4 Ways Funerals and Disney World Are Similar

Funeral Industry News April 29, 2013
Ryan Thogmartin

Ryan Thogmartin is the Founder and CEO of DISRUPT Media, a Funeral Home Marketing Company specializing in social media. Ryan is also a deathcare entrepreneur who has launched; DeathCareJobs.com, PriceMyFuneral.com and Funeral Nation TV.


4 Ways Funerals and Disney World Are Similar

The purpose of this post is to simply convey the idea of “How can that be So?”.

Reason #1. Both deal with emotions. 

Grief is the emotional response to loss.

Disney appeals to emotions by providing an amazing family experience. As I walked the park that evening, observing families in the hotel and park, I thought of our visits to Walt Disney World and I was flooded with emotions…and memories. (see next point) Flawless execution of landscape design...

Reason #2. Both are about memories.

Disney creates memories and a funeral should recall and bring forth memories.

As we walked the grounds of Epcot Center Monday evening, I got teary eyed more than once, thinking about the two trips I have taken there with my family and just watching the families that were there, creating those life long memories. Because I had experienced the joy of bringing our daughters there, I could watch what was going on, knowing that the end result was going to be worth the money and the miles walked in the Florida heat and humidity. I described one such highlight of the evening yesterday in a post entitled,“From the Human Tank”. Precious memories, for sure….dude.

#3. Both are expensive outlays of resources.

Maybe not for the same reasons, but both are expensive.

Whenever you have a premium price, it is imperative that you deliver your services flawlessly and create real value in the eyes of the consumer. If you are going to pay several thousand dollars for an experience, you better get a good one.

Disney understands that. Many funeral providers still need to learn.

#4. Both rely heavily on their customers to refer friends and family to their services.

It is pretty simple. If we do not do a great job of exceeding the expectations of our clients,…and their guests, they are probably not going to talk about us positively…. to be our cheerleaders. Those of us who have them know what I am referring to.

Funerals are obviously very delicate, family events and when we consider the fact that families are composed of members with varying expectations, you can understand why funerals can often become very dynamic situations.

The key will be for us to take the lead in assisting our communities in remembering the deceased person accurately, the way they were when they were alive, helping them heal and complete those important relationships and dazzle them with our intuitiveness and attention to detail.

We will accomplish that in such a way that it becomes a positive experience…an exchange in abundance.

So for now, we will begin the journey and provide peeks along the way.

Those that laugh and scoff today might someday be looking to us for answers…and all you will need to do is ask.

[Via: Excerpt from: [Exclusive] Foundation Partners Employee Shares How They Plan To Change Funeral Service]