Disney shared a behind-the-scenes interview with Rebekah Leyshon, writer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris.
What’s Happening:
Tell us about your job. What do you do? What does the day-to-day work of a writer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris entail?
- I’m a writer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris. As part of the Show Quality Standards team, my job is to work on enhancing and maintaining the stories we tell throughout our destination.
- I am here to provide fellow Imagineers and Cast Members with the right level of information and story elements to deliver a final Guest experience that makes sense and is coherent with everything else.
- Storytelling is at the heart of everything Disney does and the Parks are actual living proof of that.
- No two days are identical – it depends on what projects we’re working on and/or who needs my help. I can be in a brainstorming session one minute and proofreading Guest-facing signage the next; one day be talking with the Costuming team and another be updating our Show Information and Nomenclature Guides; sometimes I go on-site for inspiration or to see with my own eyes what challenges we need to face, others I’ll be behind my desk or talking with one of our designers about an ongoing project.
- I work with so many different people within the company and that’s what I love about my job – I get to be, do and see so many things, sometimes all within the same day!
How did you get to Disneyland Paris?
- I was lucky enough to meet a Disneyland Paris Human Resources representative at my college’s job fair.
- A few weeks later, I had my first interview and was taken on as an intern in the International Marketing team, working on Press Relations and Promotions with trade partners.
- At the end of my internship, they offered me a temporary position as Marketing Representative, which eventually turned into a permanent job.
- After five years working there, I was ready for a new challenge but this time really wanted to fulfil my dream to write and create. Never would I have imagined an opportunity would open up at Imagineering, but it did and I applied, only half believing it could work. I’ve been here five years now and have never looked back!
What is the writing process at Imagineering? How do you manage to incorporate Disney storytelling?
- Story is central to all the experiences we create or enhance in our destinations. Whether we’re updating or re-imagining something completely, that’s where we start.
- And it’s never just one person working on their own; it’s a whole team working together, each person bringing their expertise and ideas to the table.
- Depending on the scale and type of project we’re working on, the process can vary.
- Some things are very straightforward; bigger projects involve a much longer approval process. But there’s always a phase of research. We’re given an artistic direction but it’s important to have a holistic understanding of what came before and what that story means before putting anything on paper.
- For the projects I’m part of, I very often reach out to fellow Imagineers here or across the world as they are a wonderful source of information, inspiration and history that I couldn’t get anywhere else. There’s always something to learn about our destination – why something was done in a certain fashion or how a certain effect is achieved – and I try to delve as much as I can into what’s already in the Parks to make sure the work I contribute is coherent with the story we’re already telling.
- If we’re using a Disney film as a base, I’ll look at the art books, interviews and of course the film itself.
- There are worse things than having to re-watch a Disney Classic as part of my job! What I enjoy most is when we get together, as I find this helps energise and spark new ideas. Once we have a couple or more ideas, we try to see which one best answers the objective and whether it’s something we can then build on.
- There is usually quite a lot of back-and-forths and fine-tuning, but once we get the go-ahead it’s my job to provide a written synopsis and detailed information on how it’s brought to life, to keep a written trace which will help keep that storytelling alive.
How do you transform a concept into a magical experience for guests?
- A big difference with books or films is that we very often put our Guests in the middle of the stories we’re telling.
- Everything they see, touch, hear – even sometimes smell – is part of that and so bringing those stories to life in the Parks couldn’t possibly boil down to just one person; it’s a whole team of architects, designers, artists, music producers, engineers, technicians, costume designers, light and special effects experts – to name but a few – who are responsible for taking a concept and bringing it to life.
- Then once the project is delivered, it is the Guest-facing Cast Members who contribute to making it an unforgettable experience for Guests.