SCOOPS ? WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SCOOPS ? Before Tony Baxter was creating Indiana Jones Adventure , he was scooping ice cream at Disneyland . The practical knowledge gained in operations — paired with his college education — gave Tony an advantage over his peers who only had theoretical knowledge . As Tony explained it to me , working at Disneyland on the front lines “ gave me an edge .” His front-line experience was unique , so he became “ the go-to guy ” because he had a working knowledge of the parks .
Location : Japan Pavilion , EPCOT
Difficulty : Photo by Marissa Alverado
In particular , Tony explained that working at Disneyland gave him insight into guest psychology , especially guest preferences . When it came time to apply this knowledge to Imagineering , Tony had a better understanding of how guests would flow through the parks beyond the theoretical or ideal scenario .
A THEME PARK PARKER Before Dan Cockerell was the Vice President of EPCOT , he was parking cars at the front gate . Like Brian , Dan had also worked at the front desk at Disney ’ s Contemporary Resort ( via the Disney College Program ). Dan described that role as providing “ great training on how to deal with the public … guest service and problem-solving .”
As his college experience was coming to a close , Dan still wasn ’ t quite sure what he wanted to do with his career . His dad , Lee Cockerell ( former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World ) recommended he return to Disney . He applied for a management training program for the opening of Disneyland Paris , which was set to commence a few months later . In the interim , Disney gave Dan a role parking cars at EPCOT , which he did for six months . The operations experience gave him a head start for his role in France . Over the span of 26 years at Disney , Dan worked his way up the ranks of Disney management , with his last nine years spent , successively , as the Vice President of EPCOT , Vice President of Disney ’ s Hollywood Studios , and Vice President of Magic Kingdom .
These three leaders represent a larger group of similar individuals who started as front-line Cast Members at Disney . It just goes to show there ’ s nothing wrong with starting in the “ mail room .” In fact , it might be a key ingredient to achieving your goals .
Follow these signs from the EPCOT parking lot ; who knows where your journey will take you ? PHOTO BY JUDD HELMS