New Report Offers a Rare Look Inside the Strict Rules Disney’s 3,000 Imagineers Have to Follow

A new report is offering a rare look inside the world of Disney Imagineering — and all of the top secret rules Imagineers must follow. 

The Wall Street Journal pulled back the curtain on the pressures and strict rules Disney Imagineers experience in a tell-all report published Friday, Jan. 9. The 3,000 engineers, artists and project managers that make up the Imagineers go to great lengths to ensure the Disney magic remains alive for park goers and cruise ship guests — all while they work behind the scenes.

In order to ensure guests feel like they’re stepping into a “magical alternate world,” Imagineers have to work on their projects in “unmarked warehouses” so as to not draw attention to their work, per the report. 

Inside these warehouses, their work stations have “curtains surrounding the most sensitive work” to avoid any potential leaks to the public. 

Beyond this, Imagineers also have to sign nondisclosure agreements as a precaution to keep sensitive projects concealed. 

In addition to having to be secretive about their work, Imagineers are responsible for balancing their creative visions with the strict budget they’re given.  

The report describes an internal process that some Imagineers have followed called “progressive seduction” in order to get around executives and the “obstacles” they sometimes present.

This process saw employees work to “get approval for projects at a smaller scale and then suggest one seemingly small improvement at a time” until the project was how they wanted it to be, the report states, citing “a person with knowledge of the matter.”

Despite wanting to develop more original concepts, they’ve been told to “focus on franchises,” especially after Bob Iger became CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005 (Iger later returned as CEO in 2022 after briefly stepping down in 2020). 

The report highlights Disney’s upcoming Villains Land as being a project many Imagineers are “most excited about” as it’s the “closest thing to an original land in Disney’s U.S. parks in 25 years.” This is because it’s not based entirely on a specific film, but it will still incorporate familiar favorites like The Little Mermaid’s Ursula, Snow White’s Evil Queen, Aladdin’s Jafar and many more.

Disney first announced the new land, which will be an expansion of Magic Kingdom, at the Disney Experiences showcase at D23, PEOPLE previously reported. 

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Walt Disney Imagineering President Bruce Vaughn told WSJ that Disney Imagineering is currently in its “most ambitious period,” adding, “We’re going to ramp up and reignite Imagineering culturally and we’ve got a tremendous amount of investment coming through.”

This transformative period comes amid Disney’s massive $60 billion investment in its theme parks and cruise ships through 2033, which is almost twice as much as what the company invested in the last decade, according to the report.