Dining with an Imagineer

[webster76]

Has anyone had lunch or dinner with an Imagineer? I'll be going to WDW Sept.25-28 and would really like to do the lunch at the Brown Derby. It's a little pricey for me ($60) but I keep thinking about it (and didn't do it last year when I was there either.) I'l love to hear any comments!

 

[Meriweather]

DH went to the lunch in Jan. He loved it!!
His imaginner was the guy that designed BBB and the Fairy areas.
He found it very interesting and would do it again any time....and probably will.
Small group, so lots of q&a time. He got a autographed glass dish.

 

[TDC Nala]

The dinner has been discontinued. Lunch is still offered.

 

[minniebeth]

We tried to get reservations for this in January the very second we were able to and couldn't and tried to call back every single day hoping for a cancellation...so if you are interested, my suggestion would be to not delay making a reservation for it, you can always decide to cancel it later on if you decide not to do it.
It sounds like a great experience!

 

[Wild4Walt]

We did this in Oct 07 and it was worth every penny plus!

The food is fantastic! You'll have a four course meal ( soup, salad, entree and dessert ) with your own white gloved waiter. That in itself is almost worth the cost!

During our lunch, it was a seating for 12 only which really gave you a hands on experience. Our Imagineer was the one who had done the layout for TSM. Anyway, I expected maybe an hour lunch total with a meet and greet. This was totally way better! We got a tour of the Brown Derby complete with history lesson before lunch even started. The we ate as we talked with the Imagineer ( just like a family dinner of old ). The event was just over 2 hours.

It is pricey, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[janeapplemeadow]

I did the lunch in Feb. of this year and I really enjoyed it. The imagineer was a great young man who had worked on many different projects in all 4 the parks over his career @ Disney. He was funny and very informative. We spent almost 3 hours for lunch. All of the other guests were Disney freaks like me, so we had some very lively discussions. The food was very good and we were able to choose different items on the lunch menu. The $60.00 I paid was reasonable when you consider the all of the x-tra gifts we received. I would recommend this experience to any one who loves behind the scenes info about Disney.

 

[omghidanielle]

How would I go about seeing if I can get a ressie for this?

 

[fakereadhed]

If you price out the meal you are getting, the experience is almost a bonus. I highly recommend it! It was a lot of fun and I don't regret the cost. And I'm cheap.

 

[hoffman1]

We have done both the lunch and the dinner. Both were great.
The imagineer we had for the lunch was Alex Wright (who wrote the series of books "The Imagineers Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom/EPCOT/Animal Kingdom" and was very involved in the design of the Animal Kingdom). He was fantastic. I am a real Disney nut so I was kind of star struck. I had assumed we would get someone I had never heard of before.
The imagineer that was at the dinner was Eric Goodman. He was a very easy going, likable kind of guy. His grandfather had helped open Disney World. He had lots of great stories to tell. He had worked on the Photopass and was working on some of the exhibits in Innoventions. It is a long story that I won't go into, but he even mailed my husband an imagineering pin because at the dinner pin trading came up in conversation. Overall, he was just a really nice guy who was really easy to talk to!
(BTW at I met a fellow Diser at the dinner which was a nice bonus!)

 

[webster76]

Thanks to everyone for your imput on lunch with an Imagineer! I'm definitely booking my ressie now. They only do this on certain days - Monday being one of them - and that is the day I leave but I believe I can squeeze it in ! Thanks again!

 

[ILoveDiz]

I just booked my lunch today. It was not easy since the first 2 CMs I talked to didn't know how to make an ADR for this event. I thought an imagineer was a animator. I asked the CM and they said yes. Does anyone know if that is true? My daughter wants to be a cartoon animator ( I know doesn't everyone) but she has started looking into art schools. I thought this would be a fun birthday present.

