Milton Erwin Kahl (born March 22, 1909, in San Francisco, California, USA; died April 19, 1987, in Mill Valley, California, USA, of pneumonia) was an animator for the Disney studio. Kahl is often considered the finest draughtsman of the Disney animators. For many years the final look for the characters in the Disney films were…
So you want to build a theme park? by Peter Alexander President; Totally Fun Company What do you do? Where do you start? How about taking some cool rides, and putting them together with some good restaurants, fun stores and pretty landscaping? Well, you can do exactly that, and some people have, but if you…
Mary Blair (October 21, 1911–July 26, 1978), born Mary Robinson, was an American artist best remembered today for work done for The Walt Disney Company. Blair produced striking conceptual art for such films as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Her style also lives on through the character designs for the Disney attraction “it’s a…
Martin A. “Marty” Sklar is The Walt Disney Company’s international ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering, the subisdary of the company which designs and constructs the Disney theme parks and resorts across the world. Sklar was formerly vice president of concepts and planning for the company, before being promoted to president, and then eventually taking the…
One subject that themedattraction.com has not addressed yet is the question of design tools: That is, what tools are used by designers to create theme park attractions? Magic Markers There are three brands of markers that seem to work the best for rendering, and each have their advantages. Prismacolors are nice because they are a…
March 30 , 1913 – January 12 , 2000 ) was a prominent artist and animator for Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Disney’s Nine Old Men , the famed core animators of Disney animated films. Some of the animated characters Davis mainly designed and animated are Thumper from Bambi ( 1942 ), Brer…
Working on the Jungle Cruise in the 1970’s, with Terry Speicher: Terry Speicher is a theme park designer with ITEC Productions and a former Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise Skipper from the opening days of Walt Disney World. These are some of his recollections in this exclusive interview. Interviewer: Tell us about how you got started…
JGR: Nathan, welcome! Thanks for being with us! NN: Thanks. JGR: The first thing I have to ask is how did you become one of the few skippers to work two Jungles? NN: Well, the hardest part was getting hired into the college program at Disneyland, where only about 10% of applicants made it in.…
The Disney Jungle Cruise Spiel: We have made this list in an effort to preserve the many hundreds of witty jokes that have been “spieled” on Disney’s Jungle Cruise for the last 60+ years since Disneyland opened. Many of the very best lines are lost over time as even the official Disney scripts change every…
John Lounsbery, one of Walt Disney’s legendary “Nine Old Men,” was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 9, 1911. He graduated from the Art Institute of Denver, in 1932. Moving to Los Angeles, he submitted his work to the Disney Studios and joined the animation team in 1935. His character animation work included Ben Ali…
John Wood is one of the driving forces of themed entertainment today. Here’s our conversation with the President of “The Great American Dark Ride Company,” the Sally Corporation of Jacksonville, Florida. We have constantly been creating characters, shows and rides to satisfy our need to succeed and our customers hunger for entertainment. A company like…
John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an employee of The Walt Disney Company for more than sixty five years, an exceptionally long tenure which saw the rise of nearly every Disney animated feature and theme park.Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Hench attended numerous art and creative schools across the country, including…
Joseph “Joe” Rohde is a veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, the division of The Walt Disney Company that designs and builds Disney’s theme parks and resort hotels. Rohde’s formal title is executive designer and vice president, creative. He is the lead designer of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one of four theme parks at Walt Disney…
Jack Lindquist (b. March 15, 1927 in Chicago) served as the president of the Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim, California from 1989 until he retired in 1993. He was a Disney employee from 1955 until his retirement, and was a marketing executive in the theme parks division for almost thirty years, including a stint as…
The Waiting Game By Will Wiess “We spent a whole afternoon and only rode two rides. I’m sure you can understand our disappointment.” “We paid close to $50 a person to wait in line for almost an hour…I plan to urge others to avoid it (the park) at all costs.” “I’m tired of waiting hours…
Blue Sky Theme Park Attraction Design Developing the theme for a new theme park attraction may seem like a simple task. Begin with a ride, a restaurant, a retail location or space. Then select from a library of themes and apply it like a template to the space. This thinking may appear to work in…
Eddie – My name is Anthony Preston I have been reading about Eddie and he sound’s just like me. When I was 5 years old I took my first trip to Disney World. I really liked the first thing I saw, which was the Indiana Jones epic stunt spectacular. It really impressed me. I grew…
Eddie – I have always had “ideas in my head” for themed attractions. But I have always struggled getting them out of my head and into a tangible form for others to see and evaluate. At 29, I am looking to totally change my career and pursue the themed industry. I have wanted to do…
Dear Eddie, I’ve wanted to become an Imagineer for as long as I can remember. I am doing a report for algebra class. We have to pick a job that we would like to have when we grow older and explain how math is used in that job. Can you please tell me from your…
A transcript of a speech by Bob Rogers at a forum on the future of themed entertainment From the IAAPA Tradeshow, Orlando, Florida 1997. Image and article used by permission from BRC staff and Bob Rogers. Introduction Harrison “Buzz” Price Bob Rogers is a Renaissance man, a technology buff, and a great storyteller. After leaving…
Franklin Thomas (September 5, 1912, Fresno, California – September 8, 2004, Flintridge, California) was one of Walt Disney’s team of animators known as the Nine Old Men. He graduated from Stanford University, attended Chouinard Art Institute, then joined The Walt Disney Company on September 24, 1934 as employee number 224. There he animated dozens of…
How do you integrate fiber optic lighting into concrete? I am very interested in learning about the fiber-optic lighted pavement features at Epcot Center. Where can I get information about this type of light feature? I’d appreciate any help. Thanks – Joseph For any fiber optic application, there are basically three components: 1) The illuminator.…
by Nate Naversen This is a story of how I got my first job with the Walt Disney company. It’s a story of perseverance and how I managed to turn failure into success in my job search. Now just for clarification’s sake I don’t consider myself any better or any more qualified than anyone else…
How is a new themed attraction generated within the theme park industry? The Central School of Speech and Drama, London by Lynsey Brown Introduction My college experience as a scenic constructor within the theatre industry has encouraged me to find out more about the theme park industry within my profession. I have always been excited…