How It Was Done: Part Four

(from Institutions / Volume Feeding, October 1972)

A striking view of the Contemporary Hotel. The structure is topped off with the very popular "Top of the World" restaurant. The floor just below is exclusively suites - and was the only guest floor built not using the modular construction system.

Disney: Design for Tomorrow

Design for Walt Disney Productions means setting the stage to complement the show. Every new act requires a new set. This philosophy is carried out at Walt Disney World, too although the shows here are more magical than Hollywood.

The two hotels in operation right now, the Contemporary and the Polynesian, were constructed by U.S. Steel with modular components. Both are of outstanding design and give the guest a clear feeling that this will be a different experience. With its 1047 rooms, the Contemporary is the largest hotel and will remain so. Business meetings and conventions, which account for 30% of hotel business, are usually held at the Contemporary since it has more meeting and banquet rooms than the Polynesian. Future hotels probably will not be this large, since most of top management agree that a hotel as large as the Contemporary is just not "right" for Disney. It is too large to give guests the individual attention and service Disney people feel is necessary.

The Contemporary is a 14-story A-frame with a monorail running through its core at the fourth level. This floor houses a large restaurant. Diners, young and old, stop munching their hamburgers or twisting spaghetti to watch the sleek transportation of the future whisk quietly by.

The next stop on the monorail is the Polynesian Village, which offers the visitor an entirely different world. The Polynesian theme and design was selected because most guests at WDW have never been to, or will never get to, Hawaii. In some ways, the hotel is more "Hawaii" than our 50th State could ever be. Vegetation and the sound of water dominate the public areas. As you leave the monorail your immediate impression is of peace and leisure. There is none of the hustle bustle you sometimes feel at the Contemporary. Even the employees sense this. As Assistant Manager Jim Raymond explains, "When I first started, I was at the Contemporary. When I was assigned here, it was different. You absorb the atmosphere as you walk around, it is so much more relaxed. It even shows in the housekeeping staff." Jim is so enthusiastic, he claims that guests stay longer at the Poly.

Polynesian Village Hotel Room, 1972

The 492 guest rooms at the Poly are basically the same as those at the Contemporary. "The biggest difference is that bathrooms in the Contemporary have two sinks, a bath/shower combination and another shower. The Poly rooms have only one sink and a bath/shower, making the sleeping/living area slightly larger. Rooms in both hotels are furnished in similar manners. Colors and careful fabric selection have been chosen to emphasize the theme of each hotel.

Because of heat, high humidity, strong sun and other factors inherent to central Florida, all materials in the park and the hotels have been selected for durability and easy maintenance. What appears to be wood to the casual observer might actually be a very durable plastic that will not warp. The majority of furnishings in the hotels were developed by Monsanto. While they are not the types of furnishings most people would purchase for home, they are extremely durable and practically indestructible-a hotel-manager's dream.

Disney designs for the future even though the setting might be a prehistoric cave. The most immediate plans for expansion include a small (probably no more than 150 room) hotel adjacent to the golf course and clubhouse. Right now, guests are not using the clubhouse facilities to full advantage- some do not know it is there, others do not know how to get to it because it is not a stop on the monorail. By building a hotel there. Disney will make the golf course more of a "center." In time, at least three other hotels will be built in other areas, all based on themes.

Every night at the Polynesian Village, there's a luau which is not only popular, but practical. By utilizing outside facilities, the foodservice facilities within the hotel are relieved, although they're still packed. Presently under construction is a huge canopy where luaus can be held even when it rains. Believe it or not, once in a while it dares to rain on WDW.

The city of Lake Buena Vista is also contained within Disney's 27,000 acres of property. Already four hotels are under construction, at least one renting rooms before the paint is barely dry. Dutch Inns, Howard Johnson's, Royal Inn and TraveLodge have all leased land from Disney and are building high-rise showplaces. WDW refers business they can't handle to these four.

There is a "Townhouse Community" with several residents already. Large companies have been buying the townhouses to entertain customers, to use as business retreats and as sales incentives. All sorts of special services come with the town-house: travel arrangements, car rentals, dinner reservations at WDW. Tour arrangements and tee times at the golf course are but a few of the numerous extras. Meals and cocktail parties can be catered and pantries, refrigerators and bars will be stocked on request. Townhouses can be leased on a one or two year basis, furnished or unfurnished. The Buena Vista Club will be completed soon. Residents will have first crack at membership. The Club will have all the social amenities of any first class country club, but with the Disney flair.

