Disney Institute

[IndianaMouseLover]

I know that the location at is now SSR was constructed from what used to be the Disney Institute. What is the history of the Disney Institute? What was it? :confused3

Thanks!:goodvibes

[mamatojon]

I read this way back when - it is a really cool photo tour Brian Bennett did on mouseplanet when DI was still around. Enjoy!

http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/wdwguide/4_Accommodations/VDI_photo_tour.htm

[disneynutz]

I know that the location at is now SSR was constructed from what used to be the Disney Institute. What is the history of the Disney Institute? What was it? :confused3

Thanks!:goodvibes

Many years ago we took a animation class at the Disney Institute. The class was a week long taught by Disney Animators. We had a great time.

[Parkhopper13]

I stayed at Disney Institute with my family in 1999. Lots of fun. We loved it. At the time, I thought it was the only real place in Disney to stay in a condo/townhome....little did I know about DVC.

[Uncleromulus]

People forget that they had a very good restaurant there as well--Seasons.

[ACDSNY]

We enjoyed our stay there in 2000. Our son really wanted to stay in the Treehouse Villas, but there were too many of us.

[Anthony1971]

I always thought this was where they sent the Disney insane.

I knew about it but never visited.

[JimB.]

I took a rock climbing class there once. It was a really fun time...

[wildernessDad]

The Disney Institute still exists, but not as a place where one can stay the night.

Check out their website at http://www.disneyinstitute.com/

[IndianaMouseLover]

Thanks for sharing. This is all intersting reading.

If you have anything to share about DI I would love to read it.

Thanks!:goodvibes

[WebmasterDoc]

The Disney Institute was fashioned after the Chautauqua Institution (http://www.ciweb.org/) - located in western New York. It styled the campus area after the Chatauqua grounds and used the education/revival theme as it's foundation.

It used the accommodations that were originally part of the Disney Village Resort - which included bungalows, townhomes, Treehouse Villas and Grand Vista suites. These accommodations were spread out over a large area and were left intact as part of DI. Many guests even used golf carts to "get around" the resort.

The DI included a Cinema, a Performance Center and an outdoor bandshell theater in addition to a variety of classroom settings - both outdoor and indoors. Classes in a wide variety of subjects were offered. We took classes in cooking, animation, gardening and one called "As Walt Would Tell It". We also attended a Valentine's Day program titled "Mickey Loves Minnie" which was offered in the Cinema and was taught by a Disney animator who lectured on the relationship of Mickey and Minnie - using film examples. (GREAT program!)

Also offered were TV production, wall climbing, golf, tennis, photography and the list goes on and on ... and on. :)

IMO, the program could have been marketed very differently and the programs could/sould have been promoted more to guests staying at other resorts. There was a DVC discount offered for these programs.

Seasons was a wonderful restaurant with a great chef and very upscale menu - but it was never fully utilized and closed even before the resort itself.

SSR still uses some of the classroom areas, but the outdoor bandshell is now the site for the High Rock Springs Pool. The Cinema is now home to the DVC models for AKV and the Performance Center (used for theatrical programs - and even a poetry reading by James Earl Jones) remains, but is rarely used any longer.

SSR has removed/replaced all of the accommodations formerly part of DI (and Disney Village) - except for the Treehouse Villas, which are now home to foreign CMs. The Treehouses are 2 stories, with a sleeping capacity of 6. None are accessible and a number of them were damaged during the hurricanes of the last few years. They are NOT part of SSR at this time.

[aidansmommy]

How interesting. I think I would have liked the oppertunity-everything with a disney spin, how fun!:)

[pogopossum]

we stayed in a townhome in the late nineties, if i find a picture i'll post it, it had a very corporate apartment feel to it, not a real wdw feel. it was a loft style with two brs on the second floor and a landing overlooking the living area. it was kind of spartan or sterile in decor, but we were on property at a bargain price, with a nice place to relax and play cards and 42 with in-laws. i didn't see it as a bad locale as so many do with ssr, dtd (or the marketplace as it was known then), was nearby. and the buses got us the parks and back in a timely manner. for ea at mk we got there in under 20 minutes.

i understand that before they converted to dvc, the di was used mostly for visiting company reps who came to study the disney way and how to implement in their own companies.

[Uncleromulus]

Re: That Performance center mentioned by Webmaster Doc. They had live performances there and sometimes would even "bundle" it with dinner at Seasons. Once even Mel Torme' played there--I didn't see him myself, but I do have the CD that was made. Then, of course, Mel wasn't able to sing like he used to---