Disney Institute

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The Disney Institute was a resort and learning center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. opened in 1992, the center was a pet project of then Disney CEO Michael Eisner who saw it as a way for families to learn and play together as well as way to tap into and share Disney employees creative talents and renowned reputation for customer service. In 2003, its main public campus closed to become Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, a Disney Vacation Club resort. The program including accommodations and some meals started at $3,700.^[1]

A number of programs, including the Backstage Magic tour, and various management and professional development seminars are still run under the Disney Institute name but are now focused on groups of 20 or more. Individual programs are available such as the Backstage Magic tour and 3.5 day management seminars. Offsite programs and speakers for keynote addresses at professional conferences and other large meetings are also offered.

In 2003, Disney Institute instructors compiled their customer service courses into a book title Be Our Guest, Perfecting the art of customer service.^[2]

[edit] Day Guests

During its operation as a learning center, the Disney Institute offered programs to day guests as well as those staying at the center. Programs (except where noted) were 2 hours long offered on 2 days during the week:

Celebrations - Guests are taught how to prepare and present themed buffets for a variety of occasions.
Culinary Techniques - Basic cooking principles.
From Field to Plate (6 hours) - healthy, vegetarian fare.
Healthy Cooking - menus (including desserts) featuring nutritious ingredients guests can use to make healthier meals.
Lunch and Learn - detailed introduction to a selected culinary topic ranging from garden salads, paella, and tapas to grains, cooking with flowers, or foods of Provence.
Magic Kingdom Workshop - Guests learn the techniques used in the creation of beautifully decorated bakery cakes.
Romantic Dinners (3 hours) - Meals for two including food preparation and presentation, table settings, music and wine selection.
Studio Bakery - basic concepts and techniques of baking
Taste of the World - dishes of selected countries represented in the World Showcase at EPCOT Center.
Wine, Wonders and Song - learn about wine and how to pair it with certain foods.
Disney Architecture - a 4 hour tour of Disney hotels and buildings by noted architects
Faux Finishing - a class devoted to creating faux marble and other finishes with paint
Canoeing - a water tour through the back canals of the Disney property
Imagineering - a class devoted to exploring creative solutions
Computer Interior Designing - guests used high end, yet very simple 3D modeling programs to develop living spaces
Animation - there was a whole host of various animation classes
Story Telling classes
Genealogy Classes