Scott Wolf: Do you have a favorite memory from your time with the Ambassador?

Diane Killeen: I think probably I'd have to say my favorite memory was Matt Ebeling's year. We had just come off of the 9/11 and we were really focusing on our Cast and we were focusing on military outreach. We had developed a partnership with the USS Shreveport where Cast Members were writing postcards to their service men and women that were serving on that ship.

It was deployed and when it came back in to Virginia, they had written to us and said they were coming, would we send Mickey Mouse and an Ambassador? We decided that we would even though that was on a different coast, because it was our Cast Members that were writing to them.

We got to take Matt and we took a Cast Member, Mike Woodhall, who had actually started our Operation Uplift postcard drive for us.

I was able to go with them and we met the ship as it came in with all the moms and their brand new babies that the fathers had never seen.

It was probably one of the most emotional trips that I'd ever been on, but to see the ship and the crew interact with not only Matt, but Mickey Mouse and the Disney brand was amazing.

Sometimes you get a little callous and you say, "Oh, we work for Disneyland," and we take it for granted, but when you take it out and you see what your brand does and it how it makes people happy, it was really one of those kind of awakening moments and something I will never forget and I don't think Matt will ever forget it either.

One of the main things I hear from Ambassadors about favorite memories is how special those hospital visits are.

DK: Hospital visits I think will always be a part of the Ambassador program. It gives us an opportunity to bring a little bit of Disneyland or Walt Disney World or whatever park you're representing to sick children, although it's very emotional for a lot of Ambassadors, but when you see a child that hasn't spoken or hasn't opened their eyes and you bring Mickey Mouse in and they touch Mickey's hand or they wake up or they speak, it's just remarkable what such a little bit of outreach effort can do.

The morale that happens in a hospital when you bring characters and Ambassadors have an opportunity to read to children...

Is that what they do?

DK: Yeah, they'll read and they'll just do little activities depending on what the child needs at that time. Sometimes they're sleeping or they're in a coma and we just leave a little stuffed animal for them but they know that Mickey's been there.

It's huge, we get comments from parents and they'll call us and write us and say, "My child woke up and they knew Mickey had been there and they got better that day." Whether it's their imagination or not, that's the perception of the Disney brand there.

I always send the new team with the old team because it is a very emotional experience and if you aren't used to it, it's an emotional thing. My first year I actually had to step out... and I have children. Once you've done it you know what to expect, but it's pretty powerful.

It is so powerful that we actually partner with Jeff Hoffman from Disney Worldwide Outreach and they have what we call a Season of Compassion tour and it's a hospital tour and we send the Ambassadors and characters out and Jeff's team actually pays for it. We do west coast and we do east coast and they visit hospitals from Utah, Arizona, Washington, Canada, all of those spots and as many children's hospitals they can visit during that time period. Again, bringing that brand to our local markets and watching the reaction of the children...

It is one of the favorite memories and you'll probably always hear that from all the Ambassadors.

More from Diane:
The role of the Disneyland Ambassador

The Disneyland Ambassador selection process

Once an Ambassador is selected



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