Now, I get to take my passion, expand it, and inject experiences into projects all over the world that will reach people in their everyday lives.. Theres this level of everyone being equal, no matter their experience or position. It turns out that one of the studio liaisons on ACTION! For me this is a very exciting next chapter, the post reads. A creative design force, his leadership and expertise in entertainment design will enhance the ways people interact with and thrive in the spaces and experiences we create around the world. Bob was not just taking advantage of having you on his team. At Disney, Van Romans had assembled the various national galleries at EPCOT and, because of his hard work, had created a bridge between the museum world and the Disney organization. The complexities of the project, the needs of the team, the vision of the organization, the daily challenges and frustrations and through it all he never loses his love of it. Bob is so familiar with movies and studios that he made sure we made it look and feel like a real soundstage. Were really thankful to the fans because of the way that they love [the parks], but also because of the way we are able to learn from them by watching how they react to things. Working with Bob, there was always a sense of entertainment regardless of whether the exhibit was permanent or traveling. With Bob, its always a collaborative effort. It might have made me nervous and impacted the ease with which we spoke at this first meeting.. I am proud to have been an Imagineer, a collaborator, and someone who loves to do impossible things with impossibly talented people.. Now, I get to take my passion, expand it, and inject experiences into projects all over the world that will reach people in their everyday lives. Bob Weis is very wise, a good friend, and very helpful. Gensler has appointed Bob Weis as global immersive experience design leader. Hes skilled at bringing in and organizing all the right people together. In this medium of immersive experiences, we want to break out of the screen and really envelop all the senses sight, smell, emotion, the feel all the things that can tell the story in physical ways that you will never forget. The most emotional time for any Imagineer is when you when you stand out front when something opens and you see the fans come in for the first time and hear their reaction for the first time. We never broke the fourth wall in Battle Stations 21. it very quickly became a national landmark. Forty-two years after first joining Imagineering, Bob Weis has announced his retirement, it read. What Bob is masterful at is the strategic process of developing an idea and moving the idea into reality. This took 400 sailors and officers twelve hours, with no breaks, to complete a series of goals and exercises., The team would take the skills honed in their design of attractions and exhibits and apply them to a challenging environment they had worked with before. We want to hear from you! When we We did all the graphic and signage design for the exhibition. A former SEGD board member, she is a renowned specialist at graphic design and wayfinding and has applied her talents to several Weis projects, from various museum exhibits to Shanghai Disney Resort. As Weis shared with Imagineers, When I retire, I am relishing the opportunity to write a book for the Marty Sklar Archives and Im in the process of developing a screenplay for Walt Disney Studios. Weis joined Walt Disney Imagineering in 1980. This is why Gensler is so important in the development of immersive experiences. By using tools that had heretofore been traditionally limited to filmmaking and themed entertainment design, ACTION! Almost 20 years ago, Bob visited my newly formed Seruto & Company office which was super small and unimpressive, Seruto recalls. Now, the museum wanted to resurrect Whodunit?, but with a twist. was a traveling exhibit in two parts. This is what successful experiences can become. Its truly an exciting time., In 2022, Weis took on the role of Global Imagineering Ambassador, following in the footsteps of one of his mentors, Disney Legend and former WDI president Marty Sklar, the first to hold the ambassador title. And there was a big part about dinosaurs. We have to keep them fresh. Battle Stations 21 was the final test to see if Naval recruits could stand up to rigors and real conditions at sea., We were at sea on a destroyer to film for a week Bob, myself, and six crew members, continues Steinouer. BW: Seeing the parks with people in them and seeing the way that people love the parkswhether its their first visit, their 10th visit, or their 100th visitis so inspiring to me and to all people who work or have worked in Imagineering. The Forty-two years after first joining Disney Imagineering Bob Weis, the current Global Imagineering Ambassador and former President of Walt Disney . He has 25+ years management experience: in tourism, museums and attractions, in the giant screen industries and as