Originally Posted By sjhym33 Val Bunting has moved from her position as VP of AK to General Manager of Port Orleans. According to sources this was Val's decision saying she wanted to learn the hotel side of the business. Kevin Lansberry has been named new VP of AK. He has been with Disney since '86 and has been VP of Downtown Disney,tranportation, sports and golf complexes. He will continue to oversee transportation at WDW as well as his role at the AK.
Originally Posted By ORD84 hmmm "According to sources this was Val's decision saying she wanted to learn the hotel side of the business." Yeah she was probably given one of those offers she couldn't refuse, "Take this route otherwise your out" kind of deals (even though her title stayed the same, from the looks of it she was given a demotion) From what I know being a VP of a park is much bigger than being VP of a single hotel...
Originally Posted By Indigo I don't think it's a bad move for Val. Almost every Senior Management level person (Meg and above) came from Hotels or HR. If Val can parlay this into a Grand Floridian VP level then she stands a chance of a continued career at Disney. I'm a big fan of this sort of cross-training, as long as there are mentors to help them out. I'm a little more worried about the move from being a mall manager to a theme park manager that Kevin is making. Other than customer service there are not a lot of transferable skills. Maybe Kevin brings a skill set that is much larger than was being utilized at downtown Disney. Maybe he's a great Team Manager and that's what the parks need right now. We'll soon find out. I certainly don't blame Kevin for the radical shift that DTD is currently undergoing. He was given a set of facts and made the best of it with his options. I just fill really bad for the guy who's taking Kevin's place.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> hmmm "According to sources this was Val's decision saying she wanted to learn the hotel side of the business." << I heard it was to spend more time with her family. Either way it's a big time demotion, and that's a fact.
Originally Posted By MPierce What is TWDC doing? Double dipping their VP's now? Head of DAK, and Transportation seems like much to big of a job for one person. If Mr Lansberry can pull it off, more power to him. It just seems odd to me.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 What family? Val only has step children and they are all adults now. I know Val very well and I think she may have in fact initiated this move. She has been a park person all her career and she may have wanted to explore other business areas. It could be a great move for her because with her park experience and now hotel experience she could take this outside of Disney and do very well. I know a lot of people don't like Val. I love her. I have worked with her on several occasions. She and I shared a desk at one time. She has always been very good to me and very nice and always seems truly concerned about the Disney experience and guests. All these moves though...I went from knowing 3 park VP's to just one.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I don't know Val at all. I do know she has had a long tenure at Disney. I believe she was on the opening teams of Disney-MGM, Euro Disney and DAK. That said, I can honestly say that MK reached its all-time nadir when Phil Holmes was No. 1 and Val was No. 2 ... also a lot of DAK folks are telling me there have been major OPs issues under Val. I have seen for myself some 'issues' like cleanliness, rotting restroom doors, attractions operating in poor shape and the only park where AC was an issue (shops of all places were very hot on an EMH night ... dumb). I don't know how much is on Val or not. But at this stage in her career (I am guessing she is 50-something) learning the resort business just seems like an excuse ... I have heard part of her Paris responsibilities involved the hotels. It just makes little sense. Does she think she's going to wind up managing Oahu? The Shanghai resorts? All seems very unlikely. Anyway, I wish her the best at Port Orleans ... and I wish the same to Kevin at DAK, although leaving his transport responsibilities seems very strange.
