Imagineering Influence

Imagineering is the working force behind the constant forward motion of Disney. Never standing still, Disney is always striving to achieve new and greater things everyday. Disney goes to great heights to tell a story. Every experience you have at a Disney park or resort is part of a story. The story is lived out and experienced by the guest for their enjoyment, and this is totally dependent on the surrounding environment.

His plan to execute is dream: Walt Disney started off with building Disneyland. It took

And now, nearly four decades after his death, the maker of said creations, Walt Disney, is not nearly as recognized as he should be. Not only are his works and other projects intriguing, his morals and techniques personally behind them are as well. And yet they weren’t just his morals, they were shared by the country’s people who so desired an example of good principles. Perhaps the most significant scheme of all was his creation of his very own amusement park in 1955, Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California.

Disneyland was Walt Disney’s dream of a theme park that would be, in his words, “The Happiest Place on Earth”. Walt understood too well that the people that were hired would need to be taught how to create that elusive atmosphere. He called on Van France to assist him in creating what has become a world renowned training program. This program taught their employees, or “cast members”, to achieve the ultimate result, a “good show”.

     Along with his serious Down to earth side Disney also lived part of his life in the realms of fantasy and imagination. His great love of fantasy and the great lack of family entertainment in America inspired Walt to build a theme park of his own. All of America thought that this time Disney had really gone crazy. As Disney once said about the reactions to his ideas for a park "Almost everyone warned us that Disneyland would be a Hollywood spectacular - a spectacular failure. But they were thinking about an amusement park, and we believe in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have

Walt Disney once said, “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in

Relevance: Walt Disney created Disneyland and Disneyworld because he believed that people who rushed to grow up were selling themselves short. He invented the theme parks in order to bring out the inner child in you, no matter your age.

If there is anything that sparks my imagination, it would be computers. I always enjoyed searching through the lines of code and examining the logic behind the software: the unseen stage hands behind the play, the construction workers behind the skyscraper, the painter behind the painting. However, there was something inside of me that made following my dreams particularly difficult: an inability to speak freely in front of my fellow companions. This was not an ordinary case of stage fright, but an actual medical disorder known as selective mutism. Even so, the world from which I come from was relentless, allowing even the timid a place among the masses. What this world did was empower me pursue the dreams that I now hope to accomplish in my life.

“I’ve always been bored with just making money. I’ve wanted to do things, I wanted to build things, or get something going.” (LeeBron) Disney stated that when he realized that he wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Disney never wanted to be boring or be known as the man who did not have a childhood and was always pushed around by his father. Disney wanted to be successful in life, he wanted the name ‘Walt Disney’ to be remembered, and it will be forever. Disney has achieved many important and exciting accomplishments within his life. He created “full length animated films, short films, live-action features, and television shows” (LeeBron) Disney also introduced theme parks. He created Disneyland in Anaheim, California. He also developed Epcot which stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”, and Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney was an important figure in the 1920s American History because he made a change to the world with the idea of bringing inanimate objects to life with cartoons and created all new kinds of happiness.

One of Pausch’s childhood dreams was to be a Disney Imagineer, when he got his PhD in computer science, his first thought was to apply to become an Imagineer. “...I dashed off my letters of application to Walt Disney Imagineering. And they sent me some of the nicest go-to-hell letters I’d ever received.” (Pausch, 51) Pausch was initially disappointed by Disney’s rejection, but not discouraged. “I kept my mantra in mind: The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” (Pausch, 51-52) Pausch continued to work hard and a few years later, when he was teaching at the

Walt Disney, and his company’s, history with urban planning had an unexpected start. Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., among one of the amusement park’s more ambitious “lands” (and one close to Walt Disney’s heart), inadvertently acted as a model for urban planning at the time of its opening and for years to come. While Tomorrowland was actually set in the future, it was Main Street, U.S.A. that first served as the model for real cities in designing their downtown and entertainment areas. The “land” successfully blended a small town-like setting with amenities often found in large cities, even in its small scale, and became a basis for the most exhaustive park at Walt Disney World: EPCOT Center (and later, simply Epcot).

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible" was one of Walt Disney's famous quotes. Walt Disney has influenced our lives one way or another. From movies on your TV to the book in your hand to the amazing rides at one of his theme parks. Walt Disney has made a huge impact on the business world. His most famous creation, Mickey Mouse, is a universally recognized cultural icon. You can go to any store and find a "Mickey Mouse" on it. Meaning that his creation is even helping many people, that aren't even associated with Disney, make a living off of it. Without the free enterprise system, Disney wouldn't even be near as great as it is today. The theme parks wouldn't be able to own as much land as it does which would make it smaller and less enjoyable.

Animation however was just the beginning for Disney. He also had a love for engineering. Disney combined his love for engineering and imagination, and decided to call himself an “imagineer” (Dehrer 37). This unique combination of artistic and developmental skills was what made Disney’s works so successful. Soon enough, Walt Disney’s “Imagineering” skills allowed him to create one of the most visited theme parks in America.

The Walt Disney Company has seen their share of success in taking their parks and resorts into global markets. “60 years ago, the first Disney theme park opened, in California and was the brainchild of Walt Disney himself, who was motivated by the lack of entertainment options available to him and his two young daughters.” (Forbes, 2016). Disneyland California penetrated the market rapidly, and its popularity led to the opening of Disney World in Florida, followed by global expansion in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong. Their latest expansion came in June 2016, on a 963 acres’ site in Shanghai, China (Xu, 2012). After one year in operation, Shanghai Disneyland is outpacing their most optimistic projections, and the park’s

• We could be getting close to the time for a major Disney attraction in the world’s most populous nation.”