a zookeeper. He knew how to cast people people who would collaborate and work together.. We specialize in creating custom-crafted content designed to appeal to the industrys top designers, creators, developers, owners and operators. HIs writing has also appeared in Sound & Communications, LF Examiner, Jim Hill Media, The Planetarian, Behind the Thrills, and MiceChat His blog, ThemedReality.com takes an unconventional look at the attractions industry. Bob Weis Net Worth is $400,000. what happens when the marshals came to your house / peroneal nerve entrapment / POST Bob Weis had garnered a reputation for leading the design of Disney theme parks that, according to former Disney Imagineer and longtime Weis collaborator Van Romans, "mixed real stuff with Disney storytelling." Weis spearheaded the team that designed the Disney-MGM Studios, opened in 1989 and renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. He kept changing the environment, and this brought out peoples ideas that we otherwise might have missed. Having joined Walt Disney Imagineering in 1980, Weis became president of the studio in 2016. Were always trying to listen to the audience to see how we could make things betterhow we could take new stories, new IP [intellectual properties], and put them into our kind of artistic medium to create experiences for our audience. When we reached one of our last stops, the Today Show was there to greet us., Steinouer continued, When we were packing the horses at the start of the trip, Bob nonchalantly mentioned a movie exhibition that was being considered in Chicago. Just this week, the design firm Gensler announced that Bob Weis was coming out of retirement to work for their organization as Global Immersive Experience Design Leader. Bob Iger coined a term that perfectly summed up our mission as we embark on our next 70 years, I truly believe in Walts great And Way back when, Jacques Cousteau used to say that in order for people to care about a thing or a place, they have to love it. Im glad I didnt know more about him his stature, his tremendous accomplishments. Weis hired his longtime Imagineering collaborator Chick Russell, who had worked on both Disney-MGM Studios and Disneys America with him, as the writer on ACTION! We were so cooped up in our homes, alone and face to face with screens that we are craving interaction with other people, and we are craving new experiences that are different than what were used to. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters, Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. The firm does business in hundreds of cities all over the world and across 29 different practice areas. I needed an A+ exhibit designer who understands how to work with architects. Steinouer would up joining Weis at Design Island (now Steinouer Creative), eventually taking its reins in 2007, after Disney recruited Weis back into the fold to lead the reboot of the Disney California Adventure park. The park was initially conceived and built as a half-day experience something guests could visit the afternoon they flew into Orlando, for example. Bob Weis, Former President of Walt Disney Imagineering, on Immersive Experiences and the Story of Our Cities and Spaces January 12, 2023 | Q&A with Bob Weis. One of Weiss long-term collaborators is Nancy Seruto, herself the 2020 recipient of the TEAs Buzz Price Thea Award for Lifetime Achievement. Bob had a talent for pulling the best people on to his team. They worked beautifully together. Related: Disney Imagineering Shares New Insight Into Upcoming Attraction, An All-New Responsive Experience. Read our privacy policy, #91 Trending technology, risk and reward, #90 Branding + Licensing, AV Technology, Expo 2020 Dubai, #87 Spellbinding immersive digital environments, #84 Everything the industry has to offer, #68 Going Global: Technology on the International Stage, #67 Experience Design: Many Faces Many Places, #54 Waterparks, Zoos and Aquariums 2014, Screens to scenes: Christies visual technology. One of the highlights of Weiss Top of the Rock was the ascent from a history gallery to the observation floors themselves. How do you tell a story in [three-dimensional] space? Bob put together a great team, and they spent a whole week in blue sky. CSI happened when Bob and I were in a cab from La Guardia to Top of the Rock. From the U.S. to Shanghai, Tokyo to Paris, Weis' design and innovation imprint has been indelibly left on theme parks, attractions and rides, resorts, and cruise ships. With a track record like his, its no surprise that the firm went after the former head of Walt Disney Imagineering. I A deep love for Imagineering and tremendous respect for the people who built it, but also such enthusiasm for the new and future talent that inhabit those hallowed halls. The attractions, such as The Great Movie Ride and the animation tour, used authentic film props to tell the story of film and television. Im also passionate about doing things that are closer to peoples