Five weeks into his job leading the Disneyland Resort, George Kalogridis traded in his suit and tie for a white custodial uniform.
On Thanksgiving, Kalogridis emptied trash cans, swept litter along a parade route and sorted recyclable plastic and glass from the garbage in Disneyland.
He answered visitors’ questions about parade times and restroom locations. And he took his break with the custodians, joking about the difficulty of cleaning up popcorn and cotton candy.
Kalogridis wanted to see the perspective from the ground floor at his new job – especially on a busy holiday.
“I always respect the fact that cast members (employees) work in the park, typically giving up (holiday) time with their families and friends,” Kalogridis said. “It’s important to send a message that I respect that and I would do the same thing.”
Kalogridis, 56, is paying close attention to details while keeping an eye on the big picture. He leads Orange County’s largest private employer, with about 20,000 workers who serve 20 million annual theme-park visitors.
He strolls Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure often. He says he can’t help looking at the small stuff – he has since starting at the company’s bottom.
Disney career
When Florida’s Walt Disney World opened in 1971, Kalogridis, while attending college, bused tables there.
He rose up the ladder, becoming a manager at a Disney World resort and later heading Epcot and Disneyland Paris. In between, Kalogridis spent a few years in Anaheim to help open California Adventure.
Along the way, he created fan favorites:
- Pin trading, a hobby that Kalogridis came across while attending the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Disney’s version of it, with pins representing everything from the Haunted Mansion to Cinderella, has exploded in popularity.
- Disney hotel and park guests can buy meals that come with the chance to dine with characters. He had noticed how community groups outside of Disney held breakfasts where children and parents ate with Santa.
“He’s not in an ivory tower,’’ said Jan Miller, a senior principal with the Gallup Organization, who has worked with Kalogridis as a consultant since 1993. “He’s not out of touch. The fact that he’s one of us, that he’s grown up here (at Disney) and been successful – that means a lot to people that he leads.”
Customer satisfaction
Michael Crawford, an Epcot visitor from North Carolina, said he wrote a letter to every Disney official from then-President Michael Eisner on down about his disappointment with the rehab of an attraction in 1999.
Kalogridis, a vice president, called him at home.
“I was floored,” Crawford said. “He must have been hearing from hundreds of people. For him to make the rounds, I was really impressed by that.”
In the early 1990s, Kalogridis was manager of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. An event planner causally mentioned that she wished the dew had disappeared before an outdoor convention meeting had started.
Meg Crofton, now the Walt Disney World Resort president, recalled how Kalogridis had crew members dry the grass with towels.
“That’s the attention to detail – and how he’ll do everything possible for guests – that George is famous for,” Crofton said.
Miller said she once walked around Epcot with Kalogridis. She was impressed how he greeted many employees by name, asking about their families.
“He just touches so many lives in ways that’s really personalized,” Miller said.
Community leader
In Anaheim, Kalogridis has made it a point to make personal contact with Disney guests and employees and community leaders. He walks around the parks a few times a week.
An employee at a Disneyland photo kiosk recently told Kalogridis that visitors kept asking for a battery that wasn’t available. He promised to get the batteries in stock.
When Kalogridis strolls around Disney’s California Adventure, he makes sure everything is in order. He looks up at the light bulbs to see if they are clean. He checks to ensure that the chairs are properly placed in Ariel’s Grotto restaurant and picks up litter.
“You never lose it,” Kalogridis said during a recent walk.
Already, Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said he has had more direct contact with Kalogridis than with the three resort predecessors.
Kalogridis contacted Pringle on a Sunday shortly before the recent union hunger strike to talk about how the city was handling it.
“There weren’t people in between. We didn’t need to use all the filters of the organization,” Pringle said. “That’s really good. It’s a very hands-on focus.”
Kalogridis’ time in Anaheim hasn’t been totally blissful.
He came aboard in the middle of a two-year contract dispute, still unresolved, between Disney and the hotel union.
“Certainly, we don’t like it,” said Kalogridis, a former union member, on the day that the hunger strike was announced. “We don’t like to feel like any cast member is going to these lengths for us to listen to him or her. At the same time, it’s their right to demonstrate.”
When asked what his goals are, Kalogridis joked that he doesn’t want to mess anything up.
“There’s such a passion for the Disneyland Resort and Disneyland in particular. It’s really fantastic,” Kalogridis said. “At the same time, you realize whatever you’re going to do, you have to think about (the employees and the public) before you act.”
Bio of George Kalogridis:
Early years: Grew up in Central Florida. Holds degree in sociology from University of Central Florida.
Residence: Lives in Newport Beach with his partner, Andy.
Disney career: Started as a busboy at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World on opening day in 1971. Most recently served as chief operating officer of Disneyland Resort Paris from 2006 to present. Also worked as vice president of EPCOT park in Florida. In charge of operations at the Disneyland Resort, as a senior vice president, from 2000 to 2002.
Current job: Oversees 20,000 employees in Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, three hotels and the Downtown Disney entertainment-retail district.
Favorite Disneyland Resort rides: Soarin’ Over California, “it’s a small world” holiday (Christmas edition).
Favorite Disney character: Eeyore
Favorite Disney movie: “Mary Poppins.’’
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