The Official Magazine of IAAPA
How does it feel stepping into this role?
To get to be at the helm of one of our theme parks, let alone Disney’s Animal Kingdom, just means a ton. My family loves this park, I love this park and I'm very excited.
What is your vision for the park and for cast members?
Let’s start with the cast members first. Overarchingly, we want to thank, inform, celebrate, and develop our cast members. We did our third shift breakfast—celebrating all the folks that make magic overnight—whether it’s from a horticulture perspective, engineering, or park operations, to get us ready and to just take a moment to thank folks for the hard work they do. It’s fun to be part of and it’s the right thing to do for our cast members as well. Our cast were amongst the last to see It’s Tough to Be a Bug before it closed and they got to do previews first for new offerings.
That spirit of appreciation and growth extends beyond daily moments of recognition.We’ve got thousands of graduates and thousands who have moved into leadership roles. I started as an intern and have had an opportunity to come up.
How are you addressing staffing and retention challenges?
We’re seeing retention rates north of 80%. And I think investing in our cast is a huge contributor to that. And even if it wasn’t, it’s the right thing to do for our people. That is one key thing that’s helping us differentiate ourselves from the rest of the industry.
What enables Walt Disney World to excel at frontline guest engagement?
We know that treating our cast just as well as our guests is important to us and in turn, I think our cast members see that, and that empowers them to make magic happen for the guests. We have a strategy moving forward these next few years of investing in costumes that not only fit better but offer greater inclusivity.
How do you balance cast member and guest satisfaction during periods of construction and expansion?
I think one key thing that we’re doing to balance it is we’re letting people know what’s coming. We’ve been very vocal with our cast members. We’ve also been very informative, trying to share with them why we’re doing it. We know that it’s exciting for us to grow and to be able to draw folks in to tell compelling stories. It’s also a great way for us to celebrate how times evolve and how we’re able to put in products that appeal to broad audiences, especially our young families, and connect with our cast.
How do you gather cast feedback?
We ask. Leaders check in daily, and formal surveys measure training, resources, and tools. We try to listen to them and then try to build effective plans. Our cast satisfaction scores continue to do really, really well.
