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What if you could get a guided tour through the heart of Walt Disney Imagineering, the place where Disney dreams aren't just imagined, but engineered, designed and brought to life. I was honored with the rare opportunity to step inside the hallowed halls of Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California. And this week I'm taking you with me. So please join me for a personal behind the scenes tour through the models, soundscapes, animatronics and innovations, shaping the future of the parks and carrying on the legacy of Walt Disney's enduring dream. Hello my friend and welcome to WW Radio, your guide to the Disney parks, movies and experiences from around the world. I am your host and your friend Lou Mongello and this is show number 837. And whether this is your first time listening or you've been with me, I'm for more than 20 years. Thank you for being here and welcome home because thanks to you, for more than two decades I've shared my love of Disney through the podcast, live video events, cruises and our incredible community. And I am so incredibly grateful that you're here because you're not just a listener, you are part of the WWRADIO family. And to that end come be part of the community and conversation over in the clubhouse at www.comclubhouse. join me this and every Wednesday at 7:30pm Eastern for WWRadio Live on Facebook and YouTube. Get weekly updates and be the first to be notified about events and updates by subscribing to my free email newsletter. And get a free gift when you do over@www.com newsletter and if you are a creator or entrepreneur, please join me this October in Walt Disney World for my Momentum weekend workshop, a four day, 50 person, one room, hands on, in person event to help you build real momentum in your business and brand. Details and tickets are@lou moncello.com Momentum my early bird special is still going on but don't wait because we have less than 15 tickets left. And if you're looking for a keynote speaker for your event, conference or business. I speak on storytelling, customer service and experience and creating memorable moments inspired by the Disney Parks and leadership lessons from Walt. You can learn more over@lumangello.com and when you're ready to book your next trip to the Disney Parks, Cruise Line Adventures by Disney Aulani or anywhere on this big blue beautiful planet of ours, visit my friends over@m MouseFanTravel.com for completely free expert planning just like I have trusted for more than 18 years. And finally, my friend. And you are my friend, whether we have met yet or not. If you enjoy the show, and I hope that you do, please rate, review and more importantly, share it with a friend. And now sit back, relax and enjoy this week's episode of WDW Radio. I have been incredibly fortunate and equally as grateful to be able to share stories and experiences from the Disney Parks with you for more than 20 years. But this one's different. Because I recently had the rare and very incredible privilege of stepping inside the halls of Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative heart of the Walt Disney Company and and the place where impossible becomes reality. And while, admittedly this was not the first time I stepped foot into imagineering, this one was different. In the past, including the week before this visit, I've been able to visit Imagineering through our WW Radio Group Adventures by Disney trips to Hollywood and Southern California. But this time, it was an invitation from Imagineering to go literally and figuratively behind the curtains at 1401 Flower street in Glendale, to walk the same halls as Walt and the Legends, to meet and chat with imagineers who are really shaping the next generation of storytelling, and to see and, yes, even touch the future of the parks that we love so much. And this one, Honestly, this one was a little emotional for me. Not just because of where I was, but because I know and appreciate just how special this access is. I do not take that lightly. I know that most people might never get to do what I was fortunate enough to experience that day, which, honestly, to be perfectly transparent, makes it a little bit of a challenge for me to talk about on the show, because I never want to talk about things that you might not necessarily be able to do. But here's the thing. I didn't go for me. I went for you. Because this isn't about my story to tell. It's about our story. It's about our shared love of the parks, our curiosity about how the magic is really made, and our connection to the people who imagine and build and really carry Walt's legacy forward. So I want to invite you to come with me room by room and moment by moment as we go inside imagineering together. While I was there, I was obviously very present, but really tried to take in as much detail and story and information as I could so that I can take you through the model shop, the audio animatronics lab, the sound room, the research and development space, and share with you things that I was able to see, do, touch and experience. And I promise, if you love Disney, if you love the parks, if you've ever wondered how they do what they do and who is behind the magic, you're going to want to stay with me all the way to the end. So please, I invite you to come with me to walk the halls. And I'm trying to convey not just what I saw, but what I heard, to see a little bit of what's coming in the future and really feel the heartbeat of imagineering in a way that I have never been able to experience and hopefully share, share before. Because this is not about a behind the scenes tour. It really is a journey into imagination. And the timing of this invitation and opportunity was incredibly fortuitous because on Thursday we had just finished our group Adventures by Disney in Disneyland, and this experience took place on a Friday. So very, very early in the morning, I ubered from Anaheim to Glendale because I just didn't know what the traffic was going to be like. And I found a little coffee shop down