Imagination Skyway

Rolly Crump is a retired Walt Disney Imagineer, Disney Animator, and Disney Legend who began at The Walt Disney Studios in 1952. After working on classic films like Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, and Sleeping Beauty, Rolly was recruited by Walt Disney to join WED Enterprises (now called Walt Disney Imagineering). From 1959 until the early 1970's, Rolly worked on projects for the 1964 World's Fair (mos...

The most terrifying attraction to ever be constructed at the Disney Parks, and perhaps the most controversial, was the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Replacing Mission to Mars at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Alien Encounter had a soft opening in December 1994 and officially opened in June 1995. For the next 8 years, Alien Encounter grew a cult following with many Disney fans, espec...

In 1964, Progressland debuted at the New York World's Fair. The original concept dated back to the 1950's, and new technologies allowed Walt and his Imagineers to finally bring the idea to life. Sponsored by General Electrical, Progressland (which later became known as the Carousel of Progress) was an instant hit and saw waits of around an hour at the fair despite an hourly ride capacity of 3,000...

Blaine Gibson was a Disney Legend who worked both at the Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering (then known as WED Enterprises). As an animator, Blaine worked on classic projects that included Bambi, Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Recognizing Blaine's remarkable talent for sculpting, Walt then asked Blaine to join WED Enterp...

George Wilkins is a retired Walt Disney Imagineer who composed a large number of classic songs and area music loops for the Disney Parks and Resorts, especially Epcot. Working alongside iconic Imagineers and composers like Marty Sklar, Kevin Rafferty and the Sherman Brothers, George helped to bring the music to life for Horizons, Journey Into Imagination, Sonny Eclipse (at Cosmic Ray's Starlight C...

From the very beginning, Walt Disney always aimed to raise the bar in movies, shows, and family entertainment. With the Disney Parks, that meant creating a tradition of innovation at WED Enterprises and Walt Disney Imagineering (to "plus" an attraction, as Walt would say). Today, the Disney Parks around the world are full of incredible illusions and special effects that blur the lines of fantasy a...

From the very beginning, Walt Disney always aimed to raise the bar in movies, shows, and family entertainment. With the Disney Parks, that meant creating a tradition of innovation at WED Enterprises and Walt Disney Imagineering (to "plus" an attraction, as Walt would say). Today, the Disney Parks around the world are full of incredible illusions and special effects that blur the lines of fantasy a...

Disney Vacation Club has been creating "vacations you never outgrow" since 1991. Breaking all the rules of traditional timeshare, Disney created a vacation ownership program with an unprecedented amount of flexibility coupled with their world-class Cast Member service. Originally, Disney Vacation Club just had one resort: Disney's Old Key West Resort (then called "Disney Vacation Club Resort"). To...

Floyd Norman is an icon in the world of animation. Beginning with the Walt Disney Studios in 1956, Floyd worked as an animator on films like Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Sword in the Stone (1963), and The Jungle Book (1967). After Walt's death in 1966, Floyd left Disney to co-found his own animation company, and he continued to work on projects for Disney and Pixar throughout his career, including ...

Dan Cockerell is a former executive at The Walt Disney Company who served a number of leadership roles at Walt Disney World, including the Vice President of the Magic Kingdom, Vice President of Epcot, Vice President of Disney's Hollywood Studios, General Manager of Disney's All Star Resort, General Manager of Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campground, and more. Starting in the Walt...

Russell Brower is a three-time Emmy Award winner, Composer, Musical Director and Conductor. For over a decade, Brower was the Senior Director of Audio and Lead Composer at Blizzard Entertainment, developer and publisher of the World of Warcraft, Diablo III, StarCraft II, Overwatch and Hearthstone franchises. Previously, Brower served as a Principal Media Designer and Music Director at Walt Disney...

[Part 3 of 3]: This two-hour tour of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World (Orlando, Florida) includes in-depth analysis and history of this historic land at Disney. In this entertaining and informative tour, we discuss the history of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom, the design of Main Street USA, hidden details you might not have noticed in the parks, and the stories o...

