You never know when a phone call will change your life, and for George Kalogridis, that phone call came last November when he was asked to head up the Happiest Place on Earth. Becoming the new president of the Disneyland Resort meant moving away from his life in Paris, France and taking on responsibilities that include overseeing a massive expansion at Disney’s California Adventure park. Having embarked on his Disney career to help pay his way through college, George has worked his way up through the ranks with experience that includes opening Walt Disney World’s Empress Lilly Riverboat restaurant/jazz club and the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, leading Epcot through the Millennium celebration and, most recently, serving as chief operating officer of Disneyland Resort Paris. Despite his rather pressing schedule, George recently took some time out to answer 23 questions from D23.
What are some of your earliest Disney memories?
Certainly growing up watching [Walt Disney's] Wonderful World of Color. I was of that generation, but there was this one show every year — Disneyland After Dark — and I thought that was the greatest. I remember when the riverboat would come around the bend and it was all lit up with a Dixieland band playing on it. I thought that was amazing because growing up in Florida we didn’t have riverboats. That was my first memory.
Then when I became a Cast Member at Walt Disney World, we had the first Cast test night before the park opened. The very first Disney attraction I ever went on was it’s a small world. I was 17, but you would have thought I was 3 years old. It was great!
Those are two memories that are firmly implanted in my mind.
So you started at Walt Disney World when it opened? What was your first job there?
I was a busboy. For me, the timing was just right. I went to high school in Florida and was going to go to college so I needed a job and Disney World was just beginning to hire at that time. It was a very involved hiring process because 6,000 people were needed at the beginning. Just off a freeway exit a group of trailers were assembled together, and it was hot. I stood in this queue for hours, and I remember talking to the guy in front of me and the guy behind me. Both had been laid off from Cape Canaveral because the Cape had just finished the Apollo program. So all of these engineers were applying for jobs — both these guys had sent a man to the moon and I’ve got my high school diploma. I’m thinking, “There’s just no way.” When I returned for the interview they’d call your name and tell you to go through whichever door is still open. So I happened to go in the door for hotels and was offered a busboy position in the Contemporary Hotel. Had I walked to the next door I could have ended up in Tomorrowland attractions as a beginning.
You were a senior vice president at Disneyland from 2000 through 2002. Did you ever have plans to come back to Disneyland or was it a surprise?
It was a surprise. In some respects it was like I never left because I still kept in touch with so many of the people I worked with when I was here before. But it’s another thing to lead the whole park. Of course I thought about it, but if you asked me a year ago, “Are you the next person who’s most likely to get this role?” I don’t know that I would have said yes. But I’m glad it worked out the way it did.
How did you find out that [The Walt Disney Company] wanted you for this job?
I was very happy to be in Paris, and loved living in Europe, but I certainly was open to any opportunity back in Anaheim. Actually, it was a phone call. “Here’s what I’d like to offer you.” And I said yes!
So before the phone call you really had no idea?
No. That’s for sure! I honestly think I paused for a moment because I thought, “I’m not I sure correctly heard that.” I wanted to be very clear how I responded because I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
What is your role as president of Disneyland?
I’m responsible for the day-to-day operations of the parks and the hotels. There are Cast Members who work in this building (Team Disney Building) for example, and while they don’t directly report to me, they certainly look to me to help guide the direction of this resort. I also represent the company in the community and work closely with city officials, local businesses and community leaders to ensure we are working together to drive tourism and support the community. I’m also responsible for the guest experience and ensuring that we continue to deliver to our guests the excellent service for which we are known. At the end of the day, if something’s happening in Anaheim and it’s good I get the call and if it’s bad I get the call.
Are you involved in attractions or shows creatively?
I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t see myself as a creative visionary. Take World of Color for example. If I have a point of view, it’s welcome. So to answer your question — am I the artistic director of that attraction? No. That’s why we have creative people who are really good. But I certainly have an opportunity to provide input.
What are your top priorities in this role at this time?
I talk about what I call the “E” ticket, and there are really three components to it. The first is the guest experience. It includes making sure that we do everything we can to not only maintain the guest experience, but to enhance it as well. The second is to ensure our expansion has minimal impact on our guests, the Cast and local residents, and that it is on budget. There are not any other projects in Southern California that have this value. It’s not easy to have construction in the middle of an operating theme park. We’re up to the challenge and we have a very good plan, and my objective is to make sure that we deliver the end product with as little negative impact as possible. The third “E” is reminding ourselves always of our responsibility as a key economic engine in Southern California. That plays out in a lot of different ways, but most recently it played out when we entered in a partnership with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and the Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN). We needed buses to transport guests to and from our new Toy Story parking lot. Because of revenue and tax shortfalls, OCTA had just laid off drivers and had idle buses. ATN is an existing network of trolleys and buses that serve many of the Resort Area hotels. So we worked out a deal where ATN hired several of the laid-off bus drivers and leased the idle buses. This is a great example of a public-private partnership. It cost us a little more than if we’d leased buses from another company, but it’s important that we demonstrate that we’re members of this community as well, and were concerned with more than just our profit line. Our profit line is important, but we also have a responsibility as the largest employer in Orange County.
Do you get to go inside the park and interact with guests as part of your job?
For sure. In a perfect world I would be there every day, but I certainly try for several times a week. Sometimes I grab an hour and go. This week I spent some time in both Disneyland and in Downtown Disney and it was great. I always learn something.
I think some guests enjoy the nostalgia of Disneyland past, like with the return of Captain EO. What are your feelings about the nostalgia? Is there a place for it?
