The Character Experience
The Character Experience
A Day In The Life of a Disney Character.
A Day In The Life of a Disney Character.
Your Journey Begins Now...
Sweat is pouring into my eyes, but I can’t wipe them.
I can barely see where I’m going.
I’ve lost all sense of direction.
Sound is muffled as I desperately strain to comprehend who is saying what.
I feel strangely alone—yet I’m surrounded by hundreds of people.
And, I’m scared to death I’ll step on somebody’s kid.
Then, I hear the command that strikes fear into every character at a Disney theme park: “Hey mommy, there’s Tigger! Let’s go get him, whoopee!”
My one hour as Tigger felt like a lifetime, and reinforced my appreciation of the work done by the professionals. This first exposure to the Disney character experience reinforced in my mind the need to continually learn by walking in others’ shoes."
Doug Lipp
Doug is a former Disney employee and the best selling author of the book "Disney U".
As I recovered from my Tigger ordeal, I reflected on my day of surprises:
- Spending several hours encased in 20 pounds of bacterially-challenged fur isn’t fun.
- Maintaining one’s balance, while supporting the massive Tigger-shaped helmet that covered my head wasn’t at all easy.
- Enduring the endless pokes and prods from customers vying for Tigger’s attention was beyond anything I’d ever imagined. Customers’ pokes and prods occasionally hit some sensitive areas. I guess they thought they were poking Tigger’s belly-button...
I, along with 12 other managers dressed up as some of Disney’s most beloved characters, had just survived a most impactful training event. Designed by the Disney University team to give managers and executives the chance to literally walk in the shoes of front-line employees, the character experience more than achieved its goal of creating team awareness.
In addition to the time we managers spent in those amazingly confining costumes, we also got to meet the professional actors who worked as the characters. As the actors described the rigorous training regimen enabling them to “become” the characters they were portraying, we began peppering them with questions:
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Job-shadowing is a powerful tool for personal and team development. And, while you might not ever get the chance to walk in Tigger’s shoes, my goal via Leadership Magic is to take you on a journey every bit as challenging and eye-opening.
By the way, after my day of being Tigger, I went back to my regular job as head of the training team at the Disney University with a new sense of team awareness and renewed energy. Certainly, there would be tough days and challenging meetings, but I was overjoyed knowing that I wouldn’t have to endure any more character challenges: the unbearably hot costume, the streams of sweat attacking my eyes and, most important … no more pokes in the “belly-button.”
We offer the tools and resources to help you succeed.
Our Leadership Magic training videos, vlogs, articles and other tools will become your own virtual job shadowing vehicle. Through Leadership Magic, you’ll be exposed to some of the greatest leadership successes (and failures) I’ve seen in my four decades of business experience. In addition to my years at Disney, I’ll share with you many leadership and customer service strategies I’ve learned as a business owner, and consultant to thousands of corporations around the world. Most important, we will provide you with proven leadership and customer experience strategies to help you differentiate from your competition!
Some of our offerings include:
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Regardless of your budget or the current condition of your corporate employee training and development program, Leadership Magic has an innovative, engaging solution for you.