So, you think you're ready to be an Imagineer for real?

[Mufasa]

I thought I'd start up a thread where we could discuss Imagineering in depth- perhaps, answer some questions about how one actually goes about getting into the theme park attraction design field and general questions about Imagineering- the process, the people involved, etc.

So here's where you can ask about Internships, what types of things go on at Imagineering- but I will NOT answer any questions about upcoming attractions (questions like "so when will Mission: Space be opening?" or along those lines). I'll leave those discussions/speculation over for the News & Imagineering forum.

[Mufasa]

So I wanted to start off and maybe talk about Imagineering (and then I'll get into applying for Imagineering and what they're looking for). But first, who or what is Imagineering?

Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. WDI's talented corps of Imagineers is responsible for the creation -- from concept initiation through installation -- of all Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues and new media projects.

Imagineering started out as WED enterprises in 1952 with the development of Disneyland. It wasn't until 1986 when we were recognized officially as Walt Disney Imagineering.

And I should point out that Imagineers come from all sorts of backgrounds (we're all not just engineers)- and the work is not just limited to the theme parks. Imagineers have done projects such as ABC Television's Times Square studios to the "Encounter" restaurant at LAX airport to even things like ABC's Enhanced TV (if you've played along with Monday Night Football or the Oscars broadcast- that was an Imagineering project).

But of course, Imagineering is best known for it's work with the theme parks. Now, Imagineering has it's headquarters out in Glendale, California (just minutes from the studios in Burbank). We also have a field office in Celebration FL and very small field offices at each of the theme parks. By far, most Imagineers are based out of Glendale- I'd say probably 3/4 of the group (with Celebration probably being the next largest group).

[Mufasa]

I wanted to break this up so you're not scrolling through too much info... here's where we get to applying to Imagineering (and also internships).

First question: what are my chances? Well, I don't want to discourage anyone, but to be quite honest it's really hard to tell. Imagineering easily receives several hundred resumes a week and your resume is kept on file indefinitely (you may never know when a position may open up that requires your exact skill set). So if at first, you don't succeed, keep trying.

Now what are they looking for? It really depends on the position. For example, for some of the R&D positions- they generally are looking at 8 to 10 years of professional engineering experience in a creative role and often times preference is given to Advanced Degrees. Each position will have it's own set of similar requirements as far as education.

Now it's not to say that it's an absolute requirement to have a college degree, but let's face it- it's just like any other company out there. You've gotta have the basic knowledge one way or another.

And as far as what do you study? There is no magic formula for a good Imagineer. Tony Baxter (VP of creative services at Imagineering) has said that you "need to become very good at one thing" and he's right because there are so many aspects that go into Imagineering that you really should have passion for what you do. But you also should be a bit of a generalist- someone who is flexible enough and confident that you can handle a lot of tasks well.

So don't worry too much about what to study- study what you love. And strive to be the best at it. There probably is some fit for you within Imagineering.

But of course, the key is landing an interview. So here's the nuts and bolts- If you are going to submit your resume, make sure that you identify which areas you're interested in working in your cover letter. And if you have examples of your work, by all means please send in examples (but be sure to clearly identify what work you directly had a part in). Video submissions should be no longer than five minutes.

When you're ready, you send your resume off to:

Walt Disney Imagineering
1401 Flower Street
P.O. Box 25020
Glendale, CA 91221-0520

As for Internships, they are offered year round and generally are one or two semesters/quarters in length and are geared towards currently registered junior/senior undergraduate or graduate level students (not recent grads). They are paid internships and are offered at both Glendale and Celebration and there are positions for all sorts of majors (but selection is highly competitive). You can find more information on Disney's career website or I'll see if I can get an exact address/fax number where you can request more information from HR.

[devo995493]

Mufasa,

First off, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time out to answer questions on Imagineering, I know there have been hunders asked since I joined the boards 2 years ago.

Secondly, does WDI handle all the design and development for the hotels? Theming, layout, etc?
Or does Disney contract with outside architectural firms?

Thanks.

[Mufasa]

Originally posted by devo995493:
Mufasa,

First off, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time out to answer questions on Imagineering, I know there have been hunders asked since I joined the boards 2 years ago.

Secondly, does WDI handle all the design and development for the hotels? Theming, layout, etc?
Or does Disney contract with outside architectural firms?

Thanks.

