JimC
DVC Co-Moderator
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2002
- Messages
- 6,266
One of the imagineers who was responsible for SSR spoke at a conference I just attended at the Disney Institute. I had originally met him on the Disney cruise last May. He had some interesting (at least to me) information (all public knowledge).
SSR was developed on the site of the Disney Institute (which I knew and still miss). The Disney Institute was based on the Chautauqua Institution. Here is a brief blurb from their site.
"Many of the visitors who return to Chautauqua year after year describe it as an experience rather than a vacation -- a place for renewal. The Chautauqua Institution was founded on the belief that everyone has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know. The experiences come in many forms. A dramatic lakeside setting and the beauty of its National Historic Landmark architecture (it was designated a National Historic Landmark June 30, 1989) make the Chautauqua Institution a thriving community where visitors come to find intellectual and spiritual growth and renewal."
With that as background the imagineers looked for an opportunity to continue the upstate New York story and found Saratoga Springs and the 3-Hs theme of SSR. The design team had imagineers who had lived in Saratoga Springs. The extent to which they preserved the heritage of Disney Institute through the extension of SSR is quite interesting. Everytime I have an opportunity to interact with an Imagineer I come away impressed at just how good these people really are and the work they put into theme and story development.
SSR was developed on the site of the Disney Institute (which I knew and still miss). The Disney Institute was based on the Chautauqua Institution. Here is a brief blurb from their site.
"Many of the visitors who return to Chautauqua year after year describe it as an experience rather than a vacation -- a place for renewal. The Chautauqua Institution was founded on the belief that everyone has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know. The experiences come in many forms. A dramatic lakeside setting and the beauty of its National Historic Landmark architecture (it was designated a National Historic Landmark June 30, 1989) make the Chautauqua Institution a thriving community where visitors come to find intellectual and spiritual growth and renewal."
With that as background the imagineers looked for an opportunity to continue the upstate New York story and found Saratoga Springs and the 3-Hs theme of SSR. The design team had imagineers who had lived in Saratoga Springs. The extent to which they preserved the heritage of Disney Institute through the extension of SSR is quite interesting. Everytime I have an opportunity to interact with an Imagineer I come away impressed at just how good these people really are and the work they put into theme and story development.
