How many disney imagineers are there

We collaborate across time zones and continents, and we get our hands dirty. And we track it all with phenomenal project management tools and expert logistics to make sure it all goes exactly where we need it, when we need it.

Imagineers take as much care with what guests experience as they do with the behind-the-scenes elements that support and preserve the show. Hard hats on heads and boots on the ground, Imagineers hit the field as the hundreds of systems and thousands of details are installed, constructed, tested and adjusted on the project site.

In the dead of night, parades are rehearsed, seams are welded, and rivers are filled. A sense of thrill at seeing the project come together is inevitable. As the dust is swept away and the finishing touches are put in place, Imagineers can actually experience their vision firsthand — as thousands of guests soon will.

Did the attraction thrill? Did the theatrical experience awe? Does the land feel immersive? Imagineering, at its very core, is in the challenge resolution business. Imagineering, regardless of your college degree, your role, or your work experience wants individuals that have other talents that are both relative and unrelated to their role within the company.

Imagineering, just as Walt Disney did when he started Walt Disney Imagineering back in , sought out individuals that were not only experts in their respective fields; they were also individuals that had other talents and skills that gave them a little something extra and made them stand out above the crowd. Walt Disney Imagineering likes their Imagineers to have other talents and skills that may or may not be used on a daily basis in their respective role.

Why then, you ask, do they want well rounded individuals? Being an Imagineer not only requires you to be a subject matter expert in your field, but it requires you to creatively solve design and implementation challenges. Having other talents outside your field of study may seem irrelevant at other companies or previous jobs, as they may never been utilized.

At Imagineering, being well rounded is actually encouraged as Disney knows from it 65 plus years of history that well-rounded individuals are better problem solvers and are more fulfilled individuals. To truly be considered for a position with Walt Disney Imagineering, you will need some form of a personal portfolio.

Many people believe their portfolio should be a collection of Disney-like projects. I disagree with this viewpoint. I would not suggest providing a portfolio full of mere carbon copies of existing Disney projects, Disney iconic characters or Disney assets. Being a subject matter expert in your own field is as important as having general knowledge about a multitude of other topics. Becoming a well-rounded Disney Imagineer is about being an individual that is not only an expert in their day-to-day role, but they are also versed in various other subjects.

This individual by trade started out as an architect, worked his way up to through the various levels of management, to his current high-level position. This individual is a brilliant, straitlaced, button down shirt manager-type that has managed large project teams and large Studios within Imagineering. To look at this person you would think management of large projects and teams were his only good attribute.

Once you get to know many Imagineers on a personal level, you begin to realize most have a large bag of tricks and unique talents up their sleeves. This person is a full throttle, master wood worker who hand built his own log cabin out in the wilderness.

He literally cut down his own trees out in the forest, prepped and dressed them, stacked the logs to form the structure, carved elaborate wood details, did his own rough and finish carpentry……. For future Imagineering candidates displaying these types of personal attributes during your interview process and be able to speak to a multitude of topics and personal interests will assist one in being hired.

To be honest, Disney Imagineering can hire pretty much anyone they want. They receive hundreds of resumes and inquiries about open positions every year. Being a large, established, and trusted organization affords them that opportunity.

That said, Walt Disney Imagineering is looking for individuals that are both experts in their field and are knowledgeable about other areas of interest that may have nothing to do with their college degree. Check out our growing glossary! One of the skills, for individuals wanting to become a Disney Imagineer, that could singularly be one of the most important skills to master and continually improve upon: the ability to clearly communicate your thoughts, ideas, and intent. Walt Disney Imagineering is a company filled with endless new ideas; working and molding ideas, developing storylines and creating new technology until, like a master chef, they get the right ingredients for the special sauce that makes great Guest experiences.

Many of the projects that Imagineers work on require hundreds of people, each with their own subject matter expertise and passion. Pulling together a successful theme park attraction, show, cruise ship, hotel, etc. One has to realize the Creative minds and team members have amazing ideas and storylines in their head. The legacy and the history of the Imagineering division is a very rich and complicated one. Ever since the founding of WED Enterprises, when Walt Disney's favorites at the Walt Disney Studios were handpicked to design an immersive themed experience now known as Disneyland, the company has been shrouded in mystery and its secrets are proudly guarded by Disney executives as senior as former CEO Michael Eisner , who had regular meetings with the Imagineers up until a few years before his departure.

In recent years, the company has been decimated and much of the research and development division was laid off, until the point where a few hundred Imagineers were employed by Disney, to perform basic and vital tasks at the theme parks.

Much more recently, as Disney has publicly acknowledged the failures of Disney's California Adventure and the Walt Disney Studios Paris in their original state, and new management has been brought in throughout the company's different divisions, Imagineering has once again begun recruiting and the theme parks are now a buzz of activity, with a new attraction either being developed or having just opened at each of the eleven parks around the world.

In April , John Lasseter , the new Principal Creative Adviser, a position created through the acquisition of Pixar by Disney, made his feelings known about getting back to basics with Imagineering, such as focusing on the storytelling and not the technology so much. In a move which surprised many, he even made it known he would like Walt Disney Imagineering to return to the WED Enterprises name, partly in homage to Walt Disney and partly to regain the spirit that many feel left Walt Disney Imagineering in the late s.

He also said at the Walt Disney Company shareholders meeting in March that he felt that developing attractions based on movies to open in time with the movie's opening was a crucial step in moving Imagineering forward.

The corporate headquarters of Walt Disney Imagineering are in, and have been since the s, Glendale, California. It is for this reason that there is no WDI field office at the Disneyland Resort, which is thirty-six miles away. But staying in California will be a harder choice for Imagineers who specifically want to work for Disney, Baker said. There will be no shortage of theme park creative professionals willing to fill the void left by any exodus from Imagineering that would take with it a wealth of institutional knowledge, according to Baker.

A large-scale exodus of talent is expected early next year when Imagineers must decide if they are moving or not, according to WDW News Today. It is a downsizing, cost-cutting measure. I had a pretty good run. Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative regularly poach talent from each other as one project ends and another begins, according to Dickson, a retired University of Central Florida associate professor of theme park and attraction management.

They know that they live project to project. Imagineering has long been a revolving door of creative talent that ebbs and flows as design teams grow and shrink with each major project at Disney parks around the globe.