Interview 34507 – Caption Index: 189
We met with each one of them individually. Read More
We met with each one of them individually. Read More
But the task force then came about and I got a really good leader for the task force. A guy named Bill Barnett, who was just amazing leader. And we got, we got the, we, we privatized the zoo. We had McKinsey, a big consulting firm, do pro bono work… Read More
And then Diane, my senior, says, do you really want to go there?… Read More
You know, that I, I don’t think I really wanna go. So I, I didn’t do that. And then, and then Houston called me and said, you know, would you, our director is, is resigning Don Olson at the time. And, and he called me Don Olson and said, you… Read More
And I, I remember the head guy because he said, what’s, and next year’s gonna be less busy, why are we delaying it?… Read More
But he still, so when they did that, I said, I, that’s it. I’m, I’m, you know, there’s not much more for me to do here. So then I, I left on my own. But at that time, I, I consulted for about eight months and I, I I, I… Read More
And because I was reluctant, I think they liked more. So they offered me the, the job. And I remember talking to Conway about it, bill Conway. And he said, Rickett’s, the other side of the world. He says, you know, it’s a good experience, but you’re so isolated. Read More
A place you built to go to Houston?… Read More
Said, let, let’s, we’re too busy this year. Read More
I was done at Disney the last year. It was apparent that they did not really need me and they kind of made a different position for me. Same. They wanted me to run Safari, do Disney safaris to Africa, which I, which I wanted to do. I suggested it. Read More
So my first question is, what prompts you to leave Disney?… Read More
You could take any species and make it, you know, very interesting. And without having to, to go with the typical stereotype opinion that giant pandas and koalas are. If you don’t have those, you don’t, you know, you’re not a really big zoo. We want, we did not want… Read More
So that was part of it. The money wasn’t really an object. Disney could have gotten pandas. I’m sure Koalas were, I would argue that, you know, they don’t do much. It’s just the name and they look cute. I said, you know, I, I don’t think I, I don’t… Read More
Well, Joe Rodie, who was really the lead on the whole project, the head of Matir, he had the final say. He realized that pandas were a big draw for zoos. But whether we had pandas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom or not, the people are still coming. It would not… Read More
Why did you not consider, or did you giant pandas or koalas that might have been very popular with the public?… Read More
They, they originally hired me, said, Rick, you’re gonna help build it and then you’re gonna run it. And and Dieter was right that, that German guys, I was not prepared to run the operation side of a zoo. I could do it, but I I, there were better people… Read More
Well, that was because I was better as a builder than an operator. I think for me, the, the excitement is hiring the people, finding the right animals, providing the right facilities, moving them in that you’re just, so this, that, that was what my experience was. I had moved… Read More
You have said it was better building than running it. Why?… Read More
But, but again, like I said before, they, they just thought all animals should be left in the wild and not knowing what was going on in the wild. Because, you know, they just thought, they just thought everything was the wild was a picnic. And, and zoos were a… Read More
You know, or something else. Everybody wanted to do it. But we were the exception to the rule because they were very sensitive that, hey, you know, these are live animals. We gotta tread carefully here. We can’t make mistakes because there’s a lot of people watching. And, you know,… Read More