the street because I had gotten there way too early and then walked just a couple of blocks down the street to 1401 Flower street in Glendale. And there's no sign out front, right? The campus is not flashy at all. And it doesn't have to be because as soon as you get there, you know exactly where you are. And this building, which is part of a larger campus of Walt Disney Imagineering Buildings, originally wasn't built by Disney when they moved here in June of 1965. In it was into the former home of the Studio Girl cosmetics company. But even as I approached the entrance and waited to be invited in, like I had to take a minute, like I had to just sort of pause and breathe and take it all in. Because it is, for those of us who are Disney fans, it's hallowed ground. It's where legends walked, it's where Walt walked, and it's where all of our stories begin. And I remember standing there looking at this very sort of nondescript building and sort of thinking that sometimes it's behind the most unassuming doors that house the most incredible worlds. And not long after I got there, a few other people showed up. I was part of a very, very, very small group of which I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of. And we were invited inside, into the lobby and waiting area, shown a little bit of a short film, and just got a little bit of an idea of what the day was going to look like. And it was almost in true Disney storytelling fashion, it sort of acted as a pre show, like a gateway from, you know, the outside world into this extraordinary place. It's almost like it was like this little sort of quiet promise about what we were about to see next being something special and truly inspired. And there was almost this nervous excitement and giddiness in the air. And as we got our individual security badges and started to walk past the reception area and into some of the hallways, you immediately got the sense that this was like part museum, part time capsule, part mission statement, and really almost a living storybook. And as we went into this main monorail hallway, this huge corridor, you walk past these digital hallway displays featuring animated visuals from attractions all over the world, set in sort of windows of a monorail. It was sort of this wonderful little, again, pre show, this panoramic journey through the greatest hits of the Disney parks. And then like walking under the train tracks of Disneyland or Walt Disney World, it sort of opens up into this two story space with a sorcerer Mickey on the side and a quote from Walt that it's kind of fun to do the impossible. And this leads to this long, beautiful, newly introduced hallway, which is a timeline of wet enterprises and imagineering around the world. And the hallway is this chronological story that's lined with animated screens and artwork showing attractions from around the world. There are murals that blend storytelling and heritage. There's a composer tribute wall that honors a lot of the artists behind the music that shaped our emotions, from the Sherman brothers to Michael Giacchino, which I love that they almost lead off with because it reminds us just how emotional Disney music is, how important it is, and how imagineering isn't just about the visuals, but what we hear, the harmony and the feeling. There's this beautiful and very powerful portrait and mural dedicated to John Hench, which celebrates his very important role in shaping really sort of the visual language of imagineering. You know, I think sometimes we look at these things holistically and we need reminders that art and color and emotion are foundational to, like, the music about how we feel about these attractions and these experiences in the parks as a whole. And this Timeline mural that traced the evolution of imagineering includes not just everything from concept art and animation, but paintings and hand drawn pieces and a lot of white space. Right. Waiting for additional pieces to be added. And I loved this final wall, which was stark white. That had a great quote from Marty Sklar, which I think evidence is what the intent of this hallway and this place is, which is life, is like a blank sheet of paper. And you never know what it can be until you put something on it. So those blank walls that are there weren't empty. They were meant to represent potential. And I think this is sort of a reminder that we should all just keep on creating and ideating. And as I walked through the hallway, I was not sort of looking forward to what was next. As I got to the end, I turned around and looked back because I think it's more than just historical. I think it really is motivational because it's not just about looking back and respecting and honoring the heritage of imagineering. It's about pushing and moving forward. And I think Marty's quote serves as not just a reminder, but I think just a challenge, not just to the imagineers, but anybody who was able to walk through that hallway. And I tried to sort of imagine myself as an imagineer, right? Feeling this almost weight of legacy and the urgency and the pressure and responsibility of creating what's next. Right. Because legacy isn't something that you just preserve. It's something that you build on one blank page, one blank canvas at a time. From here, this is where things got interesting and exciting because we started to go behind the locked doors. The first place we visited was where Imagineering's scale models are created and housed. Yes, I almost imagine like the Raiders of Lost Ark vault. But we did see up close a number of scale models, about 1 to 25 scale that they used to test things like layout and color and lighting and sight lines and spatial storytelling. And I remember saying to myself, like, this is it. Like, this is where, you know, this is the playroom. This is where the ideas become reality. Foam core and then eventually in steel. And we saw a number of different things here, including the Star Jumpers ride vehicle from Guardians of the Galaxy, Cosmic Rewind. This incredible pirate skeleton to human transformation