Disney Insights

Increasing Capacity at Walt Disney World

Last week we spoke of the first quarter earnings and the strategies Bob Iger has put in place for revitalizing The Walt Disney Company. One of those opportunities is to build capacity in the parks. To that end he announced the addition of an Avatar experience at Disneyland, with the intent that it would not only create greater capacity thus allowing more guests to visit, but would draw more interest in attending the parks. In this podcast we look at that strategy and how that could play out not only in the four parks but throughout the entire Walt Disney World property. While some do involve large scale capital expenditures and a long-term construction period, there are many things that could open up capacity and be put in place in the short term. Join us as we look at not only potential intellectual properties, but increasing capacity at Walt Disney World.

Check out our patreon group, the Wayfinder Society for more Disney Magic and to support this podcast.

This podcast as well as all others are brought to you by Performance Journeys, which celebrates its 20th year as a training and development group bringing best in business ideas through keynotes, workshops, seminars and amazing benchmarking programs to organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. If you are seeking to improve your customer delivery, to re-engage the morale of your workforce, or to improve the leadership of your organization, we offer not only great solutions tried and tested from our time working intimately to raise excellence in organizations big and small. At Performance Journeys, it’s as much about the journey as it is about the performance.

 

Avatar Coming to Disneyland & Other Disney Announcements!

In the 1st Quarter earnings report for 2023 Bob Iger shared the status of the Walt Disney Company and made a startling announcement: An Avatar experience is coming to Disneyland! We will look at how this could happen and what it could mean? Where could you put this? There is a way! We'll also look at other announcements made in this event and what it means to those who love to visit Disney Parks and watch their share of all things Disney in theaters and on Disney+. Exciting news is buffered by tough cuts, but it does pave a way for Disney's success as it moves far away from the Bob Chapek era.

This podcast as well as all others are brought to you by Performance Journeys, which celebrates its 20th year in bringing best in organization ideas through learning, development and training solutions to the public, private and non-profit sectors. At Performance Journeys, it’s as much about the journey as it is about the performance.

Visit our Patreon group, the Wayfinder Society where for as little as $1 a month, you can access interactive tools that bring Disney to life. Visit us and check it out!

Bringing Disney Business Magic Alive--After Disney

In previous podcasts I've shared not only my love of all things Disney but a largely wonderful experience I had being a part of the Walt Disney World Company. For me, working at Disney was the best thing that ever happened to my career. But leaving Disney was the second best thing I ever did in my career. This is that story of how I left and how I eventually learned the business of consulting and created Performance Journeys. It's also a tale of my companion business, World Class Benchmarking, and how we've created best-in-business programming. I'll share some of the fantastic places, clients and opportunities I've had. I'll also share how I've come full circle writing best-in-Disney books, apps and online tools. Through it, I've had an opportunity to bring Disney business magic alive--even after Disney.

Visit The Wayfinder Society, our Patreon Group, where for as little as $1 a month, you can access interactive tools that bring Disney to life. Visit us and check it out!

Date Night at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts!

I've spent several decades having a date night with my wife once a week. Every year we share with all of you the latest and greatest at each of the annual Epcot Festivals. Rather than just go through the motions of sharing the latest and greatest differences in the most recent festival, I thought I would talk about how to make a date night really special for you and the one closest to you. Much of this can be applied to many of the festivals, but we'll focus this podcast on Epcot's annual Festival of the Arts. We'll chat about different activities to enjoy to include Figment, stuff to buy--to include Figment, food to sample and best of all the entertainment. In fact, this festival has some of the best shows you can see anywhere in Disney property. So join us for Date Night at Epcot's Festival of the Arts, where it's just you, the one your love, and yes, a lot of Figment!

This podcast as well as all others are brought to you by Performance Journeys, which celebrates its 20th year as a training and development group bringing best in business ideas through keynotes, workshops, seminars and amazing benchmarking programs to organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. If you are seeking to improve your customer delivery, to re-engage the morale of your workforce, or to improve the leadership of your organization, we offer not only great solutions tried and tested from our time working intimately to raise excellence in organizations big and small. At Performance Journeys, it’s as much about the journey as it is about the performance.

Visit The Wayfinder Society, our Patreon Group, where for as little as $1 a month, you can access interactive tools that bring Disney to life. Visit us and check it out!

