THE ORIGIN OF “IMAGINEERING”

What’s the most important “WED Word” that has been used throughout Walt Disney Productions and the Walt Disney Company? It’s the Disney creative process which is often summed up in one word - Imagineering®️ (im•ag•i•neer•neer’ing)! Imagineering can be used as a proper noun (e.g. Imagineering), improper noun (e.g. imagineering), and various tenses of adjectives (e.g. imagineered). If you say it loud enough you’ll always sound precocious. You can say it backwards, which is “gnireenigamI,” but that’s going a bit far, don’t you think?

“One Little Spark of Inspiration… Right at the Start of Everything That’s New - The Origin of the Word ‘IMAGINEERING’”

Today, Walt Disney Imagineering is renowned as “the world's premier creator of magical and memorable places: in theme parks, resorts, communities, or venues yet to be invented.” But what is “imagineering”?

It seems that the term “Imagineering”, was first introduced during the 1940s by a company called Alcoa. The word was used to describe Alcoa’s blending of imagination and engineering. In 1957, Union Carbide, an in-house magazine, featured an article by writer Richard F. Sailer in which the word was used. The title of that article was “BRAINSTORMING IS IMAGination engINEERING”.

It’s been said that “One Little Spark of Inspiration… Right at the Start of Everything That’s New.” Perhaps inspired by Alcoa, the Walt Disney organization began to use the term. Usually, if Walt needed anything written or communicated, chances are he called Marty Sklar. According to Marty, it was Harrison “Buzz” Price, (Walt’s own trusted reserach economist) who originally “came up” with the “portmanteau,” a combination of imagination and engineering. “Walt loved it,” according to Marty Sklar.

Many have heard the following words spoken by Walt Disney defining “Imagineering”: “There is really no secret about our approach. We keep moving forward - opening up new doors and doing new things, because we are curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We're always exploring and experimenting. We call it ‘Imagineering’ - the blending of creative imagination with technical know-how.” The word “Imagineering” has most commonly been employed by employees of WED, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions.

“IMAGINEERING at WED & MAPO”

What was WED? Founded by Walt Disney on December 16, 1952, the company was originally called Walt Disney, Inc. In 1953, it’s name was changed to WED, standing for Walter Elias Disney. WED was the privately held architectural and engineering design division, now a subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions outside of the shareholder-owned Walt Disney Studios that was mainly used to master-plan, design, and build Disneyland.

Since the early days, the creative individuals at WED had been known as Imagineers. WED Imagineers have been responsible for making certain that Disneyland maintained the standards established by Walt Disney. As a result, Walt Disney Imagineers have been renown for their realization of Imaginative Concepts in Design, Architecture, Engineering and Entertainment! They have specialized in “the blending of creative imagination with technical know-how,” master planning the architectural, graphics, interior, design, and landscape groups that have created and supported outdoor theme shows.

Back in the late summer of 1961, the WED organization moved from the Walt Disney Studios to the Grand Central Business Centre at 800 Sonora in Glendale, California. That year, many made the move to WED Enterprises, like Marty Sklar. Once there, the WED “Imagineers” worked on projects throughout the country.

Following Disneyland was the creation of four major shows for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Around the time that the New York World’s Fair ended, Walt relinquished full ownership of WED, and WED became a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, when it was purchased by Walt Disney Productions on February 2, 1965. WED moved again, this time to 1401 Flower Street in Glendale California and MAPO was officially incorporated. Walt’s related shows from the New York World’s Fair were Imagineered for Disneyland installation and in a related article entitled “Report Displays Disney’s Touch” by Wallis S. Willis, published January 23, 1966, readers were met with a somewhat-new (and yet familiar) term often attributed to Walt Disney - “Imagineering.” By extension, it could be said that those who employed “Imagineering” were “Imagineers.”

The Disney creative process of Imagineering was now further accentuated highlighted in various areas throughout the new WED & MAPO entities.

WED Enterprises was located a few miles from the Studio at 1401 Flower in the city of Glendale. WED Enterprises was the master planning, design, and engineering arm of Walt Disney Productions. Its employees created the original master plan for Walt Disney World and continue to develop overall planning concepts and new adventures and attractions for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

What WED designed, MAPO would build. MAPO was located behind the WED building in Glendale. MAPO fabricated, assembled, and tested prototype systems and components for WED-designed entertainment attractions, and was an integral part of the engineering and installation phase of new projects. Also, MAPO employees were responsible for fabricating all “Audio-Animatronics” figures.

The Imagineering teams at both WED & MAPO were comprised of hundreds of artists, designers, architects, writers, engineers and others with a variety of special skills. For example by 1972, WED Enterprises was comprised of 350 employees, while MAPO Inc. had 250. The individuals of each team continued to bear the responsibility for the Imagineering of all shows, attractions and outdoor entertainment for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot Center and Tokyo Disneyland.

“The Incorporating of WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING”

By 1985, WED Enterprises Headquarters was located at 1401 Flower Street in Glendale, California 9-201-2421 and P.O. Box 40 Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830. The following year (in January of 1986), WED officially changed its name to Walt Disney Imagineering (with the acronym WDI), with Marty Sklar named president of the newly named Company segment (see the photo above). “The name change came about for two reasons,” Marty explained “First, we wanted explicitly to have Walt Disney in the name. When you said WED Enterprises, we knew who it was, but we wanted to be more out front.” Four years later, the word, “Imagineering” became a registered trademark of the Walt Disney Company in 1990.

Now, long after Walt (and Buzz Price), the Imagineers’ work continues to embody the blending of creative and technological innovation with the essence of great Disney storytelling. Today, Walt Disney Imagineering continues to fulfill its mission statement as the world's premier creator of magical and memorable places. The Walt Disney Imagineering name continues to represent those “responsible for the creation - from concept through installation - of Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, real estate developments, new entertainment venues and new media projects” yet to be invented.