Disney Institute

[addicted2dizney]

Hi,
I am trying to find out info about the Disney Institute. Am I missing it?

If anyone has a link I would appreciate it! Doing a mommies trip in Sept and maybe something there would be of interest to us. Anyone do anything there or have any suggestions?

 

[doconeill]

The Disney Institute as far as I believe you are looking for it closed several years ago (2003 I believe) and the campus was rebuilt into the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa.

There are still a few programs running under the name, but I think they are completely business-focused, for the CXO/MBA-type crowd I believe.

Here is the current web site:

http://www.disneyinstitute.com/

 

[addicted2dizney]

Thank you! Yes, that is what I was thinking of. Thanks for the background, I never did get there so I had no idea it was the SSR location. Thank you again for the information, I knew my "dissers" wouldn't let me down!

 

[OB1]

I'm sure the Institute sounded like a good idea at the time, but people did not come to vacation at Disney to learn how to draw, pottery, sports, etc. They came to hang out at the parks & vacation. Since it was just a moderate draw, it was a good excuse to tear it down & build a DVC.

 

[addicted2dizney]

I'm sure the Institute sounded like a good idea at the time, but people did not come to vacation at Disney to learn how to draw, pottery, sports, etc. They came to hang out at the parks & vacation. Since it was just a moderate draw, it was a good excuse to tear it down & build a DVC.

yeah, I hear ya.. I am guilty of it's demise too! I probably went to WDW 20 time in the last 10 years and never really thought about going. I have a friend who is a big time gardener and she did a topiary course and loved it. She was the only one I heard that had done a class.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I stayed there in 1998 but didn't do any of the classes. I have a clear picure in my mind of what it looked like but it wasn't anything that screamed "Disney" to me. It felt kind of out of place. I also remember being able to walk to PI, a LONG walk if I remember correctly. I have the old planning video for it though. There was actually a video of just the Disney Institute with some cheesey song about how "you can do it" or something funny like that. My sister and I watched it recently and just laughed and laughed. At least this is an example of when the higher ups realize that they made a mistake and something's not working. It was only open as DI for a short time before redone as Saratogo Springs.

 

[pixie08]

The institute is in fact still around. DH and I did a tour "yuletide fantasy tour" in Dec and both of our guides worked for the disney Institute. The institute today is the place which trains other corporations the Disney philosophy of doing business. Some of the employees occasionally do tours.

What has closed is the public portion of the Institute as well as the villas there which is now SSR.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Disney Institute is still around in "namesake". But, it's not what is use to be when at the SSR property. DH attended the Disney Institute through his company this past fall. They stayed at the Yacht Club resort and attended seminars/classes in the function rooms at the Yacht Club. They also did scavenger hunts in Epcot. He said they were coached on the Disney culture regarding their operation of business and customer service. He enjoyed "most" of it. But, still felt that some of it was filler and redundant to other seminars he had attended through his company. I don't think they'll have their manager off-site there again as it was VERY expensive and there were a lot of people in the bunch who just weren't Disney people. DH does have a cute picture of his group with "Graduate" Mickey.

- Jennifer

 

[wild4dis]

I'm sure the Institute sounded like a good idea at the time, but people did not come to vacation at Disney to learn how to draw, pottery, sports, etc. They came to hang out at the parks & vacation. Since it was just a moderate draw, it was a good excuse to tear it down & build a DVC.

I was at Disney a few times back in mid 90's for a work convention held at Dolphin/Swan and a few of the off site hotels near DD.
DW came a few times and while i was at conference during the day she visited the Parks. One time she did do the Disney Institute and took a culinary class during the day. she said it was awesome and something you normally wouldnt have done during our regular trips with the family/kids

 

[DisneyMusician2]

It still has become very successful with business crowds and corporate training organizers. But really not for the general public.

 

[bradk]

mostly true.

The Disney Institute also conducts some tours. Some are open to the general public such as Backstage Magic and Yuletide Fantasy, some are available only to groups.

 

[DisTeach1]

We stayed at the Disney Institute in 96 and 98, because at that time, it was the only affordable, on-site, two bedroom option for us. The rooms were nice, if a bit dated, and it was a walk to the main building. But, I thought the grounds were beautiful, the bus service was convenient, and we walked to the Marketplace at night. We had a quiet pool practically in our backyard. I miss it sometimes...it was a great place and I hope one day to stay at SSR. It's just so hard for me to give up my Beach Club.