Of course. It is very important that we balance heritage and nostalgia with innovation. Walt was adamant that we keep things exciting and relevant for our guests. I think most people will agree that we’ve been successful at this balance, particularly when it comes to refreshing some of our classic attractions. And if you look at our expansion of Disney’s California Adventure, it’s really all about extending the nostalgia of Disneyland across the esplanade by tying the park more closely to Walt and classic Disney stories.
“In our company, it helps me never forget what was important to me when I had my first role and what I expected to hear from the person who was leading the organization.”
|
What are you most looking forward to in this role?
There’s a lot to be excited about here, but clearly the biggest efforts are all of the new things coming online at Disney’s California Adventure. I’m very excited about the expansion and I think it’s something that’s energizing the whole Cast. But to be very honest, most recently I was most excited about the opening of our new Toy Story parking lot because the challenges of parking have been fairly enormous. It’s to be expected when we lost one of our largest parking lots (which is the future home of Cars Land). In order to meet the expansion project timelines, we needed to close that parking lot before the new parking lot was ready, so we had about five months that were a bit uncomfortable with parking. In addition to the expansion, there are a lot of other positive things happening. For instance at the Disneyland Hotel we are in the process of renovating all the rooms. They’re spectacular!
Do you feel that working your way up from busboy has benefited you in your current role?
I’d like to think so. At the same time I don’t want to say that somebody has to necessarily begin in an hourly role to assume a position like this. In our company, it helps me never forget what was important to me when I had my first role and what I expected to hear from the person who was leading the organization. You can sort of go back and forth, “When I was doing that, what would I have thought was important?” “What would I have thought was stupid?” “What would I have thought was appropriate in terms of how often I came in contact with this person?” So for me, my person at the time (in Walt Disney World) was either Bob Allen (former vice president, Walt Disney World) or Dick Nunis (former president, Disneyland and Walt Disney World). Bob was there, but Dick was really the one. What’s great is that I still keep in contact with him today. I was a busboy and he was in a key role and still today, 39 years later, I’m still talking and keeping in touch with him. I would hope that my leadership style would enable that same kind of comment to be made 20 or 30 years from now for someone who today is a busboy and would feel comfortable to have that same conversation with me.
Do you have a favorite part of your current job?
I love the job. I love being in the park with the guests for sure. This afternoon I’m going to have a roundtable with Cast Members. I can’t wait for that. But, at the same time I enjoy meeting people who are talking about the company. I very much like that. I had a mentoring conversation with somebody in Paris today. I love that. What is always tough is when you have to make difficult decisions, but I wouldn’t even tell you that I don’t like that part of the job because I think it’s fascinating to see sometimes when we think we’re making a decision that is a difficult one that the guests might not like or the cast is going to hate, sometimes it doesn’t play out that way at all. Now, if you have to tell somebody you’re going to have to cut his or her hours or something like that, sure, that’s not something that I like to do. But right now, fortunately, we’re managing our business well and I think we’ve been very stable in this environment when you consider what a lot of companies have gone through.
Here are some easier questions! What is your favorite Disney movie?
Mary Poppins.
Who’s your favorite Disney character?
Eeyore.
What’s your favorite Disney parade?
I’d say it’s a tie. America on Parade is one, and I love The Tapestry of Nations from the Millennium celebration at Epcot, too.
Do you have any favorite street atmosphere?
There was a show at Epcot that was my all-time favorite. This guy was called Zip Code Man, and he was so good that I remember bringing him to a steering committee meeting. He was what I think you would call a savant. You had to give him a couple of hints and he would tell you your zip code. He would not only tell you your zip code, he would tell you a place in that zip code that the chances were pretty strong that you would have known, like a pizza place or something like that. It was just unbelievable. He would attract this audience and guests were just in awe. It was quite special.
What is your favorite Disneyland Paris attraction?
Crush’s Coaster. It’s not for the weak, that’s for sure. It is based on Finding Nemo and has vehicles that can spin 360 degrees while progressing forward.
What’s your favorite Disney attraction of the past?
I loved the Circarama film America the Beautiful. If you asked me which one I would like to bring out of the vault, that would be it. It was the first thing that was playing when Walt Disney World opened.
What is your favorite attraction at Disneyland Resort
Soarin’ Over California.
What is your favorite Disney TV show?
As I said earlier, Disneyland After Dark is my favorite, but I also loved watching Pollyanna.
Do you have a favorite Disney song?
I love the background music from The American Adventure in Epcot that’s also in the Lincoln show [in Disneyland] now.
“There’s a lot to be excited about here, but clearly the biggest efforts are all of the new things coming online at Disney’s California Adventure. I’m very excited about the expansion and I think it’s something that’s energizing the whole Cast.”
|
Looking at your whole Disney career so far, what are your favorite memories?
Certainly opening the Grand Floridian. Being part of that team and being the general manager there because it was really the first five-star hotel that the company embarked upon and we were so successful and it was such a great team effort. It was very much like Walt doing this (Disneyland), he knew what he wanted but he had no idea exactly how it was going to play out. You didn’t know what you didn’t know and it was very much that way with the Grand Floridian, and in the end we did great.
The Millennium celebration was something that was so important for the company and for me personally. It allowed me to grow and it really was a moment when I saw the company come together in many ways.
The first expansion here (at the Disneyland Resort) was also a highlight. It was amazing to see how several billion dollars of investment from federal, state, local and private funding, and all of those entities working together, truly transformed into the Anaheim resort area. I think back to that parking lot on West Street and never would have imagined how spectacular it would turn out to be.
In Paris, the 15th anniversary was such a great accomplishment for that team and turned that business around in a very positive way. It gave a platform for the company to be able to share with the French people the project contributions and the fact that there are 50,000 jobs associated with that project and all of the tax revenues.
So those were big moments in my Disney career. Hopefully I’ve got a few more coming down the pike.
By D23′s Scott Wolf