everyday lives, and theres no other place I can realize that passion than at Gensler. Former President of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis is joining Gensler as Global Immersive Experience Design Leader! Two years later, the entire museum building, with the exception of the museums IMAX theater, was razed to be replaced by a new multi-million dollar building with new exhibits. Bob Weis was created on November 14, 1947 in Germany. This idea for a theme park was very different from his movies. My whole business was in there, and I was freaking out about it as we got to the airport. There is such little time just to talk in our busy work lives, so I treasured these moments. Disneys America, as planned, would have had lands themed to the Civil War and World War II. Amazon Voice Assistant is Finally Being Installed at Disney World Hotels. In 2016, he was appointed to the ultimate team leadership position President of Walt Disney Imagineering. Joe lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, dog, and a ghost. Weir and a fellow teenaged friend were wandering the back alleys of Palo Alto. If we can create experiences in places, it will imprint on people a sense of connection that can be very powerful. put in long hours. He can be contacted at [emailprotected] and followed on twitter @ThemedReality. Whenever we do somethingit might be adventure, it might be fantasy, but its always in the service of great storytelling and fun. When I was leading Imagineering, we delivered hundreds of projects that brought new experiences, new stories, new innovations to our guests around the world. Regarding why he chose to join Gensler, Weis said: Gensler has long designed for the human experience, and I hope to build on the amazing work and culture the firm as created. Along with Design Island, they also co-founded the film production company Fertile Films. And the last element that is key to an immersive experience and this is maybe the hardest to accomplish is that we are giving people agency in the story itself. Were looking for communal celebratory experiences with our friends, family, and other people in our community. Bob Weis joined Disney Imagineering in 1980 during the transition from Donn Tatum to Ron W. Miller as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Weis also posted a missive on his Instagram page with details about his plans going forward. ACTION! Forty-two years after first joining Disney Imagineering Bob Weis, the current Global Imagineering Ambassador and former President of Walt Disney Imagineering, announced today that he will retire at the end of the year. According to an interview on Genslers website, Weis cited the opportunity to apply his experience at Disney to the world at large: Genslers commitment to leading the future of design is perfectly aligned with my passion for developing unique, immersive experiences with a diversity of creative voices. Later, he would lead the team on the conceptual stages of Disneys America theme park near Washington D.C. Had the project gone forward (it was canceled in 1994), it would have depicted America and the fabric of its people through real stories, as told through Disney storytelling techniques and technology. Now, one such Imagineer is back in the news! The Japanese have a rich, It had been an enormous project: seven square kilometers of property with the theme park, two hotels, Disneytown, subway lines, lakes and boats. After years . As exhausted as I would be There are no variables. He was absolutely wonderful. Follow on twitter @ThemesRenewed The second element is that we are immersing people into the space, meaning we are surrounding them with the theme, the story, and the idea. Joe previously served as News Editor and has remained a contributing author to InPark Magazine since 2011. To understand more about Bob Weis as a themed entertainment professional and his lifetime of distinguished achievements, InPark editor Joe Kleiman explored a series of projects completed between 2002 and 2009. Dies geschieht in Ihren Datenschutzeinstellungen. On opening day, you saw the culmination of the efforts of those who made it go from muddy fields to a fully realized, magical place. DETAILS BELOW Bob Weiss (born May 7, 1942) is famous for being basketball coach. back you can see the things the way you saw them before. I wrote the script for this, shares Russell. exhibit] with Kurt Haunfelner. Your email address will not be published. And the last element that is key to an immersive experience and this is maybe the hardest to accomplish is that we are giving people agency in the story itself. Imagineering Ambassador Bob Weis is retiring from Disney in January, wrapping a career that The company's vision is to "entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through . And it was a joy to work with Leslie [Iwerks] on her documentary about Imagineering [The Imagineering Story, streaming on Disney+]. Certainly, the way we design has changed; the way