Eventually there will be condominiums and, hopefully, an entire community at Lake Buena Vista. Of course, Disney will maintain ownership of all land. The ultimate goal is for EPCOT (Environmental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), which will be the city of the future. Motorized vehicles will travel underground. Homes and offices will be designed with experimental equipment and furnishings, and the lifestyle will be far ahead of its time.

The Poly Pool is always crowded - and a special treat is a natural waterfall, where swimmers climb the rocks and slide down into the pool.

In the Magic Kingdom, the future holds a wealth of ideas. Some will be implemented and some will probably never get off the drawing board. Everything is planned to please people. "If you think back to when you were a kid, there was always something you dreamed of doing but you never did. Or maybe you did something once but you've always wanted to do it again. It could be riding rapids or swinging down on a rope and splashing in the water or exploring a pirate's den. These are the kinds of things we want to do." says Dick Nunis. One thing is for sure. Disney World and Disneyland will never be finished. A visit to either is not meant to be once in a lifetime. Things are constantly changing so there is always something new to capture interest and enthusiasm, and most importantly, to encourage a desire to return.

Hopefully, if the legal hassles ever end, Mineral King (a year-round nature and recreation facility) will begin to be developed in California. Back in 1965, the U.S. Government asked for proposals on how to create a recreation complex in this area. Based on their proposal, Disney was awarded the job. Since then, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups have tied the project up in court and a lot of people seem to look at Disney as the villain in the dispute. Eventually, they will probably go ahead with plans, but as Card Walker said, "in the meantime, we have enough to do."

Two examples of Disney's flexibility: elegant dining or drinking at the Top of the World - or full-scale, elaborate banquet scene.

Disney has been approached by several foreign governments, the most recent being Taiwan and Yugoslavia. It seems a lot of countries want a Disneyland of their own. The possibility has not been ruled out. But Card Walker is adamant about the fact that they will never franchise a park or turn it over to a third party. "We find outsiders can't even run a restaurant for us.  They always need to make money and they don't have our values."

Within 11 short months, over ten million visitors have passed through the gates of WDW. This figure exceeds the projections made before the opening day, but then it is hard to project any Disney endeavor. The hotels are running at close to 100% occupancy and turning down 1000 reservation requests daily. The state of Florida has collected over $200-rrillion in tax revenues that they really hadn't expected. The Orlando area has become one of the hottest growth areas in the country with a building boom that won't stop for a long time to come.

Certainly this is change and progress. To a large degree, it can all be attributed to Disney. Walt Disney World is the first total leisure experience center in the world. It won't be the only one for long, Marriott will provide competition with their complex outside Washington, DC. Dick Nunis has that "Marriot will be a very fine competitor and we enjoy competition. I just wouldn't want their weather."

As long as there's imagineering within the Disney team, there is bound to be a bright future. What direction the future will take is hard to determine, but with the people involved, it's bound to be the right direction.

(Navigation: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four) 

How It Was Done: Part Three

(from Institutions / Volume Feeding, October 1972)

Coca Cola is one of over 30 "participants" at WDW. Companies are permitted to test market new products and, of course, to sell their products or service. At Disneyland, during 1971 alone, enough soft drinks were consumed to fill a 5 acre lake 10 feet deep.

DISNEY: "Food as Fun" Package

Walt Disney Productions got into the foodservice business not because they wanted to, but because they more or less had to. Foodservice at Disneyland was originally contracted out to a subsidiary of American Broadcasting Co. In 1965, Disney bought out ABC for $7.5-miliion so that they could do things their way. Disney reasoned that concessionaires tend to look on profits with individual units in mild and will, therefore, cut corners if need be to maintain their profits.

Today, foodservice at both Disneyland and Disney World is "a part of the show." Food is part of the total experience and should be fun. Good value is part of the Disney philosophy, and this means quality food. Food prices at WDW are surprisingly low considering the quality and presentation of the menu. The food is simply good food that appeals to the various markets that WDW serves. The hamburgers aren't laced with Mickey Mouse ears, nor are scrambled eggs presented in the shape of Donald Duck. Each foodservice unit, whether in the parks or the hotels, is designed with a theme in mind, and the menu is designed to strengthen the Total Show.

