{"id":22349,"date":"2021-10-26T14:49:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=22349&post_type=story"},"modified":"2021-11-12T19:04:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T19:04:28","slug":"why-i-still-believe-in-magic","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/why-i-still-believe-in-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Still Believe in Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2021<\/em> | By George A. Kalogridis\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u201976<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It was the summer of 1971. The traffic of I-4 was a distant\u00a0hum as I stood in a huge, meandering line, wending its way\u00a0toward a temporary building at the far end of a dusty field.<\/p>\n

It was hot, the few cabbage palms providing no\u00a0usable shade, and I fanned myself with the interview appointment\u00a0postcard Disney had mailed me. When I\u2019d\u00a0received it, getting a job had seemed like a sure thing. After\u00a0all, thousands of people were needed to run the new resort\u00a0that everyone in Central Florida simply referred to as\u00a0\u201cDisney World.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, in making small talk with the people in line, I\u00a0discovered that they were literally rocket scientists who\u00a0had worked on the Apollo space program.<\/p>\n

I was 17 years old with a diploma from Winter Haven\u00a0High School. My competition for the job had recently\u00a0sent a man to the moon.]<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, that sure thing didn\u2019t seem nearly\u00a0as certain.<\/p>\n

Yet, despite the seemingly plummeting odds, I was hired\u00a0to bus tables at the Contemporary Resort Hotel. I was sure\u00a0my time with Disney would be brief: I needed a job to work\u00a0my way through earning a sociology degree<\/a> at Florida\u00a0Technological University (soon to become UCF).<\/p>\n

My assumption was that once I had that degree, I would\u00a0be off to find my place in the world.<\/p>\n

Little did I realize I\u2019d already found my place.<\/p>\n

Over the decades, I have held roles on two coasts and\u00a0two continents, serving in a broad variety of capacities\u00a0\u2014 from food and beverage, resorts, human resources and\u00a0reservations to theme park and site leadership, boutique\u00a0travel and corporate education. Yet, the only time I have\u00a0ever interviewed with a new company was that long-ago\u00a0summer of 1971.<\/p>\n

Since then, in an ever-evolving myriad of forms, Disney\u00a0has been home.\u00a0Of course, there is a reason Walt Disney World is known\u00a0as \u201cThe Most Magical Place on Earth.\u201d Watch one of the\u00a0resort\u2019s nighttime spectaculars, journey from country to\u00a0country in EPCOT\u2019s World Showcase, or stroll through\u00a0the bioluminescent forests of Pandora: The World of\u00a0Avatar<\/em>, and you cannot help but feel that you have been\u00a0transported to a further realm of imagination.<\/p>\n

Early one morning, when we were building Star Wars<\/em>:\u00a0Galaxy\u2019s Edge at Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios, I was\u00a0observing construction progress when I turned a corner\u00a0and there \u2014 not 100 feet away \u2014 sat the Millennium Falcon<\/em>.\u00a0It took my breath away in an instant \u2014 it was that sort of\u00a0experience.<\/p>\n

Children frequently get their first haircut at Magic\u00a0Kingdom, even say their first words there. People fall in love,\u00a0get engaged and get married there. It\u2019s the place you visit to\u00a0celebrate a new job. It\u2019s the place you dream of coming to\u00a0when you retire.<\/p>\n

I have letters from some in the military who tell me they\u00a0listen to the music of the parks as they drift off to sleep in\u00a0tents or bunkers overseas. Walt Disney World is their ideal\u00a0image of peace, normalcy and the company of loved ones.<\/p>\n

That is the Disney magic that everyone knows.<\/p>\n

If you are lucky enough to play a role in it, there are other\u00a0levels of magic that only a \u201ccast member\u201d would know.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”22531″ title=”George-Kalogridis-window” alt=”George Kalogridis poses with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in front of his window on Disney’s Main Street” width=”800px”][\/photo]
\n

George Kalogridis poses with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in front of his window on Disney’s Main Street

<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Disney commemorated its 50th\u00a0anniversary in Central Florida, and I too celebrated that\u00a0golden milestone, most of it in and around The Most\u00a0Magical Place on Earth.<\/p>\n

Prior to the festivities, Disney leadership awarded me\u00a0a window on Main Street, U.S.A. \u2014 the resort\u2019s highest\u00a0honor, traditionally conferred only after retirement. But,\u00a0as the company had designated me as the official global\u00a0ambassador for the resort\u2019s 50th anniversary, they wanted\u00a0my name visible to every guest entering Magic Kingdom,\u00a0even though I\u2019m still quite active in my role.<\/p>\n

That was an emotional moment for me that I will never\u00a0forget. Experiencing that honor provided an opportunity for\u00a0me to reflect back on all of the incredible cast members and\u00a0leaders I have had the great fortune of working alongside as\u00a0we hosted millions upon millions of guests for half a century.<\/p>\n

They are the reason I still believe in magic after 50\u00a0wonderful years with Disney.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

George A. Kalogridis \u201976<\/strong> is the president of Segment\u00a0<\/em>Development and Enrichment for Disney Parks,\u00a0<\/em>Experiences and Products. He has served in a wide\u00a0<\/em>variety of Disney executive roles and is best known as\u00a0<\/em>a former president of both the Disneyland Resort in\u00a0<\/em>California and Walt Disney World in Florida.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22415,"template":"","categories":[1000],"tags":[287,1452],"class_list":["post-22349","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-why-i","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-ucf-alumni","issues-1541","issues-fall-2021"],"yoast_head":"\nGeorge A. Kalogridis: Why I Still Believe in Walt Disney Worlds's Magic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"George A. 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