News Former Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde to be honored as a Disney Legend at D23 2024

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I hope it works out better than the last time they brought back a legendary imagineer (Tony Baxter for his work on TBA).

Is he providing value-added guidance that will be adhered to? Or preemptive window dressing?

This was my first thought also, he’s probably just teaching a class but even if he were consulting it would make diplomatic sense to just say teaching to avoid more questions like the ones about whether Baxter actually had any involvement with Tiana.

If they came right out and said Rhode was consulting it would raise expectations but also cause skepticism if he suddenly disappeared from the project like Baxter did.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

If he’s really recording a “master class” on design principles for future generations of Imagineers, that might be more valuable than any specific project he’s going to be involved with.

That said, it’s hard to imagine he won’t have input on Tropical Americas, and that his input won’t be valued—he’s highly respected among current Imagineering.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Wonder if he (Joe Rohde) was one of the reasons for the significant change in direction for the Blue Sky ideas for DAK. I mean, he was vocally against Zootopia in DAK. I wonder if part of his agreement to coming back was that Zootopia's presence in DAK must be limited to the Tree of Life upgrade (no clones of Shanghai's Zootopia in DAK as the original Blue Sky ideas seemed to suggest). If he is on board, I could see the additions/changes at least somehow tying back to the theme of DAK (maybe the Indiana Jones attraction somehow being about Indy finding a lost oasis of an endangered/sacred animal to the Miyan people? Or if we are going legendary/mythical creatures in that area of the park, it could be about one of the Miyan creatures of folklore?)

 

[JoeCamel]

So Joe is going to teach the Imagineers how to Imagineer and they will go on to Imagineer together. I hope they give them the budget for it.

 

[Tha Realest]

If he’s really recording a “master class” on design principles for future generations of Imagineers, that might be more valuable than any specific project he’s going to be involved with.

That said, it’s hard to imagine he won’t have input on Tropical Americas, and that his input won’t be valued—he’s highly respected among current Imagineering.

I am pretty sure he already did one of these,
Or a form of one. My daughter and I watched some videos early on in Covid where he was explaining the basics of imagineering concepts.

 

[Splash4eva]

So Joe is going to teach the Imagineers how to Imagineer and they will go on to Imagineer together. I hope they give them the budget for it.

Pretty sure there is NO budget Disney can give Joe that he can stay under…

 

[WoundedDreamer]

Tony Baxter is a "Creative Advisor" on the Tiana Bayou boondoggle. In truth, it means nothing. They happily trot out old Imagineers to lessen the pain for the fans. It also gives some false sense of hope, that maybe the Imagineer we respect will be able to save the project. It's a tried and true strategy.

Unfortunately, I suggest keeping expectations at a minimum here. It's possible that this could represent the start of something new and exciting. But I think the lower the expectation the better. I'll happily be proven wrong though.

 

[Rosso11]

Wonder if he (Joe Rohde) was one of the reasons for the significant change in direction for the Blue Sky ideas for DAK.

It was Bruce Vaughn coming back which changed the direction at AK. Bruce and Joe are very close and the reason that Joe is officially back in any capacity. From what I heard Joe “unofficially” has had his hand in the AK project well before this and is very much on board with the direction of the Dinoland replacement.

 

[Splash4eva]

It was Bruce Vaughn coming back which changed the direction at AK. Bruce and Joe are very close and the reason that Joe is officially back in any capacity. From what I heard Joe “unofficially” has had his hand in the AK project well before this and is very much on board with the direction of the Dinoland replacement.

Excellent so we will have another expensive AA that they will hype that eventually will be in B mode forever…

 

[Lilofan]

Pretty sure there is NO budget Disney can give Joe that he can stay under…

Joe is a survivor. So many layoffs over the years at WDI and he survived all of them.

 

[pigglewiggle]

It seems like some of you are saying that you aren't a fan of Joe Rohde's previous work with WDW?
If he does have a hand in the new projects as some posters are saying, that makes me excited for these new projects.