But gimmicks are minimized. If, to create this total atmosphere setting, one unit runs in the red, that's all right. Another unit or attraction probably has a high enough profit to balance it out.

Jim Armstrong heads up the Food Division and is responsible for both ends of the country, John Cardone, food production manager, and Dean Penlick, operations manager, keep things moving at WDW. The plans for foodservice facilities for WDW were supervised by people who knew they would be transferred to Florida. As Cardone puts it, "we couldn't afford to make mistakes because we knew we would have to live with them on a day to day basis."

There is a Central Food Facility (never referred to as a "commissary") which receives all shipments and maintains inventory. Meat and produce are purchased by carloads. All foods are processed and portioned at the Central Facility. The kitchens in the Magic Kingdom are strictly for finishing and holding. There is a complete, underground transportation system- eight acres of tunnels and basements for service and supply facilities- so that guests never see food being transported or employees "out of costume."

As with any operation serving 80,000 meals a day- an awkward size that's more meals than a local restaurant but not as many as a national packer- finding the right equipment is a real problem. After many adjustments and modifications, the present hamburger machine can cook 2,000 4-oz. patties per hour, and toast the buns as well. Cardone is big on crepes and likes to incorporate them into as many menus as possible. He now has a machine that can produce 900 crepes per hour. The search for capacity in equipment is constant and right now is concentrated on a steak cooker.

WDW has 21 new food facilities scheduled to open throughout the park within the next 24 months. The Central  Facility, which is amazingly small- 48,000 sq. ft. - for its output- preparing food for 80,000 meals a day a day- will have to be expanded, too. And expansion means people. There are presently 130 Central employees, 1000 back of the house and 2400 front of the house. There are at least 14 middle management openings in foodservice now and that should increase to about 35 openings 10 months from now.

"To hell with expense - experience is the most important thing." At the Crystal Palace, interiors cost a cool $1 million - but families can get a good meal here for about $1. Service is cafeteria style.

In the food division, as in all divisions, many management people come from within the Disney ranks. There are six area managers in foodservice. Six years ago, one was an ice cream scooper and another a bus boy. This kind of advancement gives employees something to look forward to: fringe benefits give them something for the present. Hourly employees are reviewed every three months, ticket books for theme park attractions are received with pay checks four times a year, and help is offered in educational pursuits for permanent employees. These inducements help keep turnover down. Bowling, sailing, boating, theatre workshops, and film festivals are but a few of the organized activities for employees. Meals are heavily subsidized by Disney and employees receive food prepared specifically for them, no leftovers.

Right smack in the middle of all the hub-bub in the main lobby of the Contemporary Hotel is the Grand Concourse Restaurant. Guests sit under colorful plexiglass trees - and everyone stops munching when the monorail whizzes through the lobby. The restaurant is open until midnight - and a limited menu is complimented by a buffet, if desired. Elsewhere on the same concourse floor are shops, a bar, a liquor store - and anything your heart may desire. The main lobby is ten stories high, and a focal point is a huge, tiled mural.

Quality, regardless of price, is constant. One of John's "specialities" is Macadamia Nut Pie, which sells for 75 cents a slice. The nuts alone are running $4.80 a pound right now. Hardly a profitable item!

Since most people coming to WDW are from East of the Mississippi, Duck Nunis felt that a good old New England Clambake with lobster would be fun. When John was asked if the fluctuating, high price of lobster didn't bother him just a wee bit, he replied, "of course it does, but if he wants it, he'll get it, and for the right price."

John has changed the menus for WDW eight times in 11 months. It took him 2 1/2 years to plan 11 basic menus. That means a lot of care and planning. Serving 80,000 meals a day requires a master plan which Disney management follows. Menu items have to fit the plan. A beef & cheese sandwich on marble rye is called the Moonsteer in Tomorrowland and the Jouster's Choice in Fantasyland. Very few items are used exclusively at any one location, unless a particular thing is absolutely necessary to maintain the atmosphere. This is the case at King Stefan's, where individual loaves of onion bread are served. What is the trick to opening 40 restaurants at once? Cardone says, "You've got to be crazy not to want to do it. You'll never get that kind of challenge again."

