Originally Posted By DLFAN79 This explains EVERYTHING <a href="http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2005/10/24/focus1.html" target="_blank">http://orlando.bizjournals.com /orlando/stories/2005/10/24/focus1.html</a> ""Consider: Weiss started out collecting cash from the retail shops along Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. Over the years, he worked his way up through Disney's finance and resort divisions, including jobs supporting other areas of the company, such as marketing, from a financial perspective. Those tasks gave him a broad perspective of the entire operation."" NO attraction expereince NO front end experience NO guest experience Now we know why WDW is run like Eisners/Presslers Disney, w/ huge real estate holdings.
Originally Posted By MrToadWildRider Why do you come to the WDW section just to bash WDW? Some of us actually like the place.
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire Our kind seems like a rarity sometimes though! And who is to say he has not has guest experience, when surely he was a guest himself several times. Just because he collected cash does not mean he does not know anything about how the park is, and how it should be run.
Originally Posted By MrToadWildRider The OP is open to their opinion of course I just think it's a little messed up to only post in WDW when there's something negative to be said.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Al Weiss was at one of the Disneyana Conventions... I can't remember which one. He took part in the entertainment at the banquet, by playing piano and singing. I thought that was pretty cool.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 But hey c'mon guys...behind every Otown rant.....are some facts that are real. Yes, they may be put forth in a manner that skews them even further than the media, but the fact of the matter is, putting a financial person in charge of a customer service business is usually a recipe for a lot of bad things ( outside of making the bottom line ) -- Blazes, surely you can't stick to the fact that if he was a customer he gained the skills necessary to run a customer service organization. I know the point you and Toad are trying to make, and maybe this belongs in the Disney business section as much as WDW general, however it is WDW news and affects the parks. Just because I may have been a customer at Mc Donalds, or Lufthansa airlines, does not qualify me to be the best person to direct either customer service organization. BEST EXAMPLE: When McDonalds put a former CFO in charge of the company about 10 - 12 years back for a few years...how did that work out ? I can tell you, very very poorly. And eventually even the financial end there was in a mess -- once they got away from former burger flippers - store managers as CEO's and leaders- ( Quinlan / Rensi / Turner ) before Cantalupo has recently restored what the restaurant business to being successful.... Under the financial leader - stock dropped from $45 to $18 then lagged for a long time in the low 20's. Sound Familiar ? And I met each and every one of these people multiple times...not a bad guy among them....yet sometimes there is a fit for a role and sometimes not. It would appear Weiss' background does explain some things.....doesn;t make him a bad guy, but may make him a bad fit for his current role. I don;t know Weiss and don;t expect I will ever get the chance to meet him or work for him, but based on his background this surely doesn;t appear to be a good fit without someone very qualified at an equal or higher level with regards to park content. Now if that is being negative, I don;t know what to say.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 btw Otown -- I thought this was quite a good post -- not over the top maybe like some....interesting info ---
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire DIdnt say that qualified him, Im just saying there is more to him than just a cash collector.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Al Weiss was at one of the Disneyana Conventions... I can't remember which one. He took part in the entertainment at the banquet, by playing piano and singing. I thought that was pretty cool.<< I thought the piano player was Judson Green? Hill? Mills?...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <DIdnt say that qualified him, Im just saying there is more to him than just a cash collector< If you read your post you said - who's to say he doesn;t have guest experience when he has been a guest himself. If that wasn't meant as a qualifier, I am not sure what it was.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <How long has Weiss been in this current position?< since 1994 and has been with Disney since 1972.
Originally Posted By mickey_ring The article doesn't really explain how Mister W made Disney World the way it is now. Any details on how the Big Cheese (pun intended) operates?
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney The piano player was indeed Judson Green, who is an accomplished musician, while Al Weiss is an accomplished corporate hack. The Orlando Business Journal piece was 'placed' there by Disney's political clout because Weiss has been badmouthed plenty in the fan and CM communities over the past few years for his abysmal management style. All you have to do is look at WDW since Weiss took over to see his handywork. Is it a bigger place? Does it make more money? Hell, yeah. But at what cost? And, despite what the article says, Weiss wouldn't likely get the kind of position he has at WDW at any other major company. He's a Disney guy. He just forgot what that means.
Originally Posted By DLFAN79 ""for his abysmal management style."" UM because it is. I wouldnt be surprised if Weiss is channeling Pressler from beyond the 'grave'.
Originally Posted By Lewis Goofy >>Now we know why WDW is run like Eisners/Presslers Disney<< If not for Michael Eisner there would be no WDW. He is responsible for everything added to WDW after Epcot. His love for WDW showed with all the investment he put into the place. All Floridians and WDW fans owe Michael Eisner a big thank you for making WDW the Magical place that it is. I think they need to put up a statue of Eisner somewhere on property as his Disney legacy is just as great as Walts.
Originally Posted By Lewis Goofy >>Al Weiss is an accomplished corporate hack.<< Weiss makes the tough decisions because he loves WDW so much. Just like some here who say that they trash WDW because the love it so much. If Weiss did not make the decisions that he has made WDW would be sold and then you would really have something to whine about.
Originally Posted By danyoung >If not for Michael Eisner there would be no WDW. He is responsible for everything added to WDW after Epcot.< Your first statement is just incorrect. There was plenty of WDW there before Eisner, including the MK and Epcot. You qualified it with the second sentence, however. But D/MGM is widely perceived to be the least of the 4 parks. And I believe that it was only through the drive and passion of Joe Rohde that DAK came out as good as it did. Yes, Eisner did plenty of good early on. But he didn't know how to oversee the planning and execution of a theme park.