scene. That was sort of a practical effect model from Pirates of the Caribbean scene. In Disneyland's version, there was a runaway railway In Disneyland exterior model Millennium Falcon smugglers run the world of Frozen at Tokyo Disneysea, which I thought was fascinating because having been able to be in Tokyo Disney Sea before, this is before changes were made. So we saw sort of a first iteration of a model that I imagine was looked at by Disney and Imagineers and Oriental Land Company. And then changes were made based on that. A miniature ride vehicle from Fantasy Springs. And really I think the showstopper was the Lion King water based attraction model that is coming to Disneyland Paris. Really the first major attraction based on that film in decades. That you're not able to walk around just in 360 degrees. But if you've ever seen videos of Walt in the early 60s taking you us on virtual tours of wet enterprises and imagineering and showing how model and and ride throughs were created, back then you were able to sort of get down to ground level and get a people's eye view as opposed to just a bird's eye view of what that experience is going to look and feel like from a guest perspective as well as sort of from the quote unquote 30,000 foot view. And what I love about this is that even in an age of everything being digital and simulations, imagineers still build physical models because nothing beats seeing how a space is going to feel in real life. And the craftsmanship on these is extraordinary because even their quote unquote rough models are stunning. Down to the miniature textures and lighting and trees and landscaping. And I love that the model shop really proves that the magic starts with getting your hands dirty, right? Where math meets imagination and glue and wood and foam and all the things that we've played with as kids. And I love how physical models still matter and they build with their hands first. And seeing that Lion King attraction starting to come to life, I think sort of reminds us how these beloved, whatever your definition of classic stories, still have so much potential for storytelling and reinvention in new ways. Because great storytelling isn't just revisiting what we're familiar with, but I think it's like they're doing here, it's reimagining it in ways that that we have never seen and never experienced before. I could have spent hours here just taking it all in and asking countless questions. But from here we walked through this floor to ceiling black and white sketch and sculpture hallway before we got to the Blaine Gibson Sculpture studio. And just to give context, in case you're not 100% familiar with who Blaine Gibson was, he was an enormously influential figure in Disney history, both as an animator and a sculptor whose work really helped define the look and feel of the Disney parks. He started back as an animator on films like Fantasia and Bambi and Peter Pan. And Sleeping Beauty. And as Walt was wont to do, he noticed his personal sculpting work about 1954, invited him to join WED. And for nearly 30 years, up until like the early 80s, he led the imagineering sculpture team, crafting figures and busts for attractions like great moments with Mr. Lincoln, the enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, hall of Presidents, and so many more. He even continued sculpting every US President for the hall of Presidents up through George W. Bush. And then 10 years after he officially retired in 1983, Disney's like, you are going to create the iconic partner statue of Walt holding Mickey Mouse's hand, which is now found at multiple parks with around the world. And that same year, he was very appropriately named as a Disney legend. So in short, Blaine Gibson literally helped breathe life into Disney stories by shaping the faces and figures of people and characters that we as guests know, love and remember. And when you walk into this room, all four walls from floor to ceiling are filled with this incredibly beautiful collection of busts and sculpture heads and maquettes, most of which were created or inspired by Blaine Gibson. So there's all the presidents from the hall of Presidents, many familiar figures from the Haunted Mansion, the Hitchhiking Ghost and the Singing Bust. There's pirates figures from the Great Movie Ride, old Hollywood icons. And there's this almost visual timeline of how character sculpture and storytelling has evolved from simple clay and plaster to even more modern technologies in terms of facial capture. And it's wild because when you walk in, the room is very quiet, right? Not to speak small humans, but it's very, very quiet. There's almost this jaw dropping air coming out of the room when you walk in and the understanding and respect for what we are able to see. And there was something very powerful about seeing these characters, both real and imagined, out of context. And I once again said to myself, I'm like, we are face to face with history, literally like presidents and pirates and ghosts who we normally see on attractions from a distance, but when you get closer, they are even more realistic. They are more lifelike. These are not props, they're portraits in three dimensions. From here, we moved over to the imagineering audio engineering studio, which as somebody who works primarily in an audio medium, I very much was looking forward to and appreciated because so much about what we take in, in all five senses in 360 degrees is not just what we see or what we smell or touch, but it's what we hear. And this really is the global hub for all Disney parks. Audio engineering it was led by imagineer Greg Lotka, who demonstrated something they call wave field synthesis, which is this remarkable cutting edge sound system used in attractions around the world. And he gave us a demonstration of the Haunted Mansion stretching room. How to step in a specific location on this raised platform in the center of this room that has 70 plus speakers around it. And as you do when you stand in that stretching room, you. You hear and almost feel that you could see