This series of blogs focuses on my favorite things about Disney … those experiences that I find uplifting, enjoyable, memorable and worth more than one visit. These are my personal “must do’s” whenever I walk through the main gate of a Disney park and into what Walt Disney himself called “this happy place.”
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Unlike an oil painting, which always includes the artist’s signature, or a book, which has the author’s name emblazoned on the cover, Disney theme park attractions don’t recognize the men and women who conceived, created or designed them.
Members of Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative wing of the company that dreams up the park rides and adventures synonymous with the overall Disney park experience, almost always toil in anonymity.
And for the most part, no one knows who these magic-makers are.
“Imagineers really don’t get credit, with their name on the door,” is how now-retired Imagineering Executive Creative Director Kevin Rafferty once put it.
It was like that when Bob Gurr started designing “anything on wheels” in the months before and after Disneyland opened in 1955.
Sure, everyone loved the Autopia cars and the turn-of-the-20th century vehicles tooling up and down Main Street USA, but who was the genius behind those creations? It was Bob Gurr.
When Walt Disney wanted to upgrade Disneyland in the late 1950s, he turned to his self-professed “car guy” to lend his expertise in the creation of the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the submarine voyage and the futuristic monorail attractions.
Just a few years later, with the company committed to creating four attractions at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, it was Gurr who took the lead in integrating the untested Audio-Animatronics technology into all four shows.
Few other Imagineers have been as prolific as Gurr when it comes to Disney park attractions. Tony Baxter comes to mind, as does Joe Rohde, who not only were the creative minds behind several beloved attractions, but were the driving forces behind entire theme parks [Baxter’s was Disneyland Paris, Rohde’s Animal Kingdom] as well.
Rafferty began his prolific Disney career in a rather anonymous fashion: He was a dishwasher at the Plaza Inn at Disneyland in 1974. When he retired from Walt Disney Imagineering in 2021 as Executive Creative Director, he left behind a mind-boggling list of accomplishments, even if the general public may not know it.
Rafferty was the guiding force behind It’s Tough to be a Bug! in Animal Kingdom; the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Toy Story Midway Mania! in either Hollywood Studios and California Adventure or both; Test Track in EPCOT; the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh; the Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management redo; Mickey’s PhilharMagic [the original version, as well as the recent Coco overlay], and the Carousel of Progress update in the Magic Kingdom.
Oh, yeah. There’s also WDW’s two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, where he made a big splash as the show writer.
He’s even gone international: One of his first creations was the Pan Galactic Pizza Port in Tokyo Disneyland … an intergalactic pizza company’s first franchise on Earth!
Let that sink in for a minute. Rafferty’s Disney resume is not only about quantity, it’s also chock-full of quality [and extremely popular] adventures.
The thing about those Rafferty-influenced attractions is they’re all sprinkled with equal doses of whimsy, imagination and Disney magic, all traits exhibited by him during his stellar career. He’s a family-first kind of guy and that familial quality also comes through on all of his attractions. Kids of all ages are drawn to his imaginative creations.
And when it comes to turning a phrase or fitting in a witticism at just the right moment, Rafferty is a master.
Rafferty is so naturally funny that he spent time writing comedy sketches for the Comedy Warehouse in the now-shuttered Pleasure Island in the now-renamed Downtown Disney area.
Some of his tongue-in-cheek bits included hilarious repartee between two Pirates of the Caribbean and The Redhead as they waited for the next boat filled with guests to float by, as well as the classic Winnie-The-Pooh-Per Scooper routine.
Not only did Rafferty put his stamp on numerous classic Disney attractions, he also wrote several songs [most with composer George Wilkins] for Disney attractions, which further embellish his creations.
The closing song as guests exit It’s Tough to be a Bug! – the one about bugs being such prolific pollinators – is one of many Disney park tunes Rafferty’s co-authored. In addition, there’s “Planetary Boogie,” which used to be featured in the space-themed Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, and “Solo Pilot Blues” from Mickey’s Toontown Fair.