 

[webster76]

I'm so sad... my travel agent has been trying to book lunch with an imagineer for me since my 90 days and hasn't been successful. I tried today myself and they are booked solid for the day I will be there (Sept.28). I usually buy myself some kind of souvenir but this trip my gift to myself ( as my birthday is the next day ), was going to be lunch with the imagineer. I was an art major in college and this would have been such an exciting thing for me. I'm going to keep calling , just in case there might be a cancellation.. wish me luck.

 

[Ladysunflr]

DH went to the lunch in Jan. He loved it!!
His imaginner was the guy that designed BBB and the Fairy areas.
He found it very interesting and would do it again any time....and probably will.
Small group, so lots of q&a time. He got a autographed glass dish.

can you post a picture of the glass dish?

 

[cjlvsccm]

Has anyone had lunch or dinner with an Imagineer? I'll be going to WDW Sept.25-28 and would really like to do the lunch at the Brown Derby. It's a little pricey for me ($60) but I keep thinking about it (and didn't do it last year when I was there either.) I'l love to hear any comments!

I booked it as a surprise for my DH on our Dec 08 trip. He didn't know such a thing was available, and was bowled over!! Our group (of 8 total) was good, and all had interesting questions and discussion. The lunch was fabu (I had steak, DH had fish), and the entire experience was worth it. We got a special nametag (that a CM in Canada coveted later!), a custom souvineer menu, and the souvineer plate that he autographed.

I just booked my lunch today. It was not easy since the first 2 CMs I talked to didn't know how to make an ADR for this event. I thought an imagineer was a animator. I asked the CM and they said yes. Does anyone know if that is true? My daughter wants to be a cartoon animator ( I know doesn't everyone) but she has started looking into art schools. I thought this would be a fun birthday present.

Not always an animator, you never know who you'll get. The guy we met was Joe Warren, who was an artist and interior designer with a hotel chain before he got on with WDW over 13yrs ago. He has designed several of the shop interiors, and painted all (I think?) of the "billboards" in DHS along Hollywood and Sunset Blvds, including the big Fantasmic! board at its entrance. He also had some input on costume details to the upgrade to PotC. We later found pictures credited to him in a book DH has, showing some of the interior designs in AKL, and I'm sure there are LOTS of things he has had a hand in.


I imagine it's a unique experience every time, and the interaction with your "mystery" imagineer and your fellow guests is part of the magic. But it is definitely HIGHLY recommended by these Disney geeks. So save up and book it!!

 

[Meriweather]

can you post a picture of the glass dish?

Sorry....can't right now. I shipped it to our house in AZ. I will be there mid August and will try to remember then....unless some one else posts a picture before that.

 

[BethA]

I tried to book it and they could not find it in the system-what days is it offered? We did it several years back.

 

[Jennifer815]

It's offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I had a hard time booking this as well--for our first HS day, I called at least six times--the CM's kept telling me the tables weren't loaded into the system, and to try back.

I then tried later on for our second HS day, and boom! The tables for that day were just fine. Don't know what happened with the first day, (which still wasn't coming up nearly a week later when I booked the second instead) but almost every CM I talked to struggled to find it and/or book it. I found that making sure I included the Brown Derby name when I asked helped a lot.

 

[Laz]

I got lucky and just booked 2 people for lunch with an Imagineer
8/7 The bad news is there are 3 of us! So my wife and DD (who we are surprising) will get the lunch. I have made reservations for myself at the Brown Derby at the same time. What of the chances of a cancellation before that time? Should I call every day and check, or is that too much? What are the chances that I could sweet talk someone into letting me just sit near the table or even at the table. Any advice would be welcome!

 

[BethA]

who did you book with? the CM I spoke to could not find it in her system?

When we did it a few years ago we were in a small private, so I bet with the right CM and maybe your family asking the Imagineer-they will squeeze you in. Hoping it works out for you.

 

[TDC Nala]

I booked one today for the end of August.

Some stuff I have read says it is a 60 day reservation, not 90 days. That could be old info because it seems everything is 90 days now. But I'm within 60 days so I didn't test that.