Headmaster Hideo and his School of Hospitality
We continue sharing the stories of the people honored on Disneyland Park’s Main Street USA windows by telling you about Hideo Amemiya. Hideo was a man who had been a huge part of making the magic at the Disneyland Resort throughout his 30 years as a cast member there. The simple thought of being hospitable to people while they were guests at your location was the magic he sought to bring to Disney Parks.
Hideo joined The Walt Disney Company in 1971 working at the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World. He had a degree in hotel and restaurant management and with it, he was able to bring a level of quality and service to Disney’s policies on guest service and hotel management. The resort operations at Walt Disney World were based on the same standards that were being set at Disneyland. However, “It took some time for true Disney philosophy to become integrated into a hotel operation” Hideo said. And indeed as time went on, so did Hideo and his drive in spreading his standard across Disney’s resorts…and not just in hospitality!
Before joining the team over at Tokyo Disneyland, Hideo was the director of resort operations at Walt Disney World. He assisted in making sure the Disney brand standards were clear and implemented with Oriental Land Company, the owners and operators of the one of the first overseas Disney Parks – Tokyo Disneyland. He also helped in making the Japanese culture clearer to the Imagineers and artists so that the culture would be portrayed properly in the park.
When Hideo finally came to Anaheim to work with the Disneyland Resort, he became vice president and general manager of the Disneyland Resorts Hotels. Then in 2000, he was promoted to senior vice president of Disneyland Resort Hotel where he oversaw the overall operations and 7,000 cast members at the Paradise Pier Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel.
After a lifetime of working the magic, Hideo passed away in February 2001, which was also the year he was honored with a window on Main Street U.S.A.. His window reads “Happiest Dreams on Earth, International School of Hospitality, Hideo Amemiya, Headmaster, ‘We put people first'”. For all that he did, he was also named a Disney Legend in 2005 for all the contributions he did at the Walt Disney Company. So the next time you stay at a Disney resort hotel, be sure to tip your hat to Headmaster Hideo for your magical stay.
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(via Disney Parks Blog)
We hope you’re enjoying all these Main Street USA window history lessons! We’re certainly learning and appreciating all these people’s lifetime of work in creating the Disney magic. Be sure to read the rest of the lessons on the previous windows by clicking HERE.
