Behind the Scenes: How Imagineers Curate the Historic Artwork for the 1923 Restaurant on the Disney Destiny

A new video released by D23 has pulled back the curtain on the meticulous curation process for 1923, the sophisticated dining venue aboard the Disney Destiny.

What’s Happening:

• Walt Disney Imagineering shared the process of selecting artwork for the 1923 restaurant aboard the Disney Destiny.
• Set Decorator Alina walks fans through the trans-Atlantic journey required to bring Disney’s animation legacy to the high seas.
• The process begins with Imagineers identifying specific films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar that align with the ship's "Heroes and Villains" design thesis.
• The team sends their wish list to the Animation Research Library (ARL), initiating a virtual collaboration to identify the strongest available artwork that narrates the stories of the chosen characters.
• Designers travel physically to the ARL in Glendale, California. Here, they lay out the actual display cases, finalizing the placement of sketches, cels, and maquettes to ensure a cohesive visual narrative.
• Once finalized, the delicate artwork and props are packed in California and shipped directly to the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, for installation on the vessel.
• We previously posted a photo report of the D23 restaurant aboard the Disney Destiny.

About the Animation Research Library (ARL):

• Originally known as "The Morgue," the ARL is the primary repository for all original artwork created by Walt Disney Animation Studios, housing approximately 65 million pieces of physical art.
• The facility is strictly climate-controlled (kept at 59°F/15°C and 50% relative humidity) to prevent the degradation of paper and celluloid.
• The ARL is not open to the public. Its location in Glendale is nondescript and unmarked to ensure the security of the collection, which serves as a creative resource for current animators and Imagineers.
• The library utilizes a custom-built camera system to digitize artwork at extremely high resolutions, allowing them to share assets globally without risking damage to the fragile originals during transport.
• It is one of the few places in the world that stores surviving multi-plane camera glass paintings, which are notoriously fragile and heavy, used in films like Pinocchio and Bambi.

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