Originally Posted By ReelJustice <<Unless Staggs is nothing new and our trust was grossly misplaced. >> Are you not paying attention EE? This is Stagg's version of Rasulo's fiefdom.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Are you not paying attention EE? This is Stagg's version of Rasulo's fiefdom.<<< Exactly. Exactly what I'm getting at. (Y'all need to work on rhetoric questions! )
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Just wanted to add a few thoughts before I go hide from my ringing phone and email queue. This was Al Lutz's blurb he had/has up on Miceage.com. <<Being fine tuned late last week was a new executive structure for Disney Parks & Resorts that Tom Staggs will be rolling out any day now. The early buzz is that current executive Disneylanders should get more autonomy from the Florida structure that has a (a-hem) 'different' way of managing their parks. Yes, it was a holiday yesterday, but that didn't stop us.>> Obviously, Al was very mistaken. And with a firm 'belief' that one of his top sources is VERY close to George. I firmly believe that the execs on that level were all left in the dark. This was a misdirection. I also firmly believe, at this point, whether the parks are sold off or not (and people in Glendale are acting like its a done deal ... I've been told people are acting like 'there's been a death in the family') that Tom Staggs was placed in his position to wrap up Disney's theme park business. All you Iger lovers should now (perhaps too late) understand what it means to simply be a content provider/distributor. Bob doesn't simply have a bulge for Steve Jobs and his little toys. He's convinced that ... the less physical things Disney owns, the better. I've even heard talk that the Japan scared him because what if one of his parks/resorts was wiped out by a natural or man-made disaster? What would that do to the share price? Anyway ... I've said my piece ... for now.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I also firmly believe, at this point, whether the parks are sold off or not (and people in Glendale are acting like its a done deal ... I've been told people are acting like 'there's been a death in the family') that Tom Staggs was placed in his position to wrap up Disney's theme park business. << Fascinating. Between this possible news and the Casey Anthony brouhaha, the Orlando media should stay busy. So Tom Staggs has been a decoy all along? Spirit, you should definitely hold off on the fanboy pathology thread until after the announcement. Someone will need to put Lou and WDWMAGIC and the other bloggers on suicide watch.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Hilarious. Simply hilarious. I literally laughed out loud when I heard about this decision. Disney is the only company that can make these hideous moves and make me laugh.
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer Thank you, Tom Staggs. Not only does one of the worst Disney executives get more power, One Disney and the Disney Parks greatness spreads to Paris. Watch out Paris and Anaheim, Meg is in charge now. We can only assume DLP will sart falling again as with DL. Maybe, MAYBE with a sytem that's a bit more streamlined, it will be better, but I doubt it. I would have preferred George get Meg's new job, but I suppose the corporate ladder played a role. If Staggs was really put in to wrap up the theme park business for Disney as Spirit says, I wonder if Iger actually intends to carry Rasulo to the top while everyone rips Staggs because the parks are gone...
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer Honestly, HokieSkipper, I laughed too. It's at the point now where Disney executives have become so stupid, its all I can do. I hope I can get to next year's shareholders meeting, I'd love to rip the board apart.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Cheer up, everyone! Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2.0 is starting to leak! Rejoice and be merry!
Originally Posted By ReelJustice <<Cheer up, everyone! Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2.0 is starting to leak! Rejoice and be merry! >> And our pal Spirit was one of the first to confirm it. Any clue on what the project name is Spirit?
