Ahead of being inducted as a Disney Legend this weekend at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Sunday, August 11, former Imagineer Joe Rohde has shared his thoughts on his accomplishments and legacy during his time with The Walt Disney Company in a new interview.
Joe Rohde Interview
On Being Honored as a Disney Legend
The interview begins with Rohde’s reaction to being honored as a Disney Legend, to which the former Imagineer replied modestly and spoke about how he always felt part of a team rather than a single figurehead:
Frankly, it was an unexpected honor. All the work we do is done by teams and I always thought of myself as part of a team—kind of the like the team editor. So, it wasn’t top of mind that I was going to be honored in any way. But it is humbling and delightful at the same time to be thought of as an integral part of the history of The Walt Disney Company.
Joe Rohde
The Inspiration for Disney’s Animal Kingdom
When asked where the inspiration for Disney’s Animal Kingdom came from, Rohde attributed the idea for the park to former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and his partners who helped bring it to life.
I think it’s a bit of an overstatement to say that there would be no Disney’s Animal Kingdom without me. It was Michael Eisner‘s idea, and from day one I worked with partners to see it come to life. I think the part that I can take credit for is that I was the chief spokesperson and negotiator for the project, the one who had to do the talking not only to explain it but to enlist supporters, advocates, and advisors.
[…] That experience bred into me and my teams a strong bias towards presenting all projects not so much as exciting opportunities that might be possible, but as rational investments that were possible and were also exciting… but doable first. Sort of a reduced focus on pure Blue Sky and more like trying to outsmart the analysis so that a proposal could be both rational and surprising at any given moment. Less “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” and more “This makes perfect sense and it’s amazingly cool.”
Joe Rohde
Creating Expedition Everest and Pandora – The World of Avatar
Rohde spoke at length about his work on Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain and Pandora – The World of Avatar, looking back fondly on his memories of both projects.
It’s no secret to those who know me that I love the Himalayas. I’ve been there many times, and would go back in a heartbeat, so working on Expedition Everest was a particularly personal joy. It’s common with projects that some of my fondest memories are from the moments right before we open when the project is nearly complete; [it’s] an entire world unto itself, but not yet up and running, so you can wander through it wandering through your imagination. Everest was like that. Almost every space in that attraction is stunningly realistic, so walking around in it is like walking around in my memory of being in the Himalayas.
[…] Pandora was another thing altogether. I was terrified of this project when it began, and certain that it would be the disastrous end of my career. It’s a matter of public record that I wrote multiple memos to the company advising them not to acquire the property because it was so impossible to build out of real material in the real world. Then, of course, we had to do it.
Joe Rohde
Establishing the Disney Conservation Fund
Rohde was a key figure in the launch of the Disney Conservation Fund, which began in 1996. When asked about his contributions to the organization, he said that it “simply had to come into existence” to build Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
It started as a kind of logical and inevitable proposition: If we wanted to have a legitimate venue that held live wild animals, we would have to be part of a broader national and global effort to protect and conserve those animals, and that would involve creating a conservation fund. This was made clear to us by one of our first advisors, Dr. William Conway, and from the moment that it was clear I closed literally every single executive review with the same caveat, that none of this was possible unless we formed a conservation organization. Once I had acquired some internal advocates, like Judson Green, it became easier to advance the cause.
Joe Rohde
On His Legacy at Walt Disney Imagineering
The final question asked Rohde to look back on his legacy and contributions after 40 years at Walt Disney Imagineering. When asked how he’d like to be remembered, Rohde responded:
Most of my career was occupied with projects that did not touch upon fantasy or animated characters. Even before Disney’s Animal Kingdom, my work tended to be focused on exploration of what else Disney could mean. Pleasure Island and The Adventurers Club were just part of years of work on urban entertainment centers. Disney’s Animal Kingdom was an experiment expanding what a theme park could be. [Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa] was a collaboration with indigenous Hawaiians. Les Villages Nature Paris was a sustainable eco resort. There’s just not a lot of classic IP in my portfolio. If I have a legacy, I suppose it is that… to leave a body of work that shows just how much more and how much else Imagineers are capable of.
And further, I hope that I have established a sense of discipline, deep study, and gravitas to the work. Over the years I have come to believe that what we do is far and away the most complex and technically sophisticated art form in the world. No film, no opera, no theatrical or architectural enterprise comes close. It deserves intellectual sophistication that is equal to its technical sophistication.
Joe Rohde
Joe Rohde retired from Imagineering in 2021 and later joined Virgin Galactic as their first Experience Architect. Other new Disney Legends to be inducted at the 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event include Harrison Ford, James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Angela Bassett, and Miley Cyrus.
Read the full interview from The Walt Disney Company.
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