How To Become An Imagineer.

As we cover a whole bunch of Disney events, we usually see the same people covering those same events from other media outlets. One of those people that I’ve gotten to know over the years is named Mark Eades. Mark isn’t the traditional reporter though. He knows the magic. He is a former Walt Disney Imagineer.

Mark usually is a known face by cast members and media alike because before he was reporting for our local county’s publication, he was telling stories by working on some of our favorite Disneyland attractions like Star Tours and Splash Mountain. When I learned about this special side to Mark, I wanted to sit down with him and ask him a question that  I, as a kid, and even grown adults looking for careers are still want to know the answer to: how do I become an Imagineer?

I had that chance to sit down with Mark a few months ago and he gave me four “E’s” that helped him get a job at Imagineering and strived in it.

Mark Eades’ E’s To Becoming An Imagineer:

Enlighten(yourself). Even though you may know a lot, there’s still a lot more to learn! Know that as an Imagineer, you’ll succeed if you teach yourself new things all the time.

Envision You’ll have plenty of ideas and ways of doing things after your enlighten yourself. It’s time to practice taking all that knowledge and give yourself a detailed map of how to make something magical and new.

Execute Got that map? Great – it won’t mean anything until it’s put to use. Gather your team (or yourself) and be sure you have the right resources to actually make these “dreams come true.”

Embrace(the new). You made something magical and new…and that’s something to celebrate! But don’t let the celebration stop there. Celebrate by embracing what’s next and what’s new that you can create! As Walt Disney once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

By having these traits under your own belt, you yourself, just like Mark, are on your way to accomplishing anything…perhaps even applying to be the next Imagineer!

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My special thanks to my good friend and friend of DisneyExaminer Mark Eades for sharing his wisdom with me and now all of you who want to become Imagineers still! Are you one of the many budding Imagineers out there? Did these tips encourage you? Is there anything else you want to know about Imagineering? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to get an answer.