Does wdw have the same revolving door issue of presidents like the DLR? Do wdw presidents stick around longer or do they average under 3 years as well?
Historically, they tend to stick around
much longer at WDW. The average tenure for Disneyland President is about 2 years. The standard executive contract they get is generally 3 years, but quite a few don't make it all 3 years. They leave.
I'm a firm believer that is because Orlando is a much smaller city, geographically and socially, and everyone there works in hospitality. Does Martin Marietta still have a plant there? With few exceptions, if you are white collar in Orlando making more than $250,000 per year you are working in Hospitality.
Thus, you've got people who worked their way up the theme park ladder exclusively, and bought a big McMansion in Winter Park or Windermere and raised families there. They're happy to stick around. The weather there is miserable, but they'll be happy to point out it doesn't snow. They turn down jobs in California, where the cost of living is much, much higher
and the state taxes their income at the highest rate in the nation.
Whereas at Disneyland, most of the people who get appointed Disneyland President are from another Disney division out of the Burbank campus or other West LA office buildings, and they all live up in Los Angeles County. The Disneyland gig forces them to endure a 90+ minute commute each day to get to/from Anaheim from their West LA home. They deal with it, but the second they get a chance to get back to an LA based work location they take it and never look back.
Ken Potrock has a home in the western LA hills, and he lasted the longest at 5 years. The previous TDA President bombing out so fast extended that a bit, so kudos to him for sticking it out! He may have purchased a condo in OC to help before he could get home on weekends. A little bird told me Ms. Estorino has a home in Beverly Hills, so it will be interesting to see how long she puts up with the commute to Anaheim 5 days a week.
Friday is generally the lightest weekday for traffic in SoCal. At 4:40pm on a Friday afternoon California time right now, Apple Maps has the drive from the TDA to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel at 98 minutes. Only modest congestion on the 5 for about 15 miles, and the Santa Monica Freeway is its usual messy self. On bad traffic days that drive can easily stretch two hours or more.
Would you want to deal with that daily commute any more than is necessary to advance your career before you can get back to working in a normal LA or Burbank office building?
The current commute from the Disney Studios in Burbank over the hill to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel is 32 minutes.
