Idiot's Guide to Imagineering

Awards season is officially underway. The 2026 D-Ticket Awards return November 30, but first, it’s time to reveal this year’s nominees. Stephen, Kaity, Jenny, and Marissa announce all 20 audience-voted categories, celebrating the very best in Imagineering, themed entertainment, Disney Parks, and a few achievements the industry has somehow failed to recognize until now. From genuine Imagineering br...

Happy Halloween, HallowIdiots!  We’re celebrating Halloween the IGTI way. Stephen and Marissa are bringing back the attraction they created live with all of you, this time as a fully produced ride experience. Then Amanda, Jenny, Marissa, and Stephen put some beloved Disney attractions on the chopping block in Kill It, Keep It, Haunt It . One gets destroyed. One stays exactly as it is. And one gets...

Lakeshore Lodge has been called generic, sterile, and even proof that Disney resort theming is disappearing. But the more Disney reveals, the less convinced we are. In this offseason conversation, Stephen and Jenny look at what Lakeshore Lodge might be telling us about the future of Disney resort design, from its playful new recreation spaces and nature-driven storytelling to its contemporary arch...

Disney Believe has plenty of new ideas. It also arrives in a fleet where comparison is unavoidable. In this offseason conversation, Stephen, Kaity, and Jenny look beyond the reveal itself to ask why a ship filled with genuinely exciting additions can still feel surprisingly familiar. From returning anchor experiences like Worlds of Marvel, 1923, and Haunted Mansion Parlor to new additions includin...

This fall, the ImaginIdiots are coming together for Give Kids The World Village. Give Kids The World is an 89-acre nonprofit resort in Kissimmee, Florida, providing weeklong, cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families. From September 28 through November 16, our goal is to raise $1,000 to support the incredible experiences they create for wish families. In this speci...

One month after D23, Disney’s announced future is already starting to take clearer shape. In our Q3 State of the Kingdom, we check in on what’s opened, what’s going vertical, and what’s changed since Disney laid out its latest roadmap. From The Magic of Disney Animation and Tropical Americas to Monstropolis, Piston Peak, Space Mountain Earthrise and a newly updated Toy Story Land attraction, we’re...

Piston Peak surprised us. After seeing the model at D23, what stood out wasn’t just the rides. It was the place itself: the mountains, water, trails, architecture, sightlines, and the way this unlikely Cars-meets-national-parks idea suddenly felt completely believable. In this offseason conversation, Stephen and Kaity dig into why Piston Peak may be one of Imagineering’s most interesting projects...

D23 gave us more answers about Villains Land. Two weeks later, we’re less interested in recapping what Disney announced and more interested in what those choices actually tell us. In our first offseason episode, Stephen, Kaity, and Jenny dig into the bigger creative questions behind Magic Kingdom’s newest land: whether an IP-based project can still be truly original Imagineering, why “Villains Lan...

We’re coming to you from Anaheim after one of the biggest nights of D23 2026. Fresh out of the Honda Center, Stephen, Kaity, and Jenny break down everything Disney Experiences revealed during Horizons: A Carousel of Progress , hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and featuring the Imagineers shaping the future of Disney Parks, Disney Cruise Line, and destinations around the world. We’re talking about wha...

Season 4 comes to an end with our darkest challenge yet. Before Disney reveals more about Villains Land at D23, we wanted one final opportunity to imagine it ourselves. In this special season finale, three Idiots go head-to-head by designing different experiences for Disney's newest announced land. One will create a brand-new attraction, another a themed dining experience, and another a live...

Disney recently announced the biggest overhaul to Carousel of Progress in decades… but how do you modernize one of Walt Disney’s most personal attractions without losing the heart that made it special? For our 100th original Imagineering project , we’re taking on that challenge with a concept built around one simple idea: progress doesn’t require replacing the past. It should build upon it. In thi...

The biggest Disney Parks event of the year is almost here, and the Idiots are making their predictions. In this special D23 2026 Predictions episode, Stephen, Kaity, and Jenny break down what they expect (and hope) Disney will reveal during the Disney Experiences Showcase. From Tropical Americas and Piston Peak to Monstropolis, Villains Land, international park expansions, Disney Cruise Line, and...