At the Central Food Facility, the cook isn't fixing up a batch of Witch's Brew. Throughout the facility, the most modern of equipment has been installed.

All food is prepared at the Central Foods Facility - cakes and pastries are prepared from scratch early each morning. Sandwiches are big sellers but the 4 oz. hamburger patties is still the Number One favorite. Volume has exceeded expectation - and the CFF will be expanded next year.

Sanitation is another very important facet of Disney foodservice. Can you imagine 60,000 guests leaving the park, all of them sick? Inspections are made continually as preventive maintenance. Equipment is kept spotless, as are the streets and walkways. Guests are shamed into throwing refuse into litter containers because the surroundings are so clean they would feel guilty if they threw a cup or gum wrapper on the ground. Menus are planned with maintenance in mind, too. Pizza and cotton candy are just two examples of foods not found in any unit. They connote a carnival atmosphere with people walking around eating food with their fingers and then littering with what they don't finish. With the exception of popcorn, which is a very high profit item and also very good, there is little else that people can stroll with and eat at the same time.

Per capita, more food is consumed at WDW than at Disneyland and by far more people want breakfast. They arrive at the Magic Kingdom at 6 A.M. and they are hungry. Several of the Park units have had to add eggs to their menu.

Buffets have been a blessing to the hotels. On a typical evening at the Polynesian, 1800 guests can be served in 40 minutes by means of an outdoor luau. This has been so successful that a protective enclosure is being added in order to serve  the luau even if the weather is not the best. Two areas are reserved daily in the Contemporary Hotel for buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buffets seem to work very well in letting Disney people exercise their expertise as people movers. Things seem to flow more smoothly, making for a more relaxed atmosphere.

Disney even has its own unique approach to purchasing. Cost is not really considered. For example, if a fruit cocktail is to be selected, the purchasing department will get samples of several brands. They will be served, unidentified, to chefs and other management personnel. A vote is taken and whichever of the products wins out, that's the one that is ordered. That is Disney Democracy!

Hamburgers at the CFF.

No one goes to Disney World just to eat and no one goes especially to tour the kitchen. You go there for the total experience you can find nowhere else. The food is good, in some cases great. But if you are looking for the epitome of commercial foodservice you'd probably be better satisfied at Maxim's in Paris. Layout and design of kitchens and equipment is good, functional, and gets the job done, but you wouldn't call it avant garde or revolutionary. It simply gets a big job done. As John Cardone says: "We're in the entertainment business. We work while people play." The amazing thing at Disney is that people seem to enjoy their work so much that even though it is hard work, it seems more like they are playing along with the guests.

Crepes are popular in any form, and at any meal, from entree to dessert.

(Navigation: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four) 

How It Was Done: Part Two

(from Institutions / Volume Feeding, October 1972)

Disney: The People Pros

It takes a special kind of man to risk his family's savings on Snow White.

It takes a special kind of man to borrow on his life insurance in order to open a $17-million amusement park in a place no one had ever heard of before-unless they remembered Jack Benny's nasal train announcer calling "Anaheim, Azusa and Cuc-a-monga."

It takes a special kind of man to build an organization that has a unique management style, where channels are kept open. Where everyone-down to the proudest sweeper-calls the company president by his nickname.

That special man-Walt Disney-is still very much alive. When top management speaks, it's as though Walt and his brother Roy (the financial wizard) were still around. As though any decision, large or small, would have to be approved by them. Nothing is done half way. It's either done right or not at all. And hang the expense.

This "Disneyism" (almost a kind of "religion" among employees) comes through loud and clear. No wonder. Walt himself stated that his proudest accomplishment was: "Building an organization of people that enabled me to do the kinds of things I wanted to do all my life."

The kinds of things he liked to do? He liked to have fun. He resented the fact that when he took his two small daughters to an amusement park, he had to sit on a bench and munch peanuts while they whirled on a carousel. Today's result: Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Orlando, where guests number three adults to each child.

The millions of people who pour through those gates have fun. They're entertained. They're given a total experience. Everything is one show, whether it's a heart-in-the-mouth visit to the Haunted Mansion or a mouth-watering meal while dining in an elegant swamp. Anyone-whether a senior citizen, a kid, a Senator or a real live princess-who goes to Disneyland or Disney World and isn't sprinkled with pixie dust should call the nearest psychiatrist.

