Disney sets a foundation for the rules and expectations that cast members should follow during their first day at Disney University. Earlier this year, we reported on changes coming to the cast member training at Disneyland. Now, we got a first-hand look at what the training looks like for all new Disney cast members.
The training for cast members is an opportunity to understand key values, service standards, and how they should approach bringing Disney stories to life. We got a full look at the entire curriculum of the new Disney cast member training. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney scooter controversy and what cast members wish parents knew.
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Disney Cast Member Rules For New Employees
We got the chance to go backstage at Walt Disney World to learn more about the cast member experience. Across a day at the resort, we spent time seeing specific training for housekeeping and front desk cast members, at costuming, with some of the lead chefs at the resort, and listening to key leaders who have worked across all aspects of the resort.
There are over 80,000 Disney cast members at Walt Disney World working across hundreds of unique roles. Disney actively invests in learning, development, and career growth to further cast member careers and the success of the entire resort.
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There’s a lot to share from the entire experience of learning about the training, but I first wanted to dive into the interesting rules and foundational concepts that greet cast members when they begin working on their first day at Disney.
A cast member who facilitates training at Disney University shared details on the cast member first-day training and took us through the day-one training procedures.
The first day training program is called Traditions. This is the global orientation program for all cast members, employees, and Imagineers who work in the Disney Experiences division, which includes all the theme parks. The program is offered at all sites to all cast members. The goal of the program is to introduce cast members to Disney values and establish a support system headed into their Disney roles.
The Traditions program is led by cast members who also hold other roles at the resort. These cast member facilitators are selected annually and serve two-year terms. These are cast members who were inspired by the training when they went through it and want to return to the process. These cast members lead Traditions one or two times each month.
Overall, the program is designed to ensure that cast members have an understanding of the company and their role within it. The training is focused on service and inclusion with an emphasis on reassuring cast members that they made the right decision when they chose to join the company.
When cast members leave Traditions, they should feel confident in their role and that they are joining something bigger than themselves. Disney wants to give cast members a shared and common purpose. They want to make them feel they are part of the larger Disney family.
The training is built around:
What do cast members need to know?
What do cast members need to believe?
What do cast members need to do?
The Disney facilitator who took us through the training shared that Disney knows that what their cast members know helps inform beliefs, and what they believe helps to influence how they behave. Then, how they behave directly impacts what guests experience.
The training is held in a bright building located behind the Magic Kingdom. Inside, the lobby and hallways are decorated with colorful images and artwork from Disney destinations around the world. Cute characters are popping out of the ceiling tiles.
When cast members walk into the training room, upbeat Disney music is blasting, and they settle into their seats.
They settle into the training that is split up into five specific themes that each have their spoken and unspoken rules for cast members to follow. This is the foundation for their Disney career.
1 – We Create Happiness
Facilitators establish that creating happiness is the overarching goal for everyone at Disney. The goal requires that everyone work together. The formula for creating happiness starts with stories.
The group of new cast members is asked to share a favorite Disney story or character. They then discuss how those favorite stories are brought to life in immersive experiences at the theme parks. They state that cast members are the ones who can bring a truly great guest experience to life.
They then surprise cast members with their first gift of the day. They state that cast members were chosen for a reason. There are red boxes with bows in the middle of each table in the room. Everyone at each table in the room is asked to put their hands on the bottom of the box and on three to open it together.
Inside the box is their very own Mickey Mouse set of ears. For many in the class, it is the first Disney product that they have ever received or owned.
The leader then states that at other companies they say you have “big shoes to fill”. At Disney, they say that cast members have “big ears to fill.”
They also emphasize that Disney and each cast member needs to think about bringing happiness to each other. What happens backstage easily filters into what happens on stage. There is a precedent that is set very early on that cast members need to treat each other well.
2 – How our Disney heritage guides our future
Next, they discuss the roots of the Disney company. They talk about how Walt Disney started in animation and filmmaking and how far The Walt Disney Company has come today. They then explain how the company is set up and where these new cast members are located within the company in Disney Experiences.
