Disney Imagineers Host a Panel Discussion for California STEM Students!

If you watched The Imagineering Story on Disney+, you got a sneak peek into how Disney Imagineers create magic in Disney parks around the globe. Whether it’s an attraction or an entire land, Imagineers combine imagination with engineering to make the impossible possible!

Disney Imagineers work on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ©Disney

OC Register reported that four hundred Southern California STEM (aka science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students gathered at Disneyland recently to hear from Imagineers on the inner workings behind what their job entails. The panel hoped to inspire the students to perhaps, one day, take on the job of Imagineering themselves!

The students met with five Imagineers for an hour inside the Disneyland Main Street Opera House. The panel included John Larena (Executive Creative Director), Scott Trowbridge (Creative Executive), April Warren (Show Programmer), Dani Bellar (Show Programmer), and Anisha Deshmane (Assistant Producer).

Imagineers at work! ©Disney

Discussions ranged from the unique paths to becoming an Imagineer, to the steps Imagineers take in creating a new ride or land. The students were brought in from several Orange County and Southern California organizations, including Big Brother Big Sisters, First Robotics, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, Higher Ground, Mind Research Institute, Stand Up for Kids, and Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation.

The panel encouraged the students to never stop learning, and to follow their passions, even if those change along the way. There’s no one clear path to becoming an Imagineer and students were told to give 100% to whatever they chose to pursue!

Do you have dreams of becoming a Disney Imagineer? What would be your first project you would want to create? Let us know in the comments!