Book Review: Dream Chasing by Bob Weis
The last 40 years of Disney Parks, all summed up here
I’m the first to admit that the past decade of changes to the Disney Parks haven’t been my cup of tea. Replacing slow-movers with thrill rides, supplementing physical sets with screens—these things don’t do much for me. I get motion sickness, I dislike launches, and screens feel soulless to me.
Luckily for the rest of the world, I’m pretty much in the minority! And I’ve made my peace with that. I like old things, especially old things restored to a high sheen, so that I can pretend I’m adjusting my beehive hairdo and straightening my cats-eye glasses as I sit down to catch another enthralling edition of the original Country Bear Jamboree. (And no, I don’t actually know if beehives and cats-eyes overlap with Country Bear, but don’t the words go together beautifully?)
Bob Weis, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering from 2016-2022 (now there are some tumultuous years to be in charge) and a forty-year veteran of the organization that was still called WED when he began, has been a part of an awful lot of changes in the Disney Parks and Resorts division. (No, I’m not calling it DPEP, that sounds like a prescription for an upset stomach.) He writes about pretty much every single year of that 4-decade career in DREAM CHASING, a new memoir from Disney Editions.
And in his descriptions of the work and the why, I came away with a better understanding of how today’s Disney Parks have evolved, and why they’ve changed in certain ways — such as more characters, more thrills, that sort of thing. In fact, Weis makes me feel downright okay with some of these changes — at least I know they’re well-thought out!
First things first: this is a must-read for any theme park fan!
Now, I don’t think Weis has the rock star status that a handful of today’s living, talking veteran Imagineers has. Bob Gurr, Tony Baxter, and a select few others have gone out on the podcasts and done the fan conventions, and really built their own followings. But for a certain type of Disney park fan, myself included, Weis’s statements and his headshot next to an announcement were definitely cause for pause, because we all knew: this is the guy at the top.
And how did he get there? Like so many of the first, second, and third-gen Imagineers, through sheer want and proximity. Weis somehow survived a no-rehire dismissal from Disneyland (I wouldn’t have made it in the balloon room, either, Bob) to waltz into WED and get hired straight out of college.
I don’t know how people get hired into Imagineering today, but I doubt it goes quite like it did in the Baxter and Weis days, when you showed up liking Disney and really into building stuff and they were like, “Great, here’s your ID.”
But it doesn’t matter if it is harder now. What matters is that Weis let the Disney madness take over his life, and in a matter of months he was in Tokyo, turning a swampy landfill into Tokyo Disneyland, and that was just the beginning of his adventure.
And thank goodness he wrote it all down, because this is a story worth savoring.
I really loved Weis’s descriptions of developing properties that have evolved wildly over the years. Here are some highlights:
The decisions behind creating the Studio Tour and its awkward evolution to Disney-MGM Studios, the half-day park that became a full-day park because guests expected it, is explained in detail, right down to focus group feedback.
Weis details his relationship with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, offering a great insight into the mindset that launched the Disney Decade.
The hard push, and ultimate heartbreak, of the Disney’s America development. (As always, I feel it’s important to remind the NIMBYs who didn’t want it that instead of a beautiful heritage park, they got a retail plaza.) It was always about real estate…as Eisner tells Weis in the scene that closes this chapter.
The uncertainty around expectations for the redevelopment of Disney’s California Adventure — the brief basically seemed to be “Look, just fix the place, okay?” — feels extremely Disney Culture to me.
The origins of the “More Disney” guidelines which have led to more and more Disney-owned IP in the parks, as well as the “distinctly Chinese” statement Bob Iger made about Shanghai Disney, clarified a lot for me about projects over the past ten years.
Weis’s relationship with Marty Sklar is a highlight whenever it arises in the book, and the day of his death was poignant enough to bring a tear to my eye. His determination to continue Sklar’s legacy and work, keeping Imagineering innovative and independent, is a key message in this book.
Immediate History
One of the most fascinating aspects of this book, for me, is that the ink is barely dry on so many of the stories. Yes, it starts in the 1980s. But it ends just a few years ago. When Weis describes an executive meeting at the Four Seasons in Lake Buena Vista, I remember that very day, because I was a Cast Member and we were all on edge, warned that Bob Iger and his team were on property. (We were also a little offended they were at the Four Seasons and not at the Grand Floridian.)
Things like redeveloping DCA, the announcement of Cars Land, the struggle to produce Shanghai Disneyland on time and in some semblance of a budget (I was one of the Cast Members who got cut to 4 days a week during the #ThanksShanghai budget cuts!), the loss of Marty Sklar, and the bewildering days of March 2020 and its aftermath are all moments I recall very clearly as a member of the Disney Parks family—they’re marked for me in memories of backstage posters, announcements on the Disney Hub internal website, live-streams, memos, emails “from” Bob Iger to all Cast Members…and of course, the infamous “Dear Valued Employee” emails sent in the Bob Chapek era.
A Life in Service
A key marker in every Parks Cast Member’s career is their growing collection of “Service Awards.” The Steamboat Willie for one year is as far as I ever got, but I have three of those, because of things like going seasonal or leaving for a few years to learn new things, etc., broke into my consecutive years accumulated.
I’ve never liked the word “service” in reference to how long a person has kept a job. I’m not in service to anyone. I just like giving kids stickers and hanging out at theme parks while getting paid. But Weis really did spend a life in service to WED, Imagineering, and ultimately that big goal of keeping Walt’s dream alive. I do think this is the least I’ve ever read about Walt in any Disney book, but the goals and aims that Marty Sklar passed on to Bob Weis were the goals and aims he developed to keep Walt’s legacy alive in the spirit of innovation, and that’s all evident here.
Weis gave up a lot, sometimes —seemingly — without realizing it. He had health crises (#ThanksShanghai) and relationships couldn’t always keep up with Disney’s demands on his life. But he got a lot back, too, while he was out chasing these dreams.
DREAM CHASING, by Bob Weis, is available from Disney Editions in any bookstore. (I got mine at Barnes & Noble.) Don’t miss it! There are a world of stories here that every Disney fan will want to explore.
Also, Bob has been touring the fandom with podcast and video appearances, which I think is so cool of him! If you want to hear more from him, a quick search will yield loads of interviews.
Thanks for reading!
Did you like this review? Check out my Theme Park novel in serial, Confessions of a Theme Park Princess.
Confessions of a Theme Park Princess, Chapter 1
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