Disney At Work Podcast

In previous weeks we have been highlighting the 1971 Handbooks given to new Cast Members as they opened up the Walt Disney World Resort. There was a handbook for every land of the Magic Kingdom, and one for Disney's Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts. Make sure you check those podcasts out, as well as our show notes found on Disney at Play. But there was no Handbook written for Fort Wilderness Campground. Instead, there was a handbook put together for outdoor recreation. Some of that covered golf, part of it covered water recreation. And one small section covered Fort Wilderness--a section no bigger than the section on the wave machine that we covered last week with Disney's Polynesian Resort. We will share what they have overviewed, but moreover, we'll cover the intriguing story of how this resort got built--with little money attached. Indeed, this story resides as part of our Disney at Work program, because there are messages you won't want to miss for your own workplace or organization. Join us as

I am thrilled to present this podcast on the rebirth of Fantasmic! at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. My torrid love affair with this beloved entertainment classic is a long one. I'll share my experience with Fantasmic! and what this attraction is like behind the scenes. We'll talk about its sister shows (yes there's more than just Disneyland) and how they compare. We talk about the challenges this attraction has faced over the years, and then go through a scene-by-scene discussion of how this show now fares. We'll also consider that this may be the best entertainment offering at Walt Disney World. You won't want to miss this podcast, because, after all is said and done, it is fantastic!

This is the last of our 50th anniversary series on the Walt Disney World Resort and the Cast Member Handbooks created in 1971. We have covered the entire Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and now we look at the final gem of Walt Disney World's opening, Disney's Polynesian Resort. We’ll look at how the resort was presented originally. We’ll take a look at the original shops, restaurants and recreational facilities that were part of this sprawling resort. This handbook offers insights that we don’t seem to have from any other source. Those insights were shared with new Disney Cast Members, most of whom had never not only never seen a Disney theme park but had never been to a Disney resort–because there wasn’t one. If you yearn for the Walt Disney World of yesteryear, or you want to know what this hotel were like back in the early days of Walt Disney World, this is your podcast, as we finalize this series on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.

It's the first of November and so many things have been happening around the world of Disney. We cover many of the highlights today, From price increases to lawsuits, closures to cancelations, drones to barge fires. The last four weeks have been both busy and controversial, and we take a look behind the magic as to what is happening. From Shanghai to Tokyo Disney, from Disneyland to Walt Disney World there is much to share. Oh...and Tron and the Train. Always something to talk about when it comes to Tron and the train. So join us as we look at the good, bad and ugly of the last 30 days.

We return to our 50th anniversary series. We have covered the entire Magic Kingdom, and now we are going to cover the Vacation Kingdom of the World. We'll take a look at Disney's Contemporary Resort, which was a whole new operation as Disney had never been in the resort business before. We'll look at how the resort was designed, and how it stood out from the conventional hotel of the day. We'll take a look at the original shops, restaurants and recreational facilities that were part of this sprawling resort. This handbook offers insights that we don’t seem to have from any other source. Those insights were shared with new Disney Cast Members, most of whom had never not only never seen a Disney theme park but had never been to a Disney resort--because there wasn't one. If you yearn for the Walt Disney World of yesteryear, or you want to know what this hotel were like back in the early days of Walt Disney World, this is your podcast, as we continue our efforts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney Wo

The Global Attractions Index Report was recently released by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the Economics Practice at AECOM. We look at how Disney has fared in the last four years from 2018 to 2021. This includes both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. And we compare those numbers how Universal is doing on both coasts. Of course COVID played a big role in every park dropping attendance, but how are they faring as they come out the other side? And what is causing those gains and losses as they emerge? We'll look at all that and more as we look st some troubling signs at Disney theme parks.

What happens when a Disney cruise you take is longer than the time you spent planning for it? That's nearly what happened when we chose to go on the Disney Dream with little notice. At the heart of that decision was a change in vaccination policy that allowed our son to board. We'll go into that and the challenges getting everyone on board. But at the real heart of this cruise was the time we spent with our son as well as our daughter. Such an event led to some activities I really haven't done before. It also created more 1:1 time with Donald Duck than we have ever thought to spend. Add to that Disney's Halloween on the High Seas, and all that it entails. Oh...and if you've never been on the Disney Cruise Line, we'll share with you the number one reason more than any other that cruise ought to be with Disney. So join us on embarking on a last minute Disney cruise.

