Plot Synopsis

Narrated by Angela Bassett, THE IMAGINEERING STORY is a six-part documentary series that chronicles the 65+ year history of Walt Disney Imagineering with parallel storylines of the people, the craft, and the business. Featuring exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage from Disney's parks around the world, the first episode of THE IMAGINEERING STORY premiered at 6am ET/3am PT on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, the same day the streaming network Disney+ launched. Subsequent episodes debut each Friday, beginning November 15.

Behind the magic of every Disney theme park lay mud, sweat and fears. Creating happiness is hard work. For nearly seventy years, a unique blend of artists and engineers have cultivated an impossible notion from the mind of one man, Walt Disney, into a global phenomenon that touches the hearts of millions. These designers are called Imagineers. People are connected to the Imagineers through their work, and yet, they remain a mystery. Three narrative threads intertwine through the decades -- the spirit of the designers, the skill of the craft, and the drama of the theme park business. The viewer goes behind the scenes to witness the creation of Disneyland and every subsequent theme park, from Epcot and Disney's Animal Kingdom to the parks in Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai. The viewer sees the trials and tribulations as well as the joys and successes, behind the making of classic attractions -from Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion to new favorites like Cars Land and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.From the words of the designers themselves and through never-before-seen archival footage, the viewer discovers who made these places and why. Conceptually, Imagineering appears a similar place as it did under Walt. Very few companies have that creative DNA of continuity. The process has changed, the people have changed, but the fundamentals of who they are, remains.Today's Imagineers stand on the shoulders of those who came before. The keys to their future success lie in the culmination of nearly seventy years of lessons learned -- tribal knowledge passed down through the generations. Once a spark of inspirationin Walt Disney's mind, now the sun never sets on a Disney Park somewhere in the world.