the ghost host moving around the room, not from a speaker, but almost out of thin air, because the system allows sound to travel across a room without it seeming to come from a speaker. Like, it feels like somebody is almost whispering behind you or right next to you. And looking at the consoles and the software and the audio engineering that goes into it reminds us that immersion that we talk about isn't always visual. And sound helps to tell these stories that really help sort of orchestrate that emotion. And it's not just about an attraction's theme music or background music or sounds that you hear as you walk through these very carefully designed environments. But I think the magic happens in the margins. It's the little whispers, it's those echoes, and it's this unseen engineering of emotion that sometimes happens almost subconsciously when we're in the parks. But I know for me, like, I love staying in this Haunted Mansion stretching room as long as I possibly can, especially when it's empty, because I like hearing those sounds around me. And I love hearing that ghost host's final message to you if you happen to remain in that room long enough. Because I think in the hands of imagineering, sound isn't just a tool. It really helps to form and shape the character and the environments. And I know, like, not just on the podcast, but when I visit the park with, with friends and family, I try and get people to become so cognizant of what they hear. I'll bring them to certain areas of the park or transitional elements and spaces so that they can close their eyes. I mean, I'll walk with them, you know, hand in hand, but so they can close their eyes and, and pay attention more to what they hear as opposed to what they see, which I think sometimes becomes invisible. Sometimes it's almost drowned out by the cacophonous hum of crowds. And that's why sometimes early in the morning or late at night are some of the best times to experience the sounds of the parks. Go into Adventureland. Better yet, walk from Main Street USA through the Hub into Adventureland, almost paying more attention to what you hear than what you see, go into Galaxy's Edge and just close your eyes in different parts of that space at different times of the day. Same thing with Pandora. The soundscape is alive. And I loved being able to see and just get a small taste of where life is literally breathed into those spaces, those places, those attractions and those characters. And speaking of characters, nice segue, Mongello. We next went to the animation and audio animatronics building, where these characters have life breathed into them in three dimensions. And here again, we saw early to current generation audio animatronic prototypes and figures, including characters from modern day attractions. And the lab sort of holistically showcased the evolution of Disney's animatronic technology and with it, really the evolution of character performances. And I guess really sort of the three main generations of audio animatronic technology, which was pneumatic, which is air powered, which is used in original figures like Carousel and Haunted Mansion, hydraulic, which was the fluid power, which allowed for stronger and I think a little more nuanced motion in some of the larger characters, like a yeti or a dinosaur. And then currently the electronic digital servo controlled real time, which really is capable of much more minute and expressive movements, blinking and real time nuances. And I think the newest audio animatronic figure, appropriately of Walt Disney that was just introduced to Disneyland really is a shining example of just how human like these movements can become. Because what was once really sort of purely mechanical has really become a bit of an emotional art form, because it's not just about movement, but performance. Every twitch, every blink, every breath, every sort of glint in the eye is very intentional. And it's not really robotics anymore. It really is almost acting to a certain degree. And what I loved about this part of the tour is not just the generational evolution of it, but everything that we saw. Some of what we got to touch was not behind glass, it wasn't on a stage, it was right in front of us. And some of them were in different stages of disassembly, others were moving, others almost felt and looked like they were alive. And we didn't just have an opportunity to observe them, we interacted with them. So one section of displays showed the evolution of skinning characters. And I was able to hold and run my fingers across, for example, the soft silicone skin of Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure in Shanghai. It was eerily both realistic and cool to the touch. We saw Zazu from the old enchanted tiki room under new management. Early prototypes for Mr. Potato Head and how he was able to take off and put his ear back on the inner workings of some of the most advanced audio animatronic heads that Imagineering has ever built. And seeing them without their skin just gives you such an appreciation of just how much technology, physical technology, needs to go inside of these very, very small spaces in order to allow them to move and blink, emote and speak the way that they do. We were encouraged not just to look at, but to play with some of the early access analog control systems for audio animatronics figures. And this was so cool for me because this is the exact same control that I remember seeing Walt and imagineer Wal Rogers demonstrating in an old documentary about how they programmed the figures for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. I was also able to get close and touch a puppet head for Lieutenant Beck for Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. And one of the coolest things was I was able to get hands on and actually manipulate a rocket raccoon head from Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, which allowed me not just to see, but really sort of feel the intricacy of the mechanism underneath. And in case I didn't mention it earlier, I have video of a lot