We return to our 50th anniversary series where we see the Magic Kingdom as brand new Disney Cast Members learned about it back in 1971. We've covered Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square & Fantasyland. The smallest and most unprepared of all the lands was Tomorrowland. Technically it opened with only two attractions. Yet the handbook offers insights that we don't seem to have from any other source. Those insights were shared with new Disney Cast Members, most of whom had never seen a Disney theme park. If you yearn for the Walt Disney World of yesteryear, or you want to know what this land were like back in the early days of the park, this is your podcast, as we continue our efforts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of hosting a dozen senior directors and managers from a non-profit organization in a week-long program at Walt Disney World. These individuals were wanting to improve the workforce experience back home. This experience encompassed four Disney theme parks in as many days plus visits to two world-class organizations, JetBlue and Give Kids the World. Since many of my listeners have been curious about the kind of work I do and the programs I have offered for nearly 25 years, I chose to make this podcast a study on not only how I carried off this program, but of the many take aways they took as a result of this experience. Logistically, hosting a dozen individuals plus myself is a challenge and a podcast in and of itself. But the experience itself is unique and one I wanted to share with all of my listeners. I’ll even share some of the kinds of messages and insights shared during the program. Imagine you could spend a week at Disney not just to see Disney, but to learn real orga

Welcome to Fantasyland! We return to our 50th anniversary series where we see the Magic Kingdom as brand new Disney Cast Members learned about it back in 1971. Again, Walt Disney World is set to open. You have thousands of new Cast Members, most of whom have never seen a Disney theme park, and you need to orient them to that experience. The only problem is that the park isn’t open or ready yet either. So how do you give them that understanding? Enter a series of handbooks put out by the University of Walt Disney World. In these printed materials, Cast Members were introduced to the setting in which they would work. There is one for each of the lands of the park, plus the resort. In this podcast, we’ll look at Fantasyland. We'll overview legendary attractions like "it's a small world" and Cinderella's Golden Carrousel. But we'll also reminisce about attractions long forgotten like The Fantasyland Skyway, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mickey Mouse Revue. On opening, this was the big

On this the 40th anniversary of Epcot, I feel it well to ask the question: "What is Epcot?" For most every Disney fan out there, the answer is Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. We explore what that means and what its implication is to the world we live in today. Beyond the idea of a physical city, or an eventual world's fair-style experience, I believe that Epcot is more than a brick and mortar theme park. In this Disney at Work episode, I want to consider the notion that Epcot constitutes a permanent message and celebration of ideas for a better world. We'll even see examples of that play out in recent new attractions like Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Join us as we celebrate Epcot's 40th anniversary with a treatise on the universal themes regarding a Community of Tomorrow.

Hurricane Ian has just come and gone from Central Florida. Being in the middle of it and so many others like it, perhaps it's time to share some of my experiences dealing with hurricanes, their cleanup and most of all, my experience with Disney during those times. But we want to cover more than hurricanes. There are tornados, earthquakes and even typhoons. And no, we're not talking Typhoon Lagoon. From Orlando Florida to Shanghai Disney, I share my own adventures of dealing with Disney and disasters.

After a break for all things D23 we return to our 50th anniversary series where we see the Magic Kingdom as brand new Disney Cast Members learned about it back in 1971. Again, Walt Disney World is set to open. You have thousands of new Cast Members, most of whom have never seen a Disney theme park, and you need to orient them to that experience. The only problem is that the park isn’t open or ready yet either. So how do you give them that understanding? Enter a series of handbooks put out by the University of Walt Disney World. In these printed materials, Cast Members were introduced to the setting in which they would work. There is one for each of the lands of the park, plus the resort. In this podcast, we’ll look at Liberty Square. What makes this land unique is not only did new Cast Members being hired on the East Coast have no idea about what Liberty Square was all about, neither did people from Disneyland coming in from the West Coast. After all, this is the one land in the Magic Kingdom that had never b

Disney Parks D23 Presentation has come and gone, and it's left a lot of uncertainty in its wake. Many podcasters and bloggers have already expressed their confusion. In truth, the crowd at D23 largely seemed like they were very pleased with the presentation. And if everything that was even mentioned was created or actually built, it would be fairly amazing. There was nothing presented that wasn't fairly cool. But it's really hard to believe that many of these "blue sky" ideas are ever being built when other projects that were far further along now are missing in action. The majority of presentation made in the Epcot Experience at Odyssey isn't coming or at least isn't mentioned. Still, there were some 50 things announced or given updates as they continue under construction. We'll sort through all this, and try to understand why we received the presentation and exhibition we received. Join us as we go into the unknown with Disney Park D23 Announcements.

