Earlier this year we shared details about Disney’s plans for sweeping changes to the cast member experience to improve the guest experience. Disney leadership set a goal to bring hospitality more deeply into the theme park experience. That starts with cast member training.
Now, Disneyland has revealed a new cast member training area specifically focused on hospitality. The space is in the location of a permanently closed restaurant. We previously sat down with Disneyland leadership to hear more about their focus on improving the Disneyland experience delivered by cast members. They acknowledged that so much of the positive guest feedback comes from cast member experiences and that they want to keep improving in this area. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including the best walking distance Disneyland hotels and hotels added to a shuttle line.
READ MORE – Rides Disney Almost Built But Didn’t (And Why They Never Happened)
Disneyland Opens New Hospitality Training Center in Permanently Closed Restaurant Space
Disneyland leaders shared with us previously that they are launching targeted hospitality training for specific cohorts of cast members across the resort. The training session are meant to bring best practices around hospitality to cast members. At the beginning of this year, Brenai De Haro, Director, Operations & Integration at Disneyland, shared that 60% of the Disneyland Resort cast members were hired after the 2021 reopening.
Many of those cast members who were hired were new to Disney and even to the hospitality and service industries. Disneyland leaders were in a hurry to staff up during that period and many of the trainings focused on social distancing rules and safety mandates from COVID.
Disney Ride Closure ALERTS, Major Changes, Secrets Revealed
Get alerts on closures, park changes, exclusive discounts, and free printables. Trusted by 100,000+ Disney fans & planners.
They are planning to bring additional training with a deep focus on hospitality to Disneyland.
At the time, De Haro shared that they are now going back to cast members who did not get the full Traditions onboarding experience and infusing those topics into their daily training. She shared that they are actively bringing leads into training and giving them new development opportunities. She said that they are the heartbeat of the operation.
Now, we can see that Disneyland ramped up their hospitality training even further. The Disneyland Senior Vice President of Operations, Patrick Finnegan, shared a post on LinkedIn revealing the new Disneyland Hospitality training center.
Here is a quote of his full post along with the images:
I’ve been to a lot of launches and openings in my career. This one hit differently.
In September, we kicked off our Hospitality Leader Training at the Disneyland Resort. I stood in the room on day one (and many of the days since) and watched leaders lean in, ask hard questions, display vulnerability, and learn from each other. To be honest, I got emotional.
It’s all too common in this world to go from excellent to complacent. It’s far more difficult to make the daily commitment to improving on excellence. I’m seeing that commitment play out in this training with our incredible leaders and I am confident that this will carry forward into every aspect of our business.
To the team who built the content: thank you. You took an idea and made it real, and it is working so, so well.
To the team who created our beautiful training center in the former ESPN Zone lobby and arcade spaces: thank you. Your attention to detail is a physical manifestation of hospitality.
And to every leader who showed up ready to invest in yourself and each other: thank you. You are the best of the best!
The images show the lobby space of the ESPN Zone building that has been converted into the hospitality training center. The ESPN Zone restaurant closed in 2018. The space was a massive indoor sports bar that has been used for different offerings over the past 8 years. Part of the space is now the new Lululemon location.
Here’s a look inside the space from Finnegan’s LinkedIn post. This is the old lobby of the ESPN Zone. You can see that early Disneyland black and white photographs are included in the room.
It looks like they replicated the setup of the bench where Walt Disney watched his daughters at Griffith Park dreaming of Disneyland.
One of the actual benches can be found in the Main Street Opera House. You can also find one of the original benches in The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California where you can actually sit on it.
When we previously spoke with Disney Experiences Chairman, Thomas Mazloum, he emphasized the importance of the cast members. He reflected on a favorite Walt Disney quote. “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
The need for cast members to be central to the Disneyland experience has been essential since Walt Disney’s day. Based on what we heard from Mazloum earlier this year, we expect a specific cast member hospitality focus to return as central across Disneyland and all the Disney Experiences theme parks.
Don’t Miss the Latest Disney News
Don’t miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.
