Disneyland Converts Former ESPN Zone Space Into New Hospitality Training Center for Cast Members
Disneyland has opened a hospitality training center in the former ESPN Zone lobby and arcade spaces, with leader training launched in September.
A long-closed restaurant space at Disneyland Resort has been given a very different second act. Disneyland has turned part of the former ESPN Zone building into a hospitality training center for cast members, tying a vacant space to a broader push to improve the guest experience through staff training.
What changed, who it affects, and when it started
Disneyland has opened a new hospitality-focused training center inside the former ESPN Zone lobby and arcade spaces. The restaurant closed in 2018, and part of the building is now a Lululemon store, but another portion has now been repurposed for cast member development.
The new space is aimed at Disneyland Resort cast members, with a particular focus on leadership training. Disneyland Senior Vice President of Operations Patrick Finnegan said Hospitality Leader Training at the resort began in September. In a LinkedIn post, he said he has been in the room from the first day and on many days since, watching leaders ask difficult questions, learn from one another, and invest in their own development.
The move fits into a larger training effort Disneyland leaders have discussed this year. Earlier in 2026, Brenai De Haro, Director, Operations and Integration at Disneyland, said 60 percent of Disneyland Resort cast members were hired after the 2021 reopening. According to De Haro, many of those employees were new not only to Disney but also to hospitality and service work. She also said the resort had to hire quickly at that time, and much of the training emphasis centered on social distancing rules and COVID safety requirements.
Disneyland has said it is now adding more hospitality instruction, including for cast members who did not receive the full Traditions onboarding experience. De Haro also said leads are being brought into training and offered new development opportunities.
Images shared by Finnegan show the updated interior decorated with early black and white Disneyland photographs. The setup also appears to echo the bench associated with Walt Disney watching his daughters at Griffith Park and dreaming of Disneyland.
Disney leaders have linked the training push directly to the guest experience, stressing that cast members remain central to what visitors remember most about a Disneyland visit.
