Sunday, September 23, 2007

"It's not my fault, but it is my problem."

There is a polite way to answer this question: "What time is the three o'clock parade?" The notion that this inquiry doesn't open that person up to a wall of sarcasm and a life of sad regret thereafter is initially surprising to me. Then again, when you discover that it is one of the most frequently asked questions at the Walt Disney World theme park, it makes more fiscal sense to find a way to steer clear from outright ridicule.
Disney Institute, a Florida-based unit of the Walt Disney Company has coached thousands of executives and front-line workers from other companies that have included Delta Air Lines, IBM, General Motors, Chrysler and even the Internal Revenue Service and cigarette maker Phillip Morris Inc. At Disney, from actors in Goofy outfits to laundry workers, are all called "cast members" to make them feel part of the show. There is a garbage can every twenty-five steps, so litter will be tossed not dropped. My favorite ride in all of Disneyland is the moment of entry. Right after you push through that turnstile, you know that you are in the happiest place on earth. The fact that people are trained and paid to make it that way does not matter to me in the least. I'm just pleased to be somewhere that makes my personal needs a priority. If I want fudge, point me in the right direction, please. If it starts to rain, get those ponchos out. If I have to stand in line for an hour, send a dixieland band out to lighten the mood. I have never asked a cast member to read USA Today to me as I ate breakfast, but I suspect they would do it in a thrice.
By the way, "The parade will start on time at 3 p.m. in Frontierland, but it will be at Main Street U.S.A. at about 3:20. You can line up right here under the shade if you want to. Thanks."

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