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Real Innovations

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Thu, 05/28/2009 - 19:11
fjfuchs
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Real Innovations

Being an engineer, I am always interested in the origin of things. We all know that velcro was developed for use in the space program when there was a need for a dry, re-stickable closure that would work at a wide range of temperatures and in a vacuum without deteriorating. Today, velcro is everywhere - so much so, in fact, that we can all immediately identify the sound of a velcro closure opening. I know that there are several outcomes of Disney Imagineering - I can think of the monorail, several means of crowd control, projections on water (Fantasmic) and on nebulized water (Pirates of the Carribean), and the first practical use of halographic projection (Haunted Mansion). Disney has also masterminded so many visual effects that it is mind boggling. There must be things that we use every day that originated at the Disney Studios or Disney Parks. Let's generate a list. Please help me. FJF

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Thu, 05/28/2009 - 20:41
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Don't forget the engineering that's happened in the filmmaking business--Disney himself re-mastered the art of animation. He designed, engineered, and built several types of cameras for his animated films.

BTW, congratulations on your retirement! Sounds like you have a couple of great ideas for some bookwriting over the next few years!

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Thu, 05/28/2009 - 21:01
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bali wrote:
Don't forget the engineering that's happened in the filmmaking business--Disney himself re-mastered the art of animation. He designed, engineered, and built several types of cameras for his animated films.

BTW, congratulations on your retirement! Sounds like you have a couple of great ideas for some bookwriting over the next few years!

Yup, the multiplane camera. Walt Disney Studios was the first to use it. The Silly Symphony short The Old Mill still looks great to this day because of it. But it's genius wasn't fully revealed until Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

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Thu, 05/28/2009 - 21:10
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How about audio-animatronics! Didn't Walt ask his team to develop the first--a tiki bird? And Lincoln was debuted at the 1964 World's Fair.

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Thu, 05/28/2009 - 22:09
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In talking about the monorail, Bob Gurr said that when Walt told him to design a monorail, he knew NOTHING about them, so he just went around and picked the best parts of all the monorails he could find.

He thought one type was more sleek and streamlined, and others had other features he liked.

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Fri, 05/29/2009 - 02:43
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MouseTraveler wrote:
In talking about the monorail, Bob Gurr said that when Walt told him to design a monorail, he knew NOTHING about them, so he just went around and picked the best parts of all the monorails he could find.

He thought one type was more sleek and streamlined, and others had other features he liked.



Where WERE the monorails prior to Disney?

Fri, 05/29/2009 - 03:19
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admin wrote:
MouseTraveler wrote:
In talking about the monorail, Bob Gurr said that when Walt told him to design a monorail, he knew NOTHING about them, so he just went around and picked the best parts of all the monorails he could find.

He thought one type was more sleek and streamlined, and others had other features he liked.



Where WERE the monorails prior to Disney?

I THINK he said Switzerland... and Germany... might be some others.

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Fri, 05/29/2009 - 13:14
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fjfuchs wrote:
Being an engineer, I am always interested in the origin of things. We all know that velcro was developed for use in the space program when there was a need for a dry, re-stickable closure that would work at a wide range of temperatures and in a vacuum without deteriorating. Today, velcro is everywhere - so much so, in fact, that we can all immediately identify the sound of a velcro closure opening. I know that there are several outcomes of Disney Imagineering - I can think of the monorail, several means of crowd control, projections on water (Fantasmic) and on nebulized water (Pirates of the Carribean), and the first practical use of halographic projection (Haunted Mansion). Disney has also masterminded so many visual effects that it is mind boggling. There must be things that we use every day that originated at the Disney Studios or Disney Parks. Let's generate a list. Please help me. FJF

Nebulized water?

Fri, 05/29/2009 - 19:27
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MouseTraveler wrote:
admin wrote:
MouseTraveler wrote:
In talking about the monorail, Bob Gurr said that when Walt told him to design a monorail, he knew NOTHING about them, so he just went around and picked the best parts of all the monorails he could find.

He thought one type was more sleek and streamlined, and others had other features he liked.



Where WERE the monorails prior to Disney?

I THINK he said Switzerland... and Germany... might be some others.

The one in Switzerland is the main one it was based on (as I learned from How To Be Like Walt).

In the book it said they called one day and said "Stop using it we find out it doesn't work" and Disney and Co. had already fixed it.

Fri, 05/29/2009 - 21:44
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Walt didn't share his fix with the Swiss?!? That's not very magical.

Fri, 05/29/2009 - 23:22
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dsoup wrote:
Walt didn't share his fix with the Swiss?!? That's not very magical.


laugh

I wonder where in Switzerland it was.

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Sat, 05/30/2009 - 16:33
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It's not really a "real" innovation, but I'd definitely say that Disney has set the bar for theming. If you think about all the decisions that Walt made that sound prohibitively expensive or difficult for his parks, those are often the same decisions that have made the parks head and shoulders above every other theme park experience. Quite bold really.

 
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