Disney At Work Podcast

We have entered into a new portal of Disney magic and we want to invite you to learn all about it. Join me, my daughter Jennica and my son-in-law Jason as we share with you our first impressions of experiencing TRON for the first time here at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. We'll look at the queue, the ride and the challenges of embracing this new high octane thrill ride that goes up to 60 miles an hour. I'll also discuss how this attraction compares to its sister portal in Shanghai Disneyland and how the whole of this attraction fills a major need here in Tomorrowland. Whether or not you are a TRON fan or you've even seen the movies, you will be after this ride. Join us as we take on one of the most comprehensive reviews available on TRON Lightcycle Run at Walt Disney World. 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 b

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 yo

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

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!

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

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 throug

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

The week is already on a roll as many announcements have been made even in the last 24 hours. We'll review each of them to include an opening date for Tron as well as dates for new fireworks shows. More news awaits with changes made to Genie+ and to Annual Passholder perks. Did we mention free parking at the Disney resorts? Plus Disneyland has some changes as well. Then we head out to the high seas where David Zanolla offers us insights as to how the first Pixar Day at Sea has gone. It's a busy January and we're only 10 days in. Join us for this January 2023 update!

One of the reasons that Pirates of the Caribbean since it opened in 1967 is my favorite attraction is because there is so much attention to the details. I've been on it literally hundreds of times and in four different versions across the globe--and yet I still see new details from time to time. Imagine that the attraction was not only taken to the next level, but that there was an entire land supporting that attraction. That's what we are looking at in this podcast. The real gems in Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland is in the details. We look across the land and at its signature attraction to get a taste of all that. In the process we see something that not only takes the film series involving Captain Jack Sparrow to a whole new level, but something that pays homage to the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Join us on this voyage as we visit Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland to see the treasure in the details.

After the first day of the New Year, what are we to learn about the Disney Parks at Walt Disney World. We walk through a day at Epcot to discover how things big and small, great and stupid, all come down to one total experience. Genie+ plays a big role here. Parking lot trams played no role, but we do talk about the return of the train over at Magic Kingdom. Journey of Water--Moana, and wait times at Guardians? We talk about it. Would you wait four hours to see Harmonious? Hmmm. Come join me as I discuss that experience and of the insights we glean along the way. It's a new day on the first day after the New Year at Epcot.

Happy New Year! We ring in a new calendar year with the most comprehensive lineup of what's happening at Disney in 2023. And we're not just sharing what new attractions are on their way, but rather, what are key events will kick off those new offerings. Big press events and milestones are key to when things may be coming your way, and we'll look at all of that. Critical to this is just when all of this is happening, so we'll project when you may want to plan your next Disney vacation, whether it's Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or even beyond. Altogether, we'll look at not only at two dozen new offerings happening in 2023, but what may as well be announced for the future during 2023. Join us as we canvas new Disney Events, Offerings & Announcements Worldwide for 2023.

Let's look at the past year not from some list of what happened, but how that list of what happened tiers up into three important lessons any organization should take from Disney out of 2022. These lessons clearly illustrate the importance of customer loyalty, i.e., Disney fans; How demand really inflates price; and why delivery must exceed expectations. We'll bring you examples of how this has occurred throughout all of 2022, and then help you understand the implications to your own organization. Join us in this podcast as we explore these three critical Disney lessons from 2022.

One of the truly wonderful experiences Disney Parks and Attractions offer are uniquely themed dining experiences. Some of the most memorable are those that bring you to a nighttime setting where you dine among the stars all the while being indoors. We look at all of them, represented in nearly every Disney resort from Shanghai to Disneyland; from Walt Disney World to Disneyland Paris. From the original legendary Blue Bayou Restaurant to the more recent Barbosa's Bounty; From elegant table service to drive-in dining, we'll explore these highly themed venues and compare them all. Join us as we go outside In with Disney dining.

Disney has stated that the 50th anniversary for Walt Disney World goes on until March 31st of 2023. But is that really the case? We canvas the entire Florida property to see if the magic is still calling you to this golden anniversary. From new entertainment to attractions; from food & beverage to anniversary merchandise, we look at whether you can really still celebrate or whether the World's Most Magical Celebration has really moved on. Are you still the magic, or are you too late for Walt Disney World's 50th? Or has it been lost among Genie+ apps, higher prices and changing CEOs? And will the memories live on for the next 50 years? Join us as on this podcast as we find out.

We're embarking on a new series here in Disney at Work and Play. Imagineering Explored is an opportunity to deep dive into best practices of Imagineering. We look at what works and more importantly why it works. And on occasion, we'll even make application to life outside Disney's gates. This first podcast in the series looks at great themed transitions that occur in the parks--particularly as you move from one setting to another. These are dramatic transitions that are often so subtle that you hardly recognize you've moved from one locale to another. We'll look at some great examples across the globe and discuss how the elements support the transition. From the Magic Kingdom to Disneyland Paris; from Star Wars Galaxy's Edge to the "Happiest Place on Earth", we'll look at some of the most enveloping and clever Imagineering design elements ever created. We'll even see their application from any brick and mortar store to navigating web sites. Join us as we examine Great Themed Transitions in this Imagineering E

Season's Greetings! There's so much to take in during the holidays at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Often in the past we've compared parks, but this time we're going to compare holiday attraction overlays between both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Some of these you may never have heard of, or knew that they offered a holiday version. We will rate attractions as they are given a special yuletide look and feel. From Small World Holiday to Mater's Jingle Jamboree; from Jingle Cruise to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Holiday Re-Mix, we'll look at the gems of this season as well as those that might as well be ugly holiday sweaters. And with our rating system we will help you determine whether you will get a better experience out in California at Disneyland or here at Walt Disney World in Florida. Join us as we compare holiday attraction overlays at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.