Stick to the plan
Success at Disneyland wouldn’t happen without an astounding amount of planning that happens behind the scenes. In order for the resort’s day-to-day operations to run smoothly, everyone must adhere to the plan.
“It’s a 24-hour operation,” Grier says. “It’s analogous to running a small city. We have to make sure the park is ready to go the next day, so we have a third-shift operation. We have more than 900 unique positions, from engineers to bakers to characters to the president of the resort. We have a lot of different moving parts out there. The attention to detail is vital for us to make sure the millions of visitors that come here every year have a wonderful experience.”
Disneyland’s staff uses theatrical terminology to emphasize that a visit to the park is intended to be similar to witnessing a performance. For example, employees are referred to as “cast members.” Each cast member’s job is called a “role” and each role has a script to follow. Cast members must follow their script, which is a strict code of conduct and Disney-approved phrases they may use while at work.
“We go out there and we tell them, ‘What is your job?’ Grier says. “‘Your job is to create happiness and make dreams come true.’ OK, how do you do that? It doesn’t matter what your role is, whether you’re someone at the front gate making sure our guests get the right ticket media that they need to enjoy their stay or if you’re in custodial making sure the park is clean.”
Every morning when the resort’s employees arrive at work, they will have planning sessions with their direct leaders. The managers will talk to their reporting employees about the plan for the day and prepare them for some of the particular nuances of the day’s work. Grier says this daily primer helps keep the resort’s departments running like a well-oiled machine. But reinforcing the importance of sticking to the plan isn’t the only benefit of these sessions — they help develop the bond between manager and employee.
“They get to know each other that way,” he says. “It is vitally important for them to have that relationship with their cast members. We want them to have an understanding relationship — to treat them like an individual.”
