Q&A with
Mary Niven
As Vice President of Disney’s California Adventure® Park and Guest Services, Mary Niven oversees daily operation of the park. She has lent her expertise to The Collins College as an active member of the Board of Advisors since 2002. Lisa McPheron, the college’s director of communications and external relations, gets the scoop from Niven about the park’s renovation, healthy eating and building a career with Disney. 32
California Adventure is in the process of a $1.1 billion makeover. How do you approach these renovations while the park is open daily? First, we are committed to creating great guest experiences while we are going through all the construction; we want it to feel just as right. Second, we make sure that the operation requirements are embedded in the design and construction, so when we do bring these new products to life, they work the way we want them to work and create those special memories for the guests. The third piece is getting the cast ready for all the transformation in the park. We think, especially starting next spring with the opening of World of Color, a nighttime extravaganza, that that will be a transformative moment for how people think about this park and use this park. We are working with the leadership team to engage with the cast and get them ready for what their role will be and how they will need to think differently as we move through this transition. What will World of Color be like? You know how the Bellagio has the water show, and have you ever seen Fantasmic at Disneyland? Think of those two things but on a much grander scale. Bellagio has about 50 fountains; ours will have over 1,000 fountains. It will be a