They look at Walt Disney and share some of his values. They specifically highlight two values that cast members need to help carry forward: quality and focus on innovation. The company keeps one foot in the past and one foot in the future.
Cast members are encouraged to learn from the past and push the limits to grow into the future to keep delivering better guest experiences. The facilitator shared that they believe every guest deserves an excellent Disney experience.
3 – You personally create happiness.
They then focus on empowering cast members to find their place within the bigger operation, creating happiness. They try to empower them to make the right decision without asking their manager every time. Though this seems like a lot of responsibility, cast members are trained to work together.
The Traditions facilitator is then clear that it is not just the cast members on the stage that make the magic. It is everyone, including those working backstage too.
They then do an exercise where a Mickey bar is displayed on the screen. They ask how many cast members people think it takes for that Mickey bar to get to a guest.
Someone might say just the cast member who sold it out in the parks, but actually there are so many people who help to contribute. Sourcing, marketing team, vendors, cast member delivering to the area, and then the outdoor vending cast member who sold it are all part of making that moment. Making magic for guests takes all cast members working together.
Cast members are meant to finish this core segment not knowing everything, but feeling empowered and comfortable to learn their specific area.
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4 – What tools are available to make decisions with integrity
Disney then introduces the five keys that should be weighed in all decision-making. These are the true “rules” that Disney cast members follow as guidelines for making any decisions.
The five keys are:
Safety – not going to jeopardize safety for guests or themselves
Courtesy
Inclusion – Heart of everything Disney does
Show – Disney is an entertainment company that’s focused on delivering great stories for guests.
Efficiency – scope of company and volume every day. This value is specifically at the end. This value shouldn’t be prioritized above any of the other keys.
Each of the five keys gets more specialized and localized across trainings, but the themes are the same in every single area. They are set up in a way where they can get more specific for each role, but still inform decisions in a unified approach.
Unlike at other companies that put their values on a wall in the break room and forget about them, Disney leaders shared throughout the day that the five keys are an integral part of active decision-making. Someone might point to the keys as part of evaluating a specific decision. The framing of the keys is also how cast members give each other compliments.
After introducing the five keys, they take the group to the Magic Kingdom. This is one of the highlights of the day for the facilitators when the cast members see Cinderella Castle for the first time as Disney employees and many times for the first time ever. Disney Cruise Line cast members from all over the world all go through their training in this same location. Many of them have never been anywhere like Magic Kingdom. This is also the first time that cast members go backstage and enter the famed utilidors underground in Magic Kingdom. The Disney facilitator shared with us that they have heard new cast members express feelings of having made it.
After the initial surprise, cast members then explore the Magic Kingdom to look for how cast members are creating happiness and examples of the five keys in action. Then they discuss them back in the classroom.
5 – “Endless Possibilities”
The final chapter of the day is about sharing how Disney recognizes hard work and the different opportunities for cast members both professionally and personally. They share how new cast members can get on a path toward development in the company.
Some of these programs include the Disney Aspire education reimbursement program and mentoring programs within the company.
This then leads into a surprise visit from Mickey Mouse. He comes to the class and surprises them with their official name tag. The group all stands up if they are able and puts on the name tag together.
In the morning, cast members earn their ears, and in the afternoon they earn their name tag.
This first day of training establishes the initial ground rules and foundation for the cast member to confidently move into their additional role training and work in their role.
After hearing about this specific Disney Traditions training, we then went upstairs to learn more about housekeeping and front desk training, which both included mock hotel settings for practice. Later in our day, we were greeted by Mickey Mouse in his graduation robes to celebrate our going through the cast member training program.
We’ll share our full look at more of the day of Disney cast member programming soon. Make sure to join the Mickey Visit newsletter so that you don’t miss it. This was all part of a hosted media event that Mickey Visit attended.
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