Disneyland General
Topic: George K Is In The Parks!

#	Author	Message
1	Westsider Sun 10/18/2009 8:18p	I haven't been at work since Friday afternoon, but I've got word from friends who did work Friday night and all weekend, and there's some great news... George Kalogridis has been seen walking around the parks every day this weekend! He was in DCA on Friday early evening to see the kickoff of the Halloween Party and how it works, then he spent time at the Main Entrance of Disneyland as they got ready to close the turnstiles to new park guests due to overcrowding inside Disneyland, then he was in the Hub for fireworks and to observe the Guest Control mess that creates. On Saturday he wandered around both Disneyland and DCA intoducing himself to any CM he saw, and he had lots of questions for Leads and managers that were working that day. Word is he knows exactly what he is talking about, and he knows all the Operations lingo and acronyms and code words for things, which have already earned him respect from people who have dealt with past senior TDA executives who had no clue what to call things or what certain Operations phrases or code words meant. Then on Sunday he walked in CHOC Walk in the park at 7:00 AM, stopping along the entire route in both parks to shake hands with CM's working the event and getting the parks ready for the operating day. He gave an opening speech on Main Stret USA to kick off the CHOC Walk, but instead of retreating backstage and jumping in his car after his public appearance with photographers, he actually participated for several hours in the entire event he had just kicked off. Word is he has to go back to France at the end of the month for a week or two to wrap stuff up there and pass off to his Paris replacement, and then he'll be back for good in November. I know it's not understood by some folks here, but I can't tell you what a morale boost it is to have a new President who not only walks inside the parks, but actually seems to enjoy it and know what he is talking about as he interacts with Cast Members working in those parks. The core product Disney sells here in Anaheim, after all, is a theme park, so it helps for the senior Anaheim leader to know a bit about... wait for it... THEME PARKS. Welcome to Disneyland George Kalogridis, your hourly Cast Members are very happy to see you in the parks!
2	WilliamK99 Sun 10/18/2009 9:07p	Not trying to be a jerk, but what a new boss does and says the first day on the job is rarely how he/she turns out.... He may be great for DL, but we can't base it on his honeymoon period, give it a few months and then we can see how great of a leader he will be.
3	Spirit of 74 Sun 10/18/2009 9:21p	George knows his ops stuff. No doubt about that. He WAS Sr. VP of Ops there, after all. He just held the same position at DLP. And he ran EPCOT for five years in the 1990s. But he is also VERY Internet savvy. I can guarantee you that he'll read the post I am typing right now (or Andy will read it and relay it to him ... he won't even go through some TDA hack to tell him what's being said). He KNOWS how Ed was bashed for not being seen in the parks (I do think a Prez should be seen every once in a while, but I don't think they have to, or should, be out all the time.) He KNOWS how Al gushed like a school girl with a crush over Matt because he was visible and appeared to (and in reality did) care about what was going on and down in the parks. I saw him in the parks in his first stint at TDA. I also saw him in Epcot. Hell, I saw him at DLP having lunch a few weeks ago with Philippe Gas in what may have been his farewell lunch). He gets out. Here's a tip for you and your CM pals: if you want to get his attention, all it will take is a well-placed thread right here. And I am 100% deadly serious. He isn't gonna make Ed's mistakes. And, hopefully, he isn't going to repeat his own. That remains to be seen.
4	Westsider Sun 10/18/2009 9:22p	Very true. George could be a complete disaster by 2011. But just the fact that he knows what he is talking about, and can easily embrace the unique language and culture of his workplace, speaks volumes and signals a huge break with the past Disneyland President.
5	Spirit of 74 Sun 10/18/2009 9:32p	My money is on George doing a good job. He may be the best resort Prez Disney has anywhere now. What that says about the talent pool is another story. But with all the great new stuff coming to the resort, all he has to do is shepperd the place thru the changes and not screw anything up. His contract is for three years and we all know what that means. He'll be pushing 60 when it's up and that's ancient by Disney standards (again, whether that's right is another subject). And, rest assured, his 'coming out' party was well-planned right down to it being CHOC walk weekend. On a personal level, I am pretty sure he's doing cartwheels and believes he won the war with Cynthia and Co by returning. I'm sure the fact he was ordered to NOT show his face at the DCA second anniversary announcement of ToT and Bug's Land was very much in his mind as he was out and about like some conquering hero returning home. He just needs to get that 'home' isn't Central Florida ... that was a lesson he learned the hard way in 2000-2001. But I truly hope we won't read Al gushing over him again this week. I might puke.
6	Hans Reinhardt Sun 10/18/2009 9:54p	"He may be great for DL, but we can't base it on his honeymoon period, give it a few months and then we can see how great of a leader he will be." I was thinking the same thing. I'm happy to hear the his presence is a big morale boost for cast members. However, as a guest, I really couldn't care less if he's in the parks or not. If he's not going to do anything about Tomorrowland and halt the slow erosion of Disney's meticulous storytelling (ie: toons everywhere), then I won't be impressed.
7	Moon Waffle Mon 10/19/2009 11:35a	I for one am happy that people are at least generally very positive about him. That wouldn't be the case if he hadn't already proven himself elsewhere. Maybe he can push forward with some plans to fix the disaster that is Tomorrowland, namely, the ROCKET RODS TRACK.
8	TP2000 Mon 10/19/2009 11:43a	Spirit, it would seem to me that your criticism of Al is a case of shooting the messenger. Al just relays info from his sources in TDA. If his sources, which have proven to be quite accurate and well placed, are excited about George K. arriving in Anaheim that's not Al's fault. Al ran his Tuesday morning story on George about 18 hours after it was announced publicly on Monday at Noon. The TDA sources for Al clearly were happy about the news, and they provided Al with quite a bit of behind-the-scenes info and drama to fill in the blanks on who this George guy was exactly. That info was already there, ready to go from TDA sources. And now we've got reports of hourly CM's in the parks excited to see George out with them on a daily basis, talking their language and embracing their unique culture right off the bat. More happiness from the hourly troops that lines up with the previous info from the salaried officers back in the administration building. Cast Members of all ranks seem genuinely pleased to have George here, even with the background info they already know about him. I'd be careful of shooting Al as the messenger, as there is clearly genuine goodwill from Anaheim Cast Members towards George K. And it all seems to put a final nail in Ed Grier's coffin quite firmly.
9	davewasbaloo Mon 10/19/2009 12:02p	Special K dd ensure that DLP set up a refurb group to get old effects working, and there has been some marked improvements in maintenance, but overall, DLP is not anywhere near the park it once was. How much K is to blame for that, I do not know. I just hope he treats the original and best resort with the respect it deserves. And I hope with the leadership changes at DLP, we can dump the current trajectory and return to a less shallow and souless operating model.
10	davewasbaloo Mon 10/19/2009 12:04p	Remember, it was K's watch in Paris that lead to there only being a few hours in the middle of the day when all attractions are open. To me, that is unacceptable and one of the reasons why I am now only going to Paris next year for the sake of my kids (never EVER thought that would happen, that's why we put down $25,000 on a timeshare there - I feel ripped off by Disney).

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