No problem... I'll try to answer whatever questions I can and if I don't know an answer immediately I'll try and research it and find an answer.

Now, as far as the design/development for the resort hotels specifically- WDI usually plays a role as far as defining the theme and works in conjunction with the various firms, but each firm is given quite a bit of latitude on the project. It's actually a very successful synergy of ideas that really goes back to some of the work done with Welton Beckett & Associates with the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts (incidentally Welton Beckett was a close friend of Walt's and his neighbor in Holmby Hills).

For other projects (non hotel related) WDI has served as the primary architect/designer and work largely was in-house (an example of these projects would be the ones that were done by the Concept Development Studio that was within WDI)- like the Times Square Studios or Encounter at LAX.

And of course the Theme Park design work (anything from the Castles to the exterior of Indiana Jones)- is handled in-house.

A lot of the success with all projects really has been under the direction of Wing Chao (exective VP of Master Planning, Architecture and Design). Let's look at an example project like the Animal Kingdom Lodge to see how WDI would fit together with outside firms.

The lead architects on the project was the Urban Design Group of Denver (led by Peter Dominick)- they also worked on the Wilderness Lodge. In turn, Urban Design brought in Avery Brooks and Associates of Las Vegas to handle interior design (everything from the lobby to the guest rooms), while Jeffrey Beers International of New York handled the restaurant/lounge designs (including Jiko). WDI's role wasn't limited as the client though- they really set the requirements and worked with the design teams bringing their own researchers and designers to work on the projects, but largely each firm brought on has a great deal of flexibility with these projects. (Disney wants to encourage fresh ideas in architecture but at the same time, there have to be some controls because it has to maintain that Disney look/feel).

I hope that gives some insight- as far as which projects have been done with which architectural firms, here's a short list (largely from memory so please bear with me):

Robert A.M. Stern (coincidentally on Disney's board of directors)- his firm was commisioned to work on Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts, the Boardwalk and Casting Center for WDW. (other projects for Disney include master planning for Celebration, FL as well as the Disney Ambassador Hotel at the Tokyo Resort).

Michael Graves & Associates- they did the Swan and Dolphin hotels (which was largely done under the direction of one of his chief associates- Patrick Burke) The firm recently came back and updated the interior design of the Swan hotel (they handled both the architecture and interior design down to the furnishings/carpet, etc in each room). A somewhat unique project. Other Disney projects include the post office in Celebration, FL as well as the New York Hotel in Paris.

The Grand Floridian was done by the firm of Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo (but largely under the direction of WDI). This project is interesting because it was built on a site that was originally earmarked for the Asian resort that was part of 5 that were originally planned to be built if attendance demanded it (and actually was meant to be built according to one of the annual reports from 1972-73 if I remember right).

Fugelberg, Koch and Associates did the design for the Caribbean Beach Resort, Dixie Landings/Port Orleans, and the Old Key West Resort.

The All Star resorts were largely designed by Arquitectonica of Miami (under the direction of WDI).

Downtown Disney's West Side was master planned by David Rockwell and Associates of New York City, though a number of individual shops/attractions were designed by individual firms.

[devo995493]

Thank you for the insight. I guess I had always assumed that all things Disney were more or less designed by Disney employees.

[Horizon93]

mufasa,

Thanks so much for the info. truly educational. How did you get into imagineering? How long have you been with Disney? Did you always want to do this?

Thanks again.

[Horizon93]

It sounds like you are living a dream. Thanks for sharing. Keep Walt's vision alive!

[MrIMAX]

Thanks for the information Mufasa. Hopefully, I will be able to work with you in a few years.

Does my experience in projection (especially at IMAX), in a way, slightly help on my resume/application?

Also, should I start working at WDW as a Maintenance person before I apply?

Did my arguing with you over "how projection works" in the Philarmagic forum a month ago ruin my chances?

[mickeefan]

Don't know if you have any suggestions here or not, but here goes.
One of our friends grandaughter is a Junior in high school and has an outstanding talent as an artist. she is so good she has her own portfolio already. She would like to make disney her career, but doesn't know where to start.

[Jordan0301]

I'm sure Mufasa will have a better answer for you, but I can share what bit I know from my experience.

First off, what type of art is she interested in? Does she want to be an animator? Does she enjoy landscape art and life painting? What does she love and what does she do best?