Bringing Disney Business Magic to Others

In previous episodes we spoke of my life long love of Disney and how it eventually led me to an opportunity to work with The Walt Disney Company, first as a consultant, and then as a leader with Disney University Professional Development Programs, a group that later became part of, and then took over The Disney Institute. In a previous podcast I spoke of that merger, and how I was also responsible for bringing new training & development solutions to what was an antiquated classroom style program. In this episode we see the effects of that experience as we truly had the privilege of bringing Disney magic into organizations far and wide. These stories show how powerful ideas Walt Disney originated in customer service, creativity, innovation, employee engagement and leadership could be applied in so many settings. We also see the challenges behind do so, and ultimately how I eventually would leave Disney for an opportunity to bring these concepts and ideas to others in a way I could never do at Disney through my organization, Performance Journeys. Join us for this podcast on bringing Disney business magic to others.

This podcast as well as all others are brought to you by Performance Journeys, which celebrates its 20th year as a training and development group bringing best in business ideas through best-in-training solutions to organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. At Performance Journeys, it's as much about the journey as it is about the performance.

100 Years: New Chapters or Old Problems?

With Disneyland's kickoff of the 100 years of Wonder celebration this weekend, we have the opportunity to pause for just a moment to see if events that have unfolded over a century's worth of time aren't happening again in some form or another. We'll look at three such issues, which focuses on competition, Cast Member buy-in and wolves on Wall Street. We'll also look at how Disney needs to grasp its heritage and learn from it. Otherwise, it will spend the next 100 years simply repeating it. There are so many wonderful things ahead for The Walt Disney Company, but it must not allow itself to keep making the same mistakes. Join us for 100 Years: New Chapters or Old Problems?

J. Jeff Kober: Joy in Being a Disney Cast Member

In a recent podcast I overviewed the first three decades of my love of all things Disney and how it eventually led me to a full-time salaried position as a leader providing professional development programs to Fortune 100 companies and others at The Disney Institute. In this next two-part experience I'll canvas that experience and what it was like to wear a name tag and represent The Walt Disney World company. I'll share the joys of the experience as I worked in nearly every corner of the property to bring benchmarking experiences to participants. I'll also share with you some of the bureaucratic headaches that were a part of the craziness. My working for Disney was the best thing I ever did in my life professionally. I had the one of the greatest opportunities I could have ever hoped for.

Celebrating Disney’s Splash Mountain as an Imagineering Masterpiece

This weekend Splash Mountain ended at Walt Disney World after more than 30 years of operation. Soon Disneyland, which built the first Splash Mountain, will close as well. While there may be controversy of its replacement, there is no question, this attraction was a brilliant Imagineering masterpiece. Led by designers like Tony Baxter and Bruce Gordon, this attraction did what no other ride or attraction could do--especially for Disneyland and later for Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. We not only explore the brilliance of this attraction, but celebrate it for what it accomplished. While there is much good regarding the advent of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, there will never be anything like the innovation that is Disney's Splash Mountain. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating this Imagineering masterpiece.

J. Jeff Kober: My First Three Decades of Disney

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Performance Journeys, the company I founded not long after I left The Walt Disney World Company. In celebration of that event, I wanted to share how my career has tied in with Disney over the decades. In the weeks to follow I will share a three part series of my history, to include my years working as a leader for The Walt Disney World Company, as well as my years following as I shared best practices of Disney around the globe. This podcast that you will listen to today is a re-play of one I recorded back in June of 2022. Many listeners don't know my back story, so I thought it would be well to provide that context again as a preface to the ones that I will share later. The thing that is found in all of these decades is a love of Disney that perhaps you can relate to as well.

You can see images and video here at Disney at Play!

Let’s Ride the Walt Disney World Railroad!

It's been too long since guests have had the privilege of riding the Walt Disney Railroad, closed over four years ago when construction began on Tron. Still, good things are worth the wait and this attraction is lovelier than ever. We board at the Main Street U.S.A. station and take a scenic journey around the Magic Kingdom. There's much to discuss along the way, such as the upcoming closure of Splash Mountain, potential new attractions to come in Frontierland, and the new track layout at Tron Lightcycle Run. New narration has been created, hosted by a citizen of Main Street who always dreamed of running the trains. He introduces you to the wonder of the Magic Kingdom as you make your grand circle tour with stops in Frontierland and Fantasyland's Storybook Circus. Would you believe that Peter Pan and Wendy provide narrative along the way? Join us as and let's ride the Walt Disney World Railroad.

To see the video, join us here on our YouTube channel, J. Jeff Kober.