 

[Dranth]

Excellent so we will have another expensive AA that they will hype that eventually will be in B mode forever…

So, you are going to ignore everything else he has done? The man did the entire park and for the most part, it is one of the best things Disney has done and you are going to sit there and nitpick the couple of things that didn't work out? Even more so in this case where he was the ONE person out there endlessly campaigning for it to be fixed?

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

First session: “How to make broken asphalt tell a story!”

View attachment 774661

I’ve been spending most days in Dino Rama recently just soaking it up. It’s a beautiful ode to roadside Americana, with lore so carefully jabbing Disney for the fact that carnivals and regional entertainment like Dino Rama grew in popularity because of the Disney Parks. It also embraces the sweet romance of the atmosphere. That carnival and cliche entertainment atmosphere were the closest so many kids could get to a quick dose of a high like Disney. I couldn’t wait until the Florida State Fair would come. It felt kinda like Disney. But also different. It was more human. They weren’t cast members. They were people. They weren’t attractions. They were carnival rides. But somehow that little spark was there.

Dinoland acknowledges that even though Disney created a massive market for cheap attractions in competition, there is still a trace of magic in those imitations. They accidentally became a part of the American Entertainment landscape. The imitations became a part of Americana nearly as much as Disneyland. They were accessible. They were affordable, they tried to offer education to entice families. And they entertained. So in a way, it just proves that the magic of what Disney does is in *entertainment*. Even the imitations can create a spark.

DinoLand is McDonald’s and summer and the smell of sunscreen and punk rock and tank tops and museum field trips and ice cream and Coca Cola in a can.

 

[pigglewiggle]

So, you are going to ignore everything else he has done? The man did the entire park and for the most part, it is one of the best things Disney has done and you are going to sit there and nitpick the couple of things that didn't work out? Even more so in this case where he was the ONE person out there endlessly campaigning for it to be fixed?

It's hard to take any of those posts seriously, isn't it?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I'm with those who would see Rhode even just being brought in some kind of teaching or mentoring role for current Imagineers as a positive.

They seem to have lost a lot of institutional knowledge in recent years and previous generations like Baxter and Rhode himself learnt the craft from those who pioneered Imagineering. So, I would take it as a positive sign if there is greater recognition within Disney that the current generation of Imagineers would benefit from greater knowledge of what has traditionally set Disney apart from their competitors.

 

[Tha Realest]

DinoLand is McDonald’s and summer and the smell of sunscreen and punk rock and tank tops and museum field trips and ice cream and Coca Cola in a can.

I’m not familiar with your contributions here, but this is Bradbury-esque.

 

[Splash4eva]

So, you are going to ignore everything else he has done? The man did the entire park and for the most part, it is one of the best things Disney has done and you are going to sit there and nitpick the couple of things that didn't work out? Even more so in this case where he was the ONE person out there endlessly campaigning for it to be fixed?

Actually i was being sarcastic about the Yeti… altho its a major failure on WDI part i was lucky to ride multiple times when it worked properly but to me for such a quick sequence it doesnt ruin the ride nearly as much as people say it does…

 

[Dranth]

Actually i was being sarcastic about the Yeti… altho its a major failure on WDI part i was lucky to ride multiple times when it worked properly but to me for such a quick sequence it doesnt ruin the ride nearly as much as people say it does…

Apologies on my part if I missed the sarcasm, but there are a lot of people of late who are trying to paint him as some kind of failure because of a few issues when by and large he has done very well.

 

[Splash4eva]

Apologies on my part if I missed the sarcasm, but there are a lot of people of late who are trying to paint him as some kind of failure because of a few issues when by and large he has done very well.

I think a failure is tough to label him as but its also tough save say he is the greatest either and also to deny he loves to spend and over spend… not a debate just saying. But my original statement was just a sarcastic comment because of the Yeti lol

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think a failure is tough to label him as but its also tough save say he is the greatest either and also to deny he loves to spend and over spend… not a debate just saying. But my original statement was just a sarcastic comment because of the Yeti lol

Nobody walks into a theme park and compliments the value engineering. The issues of costs at Disney and Universal are far larger than individual designers who should want to do the most.