About the Book
Disney experiences enthrall millions of guests around the world. How does it all become a reality? Find out in this action-packed narrative journey!
Disney experiences enthrall millions of guests around the world. How does it all become a reality? Find out in this action-packed narrative journey!
Dream Chasing is a recounting by author Bob Weis of four decades of creating and seeing to completion challenging projects, leading teams from the top secret, high-tech corridors of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) to the highest levels of The Walt Disney Company. Our author recounts working on and overseeing projects that took him from Anaheim, California, to the swampy wetlands of Central Florida, and even on to Paris; Washington, D.C.; Russia; Tokyo; Shanghai; and the massive shipyards of Papenburg, Germany.
As a former Imagineering president, Bob Weis was part of the second generation of Imagineers. His page-turner of a story follows the path of someone who never lost his passion for chasing big innovative dreams in spite of having to navigate over bumpy roads tied to a slew of issues and concerns-grounded in design, technology, politics, and culture (to name a few) just to bring an array of Disney experiences to reality. Bob's drive was fueled by a belief in something Walt Disney once said- "It's kind of fun to do the impossible. "Dreams," as Weis writes, "come from a place of infinite possibilities, from a part of us that doesn't recognize limits."
Dreams are exciting, frustrating, and sometimes illusive, as hard to hold on to as pixie dust, like glitter falling through your fingers."Sometimes they are meant to happen, and they do; sometimes they are meant to happen, and they don't. But every dream is an adventure, driven by the vision and passion of teams that believe any dream worth doing, is worth chasing."
About the Author :
Bob Weis is a dreamer who believes that if you can imagine it, you can do it. He was an Imagineer over a forty-year span, from 1980 to 2023. In those years, Bob worked on every Disney park and resort around the world. He was president of Walt Disney Imagineering from 2016 to 2022, and a Disney Global Imagineering Ambassador after that. His passion for storytelling and creative collaboration, new technologies, and for the vibrancy of the guest experience has driven him through projects from Tokyo Disneyland (and later its accompanying park, Tokyo DisneySea) and Disney Hollywood Studios to the reinvention of Disney California Adventure and on to Shanghai Disneyland. Weis also led the creative development of the new Triton class of cruise ships, the first of which was the critically acclaimed Disney Wish.Outside of Disney, Weis has served as a consultant to the Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian, New York City's Rockefeller Center, U. S. Navy, and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
Review :
"Everyone has great ideas in them, but without the right environment those ideas often stay hidden. The best leaders create the environments that allow for all the creativity and magic to flourish. Bob Weis is one of those leaders. Dream Chasing is his story of how he learned to help people shine and howwe can learn to do the same."
—Simon Sinek, Optimist and New York Times best-selling author of Start with Why and The Infinite Game
"Bob Weis was central to the explosion of creativity that marked Disney under Michael Eisner and later Bob Iger. Part memoir, part history, his story shows us how deeply intertwined Disney’s theme parks are with the American dream—and that the real American dream isn’t just finding success, but freeing the imagination."
—Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and architecture critic
"From working as a Disneyland popcorn and balloon vendor to becoming the architect of a legacy of hope, dreams realized, and making the impossible possible, Bob’s story intimately illustrates how Walt Disney Imagineers bring joy, celebration, and laughter to our guests around the world. As an Imagineer, Bob shares that the making of experiences, both large and small, is a collaborative effort. And more importantly, that every project, whether the narrative is fantastical or real, is approached with creative artistry, skill, passion, and love. Dream Chasing is a must read!"
—Carmen J. Smith, SVP, Creative Development—Content, Product & Inclusive StrategiesDisney Experiences, Disney Consumer Products, Walt Disney Imagineering
"Bob’s book is such a terrific read! For someone like me who spent more than fifty-one years at Disney, I so enjoyed discovering the “backstory” of so many pivotal moments in my career! Bob’s “seat at the table” for many decisive moments in Disney Experiences history is unique and provides stories you will no doubt hear for the first time!"
—George A Kalogridis, Retired president, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort
"Weis, the former president of “Imagineering” at Disney, debuts with a lighthearted memoir about his career at the House of Mouse. After studying architecture in college, Weis got a job with Walt Elias Disney Enterprises, the organization that designs Disney parks, in 1980. His first assignment was to help open Tokyo Disneyland, effectively a copy of Florida’s Magic Kingdom Park, but he soon took on more ambitious projects, including revitalizing the underperforming California Adventure park. Weis makes clear that his decades at Disney took their toll, requiring long days and extensive travel. However, he takes pains to point out Disney’s commitment to quality and ethics, as when he discusses requiring that the dorms housing the construction workers who built Shanghai Disneyland include libraries and “recreation opportunities during time off.” The feel-good narrative has little conflict or tension, but details about roads not taken will keep readers turning pages. For instance, Weis describes how in the early 1990s he worked on Disney’s America, a proposed Virginia park focused on U.S. history that would have included mockups of a Civil War fort and the Ellis Island immigration center. (The project was abandoned amid concern it would trivialize its historical subject matter.) Disney fans will find this worth the price of admission."
—Publishers Weekly
