DESIGNING DISNEY For the landscape architects at \Valt Disney , IrnagilJeering, the magic is UI the details. By Daniel Jost, ASLA VEH WONDERED W H AT it would be like (0 design a theme park? A few landscape archircns don 'r have [0 won-
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der. Today, Walt Disney Imagineering
employs 12 landscape archirects-24
if you include consul rams from Ofher firms
whoareembeddedwithin thearnpmy. Walt Disney Imagi neering was founded more than 50 years ago to design Disneyland. Since then, it has gone on (0 design theme parks and resortS around [he world. Landscape architects have played an imporram role in these projecrs since (he beginning. \Vhat makes work ing as an Imagineer different than your typical landscape architecture job? "\\7e do planting, irrigation, detailing ... all rhe things most firms do," explainsJeff Morosky, ASLA, director of landscape architecture at Imagineering. "It JUSt gets integrated with many more layers and disciplines." Imagineering employs professionals from approximately 140 different fields. 11le landscape architects here work side by side with writers, sculpmrs, show planners, and even special effects experts. But that's only one of the many th ings that make working for Imagineering unique. Telllna: Storie. in the Landaeape
"As an entertainment company, our primary goal is to entertain," explains Moros!...')'. One way they enhance theexperience is by layering stories into (he landscape. The stories they tell are not fine literature, but they add a richness nOf found in most landscapes. For example, as you walk along one path at Disney's Animal King-