Page 21 - Disney Insider Guide

Imagineering a Park

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” As Walt and the first Imagineers were all from a movie-
making background, they used many of the techniques
Walt Disney and expertise they had acquired from the movie
industry for designing and building the parks.
Founded on December 16, 1952, Walt
Disney Imagineering (WDI) is the design Walt also introduced theatrical vernacular to the
and development arm for Walt Disney operation of the park to show that this was not just an
Parks and Resorts, dreaming, designing amusement enterprise, that guests entering Disneyland
and building magical experiences for were stepping into a ‘show’.
guests, all around the globe.
An example of this is the name we have for our
Imagineering has been responsible employees at our parks. To us, they are not
for the creation of 11 Disney Parks and employees, but a vital member of the show. Everyone
the 12th being Shanghai Disneyland, from our performers, custodial staff and ride operators
hundreds of shows and attractions, four are all ‘Cast Members’. And as such, our Cast
cruise ships, numerous resort hotels, real Members do not wear a uniform when they
estate developments and much, much more! are at Hong Kong Disneyland, but rather, a
‘costume’ that is appropriate to the particular
The name ‘Imagineering’ combines the words imagination and engineering.
Building upon the legacy of Walt Disney, Imagineers bring art and science story and setting they are a part of.
together to turn fantasy into reality and dreams into magic. We also use the term ‘onstage’, meaning
everything that our guests see and interact
The very first Imagineers were hand-picked by Walt Disney himself, carefully
chosen from his animation and movie studio. with and ‘backstage’, when our cast members
go behind the scenes.
Since the theme park did not exist at
that time, Walt and his first group of At WDI, careful attention is paid to everything
Imagineers had to invent a new medium onstage. Every one of our lands and attractions is
to tell these ‘dimensional stories’, part of a specific story and as such we don’t want our guests to be taken out of
drawing on their expertise of a life-time that particular story.
in making movies. For example, when our guests are on Main
Street, U.S.A., the story we are telling is that
Utilizing film-making and theatrical
techniques, these original Imagineers laid of a small, American town at the turn of the
down the ground work for the principles 20th Century.
of theme park design, principles which If we were to have, for example, a modern-
we still adhere to today. day phone box, this would remove our guests
from our carefully created world.
At WDI there are more than 140 different job disciplines, ranging from designers,
artists, sculptors and architects, to robotic designers, rockwork specialists, sound Whatever is onstage has to belong to the
engineers and many more. It’s a pretty creative and dynamic group of people. time-period and world we are representing.

WDI has its headquarters in Glendale, California and a field office located at each From the architecture of the buildings down to the fixtures and fittings, we
of the Disney Parks around the world. carefully design every feature to reinforce our story.

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