To hear Alex Wright tell the tale, his interest in the Disney theme parks actually started ‘way back in 1975. When he tagged on a trip that his aunt & uncle were taking to WDW’s Magic Kingdom.
“What I remember from that trip was how fascinated I was by the rides at the park,” Wright explained. “I wanted to know how things worked. Luckily, my dad was a mechanical engineer. So he’d quickly sketch something out on a napkin. Which would then give me a rough idea how things were done.”
That first trip back in 1975 eventually turned into a yearly pilgrimage for the Wright family. Where Alex and his dad would ride all the rides at the Magic Kingdom, then try and figure out how they actually worked. More importantly, what they’d then do to improve these attractions.
Dorothea Redmond’s concept for Town Square
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
But it wasn’t ’til Wright’s 8th birthday (I.E. When he picked up a copy of “The Story of Walt Disney World” and realized that there were actually people out there whose jobs it was to invent brand-new rides, shows and attractions for the Disney theme parks) that Alex actually knew what he wanted to be. And that was an Imagineer.
Mind you, it took Mr. Wright a number of years to finally achieve his goal. He spent one hot summer selling ice cream at Epcot, followed by several years of grad school at Cal Arts.
But — in March of 1995 — Alex finally made it into the big leagues. He became a full-fledged Imagineer. Working as a show designer for the Florida theme parks, Wright helped to create the “Happiest Celebration on Earth” 50th anniversary overlay for Cinderella Castle as well as doing design work on the new Crush’n’Gusher water slide for Typhoon Lagoon.
Clem Hall’s concept for Space Mountain’s exterior
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
But — given that Alex’s life was basically changed because he stumbled across that “Story of Walt Disney World” book — it seems only fitting that Wright will now be influencing the next generation of Imagineers with the book that he’s just written, “The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World”
Of course, what’s kind of ironic about this whole situation is that Alex originally didn’t want to write this book. In fact, what he had first tried to do was convince Jason Surrell — the author of The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies,” “Screenplay by Disney” and the upcoming “Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies” — to write a field guide for the Disney theme parks instead.
“I pitched my idea to him. And knowing that I was an Imagineer, Jason suggested that I write the book instead,” Wright continued. “He called the folks in New York. And the next thing I knew, I was researching how to put together a field guide to the Magic Kingdom.”
Joe Warren’s bird’s-eye illustration for Pooh’s Playful Spot
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Mind you, Wright didn’t go into this project with any preconceived notions about what this WDW field guide should actually be like. Other than — like all other field guides — should be pocket-sized. Something that could easily be tucked away in a woman’s shoulder bag.
“I basically let the park tell me how to do this book,” Alex said. “I visited the Magic Kingdom numerous times last summer, studying that theme park from a variety of angles. And eventually a structure for the guide emerged.”
Robert Coltrin’s plan view for “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Of course, what helped Wright as he prepped his outline was that he got to walk the Magic Kingdom with many of that theme park’s art directors. Who then told this Disney enthusiasts dozens of stories that he’d never heard before.
“I mean, I had thought that I really knew my Disney World history. But — as I was researching the field guide — I was hearing all these behind-the-scenes stuff stories,” Alex stated. “Like the secret behind that chess game that you see those two skeletons playing in the queue area for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ Or why the rockwork for WDW’s ‘Big Thunder Mountain Railroad‘ is so different from the rockwork for Disneyland’s version of this same thrill ride.”
M. Natsune’s concept elevation for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Another aspect of this project that Wright really enjoyed was the week that he spent in WDI’s research library. Where he spent hours pouring over the concept art that’s been archived there. As Alex tried to find just the right images to illustrate the Magic Kingdom’s field guide.
“It was my goal to make sure that this book featured a lot of imagery that company outsiders had never seen before,” Wright explained. “I also wanted to educate people about some of the process involved in designing & creating Disney theme park attractions.”
You can see several examples of these seldom-seen images being used as illustrations for this article. Among my personal favorites is this concept art for “Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.” Which shows how the Imagineers had originally wanted to include a cameo by Rex from the “Toy Story” films as part of this Tomorrowland dark ride …
Chuck Ballew’s concept for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
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Or — better yet — how about this early concept art for “Splash Mountain“? Which clearly shows the fast food chain that the Walt Disney Company had once hoped to persuade to sponsor this Frontierland attraction.
Sam McKim’s concept sketch for Splash Mountain
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Clearly, I can’t be the only Disneyana enthusiasts who’s been enjoying Alex’s book. Reports coming out of
the retail side of the Magic Kingdom suggest that this Disney Editions book is just flying off the shelves at that theme park. Which is why WDW has had to repeatedly re-order additional copies of the field guide to sell.
Given how popular this first book has proven to be, will there be a sequel? Wright didn’t really want to jinx that project by going on record on this subject so far in advance. But company insiders have told me that — by this time next year — “The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot” should be hitting store shelves. With the Disney-MGM and Animal Kingdom books due out in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Rick Daffern’s pre-visualization art for “Stitch’s Great Escape”
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
But for Alex, it’s not that his book seems to be selling so well that he finds so rewarding. But — rather — that he got to talk with so many of the folks who actually helped to create the Magic Kingdom. To hear stories about how they came up with the paint treatment for the roof of WDW’s Haunted Mansion … and neat stuff like that.
“You gotta remember that I’m a member of the third generation of Imagineers,” Wright concluded. “I’m just happy that I was able to get so many of these stories down on paper. So now they can be passed along to future generations of Imagineers and Disney enthusiasts alike.”