The Imagineering Story
When I was younger I was so infatuated with Disneyland. I wanted to know everything about it from its history to all the secrets and behind the scenes in the parks. I owned multiple encyclopedias and history books about Disneyland and would study all the facts before I went to the parks. Disney+'s new original series The Imagineering Story is an emotional docu-series back on the people who make the Disney parks what they are. It dives into the magnificent world of the designers and artists who crate the attractions and experiences in the Disney parks.
The six-part series from Oscar-nominated Leslie Iwerks is an engaging and mesmerizing story centered on Disney history. It is a history of the Disney theme parks highlighting all its successes and failures since the park opening in 1959. Each episode takes on a different era in the Disney company history beginning with Walt building the original park to Michael Eisner expanding the company to Europe. All the facts and stories shared light up audiences and make them gasp. It is the most engaging and intellectual series on the platform. Each episode excites audiences for the next one.
Imagineers stems from the artists, engineers, designers, architects, storytellers, programmers and many more who were tasked with bringing Walt's visions to life and creating space so inventive and magical for guests. The built a foundation for a work space that was a research facility, design studio and think take all in one naming it WED Enterprises. The series covers 70 years of history and the processes and thinkings that went into some of our favorite attractions and experiences in the parks. Audiences get to watch how one idea becomes a reality at the best quality.
Iwerks utilizes archival footage and and interviews with current and former imagineers to share their memories and stories from their time at WED. The interviews take place at the parks in some of the most recognizable locations in the parks. Their anecdotes add sentiment and nostalgia in the series when they relive their memories.
The first episode starts off with the birth of the park while the second and third detail the creations of EPCOT, Disney world, Tokyo Disney and Euro Disney following the death of Walt. Audiences are walked through the conception, development and building of each park and attraction the series focuses on. Time is spent diving deep into the stories behind our favorite attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Audiences are given a behind the scene look at the work that went into each attraction through the interviews and footage. The technology and artwork used in the many attractions are fascinating and sophisticated. It is interesting to watch how one imagineer how an idea to create a thrill ride and it immediately turns into Space Mountain.
As the series progresses so does the technology and attractions. The third episode highlights the focus to turn cinema into rides and that is how Indian Jones and Star Tours are born. They take movie settings and incorporate them into an immersive experience for guests and fans. The amount of time that is taken into figuring out the logistics of how the rides will operate and the sequences involved are outstanding.
The Imagineering Story is enjoyable and educating. It gives an inside look on the process of things so complex and beautiful coming together from the technology to the artwork. This series speaks to the true Disney fans and is made for them. The series offers a great behind the scenes and the episodes transition so well into one another as each is a continuation of the story and highlights a specific era for the company.