Creative Imagineers use immersive experiences to tell a story.
Call it a Coming of age for Disney Cruise Line. Not only does the family-centric cruise line have a fifth and sixth ship debuting (in 2021 and 2023), it now has its own high-level team of Walt Disney Imagineers based at its headquarters in Celebration, Florida.
So what exactly is an Imagineer? According to Disney, the name “Imagineering” combines imagination with engineering. Building on the legacy of Walt Disney, Imagineers create immersive entertainment experiences, primarily for the theme parks and resorts. Design work on the ships previously took place at the Imagineering campus in Glendale, California, with the cruise line’s operations team in Florida. Now everything from concept to design to development is under one roof.
FROM SHORE TO SHIP_“Hav i n g [th e Imagineers] housed right here together with the business is pretty important,” says Disney veteran Theron Skees, who joined the cruise line in March 2016 as vice president in charge of the creative operation. His previous projects included overseeing design at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) at Walt Disney World Resort, and he’s also worked on attractions including Tower of Terror at Disneyland Paris.
Skees is well versed in the Disney design philosophy, which has storytelling at its core.“We never just build a thing,” he says. “We always build a thing that ties into a story or furthers a story or creates a place where a story can take place.”
In that respect, he sees designing cruise ships as not that much different than land based attractions.
Esta historia es de la edición April 2017 de Porthole Cruise Magazine.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2017 de Porthole Cruise Magazine.
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