Family Entertainment
CREATING SAFE ENVIRONMENTS
Child and family safety is of utmost importance in all of our entertainment environments, including theme parks, theaters, playrooms, television and online. We take extra care to provide kids and parents with the information and tools they need to keep safety in mind.
Content Safety
All of our media networks maintain high standards designed to deliver programming that is age-appropriate for their audiences. For our Disney-branded entertainment – such as Disney Channel, Radio Disney and Disney XD – our Standards and Practices department reviews shows through development and production, taking into account applicable legal requirements, viewer expectations and the Disney brand. The department also applies appropriate age and content ratings.
Product Safety
The safety of products bearing our brands and characters is extremely important to us. Disney's Product Integrity team of safety professionals oversees our product safety efforts around the world. The team also actively participates in the development and maintenance of standards for toys and other products. To learn more, visit the Product Safety section within Supply Chain.
Online Safety
Disney.com maintains a dedicated Internet safety site for parents, developed in coordination with renowned online safety advocate Parry Aftab. The site features videos and other content that offers parents valuable online safety tips and tools, including asking questions, establishing guidelines and safety rules, and dealing with cyber bullies.
In January 2010, Disney and Common Sense Media launched a kid-focused Internet and digital media safety campaign. It is also intended to get parents thinking about how media and technology fit into family life. Featuring characters from Disney's hit animated series "Phineas and Ferb," this campaign provides extensive tips for kids and families. To learn more, visit the feature story.
Disney also works with several organizations such as the Family Online Safety Institute, Childnet International and Netsmartz in our ongoing education efforts for kids and parents.
Disney's commitment to online safety extends to its virtual worlds, such as Club Penguin, World of Cars Online, and Pixie Hollow. These online environments allow kids to play games and interact with other players from around the world. This interactive platform amplifies the importance of employing strict safety policies and precautions to protect the safety and privacy of players.
Club Penguin, for example, incorporates a range of human and technological processes and tools to create a fun and safe experience. Live moderators monitor online activity. Chat filters are designed to prevent communication of inappropriate or personally identifiable information, such as phone numbers.
Club Penguin also encourages users to be aware of their online interactions. The registration process to play in the virtual world is designed to ensure players truly understand policies, proper behavior and safety before they begin to play. The innovative and enjoyable experience seamlessly integrates education about online safety in a way that helps parents and kids better protect themselves online.
Park Safety and Accessibility
A visit to Walt Disney Parks & Resorts may include a wide variety of activities, such as riding attractions, dining, swimming and attending live entertainment. Guest and cast safety is a top priority at all of our properties. Our approach to safety is wide-ranging and includes nurturing our cast's safety culture, implementing behind-the-scenes safety precautions, collaborating with stakeholders, and helping families make safe decisions. In addition, Disney parks are leaders in accessibility for guests with disabilities.Our most recent Report on Safety provides a summary of safety programs across all of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts' operations.
Workplace Safety
Disney Parks have a rich heritage of safety that is based on four quality standards, the Four Keys. Safety is the first of these keys – followed by Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency – that ensures our resorts are safe places where families can visit together and enjoy themselves. The company is committed to a culture of safety and our vision of "no one gets hurt."
Our cast and crew members are actively involved in our safety culture. They receive extensive safety training and resources to maintain their own personal safety as well as that of their coworkers and our guests. They are taught to put safety first at all times.
Safety by Design
Safety considerations are part of the design and operations process starting from the concept of an attraction through manufacturing, operations and maintenance. All of our attractions are designed and operated to high standards by teams who follow stringent safety standards and utilize proven technologies. While safety is a part of everyone's job, we have a full-time team of engineers, mechanics and electricians dedicated to attraction safety and maintenance at Disney resorts.
Benefiting from experience, we use the results of safety investigations following any incidents to help anticipate and prevent recurrences, and to continue to strengthen our safety practices. We fully cooperate and comply with state inspection and reporting programs, and work with regulators and other theme parks to improve safety throughout the industry.
Collaboration
We proactively participate in national standards committees and industry groups for the education and advancement of amusement ride safety, food safety and accessibility standards. We lead and are members of many committees in organizations such as the National Safety Council and the American Society of Testing and Materials Amusement Ride Safety Standards Committee. Our chief safety officer serves as chairman of both the Safety and Maintenance Advisory Committee and International Standards Harmonization Committee of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
In addition to standards and design, contributing to the safety and well-being of children is a responsibility our company takes to heart. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts collaborates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to share best practices in safety to benefit children and assist us in the development of training tools.
Wild About Safety
Timon and Pumbaa also take their Wild About Safety message to schools across the United States and around the world. UL, with the assistance of various business units of The Walt Disney Company, developed an education initiative to improve children's awareness and understanding of safety and health. Using a curriculum-based approach, children learn safety in the same way they learn reading, writing and math. Disney's Wild About Safety Safety Smart lessons are delivered through a series of DVDs covering topics such as home safety, water safety, environmental safety and fire safety. DVDs featuring the popular characters have been translated into 17 languages.
Accessibility
Disney parks continue to be leaders in accessibility for guests with disabilities. For example, Disney engineers have taken recent advances in wireless technology a step further, creating a first-of-its-kind, handheld assistive device that delivers location-based and synchronized information as guests move through an attraction. Disney has shared this technology with others to benefit a wide variety of retail, commercial and industrial applications. This is being used to provide communication to individuals with sensory disabilities in museums, exhibits and sporting venues.
The newest innovation in this handheld service provides audio description for guests who are blind or with low vision. Narrated information about key visual elements in attractions such as actions, settings and scene changes are provided and works seamlessly with the existing show audio. From the moment a guest steps into an attraction, they are given rich detail of their surroundings and become immediately involved in the experience. Audio description of outdoor areas offers information via an interactive audio menu. This feature lets guests choose the type of information they would like to receive about outdoor areas, from architectural elements to the location of the nearest restroom.
