAK Ops run under Val Bunting (formerly Phil's GM at MK) vs. when Dr. Beth Stevens ran the park. It's a disaster now and that's not something that can be blamed simply on TDO or Al Weiss or Jay Rasulo. Ultimately, it is the VP's job to figure out how best to balance all the eggs (from guest needs to cast to making numbers that make the people above happy). Some people can balance them better than others.
More often than not, Phil has dropped the eggs on the walkways and then not cleaned up because he's cut custodial.
And it isn't that Phil doesn't know better. He started out as frontline CM ... so when the Mansion (HIS attraction) was in disrepair for his entire tenure before being refurbed recently it wasn't something that was off his radar.
Again, just because someone has attained a certain position in any endeavor doesn't mean they are smart or talented or deserve the job. I think lots of folks are naive and believe that. It's not simply Disney or media/entertainment companies, almost any field you can think of is like this.
There are quality execs at Disney ... and there are execs that are less than.
~Wanna Run the MK?~
Another Phil Holmes thread of 10 pages! If he only knew how popular he was here then he might read this site more than LP.com!
I don't like adding to rumors, and I don't honestly know what has/is going down with Phil. I do know that two MK managers swear he was axed late yesterday afternoon. Either they know, or they are deliberating spreading a mistruth because they can't stand the guy. I won't add to that. But I am really wondering what the deal is.
I do know Cynthia Harriss was fired at DLR Prez three months before she 'resigned' to 'spend more time with family' ... of course, the fatal accident on BTMRR and Disney Legal telling Michael Eisner he couldn't pull the trigger publically on it had everything to do with that.
Again, I am NOT saying that is the case here. Just that when execs leave Disney things are often not what they seem.
But I will tackle the whole issue of the job Phil's done a bit. And the fact so many seem willing to feel bad for him if he indeed is jobless.
To be blunt, I have little sympathy for anyone at his level who loses their job, even if it isn't fair because anyone who is a seven-figure exec (and with his compensation package and years of stock options and bonuses, Phil qualifies) doesn't engender sympathy from me when people with children are living in tent cities these days. If an exec has to downsize from a mansion to a mini McMansion then so be it ... if they have to buy a car to replace the company one, again so be it. If they have to dip into their savings (since they're lucky enough to be able to put away significant sums) again sorry, but no sympathy.
As to Phil's worth as an exec, he is not highly thought of by most rank and file cast. He has allowed standards to slip across the board in a way that no other MK leader has. From a guest standpoint, I just look at the way the MK looks and operates now vs. the way it did prior to his 'leadership' ... I have met him in passing, so I have no personal experiences to base an opinion on. Others have told me everything from him being 'very personable one on one' to 'clueless' to 'an aloof (blank) hole' to 'just in over his head and wanting to keep Jay happy.'
No, he doesn't make the big decisions. But he does affect them. The top dog of each park does set a tone in the direction the park takes (again within parameters set down from TDO and Burbank). They can make a huge difference. Brad Rex (who I thought was a very nice man, but had no business running EPCOT) fought for $$$ that resulted in Soarin being added when those bucks could have also gone to MK. When Burbank approved funds for a Nightmare overlay to Mansion, Holmes balked and the money went to various 'infrastructure' improvements, which included everything from flat screens in the utilidors playing Disney commercials 24/7 to new office furniture.
Anyone who doesn't understand the day-to-day way a VP affects a park should take a look at how DAK Ops run under Val Bunting (formerly Phil's GM at MK) vs. when Dr. Beth Stevens ran the park. It's a disaster now and that's not something that can be blamed simply on TDO or Al Weiss or Jay Rasulo. Ultimately, it is the VP's job to figure out how best to balance all the eggs (from guest needs to cast to making numbers that make the people above happy). Some people can balance them better than others.
More often than not, Phil has dropped the eggs on the walkways and then not cleaned up because he's cut custodial.
And it isn't that Phil doesn't know better. He started out as frontline CM ... so when the Mansion (HIS attraction) was in disrepair for his entire tenure before being refurbed recently it wasn't something that was off his radar.
Again, just because someone has attained a certain position in any endeavor doesn't mean they are smart or talented or deserve the job. I think lots of folks are naive and believe that. It's not simply Disney or media/entertainment companies, almost any field you can think of is like this.
There are quality execs at Disney ... and there are execs that are less than.
~Wanna Run the MK?~
