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And The Relaunch – 2005

From George McGinnis comes this:

Front row: George McGinnis, Show Designer (1975) and Luc Mayrand, Show Designer (2005). Second Row: Bill Watkins, Ride Designer (1975).

Bill asleep on his thrill ride. Proof it only goes 30 MPH. 😉

With me in the front seat at the 2005 reopening is the designer of the new show […]

Making Magic: How Computers Influenced Roller Coaster Design

When one thinks about Imagineering, it’s most likely that the mind first runs to the artists. With fifty-five years of renderings, sketches, models, sculptures and amazing artwork, it’s perhaps no surprise that the fine artists have often become the public face of Disney’s creative workshop. Unfortunately this can do a disservice to the engineering side […]

George McGinnis, Walt Disney, And The Underground Train Of Tomorrow

Odds are that if you’re reading this, you’ve put together a school project at one point or another. Maybe it was your elementary school science fair, or maybe it was your doctoral dissertation in particle physics. Either way, you’ve spent some time working one one of these projects. Maybe you won a blue ribbon for […]

Hitting The Links In Progress City

Rendering of golf cart for Progress City (EPCOT) by George McGinnis

Those of you who saw my birthday tribute to Imagineer George McGinnis will recall that his first job for Disney was to design transportation systems for Walt’s Progress City model. This model, which served as the grand finale for the original Carousel of Progress […]

Happy Birthday, George!

George McGinnis (R) inspects the newly-installed Nova Cite show scene for Horizons with fellow Imagineers John Hench, Tori Atencio and Kathy Knutson

Today marks the birthday of someone near and dear to the hearts of all Disney fans, even if you might not know his name. George McGinnis is perhaps best known as Show Designer […]