Lunch with an Imagineer Review

[JC Butterfly]

This was the most unique experience I've ever had, truly magical! I loved it so much the first time that I had to go back again!

This takes place at the Hollywood Brown Derby. First, the area manager, Keith came out to greet us in the waiting area to find out if we had any special requests or concerns.

On my first encounter I was seated in one of the circular booths with Imagineer, Theron (in charge of MGM show quality) and one other guest. We were informed that several cancellations had been made because of the weather.

The first course was a potato leek soup, sounds a little strange but was absoultely delicious!

The second course was a small version of the Cobb salad, I would love to go back and get the full version some time!

The entree was 3 choices
1) Filet Mignon
2) Asian Chicken over Noodles
3) Some sort of seafood, don't remember

I had the filet which was juicy, tender and cooked just the way I like it.

And Bananas Foster cheesecake for dessert. I'd never had the pleasure of dining here before but I would go back in an instant.

Of course the food is secondary to meeting an Imagineer. There are many many different types of Imagineers but basically they seem to consider themselves storytellers in 3 dimmensions.

Theron was the show producer for MGM so it's his job to make sure that every guest experience is a great one. He provided most of the conversation and was very open to answering our many questions. It was a great way to learn more about Disney.

I went back the following Monday and this time brought two of my friends with me and were joined by two others. We went back to a private room called the Bamboo room. This Imagineer was Rhonda who was the show producer (I forget the actual title) at Animal Kingdom. She was quite a hoot too!

As if this wasn't special enough, at the end of the meal you are given a beautiful black collector's plate with gold embossing of sorcerer Mickey and it says "Lunch with an Imagineer" that they sign, so so cool!

This experience was $75 and I believe you had to be 16 or older to participate. I would add this to my must do list for all future Disney trips!

 

[danny1649]

Sounds like a great experience that we may try in future,thank you for sharing.

 

[Minniespal]

Sounds wonderful ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Kaycee]

Thanks for the review. We've talked a lot about trying the lunch with an imagineer, so I really enjoyed reading about your experience.

 

[spagheddie]

Thanks for the review. I always thought that might be a lot of fun.

 

[rcyannacci]

We wanted to do this on our trip in Dec.- does anyone know when they list the open times? Is it a month in advance?

 

[MamaQuack]

DS(13) and I did this Dec(03) - it was amazing. We still talk about it. For a while it seemed like Disney had suspended the lunches - I am so happy to see they are back. We made our reservation around the 1st of December for the l9th.

MamaQuack

 

[JC Butterfly]

They will let you book 30 days in advance. Sometimes the reservations cast members have trouble finding it. I think it's located under their "special events" menu rather than regular dining.

I believe they offer the lunch two times per week and a dinner once per week. The dinner is like $150 for a 7 course meal with wine pairings.

There are about 30 Imagineers that are currently participating in the rotations but I don't know if there is any way to find out who would be there each time. There must be though because the manager indicated that a lot of people doing the lunch are "repeat" customers trying to get to know all of the Imagineers.

The first time I went to the lunch the other person dining with me was interested in going into Imagineering so he had a lot more technical questions than I did. I found out Theron had been with the Disney company for about 10 years.

The second time with Rhonda she brought several books with her that she recommended. Several were just "for your fun and information" and a couple were more technical for those interested in becoming Imagineers. She had been with the company about 25 years as had her husband so it was really cool to hear from them how the company has changed and evolved over the years.

I wish I had done the lunch with a Disney Artist while the animation team was still there, but like I said this was soooo cool.

One of the friends I brought with me this was her first visit ever to Disney World and she isn't a big fan but she claimed to have a wonderful time just listening and learning.

Highly Highly recommend!!

 

[IMISSDISNEY]

Thanks for the great review.