Big news to share as a top Disney executive with The Walt Disney Company has announced his retirement after 50 plus years with the company.
George Kalogridis started his work with Disney as a busser in 1971 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World. His career launched into leadership roles including Presidencies at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, to now the President of Disney Segment Development and Enrichment for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.
New was released on May 19, 2022, when George Kalogridis announced his retirement from the company after his many years as a loyal Cast Member.
Reporter @ScottGustin took to social media to share,
George Kalogridis, former president of the Walt Disney World Resort and current president of Disney Segment Development and Enrichment for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, is retiring after 50+ years.
In response to Kalogridis’ announcement, Disney released the statement: “Throughout his storied fifty-year career, George has been committed to developing our Cast Members and delivering unparalleled service to Guests across the world and has helped influence generations of Cast Members in how to deliver Disney’s special brand of magic.”
Kalogridis is known for his involvement in many beloved Disney Park experiences we all know and love today including the creation of Disney Pin Trading, “Frozen Summer Fun” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the opening of Pandora—The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as well as Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
On September 12, 2021, Disney celebrated Kalogridis with a special window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park as shown in the video below:
Disney’s executive chairman, Bob Iger, is preparing to end his 47-year career with Disney and ABC in December, as previously announced back in Fall 2019. He then announced his career end with Disney formally in February 2020, making it all much more concrete. Iger sat down for an interview to discuss his future and reflect on the past.
The Walt Disney Company CEO, Robert Iger arrives for the World premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Iger had an interview with SiriusXM who released clips of the interview. One of the main questions to Iger, who turned 70 last month, was what he intends to do when his stint as Disney executive chairman winds down at the end of 2021.
As reported by Deadline: “I am excited about life after Disney,” Iger said. “I felt very strongly in moving on, and just seeing what was on the other side. It had nothing to do with being tired. It had nothing to do with frustration.” Iger goes on to say in reference to Bob Chapek’s elevation, “I did not want to overstay my welcome,” he said. “I wanted the timing to be right, and 15 years [as CEO] felt like enough.”
As far as how he is spending his waning months at the company, Iger said, “I’m doing a little bit of teaching, a little bit of leading by example, a little bit of cajoling. And I imagine that in these next few months, I’ll end up slowly becoming less and less relevant. It is pretty interesting when you suddenly lose that title, your emails start to slow down and certainly the phone calls don’t come as often and it’s pretty clear someone else is running the company. It’s actually pretty interesting from a human perspective, and I don’t mean that negatively at all. It’s just an interesting dynamic.”
The former CEO said it is energizing to confront “a complete blank canvas.” He added, “I’m not retiring. I can’t possibly do that. First of all, my wife’s still working, my kids are all out of the house, I’m not gonna sit around the house binge watching television shows. And so I will figure it out, but I am not going to figure it out while I’m still at Disney and I’m not going to over-commit so that by the time I get out, I won’t have any freedom either.”
Kevin Rafferty, the Walt Disney Imagineer behind Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World and Cars Land in Disney California Adventure (and many, many more incredible projects) has officially announced his retirement.
Rafferty had initially expressed the intent to retire shortly after the grand opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway as his final project, however a week later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and changed the theme park world as we know it. During the park’s extended closure, Rafferty and his team at WDI teamed up with The Muppets to pen and perform the original song “Brave Little Spark”.
After 42 years of creating magical guest experiences as an Imagineer, Executive Creative Director Kevin Rafferty shared his plan to retire April 1, 2021. From his days as a dishwasher at Disneyland all the way through his work on the show writing and creative direction of Cars Land, Toy Story Mania!, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and more, Kevin’s zany personality and humor have inspired generations of Disney Imagineers and guests from around the world. We can’t thank Kevin enough for all of his contributions at Imagineering and wish him all the best in his next adventure!
As mentioned in the caption, Rafferty started out his career as dish washer at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland before applying for an entry-level position at Walt Disney Imagineering (then-WED Enterprises) in 1978 during the massive recruitment period for EPCOT Center. Rafferty also pitched the never-built Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood land for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which included Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride.