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer Disneylanders are known to kick and scream and its beginning...DustySage, a MiceChat admin, posted this note <<POSTED BY DUSTYSAGE ON MICECHAT<<ADMIN NOTE: DISNEY FANS UNITE - Time for you to be vocal. The woman responsible for running Disney World into the ground is now in charge of all the US Disney parks (including Disneyland). Has Disney learned nothing from the Paul Pressler era (when they promoted the worst Disneyland President in history over all the parks)? As fans, we simply must make it clear that this is horrendous news and we will not stand for it. Speak up people and don't let up until this travesty is reversed. Time for Meg to go to the GAP! - Dusty>>
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Sell it...don't sell it...I don't really care. If the experience falters I will simply stop going...if it remains the same or gets better...I'm ok with that too. If it is destined to stay a Disney Park or "Park Like" then it will be if not, it's not the end of the world (well, Disney World perhaps) but not the other world. If you listen closely those sounds you hear are the nine old men plus two Roy's spinning in their graves and the ice cracking around Walt. Boy when he thaws is he going to be pissed.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Don't know if this is already out in the blogosphere, but here's the full text of Tom Staggs' announcement: Over the past several months, I’ve spoken with many of you about the incredible set of competitive strengths Walt Disney Parks and Resorts enjoys – the tremendous power and reach of the Disney brand; our fantastic creative content and expertise; our ability to harness new technology and innovation; our cultural commitment to quality; and our extraordinary cast. These strengths are remarkable assets. Nonetheless, we must continually seek to further leverage, develop and expand on them. To do so, our organization must be integrated, nimble and structured in a way that maximizes our ability to: • Understand and productively engage with consumers; • Design and create unique and relevant experiences; • Flawlessly deliver these experiences to our guests; and • Provide the resources, support and shared best practices necessary to operate effectively and in concert across all our businesses. Today I am announcing the next step in what has been an ongoing journey toward creating a fully integrated global organization. These changes will leverage the talent of our leadership team, support our business priorities and ultimately enable us to better achieve our business goals. Our operations teams are well-known for delivering an unparalleled guest experience that reflects the high expectations of our guests. It is important that we structure our operations leadership team to help ensure that we remain relentlessly focused on providing a consistently excellent experience for our guests across all our businesses. To that end, I have asked several of our talented leaders within operations to take on additional responsibilities: • Meg Crofton will now serve as president, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations, U.S. and France. Reporting to Meg in her new role will be George Kalogridis, president, Disneyland Resort, and Philippe Gas, president, Euro Disney SAS. Meg also will maintain her current responsibilities as president of the Walt Disney World Resort. Meg’s strong leadership abilities and broad experience make her the perfect person to lead resort operations in our established markets in the United States and Europe. Meg will report directly to me and become a member of my executive committee, allowing us to continue the great work of sharing best practices and leveraging our operational expertise across our properties. Meg understands and respects the unique heritage and characteristics of each of our theme park resort locations, which gives me great confidence in her ability to fulfill this role while preserving and enhancing what makes each of our properties so special in their own right. • Bill Ernest, president, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations Asia, will continue to oversee our operations in Asia, including Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort. With work beginning on Shanghai Disney Resort, the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland and the critical support efforts needed in Japan, Bill’s concentrated focus on Asia is crucial to our success in this market. • Reporting to Meg and Bill on a dual solid-line basis will be Jeff Vahle, executive vice president, Facilities Operations Services (FOS), and Erin Wallace, executive vice president, Operations Integration. Erin’s team works to consolidate creative, strategic and technical expertise for operations into a single organization responsible for enhancing our ability to optimize guest satisfaction, revenue and intent to return. Jeff’s team works to drive design, process, system, manufacturing and procurement efficiencies, and focuses on major initiatives such as guest and cast safety and preventative-maintenance processes. Jeff and Erin have done a terrific job evolving their organizations over the past two years, which allows us to formalize this integration across all global businesses and further develop their support for our businesses around the world. To integrate revenue management across all operations and create a strategic connection between revenue-based lines of business, Erin will take on the responsibility for Revenue Management with Kevin Lansberry, senior vice president, Revenue Management and Analytics, reporting directly to her. • Karl Holz, president, New Vacation Operations and Disney Cruise Line, will take on a leadership role for Disney Vacation Club, in addition to maintaining his responsibility for Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Aulani. Karl will be responsible for creating consistent and engaging guest experiences as they expand to new markets and destinations outside the berms of our theme parks. Jim Lewis, president, Disney Vacation Club, who has helped establish DVC as a highly successful and strategic part of our business portfolio, will continue in his current role, reporting directly