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Recently we announced that beloved Disney Imagineer, Joe Rhode, would be leaving the Walt Disney Company. Find out what this great imagineer’s next project will be.
Joe Rhode
Joe Rohde has served at the Walt Disney Company for 40 years. He was a model designer at Epcot around the World Showcase. When ground broke for Walt Disney World’s 4th theme park, Animal Kingdom, Joe Rohde led a team that conceptualized, designed, and built Animal Kingdom.
He was responsible for Disney’s Aulani resort. He then later led in the development of the most beautiful land of Pandora.
After 40 years with the Disney Company, Walt Disney Imagineering announced that Joe Rohde will be retiring. His official last day was January 4, 2021. You can check out his final farewell HERE.
To Infinity and Beyond
Today, Virgin Galactic announced that Joe Rohde would be joining their company as a “Strategic Advisor” as they prepare to welcome future astronauts to Spaceport America. Rohde enters this new position with over 40 years of experience from The Walt Disney Company.
Rohde will work with Virgin Galactic to create a work that will “stimulate curiosity, guide the imagination, and anchor the Virgin Galactic customer experience with purposefulness and meaning.“
Recently, Joe Rohde visited New Mexico and shared his plans to help “develop the experience that thousands of aspiring astronauts and enthusiasts will come to enjoy in the future.“
Rohdes’s Anticipation for this Work
In an interview with Virgin Galactic, Joe Rohde shares,“I spent 40 years with Walt Disney Imagineering and that word, ‘Imagineering,’ refers to the fusion of imagination and engineering.“
“This means I’ve come from a tradition where if you are imagining something, you are imagining that thing is going to be made real. That’s also been going on here at Virgin Galactic, and I’m delighted to be joining at this incredible moment in time when it is about to blossom into public awareness.”
“This is one of the most profound things that can happen to you. To go beyond the reaches of the earth, to space, and look back down at it. It’s a spectacularly unique opportunity with huge potential for transformational change in a person…”
“What Virgin Galactic is doing, in democratizing space travel, has reached a moment where it is about to enter history. It’s happening right here in New Mexico, and it’s very rare to be a person who gets to be in the place, at the time, that history begins.’’
“This is one of the most profound things that can happen to you. To go beyond the reaches of the earth, to space, and look back down at it.”
Joe Rohde
You can check out the great interview below:
We are so excited to see the work of Joe Rohde once again. What do you think of this next adventure for this great Disney imagineer? What innovations do you think he may bring from his time at Disney? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook Page.
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