Djuan Rivers’ journey as Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has come to an end, as he has announced his retirement.
The news broke from fellow recent retiree, Imagineer Joe Rohde, on his Instagram account, praising Rivers as “a people person, warm, outgoing, plain-spoken and ready to laugh.”
Rivers became Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2014, overseeing projects including Pandora – The World of Avatar and the addition of nighttime offerings to make it a truly full-day park. This is the culmination of an over 30-year tenure with Disney, where he has served in such capacities as General Manager of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Vice President of Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs), Vice President for New Business Development of Disney Parks & Resorts, Vice President of Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii, and Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions for Disneyland Paris.
After four decades of creating memorable Disney Parks experiences, Joe Rohde, one of the most prolific Imagineers is marking his last day at Disney. But on his way out, he left the company a gift.
Joe Rohde shared this picture on his Instagram account, sharing a toast with his family to commemorate the day. He also expressed his ambitions for his life after Disney in the post:
“Well. This is it. I will be just Joe Rohde, creative guy, after today. I still plan to work some, but in new areas and new mediums, and I’d also like to just paint. I heard that the postponed Explorers Club expedition to Nunavut, way up north, is back on, so I can prepare for next August when that will happen. Since November when I announced my retirement from Imagineering, I’ve received lots of very nice congratulations and testimonials from people for whom my work has made a difference. That is gratifying and I’m very thankful to all. People have also warned me about feeling bored by retirement… but I truly have so many deferred projects that I know I cannot complete them all in any rational amount of time I may have. Books. Paintings. Sculptures. Plays. Chores. Expeditions, and time to spend with my wife Melody, whom I met when we were still in school and who has been with me through all of this huge adventure…and with my boys, now grown young men starting their own careers. As much as I have enjoyed my work, and the joy it has brought to so many…my family has always been my first and greatest love. Last night we all got together (only one lives off the Rohde campus right now) we raised our glasses and toasted. .. “Here’s to forty years.”
Meanwhile, Imagineer Zach Riddley shared the gift on his own Instagram account. To cap off his career, Rohde donated his pair of work boots, which he wore on every project he worked on, to The Walt Disney Archives. Riddley also mused on Rohde’s impact, sharing:
“Joe Rohde is many things – painter, historian, conservationist, Imagineer, mentor and – most meaningfully – a friend. And that friendship goes to my first days at Imagineering. I met Joe like so many – in the midst of a project. He and his team were working on the design that would become Expedition Everest. My first meeting with Joe he pulled out a clay model he was sculpting to show the team how the rock work of the mountain would be positioned, leading and teaching while his hands moved the clay around the wireframe of the mountain, balancing craft and budget in each movement. In that moment it was clear to me what made Joe such a special Imagineer – leading a creative effort with both sides of his brain at once.
In the years since I have shared many meetings and personal conversations with Joe. He always made time to connect and discuss our work and our world – and I left every one of those conversations with a greater appreciation for what our work brings to the world. And greater respect for what it means to lead teams by example.
Joe always followed his projects to the field. He led from concept to opening day, and fun fact that I learned just recently – Joe wore the same work boots for ALL of his projects, he’d just resole them when needed. That’s what you see in the pictures here – with names of each completed project scribbled on the side, capturing history in the making.
Joe has donated these boots – that touched the ground during some of our most iconic endeavors – to the Walt Disney Archives. They will preserve these boots for future generations of Disney Imagineers, fans and historians.
Thank you Joe for teaching us how to be better stewards of this world and how to create experiences that entertain, educate and inspire. No one can fill your boots, but we are ready to continue the legacy of curiosity and courage that defines your designs and teams.
I can’t wait to see what you do next my friend.”
Thanks to a close up, we can see some of the projects written on the boots, including EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion, Pleasure Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and related projects Asia, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, Expedition Everest and Pandora: The World of Avatar, as well as Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii.
