Happy Birthday, Disney Institute!
It seems that February is an important month in the history of the Walt Disney Company. Already this week, we’ve celebrated the tenth anniversary of Disney’s California Adventure Park, and with it, Downtown Disney District and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, with its signature dining experience, Napa Rose. The east coast, it seems, is celebrating as well, for it was fifteen years ago this week that the Disney Institute first opened its doors.
When the Disney Institute opened its campus where Saratoga Springs Resort is now located at Walt Disney World, it offered a number of enrichment classes that guests of the resort could take. The courses, in subjects like cooking and landcaping, allowed guests to learn from the masters who made magic on a daily basis in and around Walt Disney World. Ultimately, however, the “leisure learning” courses proved unsuccessful, and Disney discontinued them. But a bright spot emerged: the business classes offered in addition to the enrichment classes were successful. And now, fifteen years later, the Disney Institute continues to offer programs that teach Disney best practices in leadership, innovation, loyalty, and other areas. When students have the opportunity to take classes on site, they will often get the chance to observe behind-the-scenes situations which demonstrate how the company puts best practices to work.
For more information on the Disney Institute and its offerings, please visit their website.