When you visit Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or any other Disney destination, it's important to remember to make healthy choices to maximize not only your health but also your happiness at the most magical place on earth. This extends not only to the food that you eat but so much more. In fact, food only makes up a small part of this conversation. In this episode, I'll chat with The Kingdom Insid...

[Part 2 of 3]: This two-hour tour of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World (Orlando, Florida) includes in-depth analysis and history of this historic land at Disney. In this entertaining and informative tour, we discuss the history of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom, the design of Main Street USA, hidden details you might not have noticed in the parks, and the stories o...

One of the most premium experiences available at the Disney Parks and Resorts is taking a VIP Tour with a Guest Relations Cast Member. VIP Tours at Walt Disney World and Disneyland come with an array of benefits, including having your day planned out by an expert Cast Member; having someone physically walk you around the parks, discuss the history and stories of your favorite attractions, and expe...

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout opened at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in May 2017. While many thought the new attraction would be a simple retheming of Tower of Terror, which had lived at the park since 2004, Joe Rohde and his team of Walt Disney Imagineers thought about the new experience on a much deeper level, creating a ride that most Anaheim locals and...

[Part 1 of 3]: This two-hour tour of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World (Orlando, Florida) includes in-depth analysis and history of this historic land at Disney. In this entertaining and informative tour, we discuss the history of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom, the design of Main Street USA, hidden details you might not have noticed in the parks, and the stories o...

We're continuing our "Marvel-ous May" series with a Marvel This or That episode double-header! On one side of the bracket, we'll place various Marvel heroes into one-on-one face-offs, including Spider-Man, Ant Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Rocket and more. On the other side of the bracket, we'll place Marvel villains into a similar competition, including Dormammu, Hela, Ronan,...

We're kicking off our "Marvel-ous May" series by counting down our favorite moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether these moments make us laugh, cry, cheer, or simply watch our childhood heroes come to life on the big screen, there's no doubting the impact that Marvel Entertainment has had on box office audiences for more than a decade. From Iron Man to Captain America, Thor to Doctor...

Leslie Iwerks is an Academy Award® and Emmy® nominated director and producer and the founder of Iwerks and Co. Over a span of more than 10 years, Leslie has produced films that include The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story, The Pixar Story, Industrial Light and Magic: Creating the Impossible, League of Legends Origins, and most recently, The Imagineering Story, which is now available to s...

Tony Bancroft is an iconic Disney animator from the Disney Renaissance. As an award-winning animator and director, he has produced some iconic characters that Disney fans know and love to this day, including Pumbaa from The Lion King, Iago from Aladdin, Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, and many more. Tony also co-directed Mulan (1998) with Barry Cook and went on to develop various other projec...

The Canada Pavilion first opened at Epcot on October 1, 1982 (the same day that the park opened at Walt Disney World). In addition to its beautiful design, the Canada pavilion also features a CircleVision film attraction called "Canada: Far and Wide", which debuted in January 2020 and replaced the former attraction called "O Canada". Narrated by Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy, Canada Far and Wid...

Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart is perhaps best known as the Genie in the original cast of Disney's Aladdin the Broadway Musical, but his portfolio spans well beyond this role to a number of impressive performances. James has also performed as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton: An American Musical , Bobby in the original cast of Memphis , Lance Strongbow in Rapunzel's T...

Festival of the Lion King was an opening day attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom when it opened at Walt Disney World on April 22, 1998. Throughout the last 22 years, the show hasn't changed much (other than a location change from Camp Minnie-Mickey to Africa) because it remains a fan favorite devoted to the 1994 Disney animated film. In this episode, we'll discuss The Festival of the Lion King i...

"Yehaa" Bob Jackson is a Disney Legacy Cast Member who has been performing at the River Roost Lounge at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort for more than 23 years (dating back to the days when the resort was known as Disney's Dixie Landings Resort). Bob's show is one that many visitors to Walt Disney World know well. Personally, many of my Disney trips as a kid were spent at Port Orleans Rivers...