We are coming to a time when we will have a lot to share on this podcast, but there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about that I need to share/vent/talk about. We’re going across the board from California Grill to Wolfgang Pucks; From Liberty Square bathrooms to Piston Peak additions; from Moroccan views to Tower of Terror colors; from Walt Disney World ground breaking ceremonies to Labor Day openings. It’s a hodge podge of topics that I really have some strong opinions on. In the process, there are some insights that probably would help us at work or our own individual lives. So join us for Disney Deep Dives and Discontents.

This podcast is produced by myself and Performance Journeys, which offers training, development and consultant support to organizations big and small and entrepreneurs new and established. With a wide variety of resources and long-time in-the-trench experience, we offer workshops, online learning, coaching and more to organizations that want to build their teams, raise organizational excellence, improve leadership and create customer loyalty. Check us out at PerformanceJourneys.com.

As with our podcast, be sure to check out this web site, Disney Insights where we offer key points, photos, videos, links and more. In today’s discussion, we will refer to several charts found on Disney Insights. Note that YouTube carries now carries our podcasts. So please subscribe to our Disney Insights YouTube page as it will be more a part of our social media strategy moving forward. We appreciate any positive ratings, reviews or referrals you make to others.

The following is a visual and text outline of the podcast:

Labor Day Memories

This last week I posted a retweet about a previous podcast that I did five years ago in commemoration of Labor Day. I received some interesting responses from those who attended that event.

You can hear this podcast at this location: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/disney-at…/id1201049462…

Message: Inspire your employees to the finish line. Encourage, not enforce.

I’ll talk about another pre-opening experience for Walt Disney World at the end of this podcast, and it will be my loudest vent.

Open Kitchens to Closed Restaurants

• Waffle House & Teppan Edo
• Wolfgang & Spago & Open Kitchen
• It was the place to be and to be seen–where the kitchen was not only open, but the restaurant itself was open enough for paparazzi to do its thing
• It popularized upscale California cuisine, notably sushi, gourmet wood-fired pizzas (like the famous smoked salmon pizza) and designer pastas.
• Michael Eisner & Heart Attack
• California Grill in May of 1995, Top of the World Prior

• Ohana Opens at Polynesian in April 1995
• Citricos Opens at Grand Floridian in November 1997
• Wolfgang Pucks in Disney Springs in September 1997. Operated by Levy Restaurants and included a downstairs cafe, a sushi bar and a more formal dining space upstairs
• Napa Rose goes full circle back to California with an open air kitchen in January of 2001 at Disney’s Grand Californian
• Wolfgang Pucks plunges at Disney California Adventure
• Wolfgang Pucks Service Recovery

• Wine Bar George Opens in May 2018
• Wolfgang Pucks Opens in May 2020
• Wolfgang Pucks Closes on September 13th, 2020
• Michael Felt His Biggest Contribution Was Better Food in the Parks

Message: Provide the right service recovery, and then net your mistakes, so you don’t have to pay for them. And provide the level of training needed to not make those mistakes.

Moroccan Misleadings

Tower of Terror’s paint scheme mirrors Morocco’s in Epcot to align both

• No one responsible for the Tower of Terror has ever said that. The decision to paint the Tower of Terror the shade
• I liken it to the Millennium Baltimore Hotel in Los Angeles, where the interior is parallel to the one you see in the Tower of Terror
• According to Disney Cicerone Imagineers sought out color guru and former Imagineer John Hench about the correct shade and he reportedly suggested it be a “sad sort of pink” similar to VoBan, a sawdust like product thrown on the ground when someone pukes. Imagineers chose to make it a few shades darker.
• Marty Sklar said that in the construction of the Tower, Imagineers did float weather balloons to mirror the height, and then looked at the impact that would have when standing in Epcot. But nothing was mentioned about aligning color

John Hench and others have often talked about attractions that are distance shots, medium shots and closeup shots. All of them have a purpose. But may I suggest that more people study the closeup shots at the Morocco pavilion. They are amazing. It was the only pavilion sponsored by its host government, and in doing so, they took meticulous care in all of its details. The tile is the greatest representation of that. But note the three fountains. Sit quietly in the Fez house. Check out the very unique clock found on the back side. Try a different food you haven’t tried before.