of this where I was allowed to film, including this rocket raccoon head that I will share on social. We fortunately got to spend a lot of time in this building and with some of the Imagineers. And, you know, it's one thing to admire an audio animatronic from a distance in a darkened attraction or one that's on stage, but when you get close enough to see the details in the skin, the delicacy of an eyelid, and the way the technology is not just designed, but integrated into these very lifelike figures, it changes because you don't just see the characters, you start to understand it, you start to believe it so much more. Your suspension of disbelief really gets extended because it is so much more than engineering. They're not just imagineers are not just designing machines. They are choreographing figures and characters that display emotion that you feel for or you fear or you like. And I think the hardware becomes invisible because that story really takes over. And I really gained an additional width and depth of appreciation that these animatronic figures are not just machines, they are performers. And they're built not just to move, but to help connect us to them and connect us to the story. And think the most powerful technology is the kind that you forget is in there because we're so Busy believing in the characters. And I think that's what WDI and these audio animatronics just do so, so well. And while the audio animatronics and this Mapo building, which stands for Mary Poppins and this maple building, was about the evolution, the progression, the current and future of audio animatronics technologies, from here, we went to the research and development labs, which is focused on the future. And I know it's not Disney, but I'm going to quote Willy Wonka, this is a land of pure imagination. And I felt like I had won the golden ticket. And Willy Wonka, in the form of the different imagineers, was taking us into the secret laboratories, because that is exactly where we were. And we got a very deep dive into this next gen of imagineering. This is the sandbox that the imagineers play of where the boundaries of physics and engineering and storytelling are being pushed and broken through and challenged and, I think, redefined. And as soon as you walk in, like, there's this sensation that we get some of us, like, looked at each other because, you know, you're just at sort of the precipice of something and someplace big. Because we were. And we were taken by some of the imagineers to a number of different locations and stations and individuals who, as we were walking through, I'm like, this is it, man. Like, this. This is the heart. This is the beating heart of what is next for the Disney parks. And our first stop is with an imagineer that I hope that you have heard of relatively recently. And his name is. Is Lanny Smoot. Now, you may recognize the name as the inventor of the groundbreaking hollow tile floor, which we'll talk about in a second. But he really is one of the most prolific inventors in Walt Disney imagineering history, with more than 100 different patents. He's also the mind behind the real retractable lightsaber. We'll talk about that in a second. Electromagnetic animatronic eyes that you see in characters like Madame Leota, the BB8 rolling drive system, the hollow tile floor, countless others. And his contributions to both tech and entertainment earned him an induction into the national inventors hall of Fame, making him the only imagineer honored in that way, aside from Walt Disney himself. So Lanny gave us a demonstration of the hollow tile floor. It's not science fiction. It's real. It is made up of these modular, motorized tiles that move beneath you or objects silently and seamlessly that allow someone to walk in any direction while physically staying in one place. And because each Tile is independently powered and can move in coordination. They showed some of the different use cases including like a full body virtual reality experience without hitting any physical walls, walkthroughs of digital ride spaces or scenes during development, and some of the potential real world theme park use cases for immersive attractions or interactive cues. I actually was able to hold one of the hollow tiles in my hand. And when you see it demonstrated and you get a chance to chat with Lanny and hear him talk about it, you realize that this technology isn't going to just change how we might experience things like virtual reality, but from a Disney Parks perspective, it's going to potentially revolutionize our experiences in physical spaces. Whether it's letting characters or us, or even vehicles move in these incredible borderline magical because I don't understand how it works non linear ways. And again, I'll share pictures and videos of Lanny and the holotile floor and what the holotile looks like on my social at Lumangello. But from there we walked past some of the many floor to ceiling curtained off areas. That makes you wonder what sort of magic is going on behind those scenes and screens. But over to an imagineer holding a lightsaber. Yes, that lightsaber, the one that actually ignites the same prototype first revealed by Josh Tomorrow at D23. That blade that extends and retracts from the hilt with a press of a button, just as it did in Star Wars. It looks like a lightsaber. It sounds like a lightsaber. And I can tell you from experience, not that I've ever held a real lightsaber, but I held a real lightsaber. It feels like a lightsaber because we didn't just watch somebody else do it, we held it and it felt exactly like what it should feel like, which is the realization of every childhood dream. Someone fortunately took a short video of me and when I was done again, internally I'm like, Lou, you can't cry in front of the imagineers. But I wanted to cry. And I looked up at my dad, wherever he might be, and I was like, dad, like I did it. Like I held a real lightsaber. And the sound and the light and the weight, it was. Everything was designed with as much sort of realism of a non real object could be in