Disney Insights

We continue our celebration of Disneyland's 70th anniversary. We started this series at Disneyland with a look at Tomorrow. We now wind the clock backwards and start at the entrance of the park. Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland is a remarkable place. It is the only land in the only park that had an apartment for Walt Disney where he stayed regularly to "walk in the shoes of his guests." That kind of immersion allowed him to see new possibilities in how to create "The Happiest Place on Earth". I have walked this street for over 60 years...

While it’s been more than 5 years since Disney has opened up a brand new park in Shanghai, there is something to be said for the enormous transformation that has been underway for Disneyland Paris as a whole, and in particular, Disney Adventure World, formerly known as Walt Disney Studios Paris. Since Avengers Campus first opened, work has been spent on improving existing rides and shows, as well as creating whole new lands and attractions. Some 90% of the park’s original offerings will have been redone, and its foot prints will be nearly doubled in size. And beyond this, Disn...

Since debuting in December just a few months ago, The Disney Treasure has been the talk of the cruise line experience. Part of a new class of ships, and a sibling to the Disney Wish, this Disney Cruise Line offering has become very popular. We're fortunate to have Chris Konecny, also known as DCLCruisingDad, to share with us his family's experience aboard this eight day, seven night journey. We talk about getting there, getting on, and having a ton of fun. We discuss a little bit about its destinations to include Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth, Jamaica. But we...

We visit Walt Disney World to check out Disney's Hollywood Studios and to get an update about everything going on in the park. We canvas the entire property, check out some retail plus food & beverage. Did we mention meeting up with all 7 of the Dwarfs?! Where Star Wars first showed up in this park (and it's not Star Tours)?! How about the best fried chicken in Disney's parks?! Or the cremated remains of Don Onar's Parents?! Join us as we share little known secrets about the park, and talk more about its future!

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More Disney...

As if little announcements would keep attention away from the opening of Epic Universe, Disney keeps dropping posts and instagrams about what's on their docket in the next months to come. We'll take a look at this, and give insight to what it means. Disneyland has a big 70th anniversary coming, but what of The Walt Disney World Resort? We'll share what we've learned and what it means, especially in the context of a FastCompany article where Disney experts shared what it means to create the "Disney Bubble". Then we'll share about another time when Diagon Alley opened at...

With a new live action film out, There is much to be said about the importance of Walt Disney’s classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Not only was the original animated Snow White successful in the box office, it has been an important part of the Disney theme park experience world-wide. Since Disneyland opened in 1955, Snow White has come alive for guests to visit and experience. Through character meet ‘n’ greets, parades, merchandise, and attractions, Snow White is a significant presence found in every Disney Magic Kingdom park. And it can be seen in nearly every other park as...

This weekend fans said their final farewells to "It's Tough to be a Bug." This film has entertained guests since Disney's Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. It was the centerpiece of the Tree of Life, which serves as the icon to the park. We look at the origins of how the attraction came to be. We'll look at what was so great--and what was not so great about this attraction. With the official closing this week, we'll talk about the transition to the new replacement show, "Zootopia, Better Zoogether" We'll look at what has been shared to date, and project...

This weekend a Disney Imagineering presentation was given at the South by Southwest SXSW Conference in Austin Texas. Thinking that it was a Future of World-Building at Disney presentation given by Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro, I was surprised to see that there were several Imagineers that made up the presentation. Even more interesting was the fact that Josh was accompanied by Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, who then brought three key studio leaders, Jon Favreau with Star Wars, Pete Docter with Pixar, and Kevin Fiege of Marvel. Together both Entertainment and Experiences partnered together to talk about major...

When Disneyland premiered in 1955, it was so unique above anything else that was found in the world. And yet, its roots are found in sources that are across the globe. We look at those major influences that shaped not only Walt Disney's interest in building an amusement enterprise, but in how that was actually shaped and created. These sources stem from even before his birth and can be found along his travels throughout the United States and Europe. And while his intent was to create a place that parents and children could enjoy together, the result of is a...

This month marks the 85th anniversary of The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. While Walt Disney had a couple of other smaller studio locations previously, this location has flourished for decades and has remained the headquarters of The Walt Disney Company. We'll look at how these studios came about, how it became a world-class facility, what set it apart from other movie studios in town, and why it was such an "employee-friendly" place. And we'll look at how all that still happens today! With all of this we'll share some lessons for any business location or place of...