Her obvious next step is college, and that will be an important decision. Now, again Im sure Mufasa will have more suggestions, but the best school for artists wanting to pursue a career with Disney I know of is California Institue for the Arts, Burkley. Disney draws a huge portion of their talent from this school.

When I was pursuing the idea of a career in animation, this was the school that I was given backing for by some various animators.


Jordan

[Mufasa]

Originally posted by MrIMAX:
Thanks for the information Mufasa. Hopefully, I will be able to work with you in a few years.

Does my experience in projection (especially at IMAX), in a way, slightly help on my resume/application?

Also, should I start working at WDW as a Maintenance person before I apply?

Did my arguing with you over "how projection works" in the Philarmagic forum a month ago ruin my chances?

I think whatever unique skills/experiences you can bring definitely can only help your chances at landing a career with WDI. You'll never know when that one odd job or course you once took will be useful.

Any sort of position within the parks can definitely help your chances- it's good to get familiar with at least the operations within the theme parks but it's also not a requirement. You should be familiar with a bit about Disney, the history and the characters but you don't have to be a a super trivia buff either.

And I wouldn't say we were arguing how projection works over in the Phiharmagic forum- just providing different facets of information (besides, unfortunately I'm not in HR so ultimately I wouldn't have a lot of influence in the hiring process unless you were to join a project team I was a part of I suppose).

[Mufasa]

Jordan gave a good summary of basically what Disney tells most aspiring artists that are seeking a career with the company, at least as an animator.

My own take on things is that you first need to get a solid foundation. Animators specifically still need to understand the basic fundamentals and their coursework should not only include animation but possibly other avenues of art (life drawing, sculpting possibly, etc). The more you're exposed to it can only go to help you in your career.

I've been asked a lot of times about computer animation and what's required- along the lines of which programs (software) should I focus on, etc- and really I always say make sure you're grounded in the basics. It really doesn't matter what software package you know, more that you know the concepts really well (besides, the studios often use proprietary, in-house developed packages you can't learn anywhere). Sure, there are tools like Maya that are used heavily but that just happens to be what's popular at the moment (a few years ago it may have been Softimage). Spend more time focusing on traditional animation techniques and enhancing your artistic eye in general.

Also, just because you can "draw" the Disney characters as well as you may think you can, won't enhance your chances of landing a job with Animation. (besides, there's a prescribed method of how to learn to "correctly" draw each character that you may wind up "un-learning" a lot of techniques which can be often be frustrating for new animators). Focus more of your efforts on learning character development techniques and maybe specialize in an area of experimental animation (expand that skill-set) and you'll have an advantage.

As Jordan mentioned CalArts is a popular school for both Imagineering and Animation applicants but I'm not going to say that it's necessarily better or offers more chances than any other school. There just are certain schools and programs which offer a program which matches the criteria I outlined above If you're at a smaller school or one that isn't near the animation studios for instance, it's going to be a bit tougher to get a recruiting visit (you'll have to be more aggressive on your end if you really want a career with Disney).

Other schools with similar programs might be Ringling School of Design, The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, NYU, Vancouver Film School and USC amongst others.

[MrIMAX]

[img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Thanks Mufasa! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Your information is greatly appreciated.

I might have some more questions later on.

[ccp1]

Mufasa-

This is one of the most informational threads I've ever read. Thanks!

[Jordan0301]

A good example of what Mufasa was talking about in terms of not learning to draw Disney Characters per say, but find a specialty, would be my friend who is trying to get into Feature Animation.

She right now has built up a portfolio of everything, but has begun really seriously focusing on Animation SFX with water. Like water drops, rain, rivers, etc. etc. Something like that will make you an asset to the company in a specific way as opposed to an "all around" applicant, as many future animators are.

Work with things like lighting in animation, or backgrounds, or facial expressions...something other than just recreating previous Disney art.

At least thats what this uninformed Intercot Member thinks [img]smile.gif[/img]


Jordan

[MrIMAX]

I've got another couple of questions for Mufasa, but it's indirectly related to Imagineering.

If I ever do get hired, chances are that I might be hired at the Glendale location.

I don't want anyone to think that I'm attacking Southern California because I've never been there. But, here are my questions:

Since it's near the Los Angeles area, exactly how safe would living in or near Glendale be? Are there reasonable apartments and housing near the office? Are there any that Disney offers to its Imagineers/employees (for a price, of course)?

I've heard many stories about the quality of life living near LA, and few of them were good. I'd just like to know from an Imagineer's POV.

