Last September, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced a 60-billion-dollar investment in the company’s Disney Experiences segment over the next ten years. While there have been no official announcements about exactly where all that money will go, Bob reminded theme park fans at this week’s shareholder meeting that 70% (a whopping $42B) will focus on “capacity-expanding investments,” which he described as bringing new lands, attractions, characters, and shows to life.
We were recently invited to the top-secret Research and Development (R&D) department at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, Calif., and we can enthusiastically report that Imagineers are definitely working on some very cool ways to spend all that cash.
So you don’t miss it below, there’s some big news about one of these projects making some magic at Disneyland starting THIS FRIDAY (April 5th, 2024) for Season of the Force. A squad of adorable BD-X Droids will be making daily appearances in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
Meet Lanny
One of Imagineering’s secret weapons is Lanny Smoot, who will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame this year – an honor he shares with only one other person from The Walt Disney Company: Walt Disney himself (inducted in 2000 for his invention of the multiplane camera).
“Being an Imagineer is using technology in service of making people happy,” Lanny said. “That’s the world’s greatest job.”
As Disney’s most prolific inventor, Lanny has over 100 patents (and counting) – so many that he ran out of wall space and now keeps them in a stack on his desk.
Lanny’s latest invention, which we were lucky to see him demonstrate personally, is an omni-moving “HoloTile Floor,” which can sense where people are walking (in any direction) and make real-time adjustments. He noted his floor has potential uses in future Disney attractions and explained that several ride vehicles could move independently in any direction without colliding. For shows and entertainment experiences, the floor can magically move objects and people towards and away from each other – a la The Force.
And speaking of The Force, remember that super cool, realistic, expandable/extendable lightsaber Rey used on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World? That’s one of Lanny’s inventions, too. And now that the Starcruiser is out of commission, who knows where that technology might show up next?
What’s Next?
Since the goal for Imagineering R&D is always “what’s next?” the evolution of next-gen Audio-Animatronics that started with the high-flying Spider-Man stuntronic for Avengers Campus was followed by a roller-skating Judy Hopps and the animatronic Duke Weaselton, who interacted with Josh during the grand opening of Zootopia at Shanghai Disney Resort.
A different team of Imagineers is working on the trio of companion BDX Droids that were play-tested last year in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. These adorable blue, green, and orange walking droids who can adjust to the terrain, plus interact with each other (and with park guests) are expected to make daily appearances in Black Spire Outpost during Season of the Force (April 5 through June 2).
With the debut of Disney’s most advanced Audio-Animatronic figure ever (Elsa in World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland), it seems the days of static figures with a limited range of motion may be gone, which certainly bodes well for the upcoming animatronics-heavy Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
So, maybe $42 billion won’t be so tough to spend after all.
“We Call It Imagineering”
To “pull back the curtain” on some of the Disney magic, Imagineering is launching an all-new YouTube series, “We Call It Imagineering,” which will air on WDI’s YouTube channel starting today. Each episode will delve into a different aspect of Imagineering, with the first focusing on the Tiana and Louis Audio-Animatronics for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (with cameos from Lanny, Duke Weaselton, and the three little droid buddies we mentioned earlier).
“In this new series, we’ll meet the people who dream, create, design, and build Disney experiences around the world,” Josh says in the intro to the first episode. “These are the folks who make the impossible possible [and] we’re inviting you inside, so you can see what our imagineers are working on.”
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Let’s Hear From You!
Are you happy to hear Disney is literally putting its money where its mouth is by earmarking $42B for new attractions and experiences? Is it a good idea to let people see what Imagineers are working on or would you rather the magic stay secret? Let us know in the comments!
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