Message: Don’t miss the details. They create the larger mosaic.

Restroom Relief & Truths

• Florida building code requires food establishments–restaurants–have restrooms.
• Liberty Tree Tavern has always had a restroom, one that was at the top of the stairs in the main entry room.
• When Columbia Harbor House opened, it had not one but two sets of restrooms on each floor.
• Diamond Horseshoe does not have a restroom within, but it adjoins a restroom set shared with Adventureland and Frontierland. The Diamond has always been part of Liberty Square and in fact, it’s the small stream on the other side of the walkway that sits next to the Frontierland side that symbolizes the Mississippi and thus the divide between the two.
• Note that most major restroom facilities like the ones here between the three lands also give you access to other services such as visa machines, drinking fountains, phones and more.
• The new building going in next to Haunted Mansion is “apparently” a restroom as shown in the model. If I had my druthers, I would put in a Ichabod, Headless Horseman dark ride.
• Speaking of Piston Peak, weather balloons were part of their effort to analyze how high Piston Peak and other parts of the attraction should be.

Message: Disney has always made the essentials easy to access and in the places where they need to be accessed. We should do the same.

The AI History Lie

AI feeds–If the graphic is a lie, the content is probably not right

• Secret acquisition
• Emily Bavar
• Cherry Plaza Hotel announcement with Governor Burns Nov 15, 1965
• Walking the property with Senator Irlo Bronson
• Florida Project Film Premiere in Winter Park, Feb 2, 1967
• May 30 1967 Bulldozers on the NW section of the property

• April 30 1969 4-Day Media Event at Ramada Inn West in Ocoee
• Jan 10, 1970 Preview Center–AAU Amateur Athletic Union–million tickets–1.3 million guests

What the photo shows

• Does not look like Roy
• No Gold Shovel
• Nobody From Disney was living there
• No state or local official spoke of attending
• No Previous Photos

Message: Present yourself authentically.

• How can we inspire rather than enforce?
• How can we provide the right service recovery, and then net our mistakes, so we don’t have to pay for them?
• What are the details that create the larger mosaic in your organization? In your life?
• How can we make it easier to access the essentials?
• How can you present yourself more authentically. How can your body of work be true to life?

Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization

For over a year I’ve been capturing and sharing stories of Disneyland, while creating a new online tool for you to explore all of them in one place. It’s called Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization and it’s an interactive, multimedia experience. This is truly designed for those who are seeking to find new ideas that will guide you to 

1. Provide Individual & Organizational Leadership Excellence
2. Create Employee Engagement & a Team Culture
3. Offer a Superior Customer Experience

Not only does the content through examples, stories and models play to these themes, but each section provides “Souvenirs for You and Your Organization”. They are reflective questions that may be used to better the work or operation you may be lead or be part of. And in that instance, it is more of a business focus. In fact, many may utilize funding set aside in their organization for training and development to purchase this volume.

Click here to order Disneyland Insights: Inspiration, Ideas & Magic for You and Your Organization. It’s also available on the show notes page of our podcast. Whether you’re on a comfy sofa at home or on Main Street, U.S.A. this experience allows you to navigate through all nine lands to explore some 100 locations where you can find Disney insights that will be inspire and guide you and your organization. 

Books From Your Host at Disney Insights

Also, if you’re looking to grab something today, go to Amazon where you will find four of my books available for purchase. Three explore Disney at length, and one explores world class businesses to include Disney. Check them out!

My newest book, A Century of Powerful Disney Insights, Volume I 1923-1973, The Walt & Roy Disney Years is available! 

Also, check out my two of my other books, The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney and Disney, Leadership and You. 

Also, for those examining other business benchmarks beyond Disney, check out Lead with Your Customer: Transform Culture and Brand Into World-Class Excellence.

Thanks for joining us for this podcast. Know that as in the title of my organization, Performance Journeys, it’s as much about the journey as it is about performance. Find the second star to the right, and keep going straight on till you reach it. Follow the compass of your heart, and know that with a smile and a song, a little faith, effort and pixie dust, your dreams can come true. After all, if we can dream it, we can do it. Until next time, bright suns, we’ll see you real soon!