No matter what the answer may be, I'm still strongly interested in working for WDI, no matter where I may be stationed at.

[Paul]

Mufasa,

Let me add my thanks too for sharing this info.

My story is that I am an electrical engineer with electric utility experience, but my dream job has always been to work at WDW.

The questions I have are:

1. What is the relationship between Imagineering and the WDW Resort. It seems WDI has a small presence in Florida, but that the resort itself has some staff.

2. What is the mix then as far as artistic types versus engineering types. I'm suprised that the responses you have recieved seem more directed toward design.

Thanks again for the info.

Paul

[Mufasa]

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the delays in getting back and posting to this thread (i've been stranded in the Washington DC area trying to make my way down to WDW since Sunday morning without much luck... hopefully I'll be able to fly out again tomorrow). So it gives me a chance to check in and provide an update to some of the questions (I'm enjoying the questions- keep them coming).

Where to live around Imagineering HQ in California? well, the LA metropolitan area is so diverse and spread out that it's probably more important to figure out what kind of activities you're into. (besides, the traffic really is as bad as what everyone says so chances are it'll take on average at least an hour to get where you're going, whether you're 2 miles or 20 miles away). There is no such thing as a short commute.

Glendale itself, or at least where the WDI offices are located is very much an industrial area- chances are you'd probably not even realize you were anywhere near WDI (cross over a few railroad tracks) unless you noticed the street number signs on the buildings that feature Sorcerer Mickey in a design a lot like a CM nametag- there's really no other indication that you're anywhere near the WDI campus.

As far as living in Glendale, Burbank or even Pasadena I wouldn't know (I've moved around from areas like Santa Monica, roomed with a friend around North Hollywood/Beverly Hills all the way south as far as Orange County- Costa Mesa/Newport Beach areas). What really drove my decision as far as where to live while out in California was more what sort of projects I was working on, the amount of travel (proximity to the airport), etc rather than being near the office.

Now, about the relationship between WDI and the WDW resort- I'm not exactly sure what you're asking here. WDI is very heavily involved in the design/construction of the attractions and resorts themselves and while we do maintain a field office in Celebration, we also have smaller locations at each of the parks around the world (these may be things like meeting spaces for the on-site installation team, etc). But the majority of the planning and pre-construction work takes place in California (either on the Glendale lot or Chastain facilities and then some production/fabrication might then move over to Tujunga or MAPO facilities depending on what the project is).

Of course, WDW also has the facilities on-site to handle a lot of construction either at Central Shops and there's the Ride & Show Engineering group right there next to Central Shops.

And as for the mix between artistic/engineering types- well, at the heart everyone has some contribution to make on the design side of things. It has to be in your way of thinking. Because of the "Blue Sky" method that WDI is famous for. I'd definitely consider Imagineering a Design studio first and foremost with the distinction of also having the means and talent to then fabricate our designs in-house.

It's not to say that everyone who carries the title "Imagineer" is an attraction designer (in contrast, there are actually very few who can really hold that title). But it's probably the one that people are most interested in when they think of WDI.

Of course there are specialized engineering positions, whether it's ride and show, the folks in scientific systems, or R&D but it's hard for me to come up with a number or breakdown of artistic versus engineering types, cause chances are so many of us wear multiple hats (plenty of our designers are also very skilled/accomplished engineers).

Finally, for those aspiring Imagineers who are currently in school, I did want to take a moment and mention the "Imagi-Nations" design contest created and sponsored by WDI each year. It's a University design competition to promote diversity.

Your task is to design either a ride, attraction, hotel or themed land and are free to either use the Disney characters or come up with your own ideas and present them however you see fit. Finalists in the competition will be flown out to WDI headquarters and meet the Imagineers as well as have their creations judged by a panel of Imagineers. The winners receive scholarships and the opportunity to intern with WDI (and many of the past competition winners have gone on to work full-time with WDI).

The deadline for this year's competition has already passed, but it gives you something to think about for next year.

To enter, you must be a member of one of these associations: American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE) or be a university student majoring in one of the following: fine art, digital arts, theatrical design / production, and creative writing.

If I can get special permission from the board moderators I'd be happy to post a link here, otherwise send me a PM if you're interested in more information about the competition.

[ February 18, 2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Mufasa ]

[CarrieAllie]

Have you ever been in the WDW College program?