mind. And when I held that and when I hit that button and I still get choked up to thing right now, when I ignited that lightsaber, like I forgot that there was anybody else in the room. It was just like me and that saber. And I don't know how it works. I don't want to know how it works. I don't care how it works. Like, because it was me and the lightsaber and the Force. And as I wiped the tears away and started to think about it, like Disney's not just building a prop. Like they're engineering these incredibly emotional experiences through tangible storytelling tools. And that lightsaber is as much about how you feel as it is about what it does. And look, my dad bought me my very first lightsaber when I was just nine years old. That lightsaber was a flashlight with a blow up plastic tube on the end. And over the years I've been able to own a number of different types of prop replicas and I've used other ret retractable toys, but this was different. Like I pressed that button and that blade shut up. And it was humming and it was glowing and I was 9 years old all over again. And it was real and it was magic. And somewhere down the line, you know, it was in Rey used it in the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser on the Halcyon. But it's coming somewhere. And we will see something like this or the next iteration of it again, hopefully in the parks and hopefully soon. And just as I was done composing myself, Imagineer Henry Work took us over to the Stuntronics area, which are those high flying robotic performers, which basically means this is Spider Man's fearless stunt double made of metal and code in Avengers Campus. And they're called Stuntronics and they are fully autonomous aerial performers that as you, if you've ever been to Avengers Campus or have seen the videos, they're capable of flips and spins and very precise landings. And they were originally developed for Avengers Campus over at DCA where Spider man flies across the sky using gyroscopic sensors and onboard AI and very specific pre programmed trajectories that are able to sense and adjust midair so that they land safely every time. And while we were there, we saw some of the very early concepts and test rigs and the developmental stages and learned about things like motion capture and safety technology and how they're able to simulate that very human lifelike movement. If you watch Spidey in Avengers Campus and if you didn't know it was a robot, you'd swear that there was a human being in that Spider man costume doing those stunts. And I think these Stuntronics and again, watching that evolution makes me appreciate even more represents such a major leap not just in robotics or I guess specifically more entertainment robotics, but how live action and animatronics are able to coexist in these physical environments. And I think this is where the line between character and machine really starts to not just get blurred, but sort of disappear. Because this isn't just a very cool auto animatronics figure. This is a character driven performance that is very intentionally and granularly choreographed to feel very spontaneous, to feel very heroic. And when you see it, the technology vanishes and the emotions take over. Go to Avengers campus and don't just watch Spidey, watch the reactions of the guests. Because when you and they see Spider man flying through the sky, flipping and twisting and landing and realizing it's not a real person, it's not cgi, it's not a wire rig, it's a robot, and it's not a magic trick. Like that is imagineering. And I ask people all the time, and we've done it on the show and in and outs before. You know, if you could take Walt to see something in the parks, what would it be? What attraction would you show them? I think this is the kind of innovation that Walt dreamed about because it's not just for the sake of spectacle, but to make those stories and those characters and our experiences feel real. And speaking of advanced robotic characters, we went from meeting Spidey Stunt Double to the roaming interactive Star wars characters known as the BDX droids. These are these compact, very expressive interactive robots from the Star wars universe, inspired by the droids seen in the Mandalorian and Jedi Fallen Order and some upcoming Disney plus content. And these little droids, they remind me of Wall E because they don't say a word, but they are incredibly emotive and expressive, and you feel like they are real with individual personalities because they can move autonomously, they can be remotely controlled, and they feature these incredibly interactive and detailed head movements and light up eye panels and responsive sound design. And probably by the time you hear this, are going to be part of the roaming live storytelling at Galaxy's Edge. And it was one thing to talk to the Imagineers and get some questions answered about them and watch the Imagineers control them remotely using what looks like because it is a handheld gaming console. But we were given the opportunity to be handed the controls, literally. And I got to operate one and interact with one and learn how the Imagineers train performers to operate them, often very discreetly in the parks. And as I was watching the Imagineers control, I'm like, this is it. This is the beginning of the Future of character interaction. Not behind ropes or up on a stage or rolling up behind you. This is storytelling that adapts and is personalized real time. Because you don't just watch them, you follow them. You start to believe them. And then when one looks directly at you and it tilts its head and it bends. Beeps something that feels very intentional, like, you're not in this Imagineering lab anymore. You're on batuu. You're in the story. Which is exactly what Imagineers and going back to Walt wanted. Because unlike passive and programmed animatronics, the BDX units are characters. They move and they chirp and they scan and they respond. And even, like wall E emote simply with body language. And again, watching the BDX and then being able to operate the BDX wasn't