Storytelling – Day 4 – The Disney Institute

This experience has been quite fascinating. Imagine a table at the back left of the room with four bloggers, dueling laptops blazing, clicking away in a social media bubble. Although we are sitting among the participants, there is a clear distinction between the groups. My sense is that we make the facilitators a bit nervous, our questions tending to throw off their game just a bit. To be fair, this is the first time they’ve invited people like us into their midst. And let’s face it, we’re pretty intimidating.

Last night we enjoyed a lovely dinner with members of the Disney Institute’s leadership team. As I stated in yesterday’s post, I’m going to reserve my final observations until the close of the program. That being said, I was pleased with the openness of the dialogue and receptivity to our thoughts.

Disney has a storytelling culture. Nearly every question, observation or emotion associated with the Disney Institute program is addressed with an anecdote. Some are perfect representations of the point at hand, others are feel-good yarns that may help you forget what you asked (whether intentionally or not is unclear). It can be very effective.

We heard a number of stories during our time together yesterday. I attempted to jot down those items that caught my attention. So for those who enjoyed yesterday’s post, let me share a few additional tidbits that you may find interesting:

• Walt Disney did not live to see the opening of this park. As a result, his brother Roy took the helm and led the organization forward. You’ll note the name – Walt Disney World – because Roy wanted everyone to remember that this was the vision of his little brother.
• Disney World sits on 47 square miles of property in Central Florida.
• 70-90% of the business in the Emporium (the main gift shop) is done in the last two hours of opening.
• Disney uses two interesting techniques in their customer experience: 1) Line of sight management – Ensuring that no part of the park is visible outside the park, to protect the feeling of a hidden treasure and maintain a sense that the park is a special area and unique experience, separate from the outside world.  Also builds anticipation to enter the park… “What’s inside?”; 2) Forced perspective – buildings in the park are built with the ground floor at 90% of scale, 2nd floor at 80% and 3rd floor at 60%. This makes the buildings feel taller and enhances the drama as you enter the park. Disney wants you to feel like you’re in a movie.
• Windows are much lower because they want children to be able to look inside.
• The area underneath the Magic Kingdom is called the “utilidoor”, a two mile series of tunnels that allow cast members, vendors and utility workers to work (and walk) unnoticed by those above.
• The VP of the Magic Kingdom posts a confidential voicemail number that can be used by anyone to provide feedback or complaints.
• The movie Fantasia was a commercial flop because Walt wanted it to be a fully immersed experience – ushers in tuxedos, incense to match the smells of the scene, misters during the “wet” portions, printed musical programs, etc. Not surprisingly, theater owners didn’t bite. Many believe this failure served as the inspiration for the creation of Disneyland.
• Disney World opened on October 1, 1971. The very first click of the turnstile was pure profit as the park was fully funded by opening day.
• Eyes&Ears, the internal Disney newspaper, is fully funded through advertisers who offer discounted goods and services to cast members. It is published in Spanish and English.

I’ll end with a cautionary tale. If you are going to come to Orlando in August, prepare to sweat. I’m not talking about a light level of discomfort. To be frank, spontaneous combustion seemed imminent. So plan your travel carefully, stay cool, have a wonderful Friday and let’s keep the conversation going.