to Karl. These operations are an important driver of growth in our segment and a critical part of our efforts to build upon and broaden Disney’s reputation for delivering magical experiences to our guests, both inside and outside the berm. As part of our reorganization, Karl will report to me and also become a member of my executive committee. Our understanding of consumers and our interface with them is critical to our success. Between our marketing and sales organizations, we seek to understand and engage consumers through insight research and effective, compelling communication. To further these goals, Sales and Marketing will now be aligned under the leadership of Leslie Ferraro, executive vice president, Global Marketing and Sales, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Leslie’s strong creative instincts and consumer-centric orientation are tremendous assets to the segment and they make her particularly well-suited for this expanded role. Randy Garfield, executive vice president, Worldwide Sales and Travel Operations, Disney Destinations, and president, The Walt Disney Travel Company, will now report to Leslie in this newly integrated function. Randy has unmatched experience in all aspects of sales and a deep knowledge of our guests. By bringing together these two world-class organizations, we will expand our understanding of consumers and our relationships with them and increase our ability to convert consumers into guests. The Walt Disney Imagineering, Business Development and Next Generation Experience teams will continue their focus on identifying, designing, creating and enhancing the great guest experiences that define our segment. HR and Diversity & Inclusion, Finance & Global Business Technology Strategy, Legal and Public Affairs will continue to provide our entire organization with the resources, information, tools, guidance, strategic and analytical insight, and support that is vital to effectively managing our business. The leadership and reporting relationships of these groups are unchanged by today’s announcement. I am proud of the amazing accomplishments of our organization and look forward to the exciting journey ahead with this talented team of leaders. Please join me in congratulating Meg, Karl, Leslie and Erin on their expanded roles.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Mother of Mercy... is this the end of Disneyland?!?" LOL. How many times have we heard that chorus before? All I want to know is when will the soft openings for Cars Land begin.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox Hey kids... look on the bright side. Matt Ouimet is heading to Knott's! He's already talking to the press about his new role as CEO of Cedar Fair, and took a tour of the farm last week. I have hope that Matt will return Knott's to its former glory. Besides, the chicken dinners and boysenberry pie beat most everything DL serves up these days. Meg will ruin Anaheim. But Matt will save Buena Park.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>So Tom Staggs has been a decoy all along?<<< That, or he's the moron in charge of this, and starting it. I could see it. Streamlined for sellin'!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Disneylanders are known to kick and scream and its beginning...DustySage, a MiceChat admin, posted this note <<POSTED BY DUSTYSAGE ON MICECHAT<<ADMIN NOTE: DISNEY FANS UNITE - Time for you to be vocal. The woman responsible for running Disney World into the ground is now in charge of all the US Disney parks (including Disneyland). Has Disney learned nothing from the Paul Pressler era (when they promoted the worst Disneyland President in history over all the parks)? As fans, we simply must make it clear that this is horrendous news and we will not stand for it. Speak up people and don't let up until this travesty is reversed. Time for Meg to go to the GAP! - Dusty><<<<< Good for Dusty! I generally don't like MiceChat, but that's a great sign, post and movement to get behind.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Meg will ruin Anaheim. <<< And Disneylanders will run her out, for it. ...Which can only help us in the end. If that's a machiavellian way of getting us some progress, so be it.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer And now a little theory: Disney is setting themselves up for "success”. Even if this isn't about selling the parks... it still is one of the moves behind the scenes, one of the smoke and mirror effects, and one of the things that could either be hugely influential on the parks, or not at all. Like The Spirit said with Weiss… “Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” That’s what I think this is for WDW. Meggy has already been in power here. What else is she could she do here that’s not what we are used to? However, Disneyland and Paris… I don’t know what she could do over there, that’s not the point of this post. The point is the actual smoke and mirrors trick that is this corporate movement. And it doesn’t have to do with selling the parks, per say, but of course, I think it could fit in hugely for that. This has interchangeable parts- it’s the theory of Eli Whitney and Marc Brunel! HAH! Anyway…. It’s assumed in some circles that D23 is going to have quite a few announcements that make it akin to the second coming of The Disney Decade. Following in the footsteps of the first DD, it seems that though there will be a lot of fluff and hoopla and drool over these new offerings, only a percentage will get actually built. Now, here’s where Meggy comes in. Promote the fan base’s least favorite executives, announce tons of things at D23, fanboys will assume its the new leaders doing. If these plans don't get build, regardless, there will be SOME positive feedback from Wall Street and the community. And if the parks get sold... Things were still announced; these execs had the limelight and the "right intensions". …and things might actually get built. Who knows? But once again, I find this to be some sort of parlor trick where we can’t see the full intentions of TWDC, and now these developments are CERTAINLY being exacted to illicit a effect, be it from the financial outlook, the PR outlook, or even internally. It’s just all very very fishy.
