New Disney Book Celebrating the “Women of Imagineering” – October 13th

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Disney Parks fans around the world have enjoyed their work. Soon, you’ll be able to read their stories.

Disney Editions is set to release a new book, Women of Imagineering: 12 Careers, 12 Theme Parks, Countless Stories by Elisabete Erlandson, which celebrates some of the female Imagineers that have brought Disney magic to life.

The official description reads:

“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.”

The author listing suggests the twelve Imagineers to be featured include:

  • Maggie Elliott, Senior Vice President, Creative Development Administration
  • Eli Erlandson, Principal Concept Architect
  • Peggie Fariss, Executive, Creative Development
  • Paula Dinkel, Principal Lighting Designer
  • Karen Connolly Armitage, Concept Designer
  • Katie Olson, Principal Color Concept Designer
  • Becky Bishop, Area Development Executive
  • Pam Rank, Principal Show Lighting Designer
  • Lynne Macer Rhodes, Producer
  • Kathy Rogers, Executive Show Producer
  • Julie Svendsen, Concept Show Designer
  • Tori Atencio McCullough, Director (Interior Design)

The book is set to release on Tuesday, October 13th, 2020, and retails for $29.99. You can currently pre-order the book at retailers including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

New Book To Release On Sept 1st On Disney Monorails

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

A new book all about Disney’s monorails is pulling into stores on September 1st, 2020!

The book, The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky, by Jeff Kurtti, Vanessa Hunt, and Paul Wolski, looks back at the creation of the Disney monorail and its impact on transportation systems across the globe.

Here’s the official book description:

All aboard a lavish visual celebration of one of Disney’s most iconic and beloved creations: the Disney Monorail. Through a lively and succinct narrative and a stunning collection of unique historical photographs and rare concept and development art (much of it never before published) readers will be transported through the imagination of one of the great twentieth century geniuses, and into a future where yesterday’s dreams are tomorrow’s realities!

Walt Disney is renowned as a cartoonist, filmmaker, showman, and entertainment icon. But he was also a far-sighted futurist, a transportation buff with practical roots in the past, and visionary sights set on the future. In imagining his Disneyland park, Walt saw it not only as a destination for diversion and entertainment, but also as a means of presenting practical demonstrations of new ideas and new technology with real-world applications. As Walt said, “Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure, and ideals . . . and the hope for a peaceful and unified world.”

In The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky, readers will discover the parallel stories of the development of a new form of transportation and the evolution of Walt’s prophetic creative mind, which resulted in the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere. From that day in June 1959, this mid-century modern marvel has captured the hearts and imaginations not only of theme park and Disney fans everywhere. It has also inspired, as Walt had hoped, the creation of working monorails in practical transit applications in varied locations all around the world.

And if you want to know more about the authors, here are their official bios:

JEFF KURTTI is a leading authority on The Walt Disney Company, its founder, and its history. He is the author of more than thirty books, a writer-director of award-winning documentary content, and a respected public speaker. A Seattle native, he worked for Walt Disney Imagineering and the Corporate Special Projects department of Disney. He was creative director, content consultant, and media producer for The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco and a producer of The Boys: The Brothers Story, a critically acclaimed documentary about the famed songwriters.

VANESSA HUNT is a Walt Disney Imagineer and a lifelong Disney aficionado. Her education is in art history, and she is part of the group responsible for the more than 160,000 pieces of original artwork preserved in the Walt Disney Imagineering Art Collection. She has been curator of several Imagineering exhibits featuring many of the works from the Art Library collection, and has consulted for The Walt Disney Family Museum. Vanessa is also the coauthor of the wildly popular Poster Art of the Disney Parks (2012) and Maps of the Disney Parks (2016) as well as the designer on Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (2019).

PAUL WOLSKI is a graphic designer, creative director, and illustrator whose career began in environmental graphics with Walt Disney Imagineering. He served as character illustrator for all signage in Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland and provided character graphics for Tokyo Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. After two decades of working in publishing and retail design, Paul has returned to Disney as a book designer, collaborating with Jeff Kurtti on From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card (2018) and working with Vanessa Hunt on Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (2019).

The book’s list price is $40.00, but as of the writing of this article, you can pre-order it for $32.99 at Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.

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