Celebrate 100th Anniversary with 2 Books Showcasing Disney History and Imagineering
In addition to the 100th Anniversary celebration, this month Disney is also celebrating Women’s History. Let’s take a look at 2 must-have books showcasing Disney history and Imagineering!
The Story of Disney 100 Years of Wonder
Storytelling is one of the things Disney does best and this new book celebrates the company’s impressive legacy. Rebecca Cline, Director of Disney Archives, shares that The Story of Disney 100 Years of Wonder is basically “Disney 100: The Exhibition on steroids!”
Photo: Disney
Cline started at Disneyland in 1989. She joined The Walt Disney Archives team four years later and is currently the director. Her role is to preserve Disney history and have materials handy for researchers, historians, writers, documentarians, and fans!
Cline contributed to Disney:100 The Exhibition, located at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Speaking of which, today, Disney100: The Exhibition – Making the Magic will be airing!
Photo: D23
Check out our article for all of the can’t-miss details! Disney Parks Blog shares that Cline also lent her expertise to the creation of this book.
Cline says, “We wanted to tell 100 years of history without it being a chronological timeline. We decided to start with Walt because he is the foundation of the company and then look at everything Walt did, things that we still do today. ”
Photo: Disney
She adds, “We created an exhibit that features his philosophies, like the importance of storytelling, innovation, cutting-edge technology, music, as well as preservation of nature and how we portray that in the theme parks and guest experiences.”
Women of Walt Disney Imagineering
Twelve Imagineers joined together to create the Women of Walt Disney Imagineering book. Not only does it tell their story, it also gives fans an inside look at what goes into creating a theme park.
Photo: Disney
In addition, it documents the struggles women have faced in predominately male workplaces. Peggie Fariss is a retired executive creative development Imagineer.
At the end of her career, she was at the helm of the Imagineering Design and Show Quality team at Disneyland Paris. She shares, “in the early years, there were no women in leadership roles.”
Photo: Disney
Fariss adds, “but over time, more and more talented women have come to contribute to all aspects of Disney’s endeavors … and that’s been really wonderful to see.”
Now retired, Elisabete Erlandson started her Imagineering career as a principal concept architect. Over the course of her tenure with Disney, she contributed to EPCOT, World Showcase, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris.
Photo: Disney
She shares, “having an open mind, willingness to constantly learn, being flexible and positive are key attributes to have at the start of one’s career. At the end, you realize you have worked with amazing people, together creating what some define as the impossible.”
These books look like fantastic reads and are great collectibles as well. Pick up The Story of Disney 100 Years of Wonder and The Women of Walt Disney Imagineering at books.disney.com!
