NEWS - Education & Colleges

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SBJ Staff Report

Jan 9, 2012 – A team of students from the Savannah College of Art & Design, made up of Jason Clarke, Marissa Garner, Ben Gray & Geoff Shaw, with their project “Mirrors on the Moon: Hench’s Discovery,” has made it to the finals of the Disney ImagiNations.

The annual program is designed and sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of all Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, which allows participants to showcase their talents and gain practical knowledge in design from leaders in immersive storytelling and themed entertainment.

The finalist teams are awarded five-day trips to Imagineering in Glendale, CA where they will present their projects and vie not only for prestige and prize money, but also for a much-coveted paid internship position.

During their work-week at Imagineering, they will have a chance to meet and network with the technical and creative Imagineers responsible for Disney’s global theme parks and attractions located in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Past winners of this competition are currently Imagineering employees, and some of these finalists may possibly be future designers of Walt Disney Park & Resort attractions.

In all, six college teams will travel to Imagineering to compete January 30-February 3, 2012 representing California State Polytechnic University – Pomona; Carnegie Mellon University; North Carolina State University;  Savannah College of Art & Design;  University of California, Berkeley; and Utah State University.

They will present their projects to Imagineering executives, meet and network with technical and creative Imagineers, go behind the scenes of where Disney magic is created, and interview for paid internships, culminating in an Awards Lunch and ceremony on February 3.

For this year’s ImagiNations design competition, students from American universities and colleges were given a unique challenge: “Imagine it’s the year 3011. Disney has entertainment experiences all over the world, many which don’t even exist today. The human race is finally living on the moon and Walt Disney Imagineering wants to be the first one to provide entertainment and/or recreation to the new citizens there. What would you imagine that this new Disney experience could be?”

The judges apply the same criteria to the entries as they would to their own work – beginning with the team’s ability to collaborate across different disciplines and backgrounds; the mastery of their individual skills; whether it provides an engaging guest experience; the ability of the experience to demonstrate respect and inclusion for the diverse array of families who visit Walt Disney parks & resorts, and that it is unique in that it is not limited to what guests already experience in Disney parks and resorts. 

The projects and concepts presented are not necessarily intended to be built by Disney – they are a way for the entrants to demonstrate their skill and creative abilities.  In consideration for the opportunities provided by Imagineering, submissions become the sole property of Walt Disney Imagineering and Imagineering retains all rights to use and/or display the submissions and the materials contained in them.

Walt Disney Imagineering uses ImagiNations as a way to reach out to the widest possible talent pool for its future, according to the company. The top three placed teams will be awarded cash prizes with the first place team receiving $3,000.  An additional $1,000 grant will be awarded to the first place team, to be equally divided among its sponsoring universities and/or organizations.  

The concepts presented by the finalists cover a wide range of concepts and topics including:

·       A hands-on approach to astronomy and space travel across the planets (California State Polytechnic University - Pomona’s “New Frontiers”)

·       A nighttime spectacular and experience, a park finale set in an underground lunar city constructed in pre-existing lava tubes (Carnegie Mellon University’s “Create The Night”)

·       An interactive adventure ride encompassing two separate moon parks to communicate the sweeping story of Molly Mouse, Mickey Mouse’s descendant (North Carolina State University‘s “The Mind of Molly Mouse”)

·      A futuristic visit to a destroyed alien city below the moon’s surface (Savannah College of Art & Design’s “Mirrors on the Moon: Hench’s Discovery”)

·      The first Disney Interactive Resort and Entertainment Center located in space (University of California, Berkeley’s “A-SEED: Artem Sustainable Eatery and Entertainment Disk”)

·      A galactic cruiseline which tours the solar system (Utah State University’s “Disney Galactic Cruiseline: The Oneiro”)