Disney Uses Mock Hotel Rooms to Train Park Staff, Entrepreneur Says

Disney trains its theme park employees in replica hotel rooms and mock lobbies at a Florida facility it calls Disney University, Entrepreneur reported in a contributor column published on October 7, 2026.

Writer Seth Porges, who spent a day at the site, described practice spaces where housekeeping workers rehearse resetting rooms and front-desk staff run through check-ins before dealing with paying guests. New hires, whom the company calls cast members, also sit through an orientation seminar named Traditions that sets out company history and a single shared objective for staff across widely different jobs.

The column also detailed the scale of the company's costuming operation: 1,500 employees working out of 46 locations, more than 900 separate costume designs, 746 varieties of hats and a pool of 2.5 million garments. Designers test their own work by wearing it in Florida heat and humidity, and collect feedback from the workers who wear the uniforms daily.

Bianca Cross, manager of costume design and development, said the custodial uniform uses a breathable four-way stretch fabric with adjustable pant hems for wet conditions. Ivan Diaz, director of transportation services, said he moved into the role from a technical job after being asked whether he had considered running a large organization.

This story was first reported by Entrepreneur.