Over the past few days I have shared some of the experiences my family and I had while vacationing in Orlando, FL last week. It was a trip of a lifetime for my young family. Even though I was on vacation, I couldn’t help but to take in much of the experience through the filter of a pastor and leader. There is much that I learned as I compared our time at Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure and Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The past few days I shared several details about the first impressions and the customer service at the two attractions. Today is more of a brief list of other comparisons.
As I have mentioned earlier, we had a great time at both parks and these posts have not been to tear one down and build the other one up. In all honestly, someone could completely disagree with everything that I have said and probably be right. I am simply sharing some of my opinions and observations while looking at my experience through the filter of church leadership. In my opinion the primary differences between the two parks can be summarized in the world intentionality, or being intentional about everything that is done. This is a great lesson for churches to understand. I have seen far too many churches simply exist. Too many churches that are reactive rather than proactive in their approach to ministry.
Anyway, here are a few other areas that stood out to me …
Twice at Universal we decided to go on a ride because the sign at the entrance stated a relatively short wait time. One example was on a water ride where the sign stated 10 minutes. The ride wasn’t a high priority ride for my kids but I encouraged them to try it out since the wait was so short. Literally one hour and fifteen minutes later we were finally enjoying the water ride. When I asked someone about the difference all I received was an apology. At Disney there were two different times someone in my family was asked to carry a transmitter while waiting in the line. The purpose of the transmitter was to continually give an accurate wait time to be posted at the entrance of the ride. This is an extremely intentional way to show value to the guest.
Another way Disney is being very intentional in the guest experience is with their personally developed smart phone app called “My Disney Experience.” Through this app I was able to schedule out most of my day. I could see when and where all the parades would happen. I could see where the characters were located and the wait time to get a picture or autograph. I could also see the updated wait times and locations for all the rides. Again, very intentional.
The last thing to discuss is the way the day ended at each park. At Universal it was pretty simple. They announced over an intercom system the park would be closing within a certain time and everyone made there way to the exits. That is basically it. At Disney it was a drastically different story. They end their day everyday with three amazing experiences. First comes the Main Street Electrical Parade (I haven’t even talked about their famous afternoon Main Street Parade) of “glowing, spinning, gliding floats filled with beloved Disney characters and dancers.” This is followed by the Celebrate the Magic show where you “take your place in a magical scene as Cinderella’s Castle cascades into a showcase honoring the art of Disney storytelling.” The day culminates with Wishes Nighttime Spectacular. I have seen plenty of firework displays in my life but few could compare. Tinker Bell begins the show “flying” overhead (literally on a zip line flying high above the crowd). Mickey and Walt Disney himself help narrate this final display reminding everyone that “dreams really can come true.” It is important to always end something good (or big) with something good (or big). Any Disney completely gets this. People literally walk out of the park with their jaw still dropped from the experience. Again, this is very intentional on their part.
Yes, I know I probably sound like a child myself retelling these stories of our time at Disney, but I think that is at least part of the goal of the Disney World experience. Even adults can walk away with a “magical” experience.
Everything I saw and will forever remember about this trip to Disney is because someone was very intentional about everything that was done. When Walt Disney came up with the idea for a Disney World I don’t know that even he dreamed it would become what it is today.
So what did I learn? What is my burden? It is this … Disney has a mission. They have something to sell. They sell fun. They sell memories. They sell the experience of a lifetime. Sadly, all of these are temporary. One day they will all come to an end. The church also has a mission. Our mission is of far greater importance than that of Disney. Our mission is to spread the love of Jesus Christ to every man and woman, and every boy and girl on the planet. Unfortunately, I think Disney is accomplishing their mission better than the church. Could it be that this is largely because they are extremely intentional in everything that they do.
I am convinced that we must be much more intentional about how we go about accomplishing our mission. There is too much at stake.
Randy Harp 