just fun. It was actually. I don't know the word. It was almost disarming, right? Because although they don't talk, they communicate and they react and they feel like they have a real personality to. And each one does. There's a red and a green and a blue. Each has their own unique personality. And that's the magic, right? Because once you forget about the wheels and the wires and technology, what you're left with is a real companion, a real living part of that world. Because it's. This is not about robots. It's about believability. And I think that these droids, I think they prove a couple of things. One, that even the smallest character in size, with the right motion, sound and personality, can create a bit of an emotional connection without ever saying a single word. And I think that, for me, is the takeaway. Because I think the future of immersive storytelling isn't bigger. It's closer. It's more personal, it's more alive. And sometimes, in this case, it might just be only a few inches tall. And I think that's why this room and the research and development space matters. Because it's not just a testing lab. What we're seeing there is not just conceptual, it's practical. It's being executed on. And we're already starting to see these things come to life in the parks. This is the bridge between possibility and reality. And every object in that room, what we saw and what we didn't, whether it's a tile, a droid, or a lightsaber, tells you the exact same thing, which is what might seem impossible today is just another Friday at Imagineering. So after we left the R and D building, we went back to 1401, had lunch with some imagineers on the campus and had a little bit of time before I was escorted to one of the sound engineering rooms to sit down and have my one on one incredibly exciting conversation with imagineer Zolt Horme, which I had on last week's show. And he was as fascinating and brilliant and as intelligent as I expected him to be. When I first learned about him more than 25 years ago, I said like, affectionately, like, he's the Hungarian Joe Rody. And I only wish I had more time to speak with him. But during the time that we had a break, we were not only afforded the opportunity to shop at Mickey's of Glendale, which is normally reserved for imagineers and their families, but we got to spend some time in imagineering central campus and courtyard. And a little bit of time for me, sort of on my own, sort of quiet moments that allowed me to really take some time to reflect not just on where I was, but what I had just seen and try and process it all. And it's this beautiful, serene outdoor space with trees and tables that I imagined and watched as imagineers would get together and just have incredibly informal and creative conversations and collaborations. And tucked away throughout this outdoor space were ride vehicles and relics from Disney Parks history. There was a skyway bucket. There was a car, train car from Heimlich's Choo Choo Train in Bugs Land. And even just those little photo op moments told a story not just of what was, but still lives on for a lot of us in our memories of going to the parks. And I think when Walt said that Disneyland, I think he meant all of the Disney parks would never be completed. These relics proves that. And what we just saw prove that it's always evolving. And I think more than just sort of nostalgic photo ops, I think this means that even as imagineering looks ahead, they always keep the past literally and figuratively in plain sight. They're not just souvenirs. They're not just ride vehicles from the parks. They are storytelling artifacts that remind everyone there of the journey. And again, I think the. The weight and responsibility of what they do. And I love the fact that you can go and touch them and sit them and take a picture with one because there's no velvet rope, right? They're just sort of quiet reminders of where imagineering has been. And I think where they are going. Because I think one of the things I took away from this is that at Walt Disney, imagineering, progress and nostalgia aren't in conflict, they're in conversation. And who knows even retired attractions like those might continue to inspire. And I think it's important that their DNA lives on in everything that is new. And that's what I loved about this place, right? This spirit of imagineering that I got really a sense of in being there. Because it wasn't just about nostalgia. It was about momentum, it was about excitement, it was about hope, and it was about imagineers. You know, I sort of imagined them as I sort of watched them buzzing with ideas and laughing and collaborating and sketching together and prototyping and, like, what are they working on? What is the next sort of idea that's happening outside here in these moments of quiet conversation and reflection and, you know, to sort of dovetail into the 70th anniversary celebration of Disneyland, which I'll talk about on an upcoming show. I love and appreciate the fact so, so much that Walt Disney is not just an important part of July 17, but the entire celebration. And that presence of Walt in the parks is even magnified exponentially at imagineering. Walt is still there, not in a bronze statue, but in spirit. You can sort of feel it right in the murals, in the philosophies, in the things that are happening, the way imagineers talk, way they sort of use terms like plussing up. Right? You know, and. And from having the opportunity to have talked with imagineers and folks that have worked with Walt, like, I could almost picture him walking through these halls, like, leaning over someone's desk or leaning over them as they're working in their notebook and saying, you know, what are you working on? And I think one of the things that I took away, and I spent a lot of time really reflecting on this after I had gotten back to Disneyland and just had a little bit of downtime that, you know, I saw these models and murals and memories and all these dreams and ideas that haven't necessarily been realized yet. But this is not just a place where