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 Spa Business magazine
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!
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
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 Spa Business magazine
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!
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
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.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
