or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . april 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message walt disney imagineering research & development inc. type subsidiary industry engineering architecture founded 1952 ; 64 years ago 1952 headquarters grand central creative campus glendale california u.s. 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 wdi headquarters in glendale 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 . 1 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 . 1 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 with in 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 . 2 contents 1 term 2 history 2.1 wed enterprises 2.2 disney production subsidiary 2.3 walt disney imagineering 3 principles 3.1 mickey s ten commandments 4 innovations 5 the art of the show 6 theme park projects 6.1 current imagineering projects 7 non theme park projects 7.1 corporate locations 8 walt disney imagineering management 8.1 walt disney imagineering 8.2 walt disney creative entertainment 8.3 former walt disney imagineering management 8.4 notable disney imagineers 9 other works 9.1 books 9.2 videos 10 see also 11 notes 12 further reading 13 external links term edit 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 dubious discuss for the term in 1967 claiming first use of the term in 1962 . history edit wed enterprises edit walt disney inc. wdi was formed by walt disney in 1953 with the disneyland designing engineering division . 3 in light of objections from roy as well as those of potential stockholders wdi was renamed wed enterprises based on walt s initials . 4 in 1961 wed moved into the grand central business park the site of the former grand central air terminal in 1961 . 5 disney production subsidiary edit wed enterprises theme park design and architectural group became so integral to the disney studio s operations that the disney productions bought it on february 5 1965 along with the wed enterprises name . 6 7 8 9 walt disney imagineering edit the unit was renamed as of january 1986 to walt disney imagineering . in 1996 disney development company the disney conglomerate s real estate development subsidiary merged into imagineering . 10 imagineering created disney fair a u.s. traveling attraction which premiered in september 1996 . with poor attendance the fair was pulled after a few stops . disney entertainment projects asia pacific inc. a new disney asian pacific subsidiary selected a renamed fair called disneyfest as its first project taking it to singapore to open there on october 30 1997 . 11 grand central creative campus map by 1997 imagineers were in several buildings in grand central business park when disney purchased the park . in september 1999 disney imagineering announced the grand central creative campus redesign of the industrial park with a new office studio complex anchored by disney imagineering . some of the building were demolished to make way for new buildings . the additional space would be for sound stages production facilities and offices . 2 12 principles edit imagineers are governed by a few key principles when developing new concepts and improving existing attractions . often new concepts and improvements are created to fulfill specific needs . many solutions to problems are imagineered in this way such as the ride vehicle of the attraction soarin over california . the imagineers knew they wanted guests to experience the sensation of flight but weren t sure how to accomplish the task of loading the people on to a ride vehicle in an efficient manner where everyone had an optimal viewing position . an imagineer found an erector set in his attic and was able to envision and design a ride vehicle that would effectively simulate hang gliding . 13 imagineers are also known for returning to ideas for attractions and shows that for whatever reason never came to fruition . these ideas are often reworked and appear in a different form like the museum of the weird a proposed walk through wax museum that eventually became the haunted mansion . 13 finally there is the principle of blue sky speculation a process where imagineers generate ideas with no limitations . 1 the custom at imagineering has been to start the creative process with what is referred to as eyewash the boldest wildest best idea one can come up with presented in absolutely convincing detail . many imagineers consider this to be the true beginning of the design process and operate under the notion that if it can be dreamt it can be built . 14 imagineers are always seeking to improve upon their work what walt disney called plussing . he firmly believed that disneyland will never be completed as long as there s imagination left in the world meaning there is always room for innovation and improvement . 13 mickey s ten commandments edit during an imagineering workshop in 1991 marty sklar then president of imagineering presented ten commandments attributed to mickey steinberg the vice president of imagineering . they are 15 know your audience wear your guest s shoes don t forget the human factors ; try to experience the parks from the guests point of view organize the flow of people and ideas ensure experiences tell a story that is organized and logically laid out create a wienie walt disney s term for a visual magnet communicate with visual literacy use a dominant color or shape or building to reinforce a theme avoid overload create turn ons do not offer too much detailed information tell one story at a time put one big idea in each show so guests leave with a clear understanding of the theme avoid contradictions maintain identity avoid irrelevant or contradicting elements ; make sure the audience has a clear idea of what is being said for every ounce of treatment provide a ton of treat take advantage of the distinction of the theme park which is that it encourages active participation compared to passive entertainment keep it up do not become complacent or allow things to run down innovations edit over the years walt disney imagineering has been granted over 100 patents as of 2000 in areas such as advanced audio systems fiber optics interactive technology live entertainment ride systems and special effects . 2 wdi is responsible for technological advances such as the circle vision 360 film technique and the fastpass virtual queuing system . imagineering is perhaps best known for its development of audio animatronics a form of robotics created for use in shows and attractions in the theme parks that allowed disney to animate things in three dimensions instead of just two . the idea sprang from disney s fascination with a mechanical bird he purchased in new orleans which eventually led to the development of the attraction the enchanted tiki room . the tiki room which featured singing audio animatronic birds was the first to use such technology . the 1964 world s fair featured an audio animatronic figure of abraham lincoln that actually stood up and delivered part of the gettysburg address which was incidentally just past its centennial at the time for the great moments with mr. lincoln exhibit the first human audio animatronic figure . 16 today audio animatronics are featured prominently in many popular disney attractions including pirates of the caribbean the haunted mansion the hall of presidents country bear jamboree star tours the adventures continue and muppet vision 3d . guests also have the opportunity to interact with some audio animatronic characters such as lucky the dinosaur wall e and remy from ratatouille . the next wave of audio animatronic development focuses on completely independent figures or autonomatronics . otto the first autonomatronic figure is capable of seeing hearing sensing a person s presence having a conversation and sensing and reacting to guests emotions . 17 the art of the show edit over the years imagineering has conceived a whole range of retail stores galleries and hotels that are designed to be experienced and to create and sustain a very specific mood for example the mood of disney s contemporary resort could be called the hello futuristic optimism and it s readily apparent given the resort s a frame structure futuristic building techniques modern d cor and the monorail gliding quietly through the lobby every few minutes . together these details combine to tell the story of the hotel . 14 imagineering is first and foremost a form of storytelling and visiting a disney theme park should feel like entering a show . extensive theming atmosphere and attention to detail are the hallmarks of the disney experience . the mood is distinct and identifiable the story made clear by details and props . pirates of the caribbean evokes a rollicking buccaneer adventure according to imagineering legend john hench whereas the disney cruise line s ships create an elegant seafaring atmosphere . even the shops and restaurants within the theme parks tell stories . every detail is carefully considered from the menus to the names of the dishes to the cast members costumes . 18 disney parks are meant to be experienced through all senses for example as guests walk down main street u.s.a. they are likely to smell freshly baked cookies a small detail that enhances the story of turn of the century small town america . the story of disney theme parks is often told visually and the imagineers design the guest experience in what they call the art of the show . hench was fond of comparing theme park design to moviemaking and often used filmmaking techniques in the disney parks such as the technique of forced perspective . 18 forced perspective is a design technique in which the designer plays with the scale of an object in order to affect the viewer s perception of the object s size . one of the most dramatic examples of forced perspective in the disney parks is cinderella castle . the scale of architectural elements is much smaller in the upper reaches of the castle compared to the foundation making it seem significantly taller than its actual height of 189 feet . 1 theme park projects edit imagineers at play signage in disneyland in 2007 . since its 1952 inception walt disney imagineering has created eleven theme parks a town four cruise ships dozens of resort hotels water parks shopping centers sports complexes and various other entertainment venues . 1 outside of the theme