Bob Weis, Former President of Walt Disney Imagineering, Announces Retirement

Disney Imagineers dream up the impossible every single day. But what sets them apart is that they bring the impossible to life, turning it into the possible, although much of what they come up with still seems like magic to most of us!

It’s hard to say goodbye to these iconic members of Disney’s team that bring the parks to life in new ways (yes, we still miss Joe Rohde), and today, another Imagineer has announced his retirement.

Global Imagineering Ambassador and former President of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) Bob Weis has announced that he will retire at the end of the year. Weis started his Disney career as a Disneyland Cast Member but joined WED (what Walt Disney Imagineering was called at the time) in 1980 after he graduated from college.

Weis ended up relocating to Tokyo shortly after being hired as an Imagineer to help create Tokyo Disneyland. He also served as creative leadership on Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios), Tokyo DisneySea, and the reimagining of Disney California Adventure. Recently, he led the creative team that built Shanghai Disney Resort.

In 2016, Weis was named president of Walt Disney Imagineering. In 2022, he became a Global Imagineering Ambassador. If you want to see Weis in action, along with other Imagineers, be sure to watch The Imagineering Story on Disney+!

For even more details about how attractions in Disney parks came to be, don’t miss Behind The Attraction, also on Disney+!