Communication and Media Culture

Students Go Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney World Over Spring Break

This March, students taking “Disney: Behind the Scenes” in the department of communication and media culture were able to do just that–go behind the scenes at Walt Disney World. Fourteen students accompanied by Cynthia W. Walker, Ph.D., associate professor and chair, Barna Donovan, Ph.D., associate professor, and data science graduate student, Chris Walker ’18, spent a week exploring WDW’s four major parks in Orlando, Fla. They attended classes about leadership, teamwork and the culture of excellence, explored the utilidors, the tunnels running underneath the Magic Kingdom and wandered through the rows and rows of micro-chipped costumes waiting for employees at Epcot. They also saw the special events room at the Living Seas, spoke with a staff member of Imagineering and competed in a scavenger hunt.