“There’s really no secret about our approach. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
– Walt Disney
A new series from Walt Disney Imagineering arrived on YouTube this morning. We Call It Imagineering pulls back the curtain of Walt Disney Imagineering and gives Disney fans the chance to watch the process of creating magical additions for Disney Experiences. This comes as the Disney starts off a new chapter with the effort to turbocharge Disney Experiences. The new series was introduced in the first episode by Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro.
“It’s an exciting time right now at Walt Disney Imagineering, and it’s an exciting time for The Walt Disney Company. I’m incredibly proud of the ambition of our Imagineers and the future is bright,” said Josh while visiting the Imagineering offices in Glendale this week. He was joined by Disney CEO Bob Iger who added his thoughts on how Imagineers bring magic to Disney experiences around the globe. Iger said, “It’s this unbelievable balanced relationship between art and technology. And when I think about Imagineering, that’s exactly what happens here.”
“We’re always exploring and experimenting. We call it Imagineering – the blending of creative imagination with technical know-how.”
– Walt Disney
Make the Impossible Possible
We Call It Imagineering draws inspiration from Walt Disney himself and the television series he used to launch and share what Disneyland would be. The series promises to showcase the work that Imagineers are doing to shape Disney’s next “great big, beautiful tomorrow.” In a description about the series, Disney shared that Imagineers are the people who “make the impossible possible, and the sky’s the limit as Imagineers take you through how they are designing, innovating and creating these new experiences.” They also share what exactly Imagineering is, beyond just the combination of imagination and engineering. They are the ones that make dreams come true, smiles come to faces, and fill joy in hearts as they experience the incredible and often technically advanced creations that come from Walt Disney Imagineering. This series will show how this is done.
Audio-Animatronics
The first episode in the series is called simply Audio-Animatronics and gives a look behind the scenes at how audio-animatronics are created. This includes quite a wide range of people with a variety of different talents. The episode is hosted by an Imagineer named Matthew who takes people on a tour of Imagineering, and Walt’s Office to see a little bird that inspired it all!
In We Call It Imagineering, the people that make the magic happen on these audio-animatronics get to share, develop, and create these incredible figure. They also give a first-look at several previously unseen audio-animatronic characters from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This includes a look at Mama Odie, Louis, Princess Tiana herself, Ralphie, Byhalia the Beaver, and the original little bird that set the train on the track for what would become Walt Disney Imagineering. The first episode wraps up with Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering Bruce Vaughn sharing what exactly is done at Imagineering. He explained, “As Imagineers, we know our end product isn’t gears or circuits or revolutionary robotic figures that engage with guests in brand new ways, it’s actually emotion in its truest form…that’s why we do what we do, and we’re excited to be sharing this with you.”
Along with releasing the first episode of We Call It Imagineering, Disney has also shared photos of some of the character that were seen in this first episode. They will be soon delighting guests as they ride aboard Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World this summer and then at Disneyland later in the year. Below are photos of Louis, Mama Odie, Ralphie, and Princess Tiana in audio-animatronic form. As can be seen in We Call It Imagineering, these figures are absolutely beautiful and will bring to life this new story in a magical and musical way when this attraction opens. These pictures also reinforce the level of creativity and work that is gone into making characters like these magically come to life for an attraction.
A Look at Tropical Americas
And if that wasn’t enough, Walt Disney Imagineering shared even more! In a separate post on Instagram, Walt Disney Imagineering shared a look at work being done to bring Tropical Americas to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In this short video, Imagineer Neal gives a quick peek behind the curtains to show how Imagineers took a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula to research Mayan temples for this new area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They studied “culture, art, and the architecture of the Maya.” This then led to Imagineers building 3-D models to help visualize the stories that they want to tell in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Check out this video here:
As Disney seeks to turbocharge Disney Experiences, there will be a lot of fun and exciting things coming in the future. Some of the excitement can be found on the Walt Disney Imagineering YouTube and Instagram pages. There will also be plenty of new announcements being made at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this August. Daps Magic will be covering it all so be sure to subscribe to our Newsletter and YouTube page as well!
What do you think of We Call It Imagineering? What was your favorite part of it? What do you think of these new audio-animatronic characters? What do you think about Tropical Americas coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
