During my first week of the program, it is easy to say I got tired of “training”…quick. After a few days of orientation, we were all herded onto busses and sent to “traditions”. I had done a lot of research on the program prior to my application, but did not read much about this “magical” experience. At first, I thought it was just like any other plain old orientation. Boy o’ boy, was a I wrong. It was exactly what I wasn’t expecting. Amy group of about 50 shuffled into this superficial Disney classroom, and we were all broken into groups. At this point, I was nervous, I don’t deal well with meeting new people and I was anxious. We all wrote our names on tags and began to speak. Immediately, I got bad vibes from two of the girls at the table. It was easy to say that they were “Disney freaks” and we weren’t on the same “Disney level”.
After some time conversing, the instructors began the session. The session consisted of a brief history of the Walt Disney World Company, and a peek inside the corporate world. This is when I would first learn of the 4 key basics, and how Disney created them and utilizes them at every location. As the session continued, the animated instructors continued on with their Disney rants. I think everyone got pretty tired of hearing “Safe-D” after a while and we began our break. I was not interested in socializing; instead I just sat there and looked around. I saw people of different colors, religions, from all over the world. That is when I realized the most important thing about traditions. Traditions was the base, the foundation, the ground floor. This is what Disney created to ensure “consistency” throughout the brand. Without a class like this to equally educate completely different people, the brand would not be as solid as it is today.
Being an international company, you need all employees to be on the same page. The traditions class Disney created promises this for all trainees. The class teaches you not only what’s on the board, and the history of the company, but about the people who make up the company and what they stand for.
My first week on the job, I was able to utilize what I had learned in my traditions class and make magic for guests. I was able to provide consistent information on the Disney Dining plan, which is the most confusing aspect for all DAAR guests. With the aspect of consistency instilled upon all cast members in Traditions, I was able to provide guests with a pleasant stay, and reliable information during the length of their stay.
