for an audience. We started talking about CSI could the CSI cast host the exhibit? Early in my career I was also able to do projects in Tokyo, China, Europe, and other places, and that made me realize that culturally theres a lot of shared interest in what we expect of our spaces. Gensler, who has worked with Disney before, will offer Weis the opportunity to bring his expertise in design, storytelling, and immersive world-building to a broader audience. Museum designs and Documentaries.. This is probably the only themed entertainment project that is 100% immersive. Where is Anglica Mara today? Theres this level of everyone being equal, no matter their experience or position. BW: This has been high on my mind recently, because Ive been working on [sorting through] this huge discovery of [documents and artifacts] that Marty Sklar collected during his 50-year career. This is what visionary companies are seeking, and what we all are yearning for as we interact with the world around us. Structural Info Filmography Awards Known for movies Georgia (1988) as Producer Pure S (1975) as Producer Gensler has long designed for the human experience, and I hope to build on the amazing work and culture the firm has created. Gensler also interviewed Weis about immersive experiences, and he laid out what he thinks the three main elements of an immersive experience are: First, these are experiences that people want to do together. Filing Reveals That Disney Awarded Bob Chapeks Son a Half-a-Million Dollar Bonus, Tom Hanks to Play Substantial MCU Villain, Report Says, Inside the Magic Your Ultimate Source for Themed EntertainmentCoverage, Legendary Disney Imagineer Retiring After 42 Years, bringing about many areas and attractions, Disney Imagineering Shares New Insight Into Upcoming Attraction, An All-New Responsive Experience, Weiss decision to come out of retirement. To provide a clear view of the shaft through the now transparent ceiling, we re-engineered the cables and downsized the I-beam. I think those fundamentals are still the same. One of his greatest attributes is his strategic mindset. He stood up for what he thought was right. Bit by bit we made changes all across the park and by the time we were done, Disney California Adventure had really come into its own. Whats exciting for me is bringing immersive experiences and stories into everyday normal life so that we can make peoples lives better. Its always great working with Bob. Looking at the card he said and I will never forget it Now I know a lot more about you than when I walked in, and I could see he valued that I was also a fine artist, which meant a great deal to me. was my introduction to Bob, he says. He trusted us enough to place us in self-sufficient pods to complete the project.. We wanted to offer Oriental Land Company something that would complement the original park while still being bold and different. Weis retired as global ambassador for. CSI happened when Bob and I were in a cab from La Guardia to Top of the Rock. The concept of an exhilarating elevator ride with projected images and lighting was nothing new for Weis one of the concepts to come out of Weiss management of the Disney-MGM Studios portfolio was the Tower of Terror. Just over the last decade. this is disappointing to hear about. Bob Weis Net Worth is $400,000. Remember to sign in or join D23 today to enjoy endless Disney magic! In each set, a little scene was recorded. At the same time, one of its highlights was a series of tours through a real production studio. Weis also posted a missive on his Instagram page with details about his plans going forward. Bob Weis Design Island Associates Inc. 2000 - 20077 years Design consultant to Smithsonian, DIsney, Dreamworks, Sony, Fox, United States Navy, Paul Allen. was an early, important example of blurring the line between attraction and exhibit. Were not directing you specifically one way or the other. also want to express my respect and admiration for Imagineers and their endless There are no variables. is a vibrant place with a dynamic culture, and we knew we couldnt just bring Imagineering Ambassador Bob Weis is retiring from Disney in January, wrapping a career that We were creating something entirely new that dealt with the reality of verified history, says Romans. Airports are the beginning or middle or end of some important story for people, so what do we do that signifies that for people? Weis grew up in Southern California and fondly recalls his familys annual visits to Disneyland on his birthday every year. Kurt Haunfelner had this to say: Ive known Bob as a friend and respected colleague for many years. We take your privacy seriously. With a track record like his, its no surprise that the firm went after the former head of Walt Disney Imagineering. You would come up with something unique, and then be encouraged to do more. He joined Walt Disney Imagineering, then called WED Enterprises, in 1980, soon after graduating college, and within eight months had relocated to Japan as part of the WED team creating Tokyo Disneyland. Now, the museum wanted to resurrect Whodunit?, but with a twist. An Adventure in Movie Making exhibit. We were building an exhibit, yes, but also doing a pretty major remodel of an historic building, Seruto was quoted in a 2006 article for Exhibit Builder by Judith Rubin that was reprinted by the TEA in 2007. View Videos. For me, architecture and storytelling have always been melded together. This all happened because we rented some successful traveling exhibits such as an early Jurassic Park and determined we should be making them ourselves, then travel them. Weir and a fellow teenaged friend were wandering the back alleys of Palo Alto. For even more details about how attractions in Disney parks came to be, don't miss Behind The Attraction, also . [weve been able to] lift the veil a little bit and not be so secretive. He has written screenplays and books during a long career in the entertainment industry. He wanted people to really escape the world that they were living in and have a great timean experience that was reassuring, that was celebratory. The park was initially conceived and built as a half-day experience something guests could visit the afternoon they flew into Orlando, for example. The changing. Weir met fellow Grateful Dead founding member Jerry Garcia in a moment of happenstance on New Year's Eve 1963. So, theres this balance: How do you how do you keep the classic things that people remember but at the same time be constantly upping your game, making things better? In his mind, if you loved these things, it would be very hard for you to neglect them in your mind and heart. Now they just form a minor obstruction that feels like part of the works you observe when looking up., On working with Weis, Seruto notes that some of my favorite memories involve traveling together for work. the architectural ornamentation of the castle. He had decided to return to Disney. Back at Imagineering, Weis would oversee a number of high-profile projects, including the revamping of Disney California Adventure and the design of the new Shanghai Disney Resort. But fans inspire you. build steam trains, how to paint ride vehicles and signs, and even figuring out quote, were just getting started., Start planning your dream Disney Vacation
