Leadership reorganization at Walt Disney World changes key personnel and sees transportation control move to resort operations

ford91exploderMar 23, 2014

This structure facilitates outsourcing of the maintenance function to a non TWDC entity, Similar to what happened to AA's with Garner-Holt.

NoChesterHesterMar 23, 2014

Hat tip to Merf - WDI just posted this senior position opening for Transportation. https://sjobs.brassring.com/tgwebhost/jobdetails.aspx?partnerid=25348&siteid=5039&jobid=160526 Definitely related.

MOXOMUMDMar 23, 2014

Meg is like that bad itch that won't go away.

WDW1974Mar 22, 2014

Is this Andy?

WDW1974Mar 22, 2014

You gotta love when a newbie poster with a name like 'Voice of Reason' comes into a thread to correct others ... with, naturally, incorrect information. That is, unless you are speaking of Meg's physical location at any one time? Because Meg is still in charge of WDW, DLR and DLP. Georgie K reports to her.

RSoxNo1Mar 12, 2014

So OPs killed the Komodo Dragon?

Nubs70Mar 11, 2014

So in the end, all causes and expenses are shuffled towards and away from the fulcrum so the sheet remains balanced.

jprieurMar 11, 2014

Its simple balance sheet economics: there are two type of subunits within a company like this, cost centers and profit centers. They are pretty self explanatory, but shifting a cost center (transportation in this case) into a profit center (parks and resorts) allows for future capital expansion in what was previously the cost center (as it is now aligned with a profit center) to look better under those metrics. Cost centers ALWAYS have to fight for every dollar needed for operation, profit centers usually don't as much since additional investment directly correlates to additional revenue (in theory). Of course, this could also just be a metric move. Either way, someones job in the profit center just got harder as they now have additional costs without additional revenue added to their KPI (key performance indicators) most likely so their units Net Income will likely go down unless adjusted. Parks and Resorts have been highly profitable lately on the balance sheet. Lets just say, although we know this is HIGHLY unlikely, they were ready to undertake a capital expansion of the monorail system to say HS and AK. This requires a significant capital expenditure (CAPEX), and very few companies will just throw capital expenditure into a cost center - boards and investors will questions it. Disney probably just did that with MM+, although I do not know the specific structure of IT I am assuming its a cost center for Disney as it is for most corporations. We all know how much that has added to CAPEX plan for 2013/2014 (1B+) so this might just be a play to downplay the upcoming CAPEX for transpiration improvements. The MBA'ers of the world are masters of this balance sheet play - sometimes they go too far (see ENRON, etc.) This is all speculation, none of us know exactly what DIS is (or isisnt in some cases) thinking, but thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I should probably read the financial statements from the annual report which will answer some questions - like where they parked MM+ CAPEX. Bottom line, I think we all know this company has seen its last Walt E. Disney type leadership, they are never going to spend another dollar without a detailed cost benefit analysis to the bottom line, and resulting stock valuation. The Executives and board members of DIS only make real wealth if their stock goes up. Sure a $2M dollar bonus is great when you meet your revenue numbers for the year, but that pales in comparison to your awarded options that result in $70M worth of stock when the stock value rises 25%. Personnel and business units will be shifted in whatever method is necessary to product the balance sheet end result needed to make someone else higher look good. When Walt ran the company, the dichotomy of his dream it/do it attitude and his brothers financial/business acumen was a phenomenal check and balance system that resulted in what was seen in the earlier years with the cleanliness, attention to detail and execution at the parks, all the while still being able to meet operating costs and turn profit (small at times of course). Those days, sadly, are long gone in this and most modern day companies. Its no longer about value addition and long term brand equity, its all about value extraction and short term gains. I want to be wowed by WDI again, I want to ride something so revolutionary that it boggles the mind of even an engineer how Disney not only created, but executed the idea. I want to walk though the Magic Kingdom and never see wilted flowers, peeling pain, burt out lightbulbs or trash. I want to walk thorough EPCOT and have hope for the future of humanity and have excitement of what we as a species can achieve, not wonder when they are going to put a ride (UOE or Journey) out of its misery. We are witnessing a new Disney, and unfortunately its a disney that people are still flocking to so things will not change until the revenues (currently boosted by RECORD attendance) reverses direction. There is only one way to vote in this economy, and that is with your wallet. I for one, am a hypocrite in this regard. I want Disney to revert back to some of its old ways, but I also frequent the parks yearly and drop plenty of money into their coffers with those annual 7 day trips, hell we are even planning our wedding to be at Disney - so count me out of the voting with my wallet! To me 70% disney is better than no Disney. So the only way its ever going to change is if folks like me join the corporate ranks of Disney, and its hard to change careers at this point for me!

mm121Mar 11, 2014

a more comprehensive transportation system of trains, etc would have been nice.. in my dream world i'd say they should build a maglev system connecting the parks and dtd especially.. though I know it will never happen as part of the reason they have stuck with busses is the bus system can be more flexible with regard to needs than a fixed system could be, and if one bus breaks down the whole transportation infrastructure doesn't fall apart. directly they dont generate revenue for the parks nearly as much as they do for the resorts. as i'm sure most people who hop park to park or park to dtd are staying on property, vs drive in guests. I'm sure a few use the transportation to hop though, but these numbers are nothing in comparison to on property guests hopping

kylewr86Mar 11, 2014

I feel like this was done to try to improve things. Only time will tell. If they do not downsize the maintainence dept then they will be able to focus solely on fixing and keeping everything running smoothly. However the two departments will need to work together to get the vehicles in to be worked on and agree on a way to do this. That is the main issue I foresee, the two of them arguing on when to do what and how to do it. Operations should be in charge of the transportation since they focus more on customer care instead of fixing things. In theory this should allow better transportation around the resort and hopefully an increase of busses during high volume times to get people back to the hotels more quickly. I am skeptical but we shall see.

WDW1974Mar 11, 2014

We may be playing semantics, but zoological is still below OPs on the organizational chart. So, it's safe to state that OPs has final say ...

TP2000Mar 10, 2014

I'm reminded of my early visits to WDW, when a separate ticket had to be purchased for use of the monorails and boats for your length of stay. I imagine that ticket setup worked nicely in getting the transportation department a clear revenue stream for operation and upkeep. Now that the whole transportation system is "free", whatever management team is responsible for the unique maintenance of a monorail system and fleet of ferry boats would likely have to fight for every penny from accountants who only see them as a drain on profits. This latest rearranging of executive deck chairs and door nameplates doesn't seem to solve that.

Next Big ThingMar 10, 2014

This is how it's been working for years. Throw people around from place to place until something stays.

DznyGrlSDMar 10, 2014

"There are no changes yet to any other key leadership positions across the theme parks, with Jim MacPhee, George Kalogridis and Meg Crofton all remaining in their current positions." that's disappointing...