Disney Institute – “Plus it up”, what the heck does that mean?!

The magic and enthusiasm of the Disney Institute workshop is over, now what? This post is about exactly that,  for a small business in Indiana.

If you have attended a Disney Institute workshop, you know that Disney has a term called “plus it up”.   What this means is,  once you have your idea or project done and ready to go, take one more look and see if you can make it just a little better (plus it up).

The example they gave at the workshop was from a scene in Roger Rabbit. There was a hanging lamp over a table in one scene and the lamp gets bumped and begins to sway back and forth. It made no real difference to the movie and the average viewer will probably not even notice.  It did however add a lot of production time to that scene. Why did they bother? Because they wanted to make that scene just a little bit better.  They “bumped the lamp”, another way they refer to “plus it up”.   Next time you watch the movie, check it out.

In my last post I told you I would let you know what we did to “plus up” our project.

Before

The basic room is finished in the above picture but it didn’t have the right atmosphere yet. The awnings were giving it an outdoor feel, so we went with that idea. We added the flower boxes…..

and an old-fashioned lamppost (we actually made this lamppost)…….

And I can’t forget the complementary lollipops in our mailbox.

Remember that unexpected hidden Mickey I mentioned in my last blog?

The bracket was used upside down revealing a hidden Mickey.

Have a wonder-filled day,
Donna

Random me: I married my high school sweetheart.

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Disney Institute – The Before and After

This post is about how the Disney Institute transformed a small business in Indiana.

One interesting exercises at the Disney Institute workshop was to choose one particular vision for your company and how you plan to implement that vision.  I chose to remodel our reception area to better serve our customers and give it a more inviting atmosphere.

It was  hard to accomplish once I returned, because of limited finances and a relatively small space.  Two years after the workshop, and in the midst of the failing economy, I found myself doing a major remodel. Was the timing bad or was it perfect?

I started with three non-negotiable improvements; a convenience counter for drop off and pickup,  a separator wall to protect the privacy of the customers’ mail, and create a better atmosphere.  Once that was accomplished, it was time to take it to the next level.

This is when the fun begins, take an idea and make it just a little bit better.  The Disney term for this is “plus it up”.

Before

After

In my next post, you will find out how we did that and how we ended up with an unexpected “Hidden Mickey”.

Have a wonder-filled day,

Donna Flanagin

Random Me: I was a “Wendy Ward” model.  (Teen model for Montgomery Ward)