Forget those crazy guests running to the newest ride. At Walt Disney World, it is often the cast members who get to experience the new parks and rides first. This point was reinforced recently when Walt Disney World told its cast members that they would get to experience Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World before the guests do. It’s what Disney calls cast previews.

During my tenure at Walt Disney World,  I experienced many of these offerings, including riding The Living Seas, Splash Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space and Maelstrom] before they were open to guests. It was very strange, and somewhat naughty by Disney standards, to ride Splash Mountain three times in my Epcoty costume, in full view of park guests. Maelstrom was also quite the experience. It was way too fast and very wet, unlike the tame ride that eventually opened to the public.

An even better experience was one where my family and I got to tour both Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom before those parks opening day. I remember thinking that the then-unfinished merchandise shops on Hollywood Boulevard were too small (they were not) and watching as a plethora of cranes popped palm trees into place at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

These types of experiences are smart in two ways.

First, they test the experience. This allows the Imagineers and the opening team to find and correct issues—like that overly fast and wet Maelstrom—before guests experience them. It also allows the opening attraction hosts to practice loading and unloading accommodating “guests” prior to the rush of real guest interaction.

Secondly, this practice builds employee loyalty. Getting to be first to ride something new is a major perk for Disney cast members. It also increases employee knowledge about, and familiarity with, new experiences.

The practice is so ingrained that Walt Disney World leadership recently did something amazing for its cast. A new Tron rollercoaster is being built at Magic Kingdom. After the soon-to-be-installed building support pillars were delivered to the work site, Magic Kingdom leadership invited its cast members to sign those pillars. The snap above shows one cast member proudly pointing to his signature. Those lucky cast members will have forever bragging rights that their names are part of the buildings foundation.

The lesson to take from this is that, although you may not be building rollercoasters, you are building and delivering a customer offering. For better results and to build team pride, involve your employees in the pre-rollout of those offerings. Take care of your employees first so that they can take care of your customers next. This simple approach may become one of the foundations on which you build employee and customer loyalty.