Disney Legend Carl Bongirno Has Passed Away at 86
Disney Legend and former head of Walt Disney Imagineering, Carl Bongirno, has passed away at the age of 86.
Originally joining The Walt Disney Company in 1963, Bongirno would move over to Disney Parks, eventually serving a four-year stint as treasurer for WED Enterprises.
He was then promoted to director of the Finance Division, where he was part of the team behind the highly secretive “Project X,” which eventually morphed into The Florida Project.
“We bought 30,000 acres without anyone knowing,” Bongirno told his hometown newspaper, The Pueblo Chieftain. “Our people went there under assumed names and would take indirect flights.”
Work at Walt Disney World
A year after Walt Disney World opened to the public in 1971, Bongirno was named vice president of finance and treasurer of the new resort.
In his new role, his responsibilities included all financial matters in addition to all service activities, including wardrobe, warehousing, transportation, laundry, and even the Disney telephone company.
Leading Imagineering
From 1979 until his retirement, ten years later, Bongirno led Disney Imagineers as they created the EPCOT Center, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disney-MGM Studios, and laid the foundation for Euro Disneyland. During this period, Borngirno was also a fierce defender of WED Enterprises and its Imagineers at a time when interest in the unit had begun to wane.
For health reasons, Bongirno eventually resigned from his business activities in September 1987, transitioning into a new role as a special advisor to Walt Disney Imagineering. He would continue to assist in the development of special projects until his retirement in June 1989.
In recognition of his years of service to the Walt Disney Company, Bongirno was named a Disney Legend in 2007. No matter his role at Disney or beyond, Imagineering held a special place in Bongirno’s heart.
“EPCOT and all of Disney’s attractions will always be in a state of becoming,” Carl told Disney News. “The challenge to us is enormous, but we are ready to meet it. We seek ideas that spark the interests of our guests. We’re looking for ways to engage the imagination, through story and technology. Our Imagineers will always be discovering new frontiers. It’s a process that I believe makes Imagineering the most unique design organization in the world.”