LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Walt Disney World calls its workers, from actors in Goofy outfits to laundry workers, "cast members" to make them feel part of the show. There's a garbage can every 25 steps, so litter will be tossed not dropped. There's a polite way to answer one of the park's most asked questions: "What time is the 3 o'clock parade?"

These nuggets are part of corporate customer service training offered by the Disney Institute, a Florida-based unit of the Walt Disney Co. that has coached thousands of executives and front-line workers from other companies and organizations since 1986. Customers have included Delta Air Lines, IBM Corp., General Motors Corp., Chrysler Corp. and even the Internal Revenue Service and cigarette maker Phillip Morris Inc.

Now the institute has another client: Miami International Airport, which is ranked by surveys as among the nation's worst in service.

Airport employees are taking classes from institute instructors, learning team building, staff relations and communication skills — many formulated by Walt Disney himself.

"Many organizations think they're different from Disney, and therefore can't learn from an entertainment or a parks and resorts business," said Bruce Jones, programming director for Disney Institute. "But then when they get here and work with us a little bit, they find out ... these principles and similarities are transferrable across industries, across cultures, and across different sizes and shapes of organizations.

"Just think of the airport business. The reality is both businesses have millions of people each year waiting in line for a ride."

Disney World and the airport have more in common, including dealing with ground transportation, parking and retail sales. So it made sense for the airport to seek out Disney Institute.

"They understand how to minimize the inconvenience and maximize the entertainment value," airline industry analyst Bob Mann said of Disney.

Early in the training, a handful of Miami airport managers visited the Magic Kingdom, where they were shown examples of how paying attention to detail and removing barriers are integral in making guests happy and keeping them informed.

For example, Disney houses its lockers and wheelchairs to the right of the park's entrance, because studies have shown more people go to the right than the left when they arrive. Cast members wear colorful polo-type shirts to easily identify them — a strategy the airport will use. Store windows on Main Street U.S.A. have names of valuable employees, a reward for service and to inspire loyalty.

A Disney study found that people who were given hard candy with a wrapper at a theme park took an average of about 27 steps before tossing the wrapper on the ground. Hence the spacing of the garbage cans, which are strangely inconspicuous.

By the end of this month, about 400 airport workers and vendors will have attended classes, and some will then train those who work under them. (The training does not currently include airline, TSA or customs workers.) Full-day classes are about $28,000 apiece, Davis said.