we develop and visualize and engineer things has changed. One of our primary goals was To me, that is the magic of Disneylandthat people take their kids and want them to have the same experiences [that they had as children]. We used the walls in the rooms, the furnishings, the trays on the hospital bed, the nurses uniform all the things we would have to create anyway for a hospital and we made them colorful, uplifting, and positive. He totally respected Ricardo and it helps that Bob came out of architecture [Weis received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona in 1980]. It seems retirement didnt suit the former head of Walt Disney Imagineering! The firm already has such an incredible commitment to the cultural vibrancy of cities and the place where we live, work, and play. There was a true sense of collaboration., I was persuaded by the talent Bob brought in, adds Beckman. Weis was with Walt Disney Imagineering for 42 years, serving as president of WDI for a time and then Global Imagineering Ambassador. Battle Stations 21 was the Navys attempt to upgrade training. Rita's Italian Ice Giving Walt Disney World Cast Members Free Ice to Celebrate Bob Chapek's Departur months after announcing his retirement from The Walt Disney Company, Blizzard Beach Closing Due to Low Temperatures This Weekend, Signage Goes Up for EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2023 Presented by AT&T. talented people in the world who bring their unique backgrounds and diverse There was an intro film that Bob shot in Morocco on the set of Kingdom of Heaven. It featured Ridley Scott, Orlando Bloom, even the costume designer., ACTION! He is best known for his Disney projects most recently his leadership roles on the Disney California Adventure and Shanghai Disneyland parks. Designing immersive experiences feels like a logical next step in that design process. When Bob came down to Fort Worth, we were in the middle of working on this forensics exhibit, says Romans. And for those of us designing immersive experiences, its up to us to find ways to actively put people more physically and emotionally in the story so that they become truly invested and connected to a place. Think of going to the theater, but instead of watching the play from your seat, you are part of the play. nathan redmond mother. Its as if youre a character in your own movie and youre drawn through it. We were trying to explain to young people that every kind of job imagined and skill needed exists in the film business. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. the press release of the Gensler vision and Weis new responsibilities literally sounds like what a modern day WDI division and its President would be striving to do for the 21st century Disney fan. Bob has an ability to balance all of it. It doesnt take much with sound effects and announcements to make it feel like youre under attack. Kurt and I had worked on several projects together, and he suggested Bob talk to me. Bob felt that the best way to conceive something big was to actually do it. However, he also has a significant body of influential work in the museum and attractions fields and even military training simulation pioneering projects that established new models, blurring the line between attraction and exhibit, bringing museum techniques to the theme park world and vice versa. The former President of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis is joining Gensler as a Global Immersive Experience Design Leader, according to a statement released by the firm. by Tom Barnes, Communications Manager, Walt Disney Imagineering. This allows us to bring you the most interesting, entertaining, and unique entertainment experiences, covering theme parks, movies, TV, video games, and special events. always evolving and moving forward. People want to be inspired and moved in some way and feel some kind of connection to a space, so I think we all benefit from using storytelling as a critical part of any space. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History exhibits: We decided to rebuild the museum from the ground up, Romans recalled. He made a seminal decision to leave WDI to start Design Island and have more direct hands-on involvement and to make his movie.. Not just Bobs ideas, because hes very respectful of others and their concepts. In much the same vein, the Disneys America team engaged historians and Smithsonian experts, with the plan to include iconic American artifacts from the Smithsonian and other museums as part of the attraction experiences. He has written screenplays and books during a long career in the entertainment industry. The parks have to have that kind of clarity, and I think thats a big hallmark of what Imagineering has done in all the parks. While studying architecture at California Polytechnic University in Pomona, he worked in Disneyland Park as a cast member selling popcorn and ice cream and absorbing everything going on around him. To provide a clear