Where's George Kalogridis? -- The First 100 MAGICal Days!

[WDW1974]

I do find the lack of reported sightings a bit odd given his history of being out in the parks at DL, but I have to assume we'll see more of George K. eventually.

It is odd. And it sorta also shows a totally different dynamic between DLR and WDW. DL Prez's have all, with the exception of Ed Grier, been out and about and make a point to schmooze with the fans as well as the bloggers and Lifestylers.

I can't help but think that George has been given the 'we don't care about the chronics, just stay in the boardrooms working on NGE/MM+ and resource allocation issues.' When you don't see the guy in one Twitter pic with a fanboi or CM ... or on one fan site ... or even at anything official, there's a reason.

Now, if Disney Springs gets announced this month, I'd guess you'd see him soon.

 

[WDW1974]

There was an actual scheduled downtime this month but it got cancelled. They were going to close each theater for 3 days each for extra cleaning and big cleanup of the film cabinets. They were going to close one theater and keep the other one open, so it wouldn't have been that bad. But the Maintenance Director cancelled it, but I don't know if it was his idea or someone above him.

This is exactly the type of $h^t that WDW has become known for. It's classic.

One of the most popular attractions at the resort and it always looks awful.

 

[WDW1974]

At least he will know and be familiar with the differences between the two operations. Now that he is familiarizing himself thoroughly with WDW, he's probably now realizing how big of a challenge his job is forthcoming. Let's just hope he's up to the challenge and doesn't get frightened by it and quit (which could happen)!

He is quite familar ... remember, from 1971-2006 he spent his entire career at WDW with the exception of June 2000-early Feb. 2002 in Anaheim.

And George is many things ... he won't quit the crowning position of his long career. He's at WDW until his contract ends in 2016. Then, he retires.

 

[PeterAlt]

He is quite familar ... remember, from 1971-2006 he spent his entire career at WDW with the exception of June 2000-early Feb. 2002 in Anaheim.

And George is many things ... he won't quit the crowning position of his long career. He's at WDW until his contract ends in 2016. Then, he retires.

Also, no one is talking about the fact that Meg Crofton was promoted and now George K. must report to her. She, in theory, has the power to veto anything good he wants to do. And - worse - she can start the re-downfall of DLR. It could be (she could be) Paul Pressler all over again déjà vu reincarnated. I hope I'm wrong...

 

[WDW1974]

Also, no one is talking about the fact that Meg Crofton was promoted and now George K. must report to her. She, in theory, has the power to veto anything good he wants to do. And - worse - she can start the re-downfall of DLR. It could be (she could be) Paul Pressler all over again déjà vu reincarnated. I hope I'm wrong...

Actually, it is no different. When Georgie was in Anaheim, he still reported to Meg. They are just both swapping coasts.

 

[PeterAlt]

Actually, it is no different. When Georgie was in Anaheim, he still reported to Meg. They are just both swapping coasts.

So that Meg could reverse DLR's progress...

I take it her management style is very "hands off". She doesn't interfere with the managers below her and she doesn't do anything with the things she's directly responsible for. "Ride rehab? Nah, that's okay, but thank you for asking, though!"

 

[NemoRocks78]

I had a chatty supervisor at Soarin' explain that exact thing to me while waiting in the queue at Soarin'. There's a medical grade filtration system in both projection rooms at the DCA Soarin', and they cut that from the Epcot version which allows dust and dirt and decay to infect the Epcot film prints very quickly.

The DCA version also closes each theater for a week of screen cleaning and painting once a year, plus general maintenance on the "carriages" which lift you up and into the screen to keep them from squeaking, keep the motion control in full effect, and keep the smell effects working right. The DCA rehab for Soarin' was this past January, with each theater down for a week at a time but the attraction still open. I rode the DCA Soarin' at the last AP party last week, and it looks and flies and smells fantastic.

I can't remember the last time anyone mentioned a similar Soarin' rehab for the Epcot theaters, to clean the IMAX screens and rehab the mechanics. In addition to the superior filtration system in the projection room, the California Adventure version of Soarin' is kept in very good condition.

Just another example of the increasing differences between the two coasts and how they operate their parks. I have to wonder how much George K. will be able to help with institutional differences like that???

I rode DCA Soarin' yesterday afternoon and the film looked terrible. Big black spots kept showing up on the left side of the screen. The smells weren't as "powerful" as they typically are either.

 

[PeterAlt]

I rode DCA Soarin' yesterday afternoon and the film looked terrible. Big black spots kept showing up on the left side of the screen. The smells weren't as "powerful" as they typically are either.

See, Meg is already overseeing the re-decline of DLR...

 

[articos]

Actually, that's exactly what they did. DCA has a clean room for their projectors, Epcot doesn't.

RE: Soarin' - there's a few reasons for the differences, but here's the crux of it: For DCA, Soarin' was new technology, and was considered a 'marquee' ride, part of a huge new park. That alone saves it from some of the value engineering, because if it is a big new splashy ride, you often end up with top people on the attraction. The top tier people want their splashy new tech to wow everyone, including their bosses...who happen to be close by. So, they fight against any severe cuts, and generally it gets done with a modicum of being close to what was was planned and signed off on. Second, Soarin' is essentially a big IMAX show, right down the road from Hollywood. Not only do you have film industry people taking their families to ride this every day, but you have the top film industry people helping to plan it and build it. Then, on top of that, you have a maintenance team who are more up to date on the industry and more immersed in film by proximity maintaining the show...so DCA has all of these things working in its favor. However, I would say DCA's Soarin' is starting to show its age now, and the maintenance isn't quite what it used to be.