Included in the collection were songs written by the songwriting duo of George Wilkins/Kevin Rafferty.
In 1993, Kevin was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work with Walt Disney Television Animation. In addition, he was a writer for the “Wonderful World of Disney” ABC television show.
And much like his dear friend and mentor Marty Sklar [who was Walt Disney’s literary right-hand man, writing his annual reports, publicity and marketing materials] Rafferty created and wrote on-camera introductions for his boss, Michael Eisner, for the “Wonderful World of Disney.”
While he didn’t conceive an entire theme park, like Baxter and Rohde, Rafferty did dream up the concept for a new land in Disney’s California Adventure: The terrific Cars Land, to be specific, which he conceived years before the movie Cars was released.
And Radiator Springs Racers, the E-Ticket attraction that headlines Cars Land? That was Kevin Rafferty’s doing, thanks, in part, to his work on Test Track.
Unlike the Imagineers from decades ago, the internet, the plethora of streaming services, his wildly entertaining book “Magic Journey” for Disney Editions, as well as his appearances in Leslie Iwerks’ “The Imagineering Story” on Disney+ have helped make Kevin a bona fide celebrity, enabling him to break free from the shadows cast over the majority of his fellow Imagineers.
But he refuses to take all the credit. In fact, he’s quick to deflect much of the kudos to his fellow Imagineers, getting the word out on his gifted colleagues, many of whom have carried on the tradition of creating memorable attractions while toiling in relative anonymity.
“And Randy’s the one who brought me into creative and into show writing and kind of took me under his wing and let me explore my capabilities and made me understand that I kind of had the chops to do this kind of work.
“From a storytelling perspective, Tom Fitzgerald was very influential, as was Bob Weis [the former president of Walt Disney Imagineering]. Bob and I go back many, many years. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a great leader because he’s been there and done that and he’s delivered on many major projects, just like Marty.
“And, of course, there’s Kathy Mangum, who was a producer of Cars Land. I worked with Kathy for over 30 years on various projects. Kathy and I also go way back.
“He’s the guy who said, ‘You know, we need to go through the California Screamin’ coaster track to build Midway Mania behind that.’ He’s very good with spatial relationships and staging and theater and Rob’t had a blast coming up with Radiator Springs Racers and Toy Story Midway Mania! and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
“Rob’t’s many talents and theatrical chops set the stage for many fun attractions.”
More recently, Rafferty teamed with Charita Carter in bringing Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to life.
In a trademark Imagineering show of respect, Charita is subtly saluted during the ride: There’s a storefront with the name “Carter’s Cameras” that’s visible as your vehicle enters the “conga scene.”
Charita is currently working on the conversion of Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction, which is due to open later this year. For her part, she had high praise for Rafferty.
“Working with Kevin is like taking a master class,” she told me at the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in March of 2020.
And he’s a triple threat: Creator of park attractions, guiding force behind a spectacular new land, and co-author of songs featured in Disney parks.
Whenever I visit a Disney park, I make it a point to experience as many of Kevin Rafferty’s creations as I can. And if one of those attractions happens to be It’s Tough to be a Bug!, it’s a sure bet I’ll be humming “We’re pollinators …” for the rest of the day.
Indeed, when it comes to my favorite things about Disney, Kevin Rafferty and his incredible body of work have to rank at or near the top.
His park accomplishments are truly staggering. And his legacy will live on for generations.
Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist and retired Disney cast member who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored seven books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat and The Beat Goes On for Theme Park Press. He also has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.
I had the pleasure of working with Kevin Rafferty at Walt Disney Imagineering in the early 90s. I think the key to Kevin’s success was that he was a master of what I call “Disney whimsy”. It’s humor that’s playful and accessible to folks of all ages. It’s not that easy and requires meticulous writing. He’s the best.
Great article
Great article…thank you for writing it and shining a much-deserved spotlight on this humble Imagineer!