ABD Disneyland/Escape

[traceyg]

I am posting here because I am on the fence on the ABD Disney tour.
My 13 yo son loves designing things and wants to be an engineer when he grows up. He's already figuring out which classes he needs to take now to get himself prepared for high school and then college. He's an old soul. He is a mostly straight A student in the Gifted and Talented program. We don't push him at all, this is all him, btw.
We have been going to Disney regularly since he was a baby. He loves all things Disney and all things related to automobiles. He doesn't know which direction he'd like to pursue once he gets to college (and pre-reqs in high school).
I'd like for him to visit the Imagineering Campus at Disney and get to talk to actual people and get a feel for what the job truly entails.
If you've been on an ABD tour, do you feel that there is enough depth for him? If not, do you know of a way to give him the ability to visit and/or talk with an imagineering cast member? Is it possible to do only that section of the ABD tour? I have emailed a Vacationeer through ABD but they have not responded yet.
We are visiting Chevrolet, Bell and Lockheed Martin too.
Thanks for any insight! We are also welcome to any advice in the engineering field.

 

[Eastridge]

The two ABD So Cal trips do get you inside Imagineering. You will likely meet Imagineers but it is a guided tour so you will have limited time for questions. Given how you describe your son, I would think this trip is worthwhile just for the inspiration it will generate. It might be possible to skip the other parts of the trip but I'm guessing he would also be thrilled at the behind-the-scenes access these trips provide to some rides at Disneyland and California Adventure, and these trips are expensive so why not benefit from everything they offer?

Learning more about what Imagineers do or engineers in general is a bit off topic for this board, but I suggest the following books:

• Walt Disney Imagineering
• The Imagineering Workout

Also there are some shows on Disney Plus:

• The Imagineering Story
• One Day at Disney (shorts) has individual interviews with several people in Imagineering
• Behind the Attraction

Finally, your son might be young for this one but Prof. Randy Pausch gave a talk called "The Last Lecture" (which really was his last public lecture) and it included stories of how he fulfilled a long-held dream to work in Imagineering. It wasn't easy. You can find that video on YouTube.

 

[aggiedog]

We did a lunch with an imagineer at WDW a few years ago. It was not part of any bigger tour, just something we signed up for on our own.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'd like for him to visit the Imagineering Campus at Disney and get to talk to actual people and get a feel for what the job truly entails

The visit to Imagineering is very interesting. I'm sure it would be inspirational for your son. However, there really won't be a chance to talk to the imagineers and what the job truly entails on the tour. You'll get a guide on that part of the trip that will explain a lot of what you will see and there is an opportunity for questions but it's limited.

 

[traceyg]

The two ABD So Cal trips do get you inside Imagineering. You will likely meet Imagineers but it is a guided tour so you will have limited time for questions. Given how you describe your son, I would think this trip is worthwhile just for the inspiration it will generate. It might be possible to skip the other parts of the trip but I'm guessing he would also be thrilled at the behind-the-scenes access these trips provide to some rides at Disneyland and California Adventure, and these trips are expensive so why not benefit from everything they offer?

Learning more about what Imagineers do or engineers in general is a bit off topic for this board, but I suggest the following books:

• Walt Disney Imagineering
• The Imagineering Workout

Also there are some shows on Disney Plus:

• The Imagineering Story
• One Day at Disney (shorts) has individual interviews with several people in Imagineering
• Behind the Attraction

Finally, your son might be young for this one but Prof. Randy Pausch gave a talk called "The Last Lecture" (which really was his last public lecture) and it included stories of how he fulfilled a long-held dream to work in Imagineering. It wasn't easy. You can find that video on YouTube.

Oh wow! Thanks for all the information. I think we have seen most of those but I will double check them. I did not know about Dr. Pausch, so that's a definite. I just ordered the books.
Again, thanks for the detailed feedback!

