The Imagineering Story - Season 1

Walt Disney forms WED Enterprises for the purpose of building his dream - Disneyland. The Imagineers start a playful culture of making make believe believable. They discover and formulate a set of design principles that transport people from their everyday lives to lands of imagination. These places appeal to everyone, not customers, but Guests with a capital G. The original hand-picked band of Imagineers apply their moviemaking techniques to a three-dimensional space. Walt knows - if your eye sees something, your feet will follow.  A park with themed environments, faithful to a story, has never existed before, creating a grand illusion. Disneyland achieves meteoric success, and a theme park industry is born. Walt Disney vows that, unlike a film which gets completed, Disneyland will never be finished as long as there is imagination left in the world. Embarking on a secret mission, Walt starts buying land in central Florida for a mysterious "Project X." Applying the knowledge from the previous decade to conceive long term future plans, he lays the foundation for expansion but tragically passes away before constructions begins. Stunned, the Imagineers stop to catch their breath. The story of ingenuity might end here. Will there ever be another visionary like Walt Disney? Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.

Roy O. Disney steps up to fulfill his brother's wish, and another Magic Kingdom emerges. Walt Disney World becomes WED's' first foray into urban and master site planning. The long hours, stress, and hard work lead to Roy's premature passing. A second generation of young designers and engineers and a new CEO, Card Walker, carry out the last and most ambitious of Walt's ideas – EPCOT, striving for a higher purpose beyond entertainment. Another success follows with Disney's first international park, Tokyo Disneyland. Both big projects are completed at the same time. With no future theme parks being developed, WED lays off most of its staff, and Card Walker retires. A hostile takeover attempt by a corporate raider threatens to break the Disney company, and its beloved parks, into pieces, and morale hits an all-time low. Will WED survive? Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.

Two new executives, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, revive the studio and WED Enterprises, emphasizing celebrity talent, licensing non-Disney intellectual property for the parks, and ushering in an age of growth. WED Enterprises is renamed Walt Disney Imagineering. Riding a wave of success, Michael Eisner proclaims that the 90s will be called ‘The Disney Decade.' Frank Wells creates an official Imagineering R&D lab, promoting long term innovation and encouraging a new era of experimentation using computer design technology. Issues arise, however, with the construction of Euro Disneyland, which encounters local resistance and draws accusations of cultural imperialism. Bad press coverage, an economic recession in France, and cultural missteps contribute to low attendance, threatening the park's survival.  Frank Wells' sudden death and budget overages from Euro Disneyland cause management to shy away from further theme park development. Imagineers wonder if their theme park days are over. Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.

Michael Eisner hires business minded managers to placate Wall Street, diversifying the company and placing an aggressive focus on consumer products and making money. After the challenges of Euro Disneyland, the Imagineers spearhead several successful projects, including designing two Disney-branded cruise ships for a new cruise line; rethinking the concept of a zoo with Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park; and receiving praise for Tokyo DisneySea, the second park at Tokyo Disney Resort.  Despite these accomplishments, the next three parks, Disney's California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios, and Hong Kong Disneyland, are criticized for being cheap, too small, and breaking the design principles so instrumental to the company's early success. Michael Eisner is blamed and ousted, and the Imagineers worry that the pattern seems irreversible. Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.

Bob Iger returns Imagineering to the foundation of Disney DNA - quality wins out. He modernizes the formula. By strategically investing in creative content, international expansion and new technology, he empowers the Imagineers to plus the existing parks worldwide, especially the recent ones that fell short of expectations. After a decade, the parks never looked better.

Bob Iger personally shepherds his labor of love, the Shanghai Disney Resort. The Imagineers customize an ambitious new theme park to fit China's culture, a symbol of patience and collaboration. Meanwhile, through innovative technology and immersive placemaking, the beloved pop culture worlds of Avatar, Marvel and Star Wars come to life.