Dining with an Imagineer

[KristiLyn]

Hi!

I posted this on another board but probably should have posted it here. DF and I will be there in September for our honeymoon and were interested in Dining with an Imagineer at HBD. Has anyone ever done this? What were you experiences with it? Who did you meet, etc. ? Was it worth it?
Thanks in advance!

 

[pixiechick]

We did it last june.

Our imagineer had just recently worked on the Space Mountain refurb project. It was interesting hearing about that, as well as his background.

The food was good, and the other guests were fairly knowledgeable about the Disney company and the parks. As a result, it was a pretty enjoyable time, with lots of interesting conversation.

 

[Hootch]

of the most interesting things to do at WDW if you are into that level of detail. The meal is apart from the other diners and is at a leisurely pace. I think we had about a two and a half hours lunch.

The imagineers rotate and have different backgrounds. I have read comments from people that have done more than one of these and the experience is different because of the different perspectives and jobs of the imagineers.

After using these boards for a few years, I have seen complaints for pretty much every restaurant at WDW. I honestly don't remember seeing anyone complain about their experience at DWI. Some aspects of the discussion are driven by the participants as you have chances to ask questions and drive the information flow.

Here are a couple of older threads on the experience.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2654505&highlight=dining+with+an+imagineer

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2604352&highlight=dining+with+an+imagineer

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2576809&highlight=dining+with+an+imagineer

 

[ambgoph]

I've done this twice and plan on doing it again in Aug. Both Imagineers I had were great and the food was terrific (soup, Cobb salad, entree, dessert). Plan on at least 2 1/2 hours. It's worth every penny!!

 

[bluejasmine]

I cant wait to book this for my DS17 who plans on joing disney college program and careers program hoping to eventually work as an imagineer, its been his dream since he was 10!

 

[KristiLyn]

Thanks guys!!!! I really appreciate it!! I can't wait to do this!!!

 

[BoomNLeon]

Great experience for the true Disney Afficiando [sic]! Our imagineer is responsible for the signage at MK. I learned so much and enjoyed his banter.

We went in January 2011 and really enjoyed it. We did the lunch and had a great time at HBD. It is well worth the time!

 

[ellenj56]

There are two options - lunch at the Brown Derby or dinner at The Flying Fish. Dinner is more expensive and well worth every penny. We had an excellent meal in a very private area of the restaurant. We even met the chef because he wanted to say hello to our imagineer. We dined with Cathy Carver. She's worked on numerous projects at Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, etc - she designed and created the princess suite in the castle.
Ther wer only the four of us at the table. Two young adults who wanted to be imagineers, our imagineer and me, a mom treating her son to a dinner of his lifetime. This is definitely something very memorable to add to your honeymoon experiences. But if neither of you wish to be an imagineer and don't have questions you wish to ask, the lunch option might be better. I think this is done in a larger group and the conversation might flow better.

 

[TDC Nala]

Haven't done FF (I should, I like their food) but the food at HD was excellent. Included soup, salad, entree and dessert (not the full menu; they had a few courses to choose from) plus a non-alcoholic beverage; if you wanted alcohol you could order and pay extra for it. The Imagineer was a civil engineer who worked on ride design. She claimed responsibility for a certain bolt in the Soarin' ride mechanism.

This event isn't recommended for small kids. Teens with an interest in imagineering as a possible career will be fascinated.