food IS a theme park
We’ve got some bittersweet news for you today.
©Disney
Famous Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde has announced his retirement from the Walt Disney Company. You know him from projects such as Animal Kingdom and Aulani — and now, he’s moving on.
Would you be surprised if we told you there’s construction in EPCOT? Probably not.
Spaceship Earth
EPCOT is certainly Disney World’s work-in-progress park, but hey, the EPCOT Transformation is in full swing! We’ve seen permits for new foundations and Innoventions East construction in Future World — and now we have another peek at the work going on!
Walt Disney Imagineering is often at the forefront of advancing technology. These Imagineers are the reason we have marvels like Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage. They’re also the reason we have moderately frightening images like this:
©Disney
We’ll explain in a little. 
The point is, Imagineers spend their days figuring out how to make high-tech experiences accessible to Disney consumers worldwide. Today, five new patents have popped up that might give us an idea of the sort of tech we could see in the not-so-distant future of Disney parks and products — and they could mean immersion like never before.
Power up your lightcycle — we’re one step closer to being able to race on the Grid!
©Disney
We’ve been carefully watching all of the construction going on over by TRON Lightcycle Run in Magic Kingdom. Today, we got an update on the progress from Walt Disney Imagineering and we’re SO excited!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway has been a huge hit at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ever since it opened earlier this year.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
And before it even opened at Walt Disney World, we learned that a version of this ride will ALSO be opening in ToonTown at Disneyland Park.
We’re looking forward to the NEW Cirque du Soleil show that’s coming to Disney World!
Cirque du Soleil
Drawn to Life was supposed to premiere at the Disney Springs Cirque du Soleil location earlier this year. Of course, due to the closure of the parks and the construction halts, the opening of the show has been delayed (multiple times), and now, a new permit shows that some work on the Cirque building has had to be extended as well.
The EPCOT Transformation has been a BIG item on Disney’s to-do list for some time now.
Epcot Construction
As you might know, Future World is set to get a pretty major makeover into the new World Celebration complete with new greenery, new statues, and more! This work has been ongoing for a while and Future World is pretty crisscrossed with construction barriers right now. Well, a new permit lets us know a little bit about the progress behind the barrier!
As you’re probably aware EPCOT is in the midst of a pretty major transformation.
Epcot Entrance
The transformation includes the reworking of much of Future World, some enhancements around World Showcase, and the reimagining of the EPCOT Main Entrance. We’re super excited to see what the design of these areas will look like and now, thanks to a Walt Disney Imagineer, we have a sneak peek of the brand-new Main Entrance Fountain!
Walt Disney Imagineers are the brains behind the absolutely stunning tech and design we see in the Disney parks.
Hondo Ohnaka ©Walt Disney Imagineering
Imagineers have come up with some seriously mind-blowing stuff. With everything from details in Animal Kingdom, to scary-realistic audio-animatronics under their belts, it’s no wonder that Imagineering is one of the most famous departments at Disney. Now, Walt Disney Imagineering has a NEW President of Business Operations, Design & Delivery — meet Barbara Bouza!
Welcome back as take a look at the LAST video in the Walt Disney Imagineering Virtual Series!
Runaway Railway Ride Vehicle Concept ©Disney
We’ve gotten to look behind the scenes to meet Imagineers and see their Sculpture Studio, 3D Digital Showroom, and Research & Development Lab — but the fun isn’t over just yet!
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