For those whe have done Lunch with an Imagineer....

[theostwalts]

Our oldest dd is a freshman in high school. She is a very talented artist. Not trying to brag, but everyone who sees her drawing is amazed and she has won several artshows in which she has entered her drawings. She has mentioned several times that she would love to work for disney after college. Would the Lunch with an Imagineer give her a good idea of what she should do to prepare for such a career?

Thanks

 

[pezpam]

It could, if she asks the questions. The conversation can go pretty much anywhere.... When I took DD to this, the Imagineer was very nice about making sure she got a couple of questions in, but she wasn't up to sliding questions in between the other adult couples who just wanted to talk about that particular Imagineer's new book. A good chunk of the time was consumed with them asking about the book (well, telling about it, since they'd seen it already....) and talking about which DVC resort they had how many points at. They were pleasant people, but all I'm trying to say is that it's the mix of people that will determine how your particular meal goes.

We had a good time (and the food was absolutely yummy!) but it really is what you - and the others at the table - make of it.

 

[iwaseeyore]

It could, if she asks the questions. The conversation can go pretty much anywhere.... When I took DD to this, the Imagineer was very nice about making sure she got a couple of questions in, but she wasn't up to sliding questions in between the other adult couples who just wanted to talk about that particular Imagineer's new book. A good chunk of the time was consumed with them asking about the book (well, telling about it, since they'd seen it already....) and talking about which DVC resort they had how many points at. They were pleasant people, but all I'm trying to say is that it's the mix of people that will determine how your particular meal goes.

We had a good time (and the food was absolutely yummy!) but it really is what you - and the others at the table - make of it.

I guess you had lunch with Jason Surrell. We had our first lunch with him and he was great.

To the OP, you want to remember that the lunch isn't an interview for your DD. We've done two lunches and hope to do a third on our December trip. Our experiences have been different. Lots of question from a more adult crowd. More abpout the hows, whys and what fors then how do i get here or there. In the two lunches there was only one person under 30.

 

[theostwalts]

I did not mean to imply that I expect it to be an interview, however I was wondering if there is time for questions and answers, would it be a good experience for someone who aspires to work for disney one day. I have done a search on here for this topic and have seen several posts that noted few people attending and some posts that said the room was full. Would someone who is interested in working for disney find it informative? If a young person did attend with a general question of what steps to take, would they be able to give her an idea.

 

[disnemimi]

We did this back in March and there was a young college girl wanting to work for Disney in the art department as well. She did get to ask a few questions, but the imagineer really didn't have specific answers for her. This luncheon is a time to ask the particular imagineer what they are working on and they will give you all sorts of information about that. It was a wonderful time and learned lots about Disney and the food was awesome. I'm not sure if this is what your daughter is interested in, but she will have a great time regardless.

Disnemimi

 

[BCV23]

Well, I don't see how it could hurt. As I'm sure you know, there are all kinds of Imagineers so you might get an Imagineer without any specific experiences that match your daughter's interests. But I would think she could get some general hints on how and when to apply or at least the experiences of that Imagineer.

My son and his now wife did the lunch a few years ago now. They were both in their early 20s. It was a rather new program then but it wasn't that large of a group....maybe one other couple. So I do think there is a variety of ages going to it. It just probably wouldn't be a good fit for younger kids.

 

[iwaseeyore]

I did not mean to imply that I expect it to be an interview, however I was wondering if there is time for questions and answers, would it be a good experience for someone who aspires to work for disney one day. I have done a search on here for this topic and have seen several posts that noted few people attending and some posts that said the room was full. Would someone who is interested in working for disney find it informative? If a young person did attend with a general question of what steps to take, would they be able to give her an idea.

The two we have gone to have been basically question and answers periods and both imagineers told us how they became imagineers and not remembering the specifics but I don't think the path is as defined as some might hope. I'm not sure either works anywhere near where their major in college should have taken them. The table for the lunch seats eight and one is the imagneer. It is an intimate lunch set off in the Bamboo Room of the Brown Derby.

I'm trying to figure a way to say this, as my DW just stated, both imagineers have said that they are there to tell you what you they do then to help pick a person's life path.

 

[CindyT]

We were fortunate enough to have this experience when it was Lunch with a Disney Artist. We met 2 Disney artists and we were the only family there. They took the time to look at our son's portfolio and offered him advice and encouragement. They later sent us some personal art work and a book about the history of Disney and the artists who worked for Disney. It was by far the best experience we have ever had at WDW. We were so sad when they closed the art department down in Florida. I think the experience may depend a lot on who comes to talk to you.

 

[pezpam]

The two we have gone to have been basically question and answers periods and both imagineers told us how they became imagineers and not remembering the specifics but I don't think the path is as defined as some might hope. I'm not sure either works anywhere near where their major in college should have taken them. The table for the lunch seats eight and one is the imagneer. It is an intimate lunch set off in the Bamboo Room of the Brown Derby.

I'm trying to figure a way to say this, as my DW just stated, both imagineers have said that they are there to tell you what you they do then to help pick a person's life path.

Agreed. We did meet Jason Surrell, who was very nice and who had some fun stories.

Anyway, while DD did ask the general "How do you become an Imagineer?" question, she was only about 7 when she asked, so it wasn't the same as really looking for career advice. That said, his response really highlighted that the road to becoming an Imagineer isn't so much a road as a great big tangle of yarn - Imagineers come from all different places and sometimes have followed very odd paths for what it seems they do now. Of course, if she's interested in designing rides, it'd help to have some engineering. If she wants to work on theming and such, some art background certainly wouldn't hurt. She could always start with another position (characters, sales, etc...) and hope to be able to meet and impress the right people.

I will say that the food was just scrumptious.

Totally off-topic, but we had to leave MGM right after the meal, so they kindly let us wait while our souvenir plate was boxed up for travel. They sent one of the managers back to keep us company - or make sure we didn't walk off with the silverware, whatever. Anyway, we got to talking and it turned out that he'd attended the same elementary school my DD is at now. Same kindergarten teacher, even.