At 46 years old, I crave Disney Magic as much as anyone. I still vividly recall the effervescent energy
of several cast members during a visit with my then fiancée, now wife Rachel,
20 yrs ago. Their warm smiles and cheery
voice coupled with an “I’d hug you if you were 10 and under” body language
smoothed the path to a world of fairy tale and make believe. One almost couldn’t help but ‘Believe in
Magic’ after a close-up encounter with a cast member, whether street sweeper or
manager. I remember saying to Rachel, “How
do they do it? To a person, the energy
is so positive, the commitment to the guest so genuine appearing, the
willingness to serve…. they create a mood-elevating environment.”
Soon after as I began working as a physician in a group
private practice I learned about the Disney Institute. My physician group hired a law firm to train
us in principles similar to those taught at the Disney Institute or Ritz
Carlton Leadership Center. Their program
taught us that 5 Star Service is never attained, but is always aspired. The idea is that while you may deliver an
experience that is “5 Star-esque,” there is always opportunity to do even
better.
Our medical center, Lake Washington Sports & Spine, the professional
business I started 4 years ago, operates on the principle of always striving to
be 2% better. And we operate on Positive
Psychology principles, suggesting that in medicine we stand to learn much from
the highest functioning among us. Our
mission is to “KPA” or keep people active.
The feedback we routinely receive reflects our intentions. Our patients not only appreciate getting
measurable results (i.e. returning to their desired physical activity) but they
enjoy this improvement in a unique medical practice culture; for example, a
live person, rather than automated phone tree, always answers the telephone, and
we deliberately prioritize the patient over the population (as compared to large
healthcare systems, the government or insurance industry), and we celebrate our
patients’ recovery with a whimsical graduation ceremony.
My family and I just left Walt Disney World. We spent one day in the Magic Kingdom,
another in Epcot, and the final day at Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately, it seems that Disney has
misplaced the magic.
How so? Did the rides
work well? Yes. Was the food adequate? Yes.
Was the park clean. Yes. Were the attractions first rate? Yes.
Well, what then? Where was the
Magic lost?
The cast members.
More specifically, Disney has allowed to disintegrate its
culture of training excellence, and so this gives the customer the appearance
that the magic was lost in the cast members.
Not present during our Disney visit were the routine and common
interactions between guest and cast members that would elevate the mood, and so
lighten one’s weary, having-stood-an-hour-in-a-line-to-enjoy-a-90-second-ride,
feet. During prior Disney visits, when
the ‘magic’ was flowing, instead of heaviness or fatigue of one’s tootsies, one
enjoyed a lightness of presence akin to being proverbially swept up by Alladin’s
Magic Carpet. Disney distinguished
itself from other amusement parks based upon its service culture and ability to
deliver a superior experience. No
longer. Not for me or my family. Walt would be disappointed.
Specific examples of falling short you require? As an extrovert and as someone with a keen ‘energy
sensor,’ I routinely try and make eye contact and exchange greetings with those
around me. The Disney cast members would
rarely make eye contact, their collective countenance was at best disinterested,
and they rarely did exchange a big-hearted greeting. Their energy was flat. This energy was present in nearly all the
staff I encountered. In those staffing
the rides, the attractions, the food courts/carts, and the custodial team. The difference in animation of the Disney
cast members was very clear.
I believe only once did a cast member approach one of my
young children (ages 13, 10, and 6) and ask about their experience or try to
engage them in a moment of Disney magic.
And this person was our handsomely paid private Disney tour guide.
Did my family enjoy our days at Disney World? Yes.
Walt Disney World states that they endeavor to help guests create
memories that will last a lifetime. I
know my kids will remember their first backwards rollercoaster ride on
Expedition Everest (I’m sure not a brainchild of Walt Disney). Isn’t it backwards, however, that they may
not know or remember in 20 years if that ride took place at Walt Disney World in
Orlando or Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey? Shouldn’t every child leave Walt Disney World
with a love of Mickey Mouse and friends, asking for Mickey ears rather than a
Star Wars light saber? Perhaps the Magic
has been lost to a new Walt Disney Company mission of earning dollars over
earning lifelong raving fans?
My guess is that this is a top down leadership issue, and
that the leaders of the company are more caught up with demonstrating profits
to shareholders than they are interested in continuing Walt Disney’s passion
for bringing the Magic to people’s lives.
A watered down mission dilutes the team culture very quickly. The absence of cast member “Believe in Magic”
enthusiasm is reflected in their quality of work.
Interestingly, we can draw parallels to what is happening
right now in healthcare where the primary drive is to control costs, not care
for people. Government officials and
insurance industry administrators and executives consistently invoke the buzzword
“quality” in the same sentence when describing their aims of “expanding
coverage and cost control.” It is well
understood that you can strive for two of three, but not all three, when
speaking of accessible, high quality, and low cost health care. Likewise, at least in days past, Disney
rightly focused on two things: providing
excellent (high quality) staff training and customer experience, and ‘magical’
amusements and attractions. And for
this, they charged a premium. The
admission/ticket costs to spend a day in one of the Disney parks has always
been expensive relative to other amusement parks, and now the price exceeds
$100 per person per day. Some have
written articles about how Disney has priced out the middle class (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/06/12/how-theme-parks-like-disney-world-left-the-middle-class-behind/).
But just as healthcare systems have had to drop their focus
on quality to focus on cost containment and access, Disney has dropped its
focus on bringing out the ‘magic’ in each of its cast members through the once
singular Disney training program, in order to concentrate on generating higher
corporate profits.
While I find this sad, my father-in-law shrugs it off,
believing that all things are destined for change. In our world of caring for active people, we
see it as a glaring opportunity to serve a community of people who want and
deserve excellent consultation with a wonderful team and top-notch physicians. I suppose it does follow that Disney’s
mediocrity merely makes room for the next magical visionary whose mission is
our enchantment. Perhaps that’s Elon
Musk with SpaceX? I’m sure the void in
magical experiences will provide a ‘carpe diem’ moment for one so motivated entrepreneur. And I, a self-described fairy tale fanatic,
may be first in line.