Disney's official fan convention, D23 Expo, just concluded at the Anaheim Convention Center. It's where thousands and thousands of fans gather, and we are bringing you down through the expo floor to see it all. In this vlogcast, we'll showcase exhibits Disney has put together from the Disney Archives 100th anniversary to the Mickey One, Walt Disney's own personal plane. We'll look at the vendors and showcases put together from Disney, Pixar, LucasFilm, Avengers and more. If you have always wondered what this experience is like, whether you would want to attend with thousands of others, many in the most amazing cosplay, or if you are just wanting to look back on all the fun you had at this event, then this vlogcast is for you. Join us on the floor at the 2022 D23 Expo. If you want to see the video of this, definitely visit DisneyatPlay.com And to let you know, in a few days we will have a detailed insight and analysis of all of the Disney park announcements made as well as the showcase done by Imagineering. A

Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth. We bring to you a walk through of Disneyland on the eve of D23. We start from the JW Marriott hotel where I am staying to show the spectacular views of the Disneyland Resort in the distance. We then move into the park to walk through the entire guest experience from Main Street, U.S.A. to Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Galaxy's Edge, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, Adventureland and Frontierland. It's a whirlwind tour designed to orient those who may not have been to the park before and is interested in how it compares to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. This vlogcast comes to you via our podcast and Youtube video on J. Jeff Kober. So join us as take a walk through Disneyland Park.

With D23 just days away many podcasts include ours have all called out the need for a new Tomorrowland--particularly at Disneyland, where it has idled poorly over the years. Since Disney desires new and revised attractions to be linked to intellectual properties they own, we first visit what those options are and their suitability for being in the parks. We also look at the overarching direction of the park--should it move in a manner suitable for animated light hearted fare or for adventure? Then we visit each themed land at both the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland to discuss how attractions, and other offerings could be fitted out differently. We promise you that new ideas will be shared that haven't been presented elsewhere. So join us as we imagine a new Tomorrowland for Disneyland and Walt Disney World!

We bring you Part III of our series where it’s 1971 and Walt Disney World is set to open. You have thousands of new Cast Members, most of whom have never seen a Disney theme park, and you need to orient them to that experience. The only problem is that the park isn’t open or ready yet either. So how do you give them that understanding? Enter a series of handbooks put out by the University of Walt Disney World. In these printed materials, Cast Members were introduced to the setting in which they would work. There is one for each of the lands of the park, plus the resort. In this podcast, we’ll look at Frontierland. We'll look at what attractions, shops, dining and other features were available at this time. Whether you were a host for the Country Bear Jamboree, serving up drinks at the Mile Long Bar, or steering canoes along the Rivers of America, we'll look at this land as Imagineers and early operators saw them. If you yearn for the Walt Disney World of yesteryear, or you want to know what these two lands we

It's been three years since the last D23 and that means that it's time to really make some major announcements on what's happening in Disney Parks worldwide. While we don't have a lot of inside scoop on what's being announced, we do have some interesting notions. Moreover, we have a wish list that would keep the Blue Fairy busy for the next 5-7 years. We'll visit Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World and more to discover what may be in the cards for this year's D23 event. Join us for what "I Really Hope" will be a big set of D23 Park Announcements.

Welcome to Part II of our series where it’s 1971 and Walt Disney World is set to open. You have thousands of new Cast Members, most of whom have never seen a Disney theme park, and you need to orient them to the park. The only problem is that the park isn’t open or ready yet either. So how do you give them that understanding? Enter a series of handbooks put out by the University of Walt Disney World. In a series of handbooks, Cast Members were introduced to the setting in which they would work. There is one for each of the lands of the park, plus the resort. In this podcast, we’ll look at Adventureland. Imagine you were going to be a Jungle Cruise skipper, but you know nothing about the Jungle Cruise. Imagine you were waking up Jose at the Tropical Serenade, but you've never seen an audio animatronic. We’ll study this land, and look at attractions, dining, retail, entertainment and Guest services. If you yearn for the Walt Disney World of yesteryear, or you want to know what Adventureland was like back in the