Tony Baxter (Disney Legend, Imagineer, IAAPA Hall of Fame)

Imagination Skyway

Matthew Krul

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel, Kids & Family

5 • 830 Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2021

⏱️ 96 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tony Baxter's career as a Disney Imagineer defined the second generation of Disney Park experiences. Tony's legacy includes Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Tours, Journey Into Imagination, and Disneyland Paris. As a lifelong Disney fan who grew up down the street from Disneyland, Tony always dreamed of becoming an Imagineer. He started with the company at the earliest age possible, scooping ice cream at Disneyland. After graduating from college, Tony was hired as an Imagineer to work on the opening of Walt Disney World. Tony concluded his career at Disney in 2013 as the Senior Vice President of Creative Development. For his many contributions to the themed entertainment industry, Tony was named a Disney Legend, received his own window on Main Street USA, earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Themed Entertainment Association, and was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame. In this podcast episode, I have the honor of chatting with Tony about his 40-year career at Walt Disney Imagineering. We discuss some of his favorite projects, his memories of working at Walt Disney World the year it opened, his thoughts about Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary, and his advice for aspiring Imagineers. We also discuss his creative process and methodology for designing legendary attractions. Which of Tony's projects is your favorite? Send me your feedback via email or through direct or public message at any of the following and [with your permission] I'll include your message in a future show: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImagineerPodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/ImagineerPodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/ImagineerNews Facebook Group (ImagiNation): https://www.facebook.com/groups/imagineerpodcast/ Email: [email protected] Be sure to check out our sponsor WDW Magazine, the premier magazine focused on Walt Disney World, available in print or digital. Disney news and travel tips: Be sure to visit our Disney news partner, The Kingdom Insider: Website: https://thekingdominsider.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/KingdomInsider Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekingdominsider/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tkidisneynews YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNy6LP8uPSjsktoPBr5JTQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TKIDisneyNews/ Vacation Planning: Planning a trip to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, or another Disney destination? Visit our trusted partner, Academy Travel: Walt Disney World: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/waltdisney/IP Disneyland: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/disneyland/IP Disney Cruise Line: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/disneycruise/IP Aulani: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/Aulani/IP Adventures by Disney: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/DisneyAdventure/IP How to Support the Show Share the podcast with your friends Rate and review on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-imagineerpodcasts-podcast/id1244558092 Join our Patreon Group - https://www.patreon.com/imagineerpodcast Purchase merchandise - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/imagineer-podcast?ref_id=8929 Download Imagineer Tours - http://imagineertours.com Special thanks to our Deluxe Passholder Patreon members! Thomas N Devan L Katelyn F Jason K Jordan J Dani S Enjoy the show!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the Imagineer podcast, your unofficial guide to all things Disney.
0:30.1	I'm your host, Matthew Krall, and you're listening to Episode 115 of the Imagineer podcast.
0:41.4	Today's podcast episode is going to be very special and very exciting because not only if you're listening to this live is at the 50th anniversary of Walt
0:46.7	Disney World, but my special guest today is Disney legend Tony Baxter. Tony spent over 40 years at Walt Disney Imagineering and really defined
0:57.8	the second generation of Imagineers, bringing us such classic attractions as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,
1:05.8	Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Tours, Journey Into Imagination, not to mention Disneyland, Paris, and so many other
1:14.4	incredible creations. Tony's reputation and name speaks for itself. He has done so much for the
1:21.2	Walt Disney Company and has brought us so many iconic attractions and lands and parks that we know ends love today. So in this episode,
1:30.3	I get the chance to chat one-on-one with Tony about his career at Walt Disney Imagineering.
1:35.4	He shares some really amazing advice for anyone looking to become a Walt Disney Imagineer.
1:41.3	And to be honest, it's really incredible career advice for anyone in any field.
1:45.5	And we have a lot of fun talking about his many projects that he worked at at Disney.
1:50.7	Before we get started, I do want to give a very special thank you to our sponsor, WW Magazine.
1:55.9	You can subscribe to WW Magazine by clicking on the link in the show note of this episode or by heading
2:02.3	to Imagineerpodcast.com. At the end of the episode, I'll come back and tell you a little bit more
2:07.4	about how you can connect with the Imagineer podcast on all your favorite social media channels
2:12.6	and how you can help to inspire and create the future of this show. So grab some headphones,
2:20.0	pull up your favorite armchair, and enjoy this episode of the Imagineer your podcast and compiled my list of dream guests, one name that
2:56.3	jumped right to the top of the list was Tony Baxter.
2:59.4	With over 40 years spent as an Imagineer, Tony's work defined the second generation of Walt Disney
3:05.0	Imagineering, developing such iconic attractions as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Indiana Jones
3:11.2	Adventure, Journey into Imagination, you all know the list of attractions he worked on.
	...

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