Cars Land is already one of the most beloved and immersive themed lands Disney has ever built. So what happens when you try to improve something that's already great? This week, the Idiots head back to Disney California Adventure to tackle one of the most difficult Imagineering challenges we've faced all season: plussing a near-perfect land. After examining the history of Luigi's at...

Tomorrowland is supposed to represent the future… so what happens when one of its oldest attractions starts feeling stuck in the past? This week, Kaity takes on one of Magic Kingdom’s most debated pieces of real estate: Tomorrowland Speedway. We explore replacing the opening-day attraction with Final Frontier with WALL•E & EVE , a new E-ticket space adventure that brings guests to the year 350...

What happens when an attraction isn't just a show, a walkthrough, or an interactive space... but all three at once? This week, Marissa presents her very first solo Imagineering project, transforming EPCOT's UK Pavilion into Alice's Unbirthday Party , a story-driven Wonderland adventure where guests become active participants in a secret celebration hidden from the Queen of Hearts. B...

BOOM BABY! Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris has not received a brand new headline attraction in more than 20 years. For a park widely considered one of Disney's most beautiful, that raises an interesting question: when is it finally time to make a major change? This week, Stephen heads overseas to tackle one of the biggest Imagineering challenges of the season. After weighing several contr...

What happens when a corner of a theme park stops working as one idea and becomes a group of separate experiences that never fully connect? This week, Stephen breaks down one of the most overlooked areas of Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Commissary Lane. While each part of the street still functions on its own, the overall space has slowly drifted into fragmentation, with two dining outlets and entert...

This quarter across Disney Parks brings major shifts into focus as long-running projects move from concept art to real-world construction, classic attractions enter major reinventions, and new lands begin to visibly take shape across Walt Disney World and beyond. In this Q2 2026 edition of State of the Kingdom , we break down the biggest official announcements from Disney, including a landmark rei...

Animal Kingdom broke Stephen this week. After scrapping multiple fully developed concepts (including a Tarzan attraction, a suspended canopy ride, and an Emperor’s New Groove idea that refused to fit the park’s philosophy), the team tackles one of the most challenging design questions in Disney Parks: what is missing on Discovery Island? Inspired by Shanghai Disneyland’s Challenge Trails and groun...

A timeless EPCOT icon becomes the center of a modern debate about how communication continues to evolve in the age of AI. This week, Stephen reimagines the final act of Spaceship Earth, restoring its physical storytelling roots while introducing a new interactive layer that reflects how technology is reshaping human connection in real time. The result is a grounded, thoughtful update that stays tr...

A quiet corner of Adventureland sits directly across from Pirates of the Caribbean but rarely feels like part of the larger story unfolding around it. This week Stephen reimagines that space by repurposing Tortuga Tavern and its adjacent unused stage into Port Royal Provisions, a quick service port eatery paired with a live civic stage that turns everyday guest flow into part of a living breathing...

EPCOT’s Canada Pavilion often feels like a space guests walk through rather than stay in. This week, Stephen reimagines it as a living cultural district inspired by Toronto’s Kensington Market, where layered storytelling, music, and guest interaction turn the upper level of the pavilion into a constantly evolving environment. At the center of it all is a touring 4★Town concert experience that weav...

What does it actually take to expand a theme park that is facing an identity crisis with little to no room to grow? This week, Stephen leads a deeper, more strategic conversation on the current state of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and why the park feels like it is constantly in motion without ever fully expanding. Using the Imagineering concept of displacement, we break down how Disney quietly resh...

What happens when a Fantasyland theater stops feeling like a must-see and starts feeling like filler? This week, Stephen is joined by Jenny and Marissa as we take on one of the most iconic show spaces in the park and ask a bold question: what if Mickey’s PhilharMagic evolves into something entirely new? We explore a reimagined experience built around the Muses from Hercules, reframing them not as...

There’s a version of Disneyland we all know, built on story, immersion, and magic. But what if that’s not the full picture? This week, we’re joined by Roland Betancourt to unpack the central argument of his new book, Disneyland and the Rise of Automation . He argues that Disneyland isn’t just a storytelling engine. It is a highly sophisticated system of industrial automation carefully disguised as...