The Magic Is in the Details: What Disney Taught Me About Customer Experience
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5 mins
Becoming a Disney Dad
You know those things you kind of sign up for without realising the full extent of it? That was me with Disney. When my youngest daughter was born, I had a feeling I was on track to become a Disney dad. Her mum and aunties are full-blown Disney fanatics, one of them even danced as Cinderella at Disneyland Tokyo. I figured I’d end up watching a few princess movies and playing along during lounge room performances. That part was true. But I didn’t expect to end up at Disney World in Florida with a 3-year-old leading the charge.
This was a bit of a spontaneous trip after being invited to Billionaire Fred's beach house in Florida. My wife used a Disney travel agent to help plan out our ten-day adventure, yep, apparently Disney Travel Agent is a job title, who knew?
When we arrived, I finally understood why. Disney World is a different beast altogether. There are multiple theme parks, more than 25 hotels, and the property itself is bigger than San Francisco. It has over 70,000 cast members, not staff, cast members… because everyone plays a role in creating the magic.
Every single touchpoint felt intentional. Themed pathways with footprints that matched the storyline of each area. Characters who stayed completely in role. And cast members who treated every interaction like it mattered. You never felt like just another number in the crowd.
Happiness, Engineered
Even the marketing was subtle but genius. While taking the skyliner between parks, an announcement calmly said, "If you look down, you'll see some of the happiest wildlife on Earth." I had to laugh. It was that classic Disney way of embedding their brand into everything. The entire place was a masterclass in world-building and customer experience.
What really stuck with me was how effortless it all felt. Disney had engineered happiness into the tiniest of details — and that’s where the magic really lives. They win the hearts of children, which earns the loyalty (and wallets) of the parents.
How to Bring Disney’s Magic Into Your Business
So here’s the real question: what would it look like if your business delivered moments like that? You don’t need castles or cartoon mice. You just need to care about the little things.
Here’s a simple example. Imagine you're a café owner. A mum walks in with her daughter for a babyccino. Instead of handing over a stock-standard kids' activity, you take a quick photo of the pair, feed it through an AI image tool to turn it into a personalised colouring page, and give it back with some pencils.
What do you think that child’s going to remember? And what do you think she’s going to ask for the next time mum says, “Want to go out for coffee?”
These are the kinds of moments that create emotional anchors — not just for the child, but for the parent too. It's not about spending more money or adding more tech. It’s about using the tools we already have to create experiences that matter.
AI can help with that. It can enhance the experience, scale the idea, and make these little wow moments part of your brand’s everyday story. Because if Disney taught me anything, it’s that the businesses that win hearts, win everything.
