Monday Mouse Watch : Why WDI is looking for a few good freelancers

Jim Hill

16 years ago

Remember back in October of last year, when the Walt Disney Company announced that it would be spending over a billion dollars to redo California Adventure? The word coming out of Burbank then was that — as soon as the Christmas decorations came down at the Disneyland Resort — the bulldozers would then begin rolling.

But then January arrived and … Well … The story coming out of 1401 Flower Street changed. The official start of the DCA revamp project was pushed back to the Spring of 2008. Why For? Because the Imagineers were still supposedly plussing the designs of all of these new rides, shows and attractions that were going to be added to this troubled theme park.

But now it’s May. And were you to ask any Imagineer about the current status of California Adventure’s makeover, they’d then tell you that the start of construction has now been pushed back ’til autumn. More importantly, WDI will be starting small. Easing into this billion dollar redo. Taking a much more surgical approach to this project. Rather than shutting entire sections of the park so that they can then be reworked.

Which seems like a reasonable explanation. Except that it’s not entirely true.

You see, the real reason that the redo of California Adventure is moving much slower than expected is that Walt Disney Imagineering finds itself facing a real manpower shortage. Or — to be specific — a talent shortage.

To explain : Back in the bad old days following the grand openings of Tokyo DisneySea, Disney’s California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios, WDI went through a particularly brutal downsizing. When — in order to contain costs — dozens of Creatives were kicked to the curb. Leaving behind a cadre of suits who embraced the “OutSorcerer Mickey” plan. Which saw Imagineering not so much as a place that did projects in-house anymore. But — rather — as a company that now outsourced most of the works that was done for the Parks.

Which is all well and good. Just so long as no other project came along that would then suck up all of the freelance talent that worked in the themed entertainment business.

Unfortunately for WDI, just as the company was finally getting serious about redoing DCA, the Dubailand project was getting up out of the ground. This startling huge tourism & entertainment complex (five times the size of Manhattan) is being built on a stretch of desert located in Dubia, United Arab Emirates.

And Dubailand isn’t going to have just one theme park. This $104 billion mega project is going to have multiple parks. These include Universal Studios Dubai, a DreamWorks Animation-themed park, Legoland Dubai and Six Flags Dubai. Not to mention the deal that Nakheel just cut with the Busch Entertainment Corporation. Which will allow this Dubai-based developer to build clones of SeaWorld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens as part of the Palm Jebel Ali island project.

And these are just the well-known American-based branded properties that I’m talking about. In addition to these projects, Dubailand will have dozens of other heavily themed amusement parks, hotels shops and dining facilities. And given someone actually has to design all of these very ambitious projects … Well, UAE investors signed long-term contracts with outfits like Kirk Design, BRC, Thinkwell Design & Production and Gary Goddard Entertainment. The very same folks that WDI management was relying on help build & design the revamped DCA. Not to mention all of those new regional resorts & various international projects that Disney Parks & Resort Chairman Jay Rasulo currently has in the works.

And given that the themed entertainment talent pool seems to have suddenly gone dry … Walt Disney Imagineering now finds itself in the rather awkward position of having to actively recruit talent. Where WDI was once where every Disney dweeb who dreamed of designing rides & shows dreamed of working … Now there are lots of other opportunites out there in the world. Projects like Dubailand where money literally is no object. Where ride designers can spend as much as they want to create state-of-the-art attractions that are meant to be better than anything currently found at the Disney parks.

Now add to this hirable-freelancers-drought the concerns that Disney Company management has with those who are still in charge at WDI. This politically adept group of corporate infighters who (to be blunt) aren’t getting any younger. The current worry is that these folks are far more interested in protecting their perks & pensions than they are in invigorating the Disney theme parks. Management’s main concern these days is that this bunch is really out of touch with what the needs & wants of the next generation of theme-park-goers will be.

This is why Bruce Vaughn — formerly the head of R & D at WDI — was made Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering last May. More important, why Peter McGrath — formerly the head of Imagineering at the Disneyland Paris Resort — was deliberately brought back stateside to become Vice President of Creative Development. It’s hoped that these two WDI vets can avoid the pitfalls of the past. More importantly, transform Imagineering’s far-too-personal-and-political corporate culture into something more positive and forward looking.

Of course, that’s going to be a challenge. Given that Bruce & Peter’s top priority right now has to be recruiting all of the bodies that WDI needs to actually design & construct all of these previously announced projects like DCA.

So if you’ve ever dreamed for working for Walt Disney Imagineering, now would be a really great time to buff up that resume. Because Outsourcer Mickey is definitely hiring these days.