The Magic of Disney is the Employees

A Trade show in Disney World is an interesting event. When exhibiting our Thumball™ line of products we spent 2 full days and more in the exhibit hall early morning till evening and by the end have only enough energy to eat then sleep. Therefore taking the kids did not make sense. However walking around the Disney resorts without them made even less sense.

Ahhh, the Polynesian a dream of mine from the age of 12. My mother balked at people that would "spend that kind of money for a place to sleep" but I gazed at it from the Monorail ride in 1973 and thought it must be wonderful over there.

So here I am 35 years later staying at this iconic monument and at first I could not adjust, here I was missing the children, feeling surreal as my childhood wish surprisingly came true. But adjust I did and oh my the food was flavorful, the air was balmy, the pool a perfect lagoon with palms and plants and flowers. The trade show turned out well for many reasons. The most important of which was the Disney employees or cast members as they are called.

I can be cynical and corny things annoy me so I was being the wise guy using the expression "Feel the Magic" with disdain. But suddenly it really was magic as everywhere we were greeted with courtesy, offered assistance, provided good food in good time. At the exhibit hall in the Contemporary Hotel we had kind people helping us make copies, mail packages, choose restaurants and give us goodies.

I guess it is a job requirement for "cast members" to ask each guest, so where are you from? but it works each time to get a smooth, unpressured conversation going. Seriously every single person we intereacted with really did exceed our expectations and that we are told is Disney's ultimate goal. That really is where the magic lives being treated well and therefore treating others as well or bettter. I guess Walt really understood The Golden Rule.

Guess what ? We never even visited any of the theme parks. We enjoyed the amenities of the hotels both The Polynesian and Port Orleans- Riverside. There we were greeted with the same hospitatity but even sweeter, southern style. We swam, biked, drove boats, ferried, ate and smiled at every turn where we werre made to feel special and important.

So Thumball was a hit and I grew a bit as a person who still believes in magic.
Thanks Walt for dreaming that big.