view of the shaft through the now transparent ceiling, we re-engineered the cables and downsized the I-beam. And then we got access to a massive library of classic film stories and characters, which really expanded the possibilities. BW: I did, in college. One of his greatest attributes is his strategic mindset. He empowers the team; he doesnt micromanage them that comes with respect, it comes with a certain ability to understand personality types in the process and how to motivate. Out of the Walt Disney Company's five executives, Robert Iger earns the highest compensation of $47,517,800. When I was with Bob, he was always searching with me, How do we approach this idyllic structure? When in Washington, I told the team to wear ties to a meeting and Bob just laughed. Throughout the experience, actual forensic investigators appeared on screen. As a connoisseur of American history, Weis had worked on several military-themed projects. Subsequent assignments included creative leadership on Disneys Hollywood Studios (at the time, Disney-MGM Studios), Tokyo DisneySea, and the reimagining of Disney California Adventure. As a young person who hadnt really traveled much, I liked the idea of going to a far-off place like Tokyo and working with a tight group of senior Imagineers as well as a bunch of kids fresh out of school like me. A few months after announcing his retirement from The Walt Disney Company, former Imagineer Bob Weis has joined design and architecture firm Gensler as their Global Immersive Experience Design leader. He had decided to return to Disney. Back at Imagineering, Weis would oversee a number of high-profile projects, including the revamping of Disney California Adventure and the design of the new Shanghai Disney Resort. Its always great working with Bob. By submitting this form, you are granting Disney Parks Blog permission to email you. We sat down with Bob to ask him about his decision to join Gensler from Disney, and to take a deeper dive into the idea of storytelling through immersive experiences and why the physical experience of our buildings and cities is more important now than ever before. We held focus groups with locals and talked with both stakeholders and experts as part of the creative process.. Talking to Bob is like having an open conversation with an old college friend. Hes very casual, but hes very focused and strategic on the end goal. others. We learned to put ourselves in the shoes of the guests. You have a real authentic impact on the experience. We had planned on exhibiting it in an Africa pavilion. Described as a 'visionary within the entertainment industry', Weis brings more than 30 years of leadership with him to Gensler, having created, designed and developed some of Disney's most iconic projects around the globe. We hired Ricardo Legarreta, a famous architect from Mexico, who was in his 70s at the time. inspiration to generations of families and friends. He's a maker and movie director, known for Georgia (1988), Pure S (1975) and Heartbreakers (1984). changing. Editors note: We took a tribute approach to this story, interviewing Bob Weiss creative collaborators to learn and share their experiences of working with him. the architectural ornamentation of the castle. late Imagineering leader Marty Sklar used to say that Disneyland is a place He trusted us enough to place us in self-sufficient pods to complete the project.. Hes very fluid. Disney Imagineering President Bob Weis steps down ahead of Lake Nona move Bob Weis stepped down as president of Walt Disney Imagineering this week as his department moves to Lake Nona from. Imagineers have such an incredible Youre receiving limited access to D23.com. The headquarters in Glendale, California, was a playground to Walt, and he visited there often, not necessarily to check in, but to play, enjoy, and see what new things the Imagineers had been able to come up with. Known for movies. Bob Weis, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, has accepted a position with Gensler, a California-based architecture and design firm. He cared about the environment so his goal was to create a TV show that would make people love the ocean and the ocean creatures. Hes comfortable to listen to. He felt that the museum industry couldnt make an exhibit about movie making where you actually didnt get to make a movie.. The premiere of Shanghai Disneyland was a beautiful moment. D23: You were president at WDI during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us know in the comments below! Unlike ACTION!, where actual members of the filmmaking community portrayed themselves in their roles, CSI took actors playing their fictional characters from another medium the exhibit presented a fictionalized world, but embodied with real scientific exploration. Documenting the adventure were Weis, Associate Producer Steinouer, Editor Greg Jones, and Director of Photography Cameron Roberts. All Rights Reserved. Three sets were constructed a Paris cafe, the interior of a plane headed to Hawaii, and the underwater lair of the films villain. But we get to work side by side with some of the most Thats the way you think about space from a story point of view. Subjects and filmmakers both rode for nine days, often for twelve hours a day, as Viola led the group to key spots documented by the Lewis and Clark expedition. A few months after announcing his retirement from The Walt Disney Company, former Imagineer Bob Weis has joined design and architecture firm Gensler as their Global Immersive Experience Design leader. