Walt Disney World Case Study

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2. Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this study would be to illuminate the very real possibility of secondary disasters, i.e. stampedes, mass hysteria, riots, etc. The images of a forced evacuation of over 40,000 people by a force of untrained individuals are nightmarish. Unfortunately, at a vacation destination as large as Walt Disney World, efficient and accurate training can be a challenge. Any and all attempts to streamline the process and physically and mentally prepare staff members for an unforeseen event are vital.
Honestly, studies similar to this should be conducted in every amusement park; due to large numbers of park attendees and employees across the country, the data potential is daunting. Not all parks offer identical training to employees because weather disasters can be specific to geography (Florida parks may face a hurricane while Midwest parks will receive only residual rains), it is necessary to pare down the scope of the study. For the purposes of this safety study, the focus will be on the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Florida. This will be an in-house study, and it will be approved and sanctioned by the Walt Disney Company. All test subjects will be current employees of the Magic Kingdom and the study results will be used to improve the safety and disaster training within the Company.
3. Problem Statement
On any given day, the Walt Disney World (WDW) Magic Kingdom Park hosts more than 43,000 guests, and around 5,000 employees are on hand to make their visit special (Walt Disney Company 2012). These guests have arrived in a variety of resort conveyances such as buses, boats, and monorails, and family cars and tour buses fill an additional 12,000 parking spaces. The Magic King...

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...peculate as to where, when, and how emergency plans must be created.
9. Conclusion and Recommendations for Further Research
Any self-report instrument holds a certain amount of potential bias due to the nature of personal responses and the biases within the reviewer. It is highly critical, however, that the questionnaire itself remains neutral and unbiased. There must not be prior assumptions stated, nor can stereotypes or generalities become part of the written interview; for example, while it might be useful to learn of employee biases against certain types of guests, it is imperative that the questionnaire not lead the subject toward any conclusions. Similarly, a random sample of employees is required for a non-biased set of responses; all Magic Kingdom employees -regardless of age, race, education, job title – will be requested and encouraged to participate.

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