Thoughts on Walt, Dec 12

Thoughts on Walt
Page 8 of 26

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Bob Baranick (right) with Imagineer Tony Baxter

Bob Baranick on Walt Disney
December 12, 2001

Here is a genius who created an enormous amount of entertainment and still had time to spend with his family.

Up until 1999 Bob Baranick worked for Disneyland Design Studio, the Disneyland inpark wing of Walt Disney Imagineering  His projects included Tarzan's Treehouse, the earthquake finale added to Big Thunder Mountain a few years ago and the Haunted Mansion upgrade of 1996. He is perhaps best known for his work on the major Pirates of the Caribbean rehab of 1997.

Bob wrote the following about Walt:

I wish I had the chance to meet Walt Disney. It's the only thing about my life I would ever change. If we could only go back in time....

Uncle Walt was an inspiration from TV. When I was a child, his ideas and accomplishments (especially Disneyland) were the benchmark for my career. At the age of ten I knew exactly what I wanted to do and have never waivered from the course.

Recently I have learned what kind of person Walt really was. His "hero status" has been reinforced through Diane Disney Miller's piece Walt: The Man Behind The Myth. Here is a genius who created an enormous amount of entertainment and still had time to spend with his family.

Perhaps the most amzing thing to me was Walt's ability to never give up. He always went the extra mile to reinvest into the product. It was his desire to take things farther and make the product better than was required. Had he not gone above and beyond we may never have known the world he envisioned.

I believe that Walt Disney's creations were not his only legacy. I believe that his visions for the world, his goals for the entertainment industry, his ability to overcome any obstacles, his establishment of a creative process, and his push to get more out of a product were his greatest gifts. He certainly has inspired me.

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