The Ambassador program started in Disneyland for their 10th anniversary in 1964 with the first Ambassador Julie Reihm. Walt Disney couldn't make it to every requested appearance during the busyness of the 10th anniversary, the success of the movies, and ProjectX (future Walt Disney World) so he chose Julie, who was a tour guide, to represent him when he wasn't available. Talk about a lot of responsibility to be Walt when he couldn't be there!
While the number of ambassadors for Walt Disney World during a given year has fluctuated from 1-3 individuals since the resort first opened, the current ambassador team represents the nearly 75,000 cast members at Walt Disney World resort. They also represent the cast at Hilton Head, Vero Beach, and the Disney Cruise Line. This is a very big responsibility and those chosen are truly representative of the legacy and ideals that the Walt and the Company hold dear.
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| The Disney Ambassador symbol. You can identify a current ambassador if you see them wearing silver pin with this symbol above their cast member name tag. image source: http://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/community/ambassador-program/ |
I am currently taking a series of classes at Disney University and had the lucky opportunity to be in a class with one of the current Ambassadors, Nathaniel Palma. This was my first time meeting an ambassador, and in some ways I was almost a little awestruck. Here was someone that is literally a representative of the entire company, and I was sitting in class with him! I always enjoy reading the articles the ambassadors write during their cast shadows (they get to follow a role around for the day, learn about it, and write an article for the Hub. They even did a shadow of the Wilderness Explorers recently- my old team!) I was able to work with him on a few group projects in the class and ate lunch with him. It was so cool to hear about his adventures thus far in his role and all the cool work he does. He is probably one of the most positive people I have ever met and was truly genuine in thanking everyone for all the hard work they do. It was an honor to met him and I would love to cross paths with him again someday!
If you are a current cast member I encourage you to look up the Disney Ambassador module on the Hub. There are biographies on each of the past Disney Ambassadors and a lot of cool information including the stories that they post about their shadows!
For those who aren't current cast, or even those who are, the Disney Parks Blog has done a lot of cool articles about the Disney Ambassadors over the years. If you want to learn more about this cool position or these awesome people just search for "Disney Ambassador" in the search area. I've also included a few of my favorite articles down below. Enjoy!
Note: Reading these articles I just realized that Steven Miller was a Disney Ambassador in the "where are the ambassadors are now" type articles! You might recognize Steven Miller from the merchandise articles he writes for the Disney Parks Blog! I worked a little with him during my second PI as a Merchandise Planning intern. I literally walked by his office everyday and talked to him a handful of times during my work there about future items for articles and to help answer guest questions that were being asked on the blog. I can't believe that I never realized that he had been an ambassador! That is so cool. I could totally see him as an ambassador. He even had an important job as his ambassadorship was extended after the events of September 2001. It truly is amazing that at such a large company you have these connections!
Here is a cool interview the Disney Parks Blog had with the first ambassador, Julie. First Disneyland Resort Ambassador Comes ‘Home’ for 50th Anniversary of Disney Ambassador Program
Here is the article from when the current group of ambassadors were named last year (including Nathaniel!) First Disney Ambassador Julie Reihm Casaletto Welcomes New Ambassadors
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