The pixie dust is on employees, too, whether they're waitresses or show boat captains. They don't wear uniforms; they go to wardrobe and pick up their costumes. They're cast in roles. They're on stage. Even middle management employees who do not have direct contact with guests (all Disney customers are always referred to as guests) must do a stint dressed as a Disney character-Goofy, Mickey Mouse-and gallivant around with guests for a while. That's when they get the real "feel" of "Disneyism." That's when it's clearly understood that seeing joyful faces makes the whole thing work. Show biz. Entertain the guest. That's what Walt had in mind in the first place.

A gigantic wardrobe is kept busy creating thousands of Disney costumes.

There were times when what Walt had in mind was not necessarily what his brother Roy had in the company pocketbook. Example: Watt decided to build a Matterhorn. It would cost $7-milion. Roy put his foot down. No way could they afford $7-million to build a mountain. Roy left for Europe. Walt called an executive meeting. "We're going to build a Matterhorn." he informed them. "And when Roy gets back from Europe, let him figure out how to pay for it."

The brothers were close. Roy once said, "Together, we are a success. Separately, Walt would've been a cartoonist for the Kansas City Star and I would have been a bank teller."

Walt was not only a dreamer and a gambler, he was a perfectionist. He put his show business ideas into foodservice - even at a price no normal Operator would pay. Prime example: The Blue Bayou Restaurant (the elegant swamp, replete with flashing fireflies, frog "gribbits" and even a pleasant "swampy" smell) was opened five months before its accompanying ride, "The Pirates of the Caribbean," was completed. The Blue Bayou was a smashing success and highly profitable. Walt walked in one day and demanded that the restaurant be closed until the Pirates ride was ready to operate. "The restaurant complements the ride and the ride complements the restaurant. We can't have one without the other. It's the total show. Total entertainment." The Blue Bayou was closed.

Card Walker, president of Disney Productions, emphasizes, "We don't have profit centers. We have experience centers.  Profit comes if the experience is right." That's why Disney can afford to build a restaurant with a million-dollar interior and charge a guest $1.00 for a good meal. Jack Lindquist, VP of marketing, explains, "We look at Disneyland or WDW on the bottom line. The total. If a restaurant doesn't make it but a customer needs it, we'll make up for the loss somewhere else."

Disney's expertise is moving people - whether on bridges or trams or speedy monorails. Moving them in the right way - without guests being aware of the flow pattern.

Part of the reason is the nature of the Disney experience. The average kid on the street isn't aware that his hot dog isn't prepared by Mickey Mouse. And if that hot dog is bad, it reflects on the entire Disney operation. Walt loved hot dogs, and had his food management team scour the countryside until they found the way lo keep hot dogs (and buns) hot and tasty. This Quest for serving food "The Disney Way" also prompted management to eventually buy back all the concessions previously awarded to companies like Stouffer and an ABC subsidiary. They weren't Disney People. One operator, in fact, insisted that his supervisory staff be called "Mister." This definitely wasn't Walt's way. It wasn't his management philosophy.

Some of these philosophies (called Disney Democracy): Don't departmentalize. Use first names. Everyone must be involved in everyone else's business. Keep the channels open so you can make a decision in a hurry. John Hench, VP- Production of WED Enterprises, the design division, explains, "Among other things Walt left us was the habit of mixing people up and having them freely discuss and criticize all aspects of our operation. We cross division lines, and get into each others departments." These, and other "Disneyisms", would make the average hotel and foodservice operator shudder. But they sure work for Disney.

Guests enjoy limited menu items in an atmosphere of Medieval charm - after all, they're in a castle! Patrons pay for their meal as they enter the restaurant. Menus and decor in all Disney foodservice operations are meticulously coordinated to created a total atmosphere.

King Stefan's cook serves orders fast & furious.

President Card Walker comments, "The Disney Democracy is corny, but it works. We're friendly. We have a thing going with one another. The channels actually are open. If you departmentalize, you develop empires."

This philosophy, however, has caused problems for traditional hotel people- and some have left the Disney organization as a result. One ex-Disney hotelman complained that hotel maintenance was impossible to handle because it fell under the jurisdiction of the Park's overall maintenance department, rather than the hotel manager's.

