What Can Sport Learn from a Day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

As someone who has spent over 25 years working in sport, I always find myself looking at experiences through a different lens. Whether I’m attending a music concert, cultural event or spending a day at a theme park, I’m asking the same question:

What can sport learn from this?

Recently I spent a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and, while the attractions and animals were fantastic, I came away not only thinking of the rides but also about the guest experience. Every interaction, every touchpoint and every detail had clearly been planned with the visitor in mind.

Here are some of my observations and what sports organisations can learn from them.

1. Car Parking Sets the Tone

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

From the moment we arrived, everything flowed smoothly. Car parking was well organised, staff directed vehicles efficiently and it was only a short walk from the car to the entrance.

What sport can learn

First impressions matter.

The fan experience starts long before kick off. Sports organisations should review their parking arrangements, whether on site or through partnerships with nearby businesses and landowners to create additional parking if required. Volunteers should be positioned in parking areas to welcome supporters and direct traffic. Making parking and transport simple removes one of the biggest frustrations fans experience before they even reach the venue.

Ask yourself: Is arriving at your venue simple, or is it the first frustration supporters experience?

2. Make Your App Truly Useful

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

The app was much more than a map. It remembered where I parked the car, showed live wait times, managed FastPass bookings, helped me navigate the park and provided useful information throughout the day.

What sport can learn

Build an app that supporters genuinely need on matchday.

If your organisation has an app, make sure it genuinely adds value. Alongside news, ticketing and merchandise, it should enhance the matchday experience with event information, interactive content, competitions, offers, wayfinding and fan engagement before, during and after the event.

The more useful the app becomes, the more engaged your supporters will be.

3. Friendly People Make a Huge Difference

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

Every member of staff smiled, waved and welcomed guests. We had a small ticket issue entering the park, but it was dealt with quickly, professionally and with genuine friendliness. Security and entry were also efficient.

What sport can learn

People create memories. Invest in customer service training for staff, volunteers and stewards. Recruit people who reflect your organisation’s values and help them understand that they play a major role in the fan experience. When supporters have a problem, treat them as guests in your own home. Solve issues quickly and always aim to leave them feeling valued.

People rarely remember the problem. They always remember how you made them feel.

4. Create Places People Want to Photograph

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

There were iconic photo opportunities everywhere, from the famous Tree of Life to themed areas that encouraged visitors to stop, take selfies and share their experience.

What sport can learn

Give supporters memorable places to take photos. Create authentic locations that celebrate your club, community and history. Add augmented reality experiences where appropriate and use these moments to tell your story while encouraging fans to share their experience on social media.

5. Keep People Entertained

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

Queues were well managed, wait times were clearly displayed and every attraction felt different. The 3D shows combined water, movement and sound to create immersive experiences. Throughout the park, live entertainment such as African drummers added atmosphere between attractions.

What sport can learn

Deliver authentic entertainment that reflects your club, city or country. Introduce new experiences regularly so supporters continue to be surprised and delighted. Spend one hour each week brainstorming fresh ideas that could improve your matchday experience.

Use local musicians, cultural performers, fan competitions, family activities and interactive entertainment that reflects your community.

Never stop improving.  The goal should always be to give fans stories they want to tell afterwards.

6. Help Is Never Far Away

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

Guest experience stations were located throughout the park, making it easy to ask questions or receive assistance.

What sport can learn

Supporters should never struggle to find help. Clearly identify information points and ensure knowledgeable staff or volunteers are available throughout the venue to answer questions and solve problems quickly.

7. Clean Toilets Matter

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

The toilet facilities were spotless throughout the day.

What sport can learn

This sounds obvious but it is often overlooked. Clean facilities make a significant difference to how supporters judge your venue. Consider using these spaces to reinforce your club’s story, values or history through creative branding and messaging.

8. Cleanliness Reflects Pride

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

The entire park was immaculate. Staff were constantly cleaning pathways, emptying bins and maintaining the environment.

What sport can learn

Keep your venue looking its best throughout the event, not just before gates open. Ensure seating areas remain clean and, yes, make sure supporters are not sitting on bird droppings! Small details leave lasting impressions.  A clean venue tells supporters you care.

9. Clear Signage Makes Life Easier

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

Signage throughout the park was consistent, easy to read and always on brand.

What sport can learn

Supporters should never wonder where to go. Review all venue signage regularly to ensure it is clear, clean, easy to understand and reflects your organisation’s brand.

10. Strong Wi-Fi Still Matters

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

Wi-Fi coverage was excellent throughout the park.

What sport can learn

While we all want supporters watching the action rather than staring at their phones, reliable connectivity is still important. Fans want to post on social media, access your app and share their experience. Wi-Fi can also provide valuable data and insights to help improve future fan engagement.

11. Ask for Feedback

What I saw at Animal Kingdom

The day after our visit, Disney emailed a guest survey asking about the experience.

What sport can learn

Many sports organisations already do this, but many still don’t. Ask supporters for feedback after every event and, more importantly, use the information to make meaningful improvements. Never conduct surveys simply to collect data. Collect feedback to create better experiences. In other words, gather the feedback, analysis the feedback, act on the feedback then inform the fans what you have done. Supporters quickly lose confidence if surveys never lead to visible improvements.

Final Thoughts

There were many more examples throughout the day, but these were some of the biggest lessons I believe sport can learn from Animal Kingdom.

Creating an outstanding fan experience does not always require huge budgets. Many of the improvements above cost very little but require planning, consistency and attention to detail.

My Top Three Takeaways

1. Recruit and train brilliant people.

Great experiences are created by great staff and volunteers. Invest in them because they represent your organisation every single day. 

2. Continuously wow your fans.

Audit your current fan experience regularly. Meet supporters face to face, identify what frustrates them most and focus first on improvements that are simple, affordable and make the biggest difference.  Identify the biggest frustrations. Fix the simple things first. Small improvements often create the biggest impact.

3. Tell your story consistently.

Every touchpoint should reinforce who you are, what you stand for and why your organisation matters. Be authentic, live your values and continue building your story over time.  Ultimately create experiences supporters will remember long after the final whistle.

Final Thoughts

Animal Kingdom reminded me that exceptional experiences are rarely created by one spectacular attraction.

They’re created by hundreds of small details delivered brilliantly, consistently and supported by strong storytelling.

About Geoff Wilson

Geoff runs his own consultancy business, with a focus primarily on sport.  Previously Head of Marketing and Communications at the Irish FA, Geoff now consults to a wide range of global sports organisations on areas such as strategic planning, marketing and communications, digital, fan engagement, public affairs, women’s football, league development, club development and knowledge sharing / capacity building programmes.  Geoff has created numerous academic models for the sports industry.  Geoff is on the Advisory Panel at the English Football League and Chair of the Sports Council Trust Company (Sport England organisation).

Geoff has written a book which focuses on ‘developing grassroots sports clubs’ to order a copy check out https://www.routledge.com/Leading-a-Grassroots-Sports-Club-A-Practical-Guide-to-Managing-and-Developing-Your-Club/Wilson/p/book/9781041094883?srsltid=AfmBOooMPgFpXYSGYwNBOLxrR6mYShU8mWeM_rbVCGlipdpjnsfqlqVD

  1. Check out Geoff’s online course in strategic planning at https://geoffwilson.teachable.com/
  2. The other sports models created or co created by Geoff can be found below:

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