 

[traceyg]

The visit to Imagineering is very interesting. I'm sure it would be inspirational for your son. However, there really won't be a chance to talk to the imagineers and what the job truly entails on the tour. You'll get a guide on that part of the trip that will explain a lot of what you will see and there is an opportunity for questions but it's limited.

Gotcha! I didn't think of it as inspirational too. That's a great point.
Thanks!

 

[traceyg]

We did a lunch with an imagineer at WDW a few years ago. It was not part of any bigger tour, just something we signed up for on our own.

I have seen that in the past but I know they closed it down during Covid. I wonder if it's an option again. We are going to WDW for 10 days in May to celebrate my daughter graduating vet school. I'll look into that. Thanks for the reminder!
Were there a lot of people in the lunch or did you feel like you could ask questions? Or was it a lecture type setting? Either way is great, just wondering what it's like.

 

[jimmymc]

I'm an engineer at one of the other companies you listed, and I've done the Disneyland ABD Tour twice. To me, going backstage at the attractions on the second half of the tour was way more interesting than seeing Imagineering itself, at least from the science side of things. You get to meet the techs who work on the ride every day and can ask as many questions as you want. Imagineering is still very cool, and you get to see some amazing things Imagineers use to design the theming around parks and resorts, but they don't really show you cutting edge technology. You will have plenty of chances to talk to the imagineers, but they are closer to artists than they are engineers.

If he loves Disney too, then he will definitely enjoy the entire 6 day trip. Seeing behind the scenes at the El Capitan Theater and Henson was really interesting from a technology standpoint. Then at the parks, you get to skip the lines and ride the attractions you just went behind the scenes on, and that completes the whole experience. And the guides are awesome the entire time. If it's in the budget, it sounds like you and your son would love it.

And some unsolicited advice for your son's classes: take calculus, college chemistry, calculus-based physics, and a computer science class in high school if they're available. It'll make college a lot easier.

 

[traceyg]

I'm an engineer at one of the other companies you listed, and I've done the Disneyland ABD Tour twice. To me, going backstage at the attractions on the second half of the tour was way more interesting than seeing Imagineering itself, at least from the science side of things. You get to meet the techs who work on the ride every day and can ask as many questions as you want. Imagineering is still very cool, and you get to see some amazing things Imagineers use to design the theming around parks and resorts, but they don't really show you cutting edge technology. You will have plenty of chances to talk to the imagineers, but they are closer to artists than they are engineers.

If he loves Disney too, then he will definitely enjoy the entire 6 day trip. Seeing behind the scenes at the El Capitan Theater and Henson was really interesting from a technology standpoint. Then at the parks, you get to skip the lines and ride the attractions you just went behind the scenes on, and that completes the whole experience. And the guides are awesome the entire time. If it's in the budget, it sounds like you and your son would love it.

And some unsolicited advice for your son's classes: take calculus, college chemistry, calculus-based physics, and a computer science class in high school if they're available. It'll make college a lot easier.

Another idea that hadn't crossed my mind....thanks! I didn't think about the full circle of planning to conception to execution. Yes- he'd absolutely be enthralled.
Thank you for the advice! I am Photomath'ing Advanced/GT 7th grade math right now to check his homework and have decided that I am not smarter than a 5th grader and definitely not a 7th grader. (I have a Masters degree in speech language pathology and know all things English though lol) I am thinking after 7th grade that we are going to pay a tutor to check his homework. lol

 

[Bruce66]

I can't speak to your specific ABD tour, I have been on 2 and they have been very educational, but I would recommend you shop around for your TA unless you have one you have used before and really like. Make sure you understand all the restrictions and policies of the company before you book with them. Many if not all, do just fine if you have no issues/changes. Its when plans change that these restrictions become evident. For example, the last time I used the vacationeer we needed them to release our placeholder and they would not release it.

 

[it398]

Whilst the trip to Imagineering is a wonderful experience, if your goal is to chat with an imaginer about their career I had a wonderful and long conversation with an imagineer at a dine with an imagineer at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Disney World. If they're still running that I'd strongly recommend it, plus the food was nice too.