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. When Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 the audience embraced it as their own and Im also passionate about doing things that are closer to peoples everyday lives, and theres no other place I can realize that passion than at Gensler. If you want to see Weis in action, along with other Imagineers, be sure to watch The Imagineering Story on Disney+! One of the things we looked at was a new pavilion for EPCOT that would have celebrated entertainment. Global Imagineering Ambassador Bob Weis is retiring from Disney in January, wrapping a career that includes serving as president of Imagineering for nearly six years. dedication and passion for excellence. In recent years, he led the creative team for the development, design, and construction of Shanghai Disney Resort. Crossing over into a very different field, Weis had the opportunity to utilize his skills as an attraction and exhibit designer in the creation of Battle Stations 21: a realistic, virtual training experience for the US Navy Training Center near Chicago. Bobs magic trick is to show how the illusion could be so convincing and real., In 2002, John Beckman, now Director of Exhibit Design and Production at Chicagos Adler Planetarium and Principal at Sage Creative Group (Hamilton: The Exhibition), was just settling into his new position as Manager of Temporary Exhibits at MSI Chicago when ACTION! When I joined Disney, work was ramping up on two major projects: EPCOT in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland. There was a lot of prototyping and a lot of coordinating with the facility elevator operations team, Seruto told Rubin. He cared about his people; people responded with devotion to him and the project as a result. In this medium of immersive experiences, we want to break out of the screen and really envelop all the senses sight, smell, emotion, the feel all the things that can tell the story in physical ways that you will never forget. "We are thrilled that Bob is joining our global innovation design team," Gensler co-CEO Andy Choen said in a press release. general sessions court docket. Shame that Disney chased Bob away by forcing Imagineering to move to politically backwards Florida. This is what visionary companies are seeking, and what we all are yearning for as we interact with the world around us. Oriental Land Company (OLC). But the stories he creates arent limited to movie screens and printed pages. After a decade and a half at scenic fabricator Lexington, which she left as Vice President of Design & Production in 2000, Seruto established her own boutique studio specializing in the design and production of traveling exhibitions and events. Sklar left behind a massive collection of Disney artifacts and memorabilia that Weis has been reviewing with a team of specialists. For more information on our data collection and use practices, please read our Privacy Policy. original park had not resonated with audiences as well as we hoped, so I was Hes very engaging, and that makes you want to engage with him.. It was a natural fit for Bob hes a producer on all media. Bob Weis joined the Disney Imagineers 42 years ago, working his way up the ranks to become the current Global Imagineering Ambassador and former President of Walt Disney Imagineering. I will always be proud to have led Imagineering from 2016-2021, and to be your Global Ambassador in 2022, he wrote in an email he shared today with his fellow Imagineers. Just over the last decade. Gensler also interviewed Weis about immersive experiences, and he laid out what he thinks the three main elements of an immersive experience are: First, these are experiences that people want to do together. Instead of the traditional Adventureland we created Adventure Isle, plus an entire land themed to pirates. In recent years, he led the creative team for the development, design, and construction of Shanghai Disney Resort. Weis grew up in Southern California and fondly recalls his familys annual visits to Disneyland on his birthday every year. Russell recalls that about the time the whole Fort Worth concept was done, I got a call from Bob. I have huge admiration for [The Walt Disney Company CEO] Bob Chapek for marching ahead [with us] and believing in the projects that Imagineering does and that the audience would be there [when the pandemic eased].
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