Wing Chao: My favorite imagineer
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My initial love for the Disney theme parks came from Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center but my enduring passion for the product has been driven by concepts outside the berm. The creation of themed environments beyond the parks from the hotels to the Downtown Disney concept to the Disney Cruise Lines to the new Disney Regional Resorts like Disney's upcoming Grand Hawaiian project has meant that my days do not need to end when I leave through the turnstiles and don't need to be spent solely in a theme park. I don't share many of Michael's opinions but I do feel like a frustrated imagineer myself as I lack any appropriate creative skills. However my hobby of architectural appreciation has been entirely motivated by Disney's activities beyond the parks. And for that I am eternally grateful to Wing Chao. Probably the greatest imagineer that ever lived. This may read like an obituary but Wing is only retiring. I wish Wing all the best in his retirement from July 1.
However his influence will continue to be felt for years to come through the current slate of projects including Disney�s Grand Hawaiian, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy and the upcoming Disney�s Regional Resorts project in D.C. He is leaving behind Mickey Mouse-sized shoes to fill.
To discover more about Wing Chao, Executive Vice-President, Architecture & Master Planning, Walt Disney Imagineering and his recent hotel projects please check out the only magazine dedicated to the creativity of the Walt Disney Company � Tales from the Laughing Place Magazine. In Issue 4 Wing discussed the development of the Hong Kong Disneyland and Disney�s Hollywood Hotels in Penny Bay, Issue 5 featured an interview about the near thirty-year journey to choosing Hong Kong as the location for the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and the master planning efforts on the landfill site and Issue 13 covered the design and construction of the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.
Please visit our dedicated website for further information: http://www.talesfromthelaughingplace.com
Sunrise over the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel viewed from Disney's Hollywood
Hotel, September 2005
Click here for a much larger version of this picture
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-- Posted June 8, 2009
-- Text by Lee MacDonald
-- Layouts by Lindsay Cave