Imagineers
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WDI headquarters in Glendale, California
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Engineering, architecture |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Headquarters | Grand Central Creative Campus, Glendale, California, United States |
| Products | Theme parks, resorts, attractions, cruise ships, real estate developments, entertainment venues |
| Services | Design |
| Parent |
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Website | Official website |
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc. is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney Inc. then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name.
Imagineering is responsible for designing and building Disney theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other entertainment venues at all levels of project development. Imagineers possess a broad range of skills and talents, and thus over 140 different job titles fall under the banner of Imagineering, including illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers, graphic designers, and many more. Most Imagineers work from the company’s headquarters on Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, California, but are often deployed to satellite branches within the theme parks for long periods of time.
Imagineering also manages various properties held by units within the Walt Disney Company including Disney's Burbank Studios, New Amsterdam Theater and Times Square Studio Ltd. in New York City. When Disney was in the sports team ownership that included Edison Field and the Mighty Ducks Disney Ice practice rink in Anaheim.
The term Imagineering, a portmanteau, was introduced in the 1940s by Alcoa to describe its blending of imagination and engineering, and used by Union Carbide in an in-house magazine in 1957, with an article by Richard F Sailer called BRAINSTORMING IS IMAGination engINEERING. Disney filed for a copyright for the term in 1967, claiming first use of the term in 1962.
Walt Disney Inc. (WDI) was formed by Walt Disney in 1953 with the Disneyland designing engineering division. In light of objections from Roy as well as those of potential stockholders, WDI was renamed WED Enterprises based on Walt's initials. In 1961, WED moved into the Grand Central Business Park, the site of the former Grand Central Air Terminal, in 1961.
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Wikipedia