It really was a great way to learn from Disneyland. Bob had a talent for pulling the best people on to his team. Global Imagineering Ambassador Bob Weis is retiring from Disney in January, wrapping a career that includes serving as president of Imagineering for nearly six years. And I think the important thing is for Imagineers to listen to fans and listen when things are working and also be willing to admit when things arent workingand so, its time to update or to make some changes. We began working around 2003 on ACTION! They worked beautifully together. Bob likes industrial things. Bob had this idea that he would edit everything shot at the end of the day on-site, so one of our crew on horseback was the editor, says Steinouer. After a 42-year-long career, with plenty to be proud of, he had earned a well-deserved restor so it seemed! In 2016, he was appointed to the ultimate team leadership position President of Walt Disney Imagineering. I may even find some time to just go down and walk around Disneyland once in a while.. Under her Seruto & Company moniker, she would collaborate on four museum projects with Weis. And it becomes very clear that the idea of telling stories for people to experience over and over and in their own wayas I said, as characters in their own experienceWalt was very clear about wanting [the park to be] a seamless environment. How do you attract peoples attention to move into a space? Remember to sign in or join D23 today to enjoy endless Disney magic! There could be firefighting at one spot, flooding or watch or navigation in another. People want experiences they can do with other people. When the exhibit ended its run, I encouraged Disney to donate the entire collection to the Smithsonians National Museum of African Art.. A day or two later, we were told to make a pitch. Bob is incredible at pitching ideas. When I was at Disney, we worked on hundreds of different projects, but theres one project that I think is an interesting example of the types of things we can bring to the many different types of spaces we design at Gensler. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Inside the Magic. Subsequent assignments included creative leadership on Disneys Hollywood Studios (at the time, Disney-MGM Studios), Tokyo DisneySea, and the reimagining of Disney California Adventure. Grateful Dead's style was influenced by the music of The Beatles. He is best known for his Disney projects most recently his leadership roles on the Disney California Adventure and Shanghai Disneyland parks. Hes so well-suited to lead and organize and cast a group of people to do something, no matter the size of the project., Rick Rothschild, Chief Creative at FAR Out! There was a portion on cattle raising and a part on the oil and gas business. In this medium of immersive experiences, we want to break out of the screen and really envelop all the senses sight, smell, emotion, the feel all the things that can tell the story in physical ways that you will never forget. It all comes back to the three things I talked about earlier. As a young person who hadnt really traveled much, I liked the idea of going to a far-off place like Tokyo and working with a tight group of senior Imagineers as well as a bunch of kids fresh out of school like me. It had been an enormous project: seven square kilometers of property with the theme park, two hotels, Disneytown, subway lines, lakes and boats. At 45 minutes or an hour in a visit, an exhibit is considered to be a successful exhibit. PRIVACY POLICY. We did all the graphic and signage design for the exhibition. A former SEGD board member, she is a renowned specialist at graphic design and wayfinding and has applied her talents to several Weis projects, from various museum exhibits to Shanghai Disney Resort. Walt Disney Imagineering shared this on Instagram: Forty-two years after first joining Imagineering, Bob Weis has announced his retirement. Weis was with Walt Disney Imagineering for 42 years, serving as president of WDI for a time and then Global Imagineering Ambassador. Bob Weis is a storyteller. managing the process of translating our design intentions for our collaborator, He currently resides in Pennsylvania, United States. We even put in 1,200 trees and took out elements that felt like they could be in any sort of non-Disney amusement park. It turns out that one of the studio liaisons on ACTION! What made this unique was the execution. Eventually, we added a small gallery at The American Adventure. Today, I think were seeing the evolution of this idea, and there is a tremendous amount of invention and innovation going on in the space. Hes comfortable to listen to. I was incredibly enamored with design from an early age, but also enamored with performance, storytelling, acting, directing, and writing stories. I felt like my Dad was with me and this project ended up being a way to honor my father, she said. The firm already has such an incredible commitment to the cultural vibrancy of cities and the places where we live, work, and play. A creative design force, his leadership and expertise in entertainment design will enhance the ways people interact with and thrive in the spaces and experiences we create around the world. D23: You said in your in your email to the Imagineers that babies born today will someday be taking their grandkids on the experience youre creating. How do you, as Imagineers, wrap your head around that kind of responsibility to the Disney legacy? color theory to the appropriate use of language. Sometimes the conversations would be deep and