 

[MomtoGKC]

When I was a kid I took a class that was basically like the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We spent at least a 1/2 day touring and learning about all of the background Disney stuff. We had unch at Diamon Horseshoe then met the actors, we saw the electric water parade floats in storage, went underground and saw the costume rooms, etc. We also went over to Epcot and saw the Button People and I forget what else. They gave us a Polaroid camera to use for the day then we got a nice certificate at the end. I think I was about 12-15 so it was between 1984-1987.

Does anyone else remember these kid classes? Did they have anything to do with Disney Institute? I know there were more choices of different classes because my parents gave me a list and I got to pick which one I did.

 

[DisFlan]

We stayed at the Disney Institute in 96 and 98, because at that time, it was the only affordable, on-site, two bedroom option for us. The rooms were nice, if a bit dated, and it was a walk to the main building. But, I thought the grounds were beautiful, the bus service was convenient, and we walked to the Marketplace at night. We had a quiet pool practically in our backyard. I miss it sometimes...it was a great place and I hope one day to stay at SSR. It's just so hard for me to give up my Beach Club.

We first stayed there in 1984 before it was the "Institute" (and before it got to be "dated") - and many times after that. It was also before DVC, and they were the best/only places onsite for larger units. It really was a gorgeous place - with suite villas, townhouses, tree houses and fairway villas (whole BIG houses). And beautiful landscaping, water features and lots of wildlife. The units were HUGE.

We stayed in everything but the fairway villas. Our son's favorite was actually the townhouse - it had a loft. Mine was the Tree House! There seemed to be pools and hot tubs just about everywhere you looked - none of them was ever crowded even when the place was full. There was always a bus stop very close to the villa (and lots of buses).

You could rent a golf cart for $10 (!) a day to scoot around the complex and back and forth to the Village - before it was DTD. (You parked it and plugged it in. You can still see some of the plug-in spots at DTD.) We loved it and were very, very sorry to see it go. When it was torn down, we bought DVC - BWV. We didn't really want Saratoga becaused we liked what had been there more than what's there now - except for the Tree Houses. Those, we like. A lot.

DisFlan

 

[addicted2dizney]

I always wondered where the treehouses were located! Thanks DisFlan for the trip back in time~!

 

[Feralpeg]

Of all the trips DD and I ever took to WDW (and there were many), the time we stayed at the Disney Institute was by far our favorite. We stayed in a bungalow that had a sitting room and bedroom. The room was nice and had a microwave and refrigerator.

What made the trip so special was the classes DD and I did together. We did a cooking class taught by the head chef from the Grand Floridian. We did a drawing class where we learned to make one awesome Mickey. I did an animation class where I learned how to draw and paint cells. At the end of the class, they filmed the cells to make a VERY SHORT film. DD did a backstage tour with other kids. The got to go behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion. The went to the Beauty and the Beast show and went backstage to meet the cast. They got their pictures taken for a headshot and put together a resume. DD loved it!

We were so close to DTD that we could easily walk over, but we rented a golf cart. Back then, you could drive to the Marketplace and park near what is currently the bus stop or your could drive across the golf course to the West Side and park near Cirque.

We had so much fun! I was really sad to see the DI close. It is a shame that others didn't realize how much fun their classes could be.

 

[dizanimator]

I took some classes there, starting not long after it opened. The animation classes were a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. The rock climbing class and photography classes were fun too. What I will miss the most are teh animation events held in late summer, where everyone spent a week learning about and doing animation. During the event, there was little time to go to the parks, but we did get to learn about animation, and at night we heard from animators and others who worked on the movies. The last of the events,held in 2002, the Fifth Annual Disney Institute Animation Event, was a bit different because it was held at the Contemporary and all movies were watched in the Magic Kingdom. This was because the Institute was being changed into Saratoga Springs.

 

[bradk]

you can see the treehouses quite well by taking the boat from PO to DTD

 

[addicted2dizney]

anyone have pictures to post/share of the tree houses? I had never seen them in person. I'll do a search on youtube now as I think of it.

 

[bradk]

i don't have any particularly good ones, but here's a sample