Though much of their work is clouded in secrecy, the Disney Imagineers have been surprisingly open about their creative process. In autobiographies and nonfiction we’ve learned a lot about how the Disney magic is made possible.
From the tricks of the trade to the meaning of Imagineering itself, Walt Disney Imagineering has a solid idea of what it means to do the work they do. Here are 8 principles every Imagineer commits to.
1. Imagineering is a form of storytelling
When you enter Disneyland, Walt Disney World, etc. you’re becoming part of a story bigger than any one individual. The Imagineers feel strongly that the Disney parks are all stages for their works to perform on. The design of the attendee experience is even referred to by Imagineers as “The Art of the Show.”
Imagineering legend John Hench likened the design of theme parks to making movies, using a lot of principles from filmmaking to develop the parks. One technique that Disney parks regularly use is forced perspective. Designers play with scale to influence audience’s perception of size. Cinderella Castle, for example utilizes this to make it look much taller than it actually is.
2. Brainstorming
Image: Disney To come up with great ideas, Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) churns out a lot of ideas that aren’t so great. Imagineers don’t want to inhibit the flow of ideas, so they encourage a rapid fire of them. They believe that there’s no such thing as a bad idea, at least at first.
Brainstorming sessions are common events at WDI, giving the Imagineers a chance to get together and let the creativity flow.
3. Detail is crucial
The Imagineers’ use of detail is admirable, and a big reason many of us appreciate the Disney parks so much. All the little touches, from the Mickey Mouse symbols all around the parks to the smell of fresh-baked cookies on Main Street, are what make the parks so special. It should be no surprise that attention to detail is an big concern of Disney Imagineers.
4. Kinetics
In The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland, famed Disney historian Alex Wright and other contributors highlight the importance of kinetics, otherwise known as the use of motion, writing that it emphasizes the life and energy of an attraction.
A ride can become more kinetic with the help of moving vehicles, active signage, changes in lighting, special effects or even hanging banners or flags that move as the wind blows. It’s one of the primary tools in the Imagineering toolkit when it comes to designing rides.
5. Don’t give up on a good idea
Imagineers have great respect for their history, and want to utilize every good idea that their predecessors weren’t able to place. A prime example is the Museum of the Weird, a proposed add-on to the Haunted Mansion designed by legendary Imagineer Rolly Crump. After Walt Disney passed, plans to construct the Museum were put on an indefinite hold. The Museum of the Weird never came to be as it was originally envisioned, but elements of it were later ingrained into the Haunted Mansion itself, including chairs with faces, a ghostly organist, a seance chamber, busts and portraits that followed you, and paintings that changed right before your eyes. Rolly’s design for the enchanted gypsy wagon was even altered to become Madame Leota’s Cart.
Still, not satisfied with just that implementation, the Imagineers also coordinated a comic book series about the Museum and its inhabitants called Seekers of the Weird. Learn more about that here.
6. Fulfill specific needs
Imagineers like to have a problem to solve, believing that nothing stirs their creative juices better than a blank document. A lot of the best Imagineering ideas have come out of specific problems that need fixing. The Soarin’ Over California attraction, which debuted in 2001 at California Adventure, is a perfect example of that. The Imagineers wanted to give guests the sense of flight, but didn’t know how to load people into a vehicle efficiently and make sure everyone has a good view. Eventually an Imagineer found an Erector set in his attic, inspiring the design of a ride that simulates the experience of hang gliding.
7. “Blue sky” speculation
Image: Disney
Imagineers firmly believe in coming up with ideas without considering their limitations, at least at first. They always start with something called an “eyewash” — the craziest, biggest, best idea they can come up with that they would explain to fellow Imagineers in extreme detail. The Imagineers are experts at taking dreams and making them tangible largely because they don’t worry about the budgetary or physical restrictions when brainstorming.
8. Keep plussing
Imagineers are all perfectionists and constantly want to make things that are already good better. Walt called the act of trying to perfect something “plussing.” In his mind, as well as the Imagineers’, Disneyland will never be completed. It and the other Disney parks are ongoing endeavors, and will keep growing and changing as long as there is imagination left in the world. We all know the parks never stay idle for long, but it’s good to know how important that constant shift in the status quo is down to the man behind the Mouse himself.