The key to the management team is the Park Operating Committee at Disneyland and the Disney World Operating Committee at Disney World. Each week, the heads of each division meet end talk it all out. Everyone knows what the other guy is doing. If a decision is to be made that affects more than one division, they all decide - whether it means raising the price of a hot dog or raising the price of general admission.

Card Walker runs Disney as he plays his favorite game - golf (he shoots in the 60s). Expertly and quickly. "I love to hit the ball, but I'm impatient to get to the next shot," smiled Walker.

Moving people is what it's all about - and Disney uses every conceivable mode of transportation. Even an expensive and colorful showboat. Nostalgia reigns. There aren't any mustache-twirling gamblers or dancing girls - but it sure is a fun way to get around!

This impatience became most apparent when Disney World opened. "I wanted to crawl in a hole," admits Walker. "We didn't have time to get scared - it happened so fast. It was a miracle we made it. We weren't finished. We weren't trained. But we did it. Sure, we've got problems. But we've got enthusiasm!"

This enthusiasm, emanating from the president down to the WDW "lodging host" (bellman), kept Disney World going for those first months of calamity. The atmosphere was rough, but employees were so sincere and enthusiastic that a lot of mistakes were simply shrugged off by guests.

Disney masterplanned an entire city in the swamplands of Florida. They opened 2 hotels (1500 rooms) without ever having been in the hotel business before. "We were naive. Hilton never would have done it," quips Jack Lindquist.

Disney did everything on its own, from generating power to operating its own telephone system and computer and mail system. These are merely a few facets of this ultra-modem, vital community. The problems, even with all the enthusiasm, were monumental. Lindquist, based in LA., admits that the California-based personnel dreaded putting a call through to WDW in Florida because the phone system was so atrocious- "I suggested using carrier pigeons!"

Other problems ranged from lost luggage (imagine the trauma to a four-year-old when his security blanket is lost) to improper billing. But through it all, WDW is still turning away 1,000 hotel reservations a day. And repeat convention business has already been booked for next year.

Twirling in Alice in Wonderland's teacups is lots of fun. Even the Mad Hatter would join in the merriment.

The American Bar Assn. convention typifies both the good and bad. In the rniddle of the convention, a power failure knocked out all lights and air conditioning. Management improvised. "We immediately sent the conventioneers flashlights and champagne," states Dick Nunis, executive vice president. "And when they checked out, they found their room rates were cut in half." The tribute came when the Association said if would be back next year.

"We had a lot of growing pains." states Walker. "At first, we wanted to run the hotels separately, but we were wrong. You can't separate merchandising. It's all the same. We can't run our hotels in the typical, traditional way. We have to approach it with the Disney method of moving people. It's actually a people-handling system. We're in the hotel business, but we've got different parameters. Even though we were entirely pleased with our Architects at WDW we've now decided that in the future, we'll do it on our own. If you can design a Matterhorn. you can design a hotel. Everything is one show, and the hotels are as much a part of the entertainment as the Theme Park."

"Creatively, we have all the options. All we have to do is to plug them in and consider the priorities." Dick Nunis admits that these priorities are sometimes problems - the biggest of which are time and money. Disney isn't immune to these traditional dilemmas. But the enthusiasm is so contagious that everything seems to work itself out.

The critical evaluation of what Disney has done in planning its "city" has been mostly positive. Even a sophisticated writer for New York Magazine suggested- only half in jest- that the citv hire the Disney organization to manage its   services. When asked about this, Disney people shrug it off by saying: "Run New York City? Never. The weather isn't right."

(Navigation: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four) 

How It Was Done: Part One

 What you are looking at is the October 15, 1972 issue of "Institutions/Volume Feeding" magazine, in which the magazine announced their annual "Changemaker" award for Walt Disney Productions. It is a 20 page magazinge insert, numbered from page 65 to page 100, meaning it was likely part of a larger publication. You and this magazine are going to shortly become very familiar.

I have not been able to find much information about Institutions/Volume Feeding out there, except to say that it existed and serviced the hotel and dining business sectors. What I can say is that the insert is lavishly produced; well written, with beautiful color photographs - some behind the scenes - and fully fleshed out with interviews of the people who were actually running Disney at the time. Being an industry paper,  the article focuses heavily on the food and hotel side of the new Walt Disney World operation, with very interesting details on buying, cooking, and money handling.