Now, whenever we do a version 2 you can expect things to be cut for budget more often than not. See also: TZToT and T2. Sometimes - not alway, but sometimes - you don't get the same A-team on the attraction, and they don't fight the cuts. It feels like since it's not shiny and new, you just go along with the requests to pinch here, save there. Ops doesn't think this works in version 1, so let's just leave this out. In the case of Soarin', the budget just wasn't there for the air handling system, so the caveat is made by the WDI team that because there's no clean room - which isn't a necessity by any means - the film must be cleaned more often, the projectors taken apart on a strict schedule, the screen kept clean more stringently...and we're told "Yes, we get it, no problem." And we hope that will happen. If the maintenance was done on the schedule that was handed off by the project team, Soarin' Epcot would likely be in much better shape than it seems to be in. It would not be in the same shape as DCA, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad as it is. But that's the way it is. And as people move on, the information is lost, then down the line no one even knows the original cleaning schedules. So, along with that, Orlando isn't near the center of the film industry - we do have a lot of film people in Orlando, but it's just not the same...and management maybe doesn't care as much because they aren't the sticklers for detail that being in close proximity to Hollywood would be. And that's how we end up with a Soarin' on one coast that looks very different from the other coast.

 

[articos]

See, Meg is already overseeing the re-decline of DLR...

Don't worry about Meg, she's on her way out the door.

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

Since this is a thread about George: I found this interesting link and photo of where George supposedly lived in Newport Beach,CA when he was pres of DLR. The house in the middle with car in driveway.

http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/george-kalogridis-house-former-1/

If he had that house in WDW, that's probably where he'd spend most of his time trying to solve the NGE/MM+ issues. Has he had that interview yet with Mongello?

 

[PhotoDave219]

This is exactly the type of $h^t that WDW has become known for. It's classic.

One of the most popular attractions at the resort and it always looks awful.

Thats an example of "Its Too F**king Busy" here. So busy that the crowd levels keep preventative maintenance from being done.

 

[muteki]

Thats an example of "Its Too F**king Busy" here. So busy that the crowd levels keep preventative maintenance from being done.

I don't see that as a reason for not doing the work. It is (increasingly so) becoming difficult to find a "off season" at WDW. You can't keep using crowds as an excuse because you can't put off this work indefinitely.

You are never going to be able to close a ride for refurb without making some people unhappy. But that is just how it is.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I don't see that as a reason for not doing the work. It is (increasingly so) becoming difficult to find a "off season" at WDW. You can't keep using crowds as an excuse because you can't put off this work indefinitely.

You are never going to be able to close a ride for refurb without making some people unhappy. But that is just how it is.

I completely agree and feel that they need to do more maintenance. If you dont maintain these things as you go, you end up needing the six-week to two-month rehab to fix things. And that es people off more than the reduced capacity on a ride.

I tried to ride pirates four times last week on four different days. It was down all four times.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I had a chatty supervisor at Soarin' explain that exact thing to me while waiting in the queue at Soarin'. There's a medical grade filtration system in both projection rooms at the DCA Soarin', and they cut that from the Epcot version which allows dust and dirt and decay to infect the Epcot film prints very quickly.

The DCA version also closes each theater for a week of screen cleaning and painting once a year, plus general maintenance on the "carriages" which lift you up and into the screen to keep them from squeaking, keep the motion control in full effect, and keep the smell effects working right. The DCA rehab for Soarin' was this past January, with each theater down for a week at a time but the attraction still open. I rode the DCA Soarin' at the last AP party last week, and it looks and flies and smells fantastic.

I can't remember the last time anyone mentioned a similar Soarin' rehab for the Epcot theaters, to clean the IMAX screens and rehab the mechanics. In addition to the superior filtration system in the projection room, the California Adventure version of Soarin' is kept in very good condition.

Just another example of the increasing differences between the two coasts and how they operate their parks. I have to wonder how much George K. will be able to help with institutional differences like that???

I would hope that any change would be accompanied by a new film, and perhaps even a third theater.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I rode DCA Soarin' yesterday afternoon and the film looked terrible. Big black spots kept showing up on the left side of the screen. The smells weren't as "powerful" as they typically are either.

I have noticed that the smellitzer's seem to be better in Florida. I have also seen issues with cleanliness on the DCA version, but I have never seen either film as bad as Epcot was on January 22nd.

 

[tracyandalex]

Well, shopping options have improved in O-Town greatly. There was a time when it was either Burdines or stepping down to a J.C. Penny's or Sears. ... They were so excited when Macy's came to town (before they gobbled up Burdines).

Hey now I have a wonderful florescent green shirt with florescent pink writing on it proclaiming how amazing Burdine's-Macy's was going to be! Too bad the joint name only lasted for about a month, then it just became Macy's. Aaaahh college jobs!

 

[Darth Sidious]

I don't see that as a reason for not doing the work. It is (increasingly so) becoming difficult to find a "off season" at WDW. You can't keep using crowds as an excuse because you can't put off this work indefinitely.

You are never going to be able to close a ride for refurb without making some people unhappy. But that is just how it is.

I think that obviously some rides need rehabs for a few months. However they could do year round after hours maintenance. After playing catch up they realistically can cut down on closing rides for extended periods and rather just keep them fresh doing more frequent overnight work.

 

[George]

Thats an example of "Its Too F**king Busy" here. So busy that the crowd levels keep preventative maintenance from being done.

See, you've got a handle on the plan. Things fall apart and after a while it is no longer too effing busy. Problem solved.

 

[PhotoDave219]

See, you've got a handle on the plan. Things fall apart and after a while it is no longer too effing busy. Problem solved.

Yeah but then the stock price goes right in the outhouse and then we cut more!

I'm not sure I understand modern management theory......