personal, and other times we would just laugh and laugh at the absurdity of something. It certainly wasnt guaranteed at that time. We want people to feel that these experiences are their story and that the story becomes about them. I am proud to have been an Imagineer, a collaborator, and someone who loves to do impossible things with impossibly talented people.. Weis, who started his Disney Imagineering Journey back in 1980, is most notably responsible for ideas and innovations at Shanghai Disneyland as well as serving as President of . Surface Magazine reported that Gensler has hired Disneys former Imagineering head, Bob Weis, to Bob Weis Former Head of Walt Disney Imagineering to Join Gensler, Global Immersive Experience Design Leader. With a career that spans 30 years at Disney (most recently as the president of Walt Disney Imagineering), Bob has created, designed, and developed physical stories and immersive experiences for some of Disneys most iconic projects around the globe. Founded as WED Enterprises back in 1952, Walt Disney Imagineering has been a staple of Disney Theme Parks since the very start. This idea for a theme park was very different from his movies. Joes blog, Themes, Schemes, and Dreams can be found at themesrenewed.home.blog. He called Weis to see who he knew. Bob Iger coined a term that perfectly summed up our mission In addition to his theme park work, Weis has led influential projects in museums, science centers . Its the next step. As exhausted as I would be You are impacting how the conflict is resolved or how the art piece is accomplished. D23: Whats it like for an Imagineer to visit a park filled with guests? spoke to guests to understand where we had missed the mark, we discovered a The training staff would act like they were really at sea in these different situations. We want to hear from you! It was professionally produced with sound effects and music, and they could email it to family and friends. Almost 20 years ago, Bob visited my newly formed Seruto & Company office which was super small and unimpressive, Seruto recalls. Another example of modern technology mixing with history, the Top of the Rock experience was multifaceted with a small gallery, a multimedia walk across a construction beam with a 1930s landscape projected below, and a 60-person three-screen theater showing a rotating selection of three films directed by Weis on the famous Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Tom Brokaw speaking on the history of news broadcasting at Rockefeller Center, and David Rockefeller on the development and history of the complex. Weis gave the following exclusive interview just before sharing the news of his departure with his colleagues. Three sets were constructed a Paris cafe, the interior of a plane headed to Hawaii, and the underwater lair of the films villain. realize the things we create are around for decades and will provide joy and BW: Seeing the parks with people in them and seeing the way that people love the parkswhether its their first visit, their 10th visit, or their 100th visitis so inspiring to me and to all people who work or have worked in Imagineering. John Ford. Hes very fluid. After college, I was lucky to go straight to Walt Disney Imagineering where I could combine these skills of design with an understanding of storyline and how those two things bring spaces to life with live entertainment and embellishments of things like graphics, color, and light. Kurt and I had worked on several projects together, and he suggested Bob talk to me. Serving most recently as Global Imagineering Ambassador and before that as president of the organization, Bob cemented his legacy as a leader and creative force - helping to bring to fruition countless attractions, lands, resort hotels, cruise ships, and . Elevators from the 1930s were retrofitted with a transparent ceiling, on which video was projected telling the history of broadcasting, a tribute to Rockefeller Centers longtime tenant, NBC. He is responsible for furthering Imagineering's vision and developing and delivering extraordinary products and experiences that enhance the emotional connection to the Disney brand. When designing the Disney-MGM Studios park, Weis and his team consulted with cinema history and industry experts. With Bob, you can change things and do things slightly differently. When Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 the audience embraced it as their own and Within eight months he had relocated to Japan as part of the team creating Tokyo Disneyland. I began on Tokyo Disneyland, so Id say the biggest shift for me is we went from two theme parks in the United States to 12 around the world. He officially departed Disney on January 2, 2023. This is why Gensler is so important in the development of immersive experiences. Before the move, Weis spent more than 30 years at Disney. We cut through two floors of Rockefeller Center and we had to keep the building going for the tenants 24/7.. How do you tell a story in [three-dimensional] space? He knew how to cast people people who would collaborate and work together.. How can we add magic to everyday life rather than reserving it for people who are going away on vacation? strongly that our parks are not museums. This goes back to Walts talking about Disneylandthat he could come in and change it whenever he wanted, that it was a living medium. Weis was named by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) to receive its prestigious Buzz Price Thea Award Honoring a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements as part of the 27th annual TEA Thea Awards. Its exciting to think that we can create great stories that people can experience together in new ways and do them in the spaces Gensler already creates. In the 1990s, the museum had produced a traveling exhibit called Whodunit? Youre receiving limited access to D23.com. Thats one of the big things that Marty was writing and speaking about: a sense of optimism. Related: Legendary Disney Imagineer Retiring After 42 Years. Museum projects with weis my respect and admiration for Imagineers and their there... Very start time, one of the Rock a missive on his birthday every year your head around that of. 2016, he had earned a well-deserved restor so it seemed probably the only themed entertainment project is. The same time, one of its highlights was a portion on cattle and... 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