50 years ago, Walt Disney utterly transformed the concept of outdoor entertainment venues. Using his innate talent for combining disparate skills and personalities, he assembled a creative team that blended imagination with engineering and called them 'Imagineers'. Kurtti introduces a core group of the originators of Disneyland and the other Disney parks. He explores their individual relationships with Walt and each other, their creative breakthroughs and failure, their rivalries and professional politics. Lavishly illustrated with rare never-before-seen photos.

How can you make dreams come true? Or transform a fantasy into a colorful, exciting world that visitors can move through, touch, and enjoy? Such fabulous work is the daily business of Walt Disney’s Imagineers, a core group of creative and highly skilled professional wizards who combine imagination with engineering to create the reality of behind the dreams that comprise the Disney theme parks. In this sequel to the best-selling Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind-the-Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real, the Imagineers serve up another dose of magic with an even closer look at who they are, what they do, and how they do it, illuminating their theories and explaining the tools they use, and where and how they use them. Contained within this deluxe tome are rough drawings, conceptual models, and behind-the-scenes stories showcasing Disney’s newest attractions and innovations from the inside out. There’s also an exclusive peek inside the Research and Development Lab to see what new magic will soon be appearing. The Imagineers tell their own stories, as well as how they got there, what they do on a daily basis, what they show their friends in the parks, and how you can learn what it takes to become an Imagineer. Presented in a large, lavish format, this book is sure to be a must-have for every Disney collector.

This expansive, must-have coffee table book paints a robust portrait of the Walt Disney World Resort, across half a century, through diverse and vibrant voices and mostly unseen Disney theme park concept art and photographs. Walt Disney's vision for the Florida Project begins with Disneyland and the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. After an imaginative and expansive design, a unique land acquisition process, and an innovative construction period, the Walt Disney World Resort celebrated its Grand Opening in October 1971. It featured a theme park dubbed the Magic Kingdom and three recreational resorts: Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. As Walt Disney World consistently grew and further evolved through the five decades that followed, certain themes reverberated: an appreciation for nostalgia, a joy for fantasy, a hunger for discovery, and an unending hope for a better tomorrow. Inspirational and memorable theme parks, water parks, sports arenas, recreational water sports, world-class golf courses, vast shopping villages, and a transportation network unlike any other in the world resulted in fun, festive, and familiar characters, traditions, spectacles, merchandise, and so much more. The resort has come to represent the pulse of American leisure and has served as a backdrop for life's milestones both big and small, public and private. Walt Disney World: A Portrait of the First Half Century serves as a treasure trove for vacationers, students of hospitality, artists, and all Disney collectors. Searching for that perfect gift for the Disney theme park fan in your life? Explore more archival-quality books from Disney Editions: Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks One Day at Disney: Meet the People Who Make the Magic Across the Globe Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks Yesterday's Tomorrow: Disney's Magical Mid-Century Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic Poster Art of the Disney Parks

A dozen female Imagineers recount their trailblazing careers! Capturing an era--and preserving the stories they have told their daughters, their mentees, their husbands, and their friends--a dozen women Imagineers have written personal stories from their decades designing and building the Disney world-wide empire of theme parks. Illustrated with the women's personal drawings and photos in addition to archival Imagineering images, the book represents a broad swath of Imagineering's creative disciplines during a time of unprecedented expansion. Intertwined with memories of Disney legends are glimpses of what it takes behind the scenes to create a theme park, and the struggles unique to women who were becoming more and more important, visible and powerful in a workplace that was overwhelmingly male. Each chapter is unique, from a unique Imagineer's perspective and experience. These women spent their careers telling stories in three dimensions for the public. Now they've assembled their stories in print, with the hope that their experiences will continue to entertain and illuminate.

Designing Disney sets into history and puts into context the extraordinary contributions of the late John Hench, who, at the age of 94, still came into his office at Imagineering each day. His principles of theme park design, character design, and use of color made him a legendary figure, not only for Disney fans but also for students and aficionados of architecture, engineering, and design. Designing Disney reveals the magic behind John’s great discoveries and documents his groundbreaking in several key areas: “Design Philosophy” examines the values, attitudes, aesthetics, and logic that went into the original concepts for Disney theme parks. In “The Art of the Show” and “The Art of Color,” Hench reveals the essence of what makes the parks work so well. And in “The Art of Character,” he lets the reader in on the how and why of the Disney characters’ inherent popularity—their timeless human traits, archetypal shape and gestures that suggest these qualities graphically, and their emotional resonance in our lives.

A forty-year storied career—beginning in the dish room at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland, Kevin Rafferty has conceived, designed, written, and overseen the creation of some of the Disney parks most memorable attractions including Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks, Cars Land, Toy Story Mania, Test Track, Tower of Terror, MuppetVision, and many others.including the first-ever Mickey and Minnie Mouse attraction set to debut at Walt Disney World in 2019. For a young man who began studying for the priesthood at a seminary, the journey to halls of Imagineering has truly been a magical one. A master storyteller, Kevin chronicles his unimaginable career with great humor, honesty, and heart.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT NEXT GENERATION Strategic guidance on enabling transformational change in the project management landscape In Project Management Next Generation: The Pillars for Organizational Excellence, a team of world-renowned project management leaders delivers an expert discussion on project management implementation in organizations of all kinds. The book explores 10 pillars of project management that will be critical for companies in the coming decade. It offers contributions from industry changemakers and thought leaders that provide the perfect balance between practical experience across a variety of programs, projects, and transformation initiatives. It’s a must-have title for practicing project managers who seek hands-on guidance and insightful case studies complete with discussion questions and instruction materials, including PowerPoint lecture slides and a full Instructors Manual on the companion website. In addition to the perspectives of several global commercial organizations on the project management industry’s future, readers will find: Thorough introductions to project management as a strategic competency and corporate project management cultures Comprehensive explorations of workforce upskilling and defining project success Practical discussions of flexible project management frameworks and flexible life cycle phases and project governance In-depth examinations of value-driven project management and metrics, as well as metrics for intangible assets, and strategic metrics Perfect for mid-level corporate, project, and team managers, as well as executives and business consultants, Project Management Next Generation: The Pillars for Organizational Excellence will also earn a place in the libraries of students in courses on advanced project management at the upper-level undergraduate and graduate levels.