In a world of timeless tales and Cinderella’s castle, a young Dalhousie Engineering graduate is doing her part to put smiles on the faces of millions of people at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Flo Park (BEng’18) is not your typical Disney character. She’s an industrial engineer (IE), tirelessly working behind the scenes to make magic happen.
Her mission: to enhance park efficiency to improve guest experience.
On the walk to her office in Hollywood Studios, one of Disney's four main theme parks in Florida, Park listens to the echoes of laughter as guests embark on the famous Tower of Terror attraction.
Park's days are far from ordinary. As park IE for EPCOT, another of the theme parks, she regularly collaborates with park operators, entertainment teams, and project managers, using data to inform teams on how to streamline guest flow, implement efficient practices, and optimize attraction queues.
On this particular day, she'll be visiting EPCOT to meet with operations teams at “Frozen Ever After” and “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind,” two popular attractions where guests can set out on their own adventures with the beloved characters from the popular Disney movies.
“We’re going to walk the attractions with some of the leaders to identify pain points at attraction load and unload, with the ultimate goal of improving their throughput and wait-time goals,” she says.
Park poses outside the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot.
“Being an IE here is unique because our work directly impacts guest experience,” she explains. “As a Park IE, my work on attractions heavily involves what we call ‘guests carried’, or the throughput, of an attraction. I ask questions such as, 'How many guests can ride in an hour? How does that affect wait time? What is guest behaviour at different times of the day?'”
The power of exploration
Her responsibilities extend beyond rides and attractions, focusing on broader park dynamics — from parking impacts to food and beverage capacities, nighttime spectaculars to character meet-and-greet locations.
Park, who joined Disney in May 2022, says the IE team operates on a rotational program, allowing her and other IEs to support several areas around the company.
The journey from the classroom to the most magical place on earth has been nothing short of a fairy tale for Park. She attributes her good fortune to her time at Dalhousie Engineering, particularly the opportunity to explore different engineering disciplines during her first year of the program before making a commitment to one.
Immersing herself in Dalhousie’s tight-knit community and the chance to engage in diverse extra-curricular activities such as the Dalhousie Theatre Society, Park eventually became president of the Institute of Industrial and System Engineers’ Dalhousie chapter. Through her active participation, she forged connections that would ultimately pave the way for her into the enchanting realm of Disney.
“I know it’s sometimes rare to truly love your job, but I truly love mine,” she says. “I think there’s such a cool aspect of being an industrial engineer at Disney. Honestly, sometimes my job doesn’t totally feel real. I’ve thoroughly and genuinely loved it."
Park poses near Remy's Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot.
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