attractions are made and figures are built and ride vehicles are engineered. Like, this is where emotions are engineered. Because Disney is all about the way it makes us feel. And, you know, as I was talking to some of the imagineers who were there as part of the tour and a few others that I ran into that I had known, I love how this legacy of, I guess, somewhat intentional reference of one man's dream is carried forward by so many hundreds of. Of hands and hearts and disciplines that love and care for this place and the guests and the legacy that it represents so very much. And to that end, to Walt Disney imagineering, for inviting me and to all of the Imagineers, past, present and future, thank you. Thank you for opening up your doors to me. Thank you for letting this 7 year old kid, trapped in a much older body come in and see where this magic that I have come to love for so many years happens. It didn't spoil anything, it enhanced it and enhanced my love and appreciation and admiration and respect. And thank you for continuing to dream big and build even bigger and for giving us all the gift of believing big that anything is possible. And to you, my one friend that's listening right now, thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for giving me the privilege and the opportunity to experience this and share it with you. As I have been everything that I love about this company and the place and the people for more than 20 years. I wish I could have brought you with me there. But in a way I hope that I just did. And now I'd love to hear from you. If you could walk the halls of Imagineering, what or who would you want to see most and why? Let me know by leaving a comment and be part of the conversation over in the clubhouse@www.radio.com. you can message me or comment on my post about this week's show over on instagram@instagram.com LumAngelo Better yet, I'd love for you to call the voicemail at 407-900-9391. That's 407-900-WDW1. Leave me a voicemail. I will play it on the air. Thank you again to Walt Disney Imagineering and to you for this opportunity and this privilege of allowing lifetime. Walt always said it takes people to make the dream a reality. And inside Imagineering, you realize just how true that really is. It's time for this week's Disney Trivia Challenge where you can test your knowledge to see how well you know the sights, sounds, secrets and stories of Disney. If you think you know the answer, you can enter for a chance to win a Disney Prize package. And this week's trivia contest is brought to you by the most important part of WW Radio, which is you. And by joining the WW Radio Nation, you're not only helping to support the show, live shows and events, you're also becoming part of the magic that makes it all possible. And for as little as a dollar per month, you'll unlock exclusive perks like monthly scavenger hunts, group video calls, a private community, community surprise, care packages, and much more. More importantly, your support helps power our Dream Team Project which has raised more than $550,000 to grant make a Wish trips to children with life threatening illnesses, bringing Disney Magic to those families who need it most. Come be part of the magic and join us today over@www.radio.com support. And now before we get to this week's question, let's go back, review last week's and select our winner. So first, our last Walt Disney World Trivia challenge. I asked you to tell me what was the name of the original bar at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa before it became Enchanted Rose. Thanks to so many of you entered, got this one correct and new, and some of you shared memories and your favorite drinks from Mizner's Lounge, located where Enchanted Rose currently sits. It was a refined sort of quiet bar that had classic cocktails and small plates in a very warm, intimate setting just steps away from the lobby and the old Grand Floridian Society Orchestra. It was named after Addison Mizner, a Florida architect in the 20s whose work helped to inspire the elegant turn of the century aesthetic of the Grand Floridian itself. Mizner's opened with the resort in 1988 and closed in 2019 and was replaced by the enchanting Rose. I took all the correct entries, randomly selected one, and last week you were playing for a WW Radio keychain stickers pin and a mystery prize that I promised I would bring back from Disneyland. And last week's winner randomly selected is Lynette Terry. So Lynette, congratulations. I will wrap up and send your prize for AKA out to you right away. And if you played last week and didn't win, that's okay because here's your next chance to enter in this week's Disney Trivia Challenge. So because I was actually at Imagineering, I was thinking about imagineering and the history of what they do and the magic they create. So let's go back, way back and tell me what attraction introduced the first ever Omnimover ride system? What attraction was the Omnimover system first introduced? It's the same ride system that is used in the Haunted Mansion. To give you some context, you have until Sunday, July 27th at 11:59pm Eastern. To go to www.radio.com, click on this week's podcast. Use the form there. And because this week's show was about my trip to Imagineering, I'm going to give you something from Mickey's of Glendale at Walt Disney Imagineering as part of next week's prize package. So good luck and have fun. Thank you once again for listening and taking that virtual tour of Imagineering with me, and more importantly, for giving me the opportunity and privilege to visit Imagineering and share that experience with you. I am so incredibly and sincerely grateful to and for you, and I hope that you found a little bit of Disney magic in this week's show. If you enjoyed it, please help spread the word, share the show, and tell a friend. Remember, be kind to choose the good. Have a great day and even better tomorrow. So until next time, always remember that you've got a friend in me. See ya.

Well, it sounds pretty good. In fact, that's just the right spirit.