Disney has announced a $100m fund to transform childrens’ experience of hospital stays. The five-year initiative will start in Texas and roll-out worldwide. We love it, but we’d also like to see a dual focus on prevention, to stop kids getting sick in the first place
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Times when children are in hospital are some of the most upsetting and stressful for everyone involved. Now Disney has announced it will create a new programme for children’s hospitals to help ease this pressure and make the hospital experience less distressing.
The $100m initiative is part of Disney’s Team of Heroes community outreach and philanthropy programme and will start at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Disney has a long association with hospitals going right back to Walt, but this new programme will be more comprehensive and wide-ranging.
Disney is sending in the Imagineers to create a kid-friendly atmosphere and will be using technology to bring characters to life.
RFID will enable patients to customise their hospital stay by unlocking special elements, so their favourite characters surround them for the duration of their time in hospital – enchanted artwork will come alive and interactive wall murals will tell Disney stories.
At the softer end of the experience, children will be able to choose bed linen and gowns, in-room entertainment and ‘play carts’ featuring their favourite characters – all with the aim of reducing fear, relaxing them and raising their spirits.
Finally, in-room, themed pop-up theatres will make just-released movies available specially for kids and parents.
Hospital design is at the forefront of research into ways in which the environment can aid healing, shorten hospital stays and speed recovery, so this initiative by Disney is very timely. There’s also clear evidence that mental state has a significant impact on recovery and wellbeing and we hope a research project will run alongside this initiative to assess the impact of both environmental and psychological interventions on the health of children. That way, lessons can be shared elsewhere, creating a great legacy for Disney.
American children are among the most stressed and medicated on the planet, consuming up to 95 per cent of the world’s Ritalin, meaning many are on strong mood-altering drugs from a very young age and experiencing low levels of mental and physical wellbeing.
We know that up to 90 per cent of disease is epigenetic and only 10 per cent is genetic – so much is preventable.
We would like to see Disney back up its work in the hospital sector with a new focus on prevention to stop kids getting sick in the first place.
With its reach and influence, the company could be a huge force for good in teaching children self-care through its many channels and touch points.
In addition, a new focus on wellbeing in its theme parks would help to keep them out of hospital, leaving those resources for children for whom disease in unavoidable.
In addition to educating, there are many things Disney can do in its attractions – number one, improving the food, with more healthy choices and, dare I say, reducing the sale of soft drinks, which cause or exacerbate a range of serious diseases.
Let’s hope this focus by Disney on kids’ health and wellbeing can embrace prevention as well as cure.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Industry Opinion: Waterparks
More water leisure operators are investing in becoming more accessible, writes WWA's Aleatha Ezra
Industry Opinion: Zoos & Aquariums
Species survival expert Bill Robichaud shares the trials of the saola and what zoos are doing to save this near-extinct creature
Interview: Bob White
Bob White, COO of Village Roadshow, on
weathering a dip in attendance and keeping
his eyes on investment and expansion
Inclusivity: Open to All
Kath Hudson reports on some inspiring
initiatives to help include people who
face physical, social or economic
obstacles to visiting attractions
Heritage: Lofty Ideals
Westminster Abbey is getting an attic
conversion of sorts. We found out more
Waterparks: Under the Weather
Meet the team who helped bring
Epic Waters to fruition – an undercover
Texas waterpark on an epic scale
Profile: Andreas Andersen
IAAPA’s new chair Andreas Andersen sat
down with Tom Anstey to talk about industry
growth, sustainability – and queueing
Theme Parks: Think Big
Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen reveals
details of the park’s €200m expansion
Themed design: The Story Builders
Disney’s Joe Rohde and Scott Trowbridge
and Universal’s Thierry Coup reveal the
secrets of their trade – well, some of them!
Disney has announced a $100m fund to transform childrens’ experience of hospital stays. The five-year initiative will start in Texas and roll-out worldwide. We love it, but we’d also like to see a dual focus on prevention, to stop kids getting sick in the first place
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Times when children are in hospital are some of the most upsetting and stressful for everyone involved. Now Disney has announced it will create a new programme for children’s hospitals to help ease this pressure and make the hospital experience less distressing.
The $100m initiative is part of Disney’s Team of Heroes community outreach and philanthropy programme and will start at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Disney has a long association with hospitals going right back to Walt, but this new programme will be more comprehensive and wide-ranging.
Disney is sending in the Imagineers to create a kid-friendly atmosphere and will be using technology to bring characters to life.
RFID will enable patients to customise their hospital stay by unlocking special elements, so their favourite characters surround them for the duration of their time in hospital – enchanted artwork will come alive and interactive wall murals will tell Disney stories.
At the softer end of the experience, children will be able to choose bed linen and gowns, in-room entertainment and ‘play carts’ featuring their favourite characters – all with the aim of reducing fear, relaxing them and raising their spirits.
Finally, in-room, themed pop-up theatres will make just-released movies available specially for kids and parents.
Hospital design is at the forefront of research into ways in which the environment can aid healing, shorten hospital stays and speed recovery, so this initiative by Disney is very timely. There’s also clear evidence that mental state has a significant impact on recovery and wellbeing and we hope a research project will run alongside this initiative to assess the impact of both environmental and psychological interventions on the health of children. That way, lessons can be shared elsewhere, creating a great legacy for Disney.
American children are among the most stressed and medicated on the planet, consuming up to 95 per cent of the world’s Ritalin, meaning many are on strong mood-altering drugs from a very young age and experiencing low levels of mental and physical wellbeing.
We know that up to 90 per cent of disease is epigenetic and only 10 per cent is genetic – so much is preventable.
We would like to see Disney back up its work in the hospital sector with a new focus on prevention to stop kids getting sick in the first place.
With its reach and influence, the company could be a huge force for good in teaching children self-care through its many channels and touch points.
In addition, a new focus on wellbeing in its theme parks would help to keep them out of hospital, leaving those resources for children for whom disease in unavoidable.
In addition to educating, there are many things Disney can do in its attractions – number one, improving the food, with more healthy choices and, dare I say, reducing the sale of soft drinks, which cause or exacerbate a range of serious diseases.
Let’s hope this focus by Disney on kids’ health and wellbeing can embrace prevention as well as cure.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2018 issue 1
Industry Opinion: Waterparks
More water leisure operators are investing in becoming more accessible, writes WWA's Aleatha Ezra
Industry Opinion: Zoos & Aquariums
Species survival expert Bill Robichaud shares the trials of the saola and what zoos are doing to save this near-extinct creature
Interview: Bob White
Bob White, COO of Village Roadshow, on
weathering a dip in attendance and keeping
his eyes on investment and expansion
Inclusivity: Open to All
Kath Hudson reports on some inspiring
initiatives to help include people who
face physical, social or economic
obstacles to visiting attractions
Heritage: Lofty Ideals
Westminster Abbey is getting an attic
conversion of sorts. We found out more
Waterparks: Under the Weather
Meet the team who helped bring
Epic Waters to fruition – an undercover
Texas waterpark on an epic scale
Profile: Andreas Andersen
IAAPA’s new chair Andreas Andersen sat
down with Tom Anstey to talk about industry
growth, sustainability – and queueing
Theme Parks: Think Big
Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen reveals
details of the park’s €200m expansion
Themed design: The Story Builders
Disney’s Joe Rohde and Scott Trowbridge
and Universal’s Thierry Coup reveal the
secrets of their trade – well, some of them!
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
+ More news
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