Learning from the Best: My Day Experiencing the Disney Institute
Years ago, I was a senior manager at a movie theatre in Chandler, Arizona (hold on, this is relevant). Knowing that I was a big Disney fan, my district manager tasked me with putting together a presentation on Disney customer service. While preparing that report, I came across the book Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service, credited to The Disney Institute. Little did I know that, some 17 years later, I would have a chance to sample Disney Institute curriculum in person at Walt Disney World.
Last week, I was invited to a special sample of what the Disney Institute has to offer. While long-time WDW visitors may recall that there was a Disney Institute resort on property (on the land now occupied by Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort), these days, its classroom can be found at the Contemporary Resort. Actually, while this was the location we conducted our mini-course in, we discovered that the Institute also recently opened a space at the Pixar Place Hotel in Anaheim.
During our day, we had a chance to experience just a small taste of two of the Institute's main courses: Disney’s Approach to Quality Service and Disney’s Approach to Creativity in Business. Typically, these classes are taught in either full-day or even three-day formats — so these were definitely boiled down versions just to give us a feel for the content.
Throughout the day, we were led by two Disney Institute facilitators (as they’re called). Those were Christopher Fults and Marjorie Colas. The two would trade off speaking roles during each presentation, which worked well for mixing things up.
Before I get into my recap, I do want to point out that, during these presentations, I took notes in a journal they provided us. I cannot tell you the last time I took handwritten notes! While it was freeing not to be typing on a laptop (like I am now), it made me realize just how truly awful my penmanship is. Maybe Disney can teach a class on correcting that?
Anyway, starting with the Quality Service presentation, we not only learned about Disney’s philosophies when it comes to guest service, but also about the processes they use to achieve those goals. I won’t go too in-depth about what I learned (as I hope to share more of those thoughts in future posts), but one point we learned about was “purpose over task” — meaning that Disney doesn’t mind if their cast members are occasionally off task if they’re on purpose.
One example of “purpose over task” that we looked at was a custodial cast member taking a break from their regular duties to lead a young guest over to an attraction (creating a mini parade in the process). While our facilitators noted that there is, of course, a balance that may need to be struck, empowering cast to engage in these actions helps to fulfill the greater directive to make magic.
As much as I enjoyed the in-classroom curriculum, the highlight of the event was easily our field trip to Magic Kingdom. There, we got to observe a typical day in the park and discuss some of the details that others might not notice regarding park operations. For example, they pointed out how, if there’s an issue with your ticket, the Mickey head on the scanner will turn blue — not the red that you might expect. This decision was made as not to induce stress on guests who may encounter an issue. Similarly, rather than draw attention to a guest with a ticket issue by flagging down a supervisor, cast members simply raise their hand and a guest services cast member will come over.
Heading onto Main Street, we also talked about the different scents, noted how the majority of guests entering the park headed through the right side tunnels (which also informs why certain offerings are also found on the right side of the street), and watched how everyday cast interact with guests. Although, it was pointed out to me that the balloon sellers seen on Main Street are not actually cast but operating participants. This fact highlighted how Disney also trains its operating participants the same way it does its cast members to further ensure that its customer service standards are executed.
Finally, we were taking down into the world-famous Utilidors. Although this is a stop on the Keys to the Kingdom tour, this was admittedly my first visit to the tunnels. There were many reasons for showcasing this unique system. For one, we got to see how Disney strives to treat its cast as it does its guests.
As mentioned, the other course we sampled was about Creativity in Business. Right away, this title might conjure up images of all the Disney IP from over the years. However, as we learned, this isn’t just about creative roles or creatives. Instead, creativity is defined as the ability to generate many ideas.
One of my favorite takeaways from this section was about “What if?” and “Yes, if” mentalities. Creative people may present ideas in the form of a “What if?” Then, rather than immediately shoot those ideas down with a “no,” a “Yes, if” person is able to take that idea and ground it by thinking through what it would take to turn that idea into reality. Together, they can make viable changes with beneficial results. Of course, any Disney fans will immediately recognize that these two mentalities apply to the partnership of Walt and Roy, which was mentioned in the course.
After getting a taste for these two classes, I can see why the Quality Service course is so popular. After all, when you think of what aspect of Disney’s business you could bring to your own, customer service is going to be at the top of the list. Personally, though, I was fascinated by the Creativity in Business course and was surprised by how applicable I thought the material would be to any business or partnership. In fact, even before writing this, I've told at least half a dozen people about "What if" and "Yes, if."
So, how can you attend a Disney Institute course? Well, while Disney does work directly with various companies to create custom sessions for them, they also allow individuals from any industry to sign up and attend one of their classes. You can find a full schedule of upcoming courses on their site, where they also note that booking at least 90 days in advance will save you money. Speaking of money, looking on said site, it seems that one-day courses start at around $1,950 — although there are several different options for bundling and such. Additionally, special pricing is available for students, teachers, non-profit employees, military, and government employees.
Overall, I had a great time learning about what the Disney Institute has to offer. After getting to hear from Christopher and Marjorie, it’s easy to see why so many business leaders and entrepreneurs have come to the Institute over the years. And while the current Disney Institute isn’t the type of attraction that the vast majority of Disney Parks guests will attend or even realize exists, those who want to learn about how Disney magic is really made will surely want to check out the available courses.