I'm making it sound very technical, aren't I? Here's the thing: in all of my years of reading Disney related items, this is one of the most essential pieces of writing on the company I've ever read. You must read this.

More than being about buying and selling hamburgers and dining tables, this magazine is an industry-inside look at the attitudes and philosophies which ran Walt Disney Productions during its golden era. And, given the current cultural climate surrounding the Walt Disney Company of 2012, it frankly reads like a slap in the face.

I'm not above saying that the executive committee profiled here is beyond critism or reproach - this was written in mid-1972, in the crazy, hazy days following the hugely successful debut of Walt Disney World - these men were flying high, full of optimism and ideas. The Arab Oil Embargo was still in the future, as were the shrinking expectations and horizon of Project Florida's tomorrow. These guys had issues. They thought small, ran the movie studio into the ground, failed to build enough hotels, then blew all of the company's wealth and resources in a single theme park venture.

But they also produced the Polynesian Village, The Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain, Lake Buena Vista, The Empress Lilly, and all of EPCOT Center. Warts and all, this was a company that still dreamed big and did things unconventionally. This was a group of men who sat down and for the first time asked themselves that question which echoes down the musty corridors of the studio: "What would Walt have done?"

These men lived in awe - and fear - of Walt Disney. In retrospect, it's remarkable that the 20th century actually produced such a man, and they lived with him. They were used to pleasing his high standards. And Walt was one of the toughest bosses of all time. You can still feel his prescence in their words here.

So there's that. This article also shows how, until the entree of Eisner in 1984, the Walt Disney Company was very much a small, family run company. They had a single small lot in Burbank that they used as a movie set when they could and two satellites in Anaheim and Orlando. This was the company that was getting into bed with multinational corporations and international governments to build EPCOT Center.

The size of the company today is something none of these men could have predicted, and the Hollywood mentality of the current company is something Eisner brought with him from Paramount. So when you read these men describing how they run the place like it's a corner grocery store, we need to realize both that this approach is impossible today, and that it wasn't very smart back then, either. The same slowpoke approach seen in these pages was what steamrolled this executive team out of existence ten years later. Disney was slow to change and it cost them dearly. So when I say it reads like an indictment, I'm not kidding, but it also needs to be seen in the context of the trouble this sort of thinking caused.

What this is, finally, in an invaluable primary resource for understanding why and how Disney did the things they did in this crucial era. Those just entering Disney circles need to understand this era and the thought it entailed on Disney's part to understand the criticisms leveled at it - not unfairly, I think - today. This ought to be required reading for everyone in the company. It demonstrates, simply and eloquently, their exceedingly high standards and why they asked "What would Walt do?" and why we should still be asking it today.

The issue is split into three articles, each of which will be presented as a separate post, with relevant corresponding images from the text. The first one will be posted tomorrow, with parts two and three following in weeks two and three.

I hope you'll find it illuminating and, like me, a little infuriating. This was the era when saying "a dream is a wish your heart makes" about Disney wasn't marketing bulrush - these men were strange mixtures of businessmen and idealists who pulled the whole castle in the sky down with them.

And now, Passport to Dreams Old & New proudly presents: Walt Disney Productions: The "Imagineering" People Pros!

Third Annual Institutions/Volume Feeding Changemaker Award

In the Magic Kingdom of the entire Disney corporation, emphasis is always placed on the individual-whether he be guest or employee. It is this deep-rooted philosophy - originating from Walt himself - firmly believed and carried out by management, that has been the key to success. It is the constant check for quality and the real, unabashed belief that a guest passing through a turnstile does not necessarily represent a dollar sign. To do this successfully and still maintain a profit is where Disney shines.

This-all of this-is "imagineering." It's innovation. It's a fantasy land on the surface, but behind the scenes it is an efficient, profitable, benevolent operation. The people responsible are professionals-not necessarily food or hotel pros, but people pros.

Those who enter the Wonderful World of Disney-whether they be guest or employee_-come out a little bit different. Happier. Jubilant, perhaps. They have an experience firmly embedded in their Memory Factory. They've been a part of the Total Show. Disney has changed them. Disney is a Changemaker.

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