r/Imagineering

Hello, to be honest I should have posted this two months ago but am finally reaching a spot I feel more comfortable talking about everything and so, I am asking for help now.

I am in need of honest opinions and truths, and for context here is my story, I will try to keep it brief.

I am currently 23 years old and going back to college to study VDC/Mechanical Engineering. For the last 12 years of my life, I have wanted to do nothing with my life but join imagineering. I have followed the company closely, got to meet Josh D'amaro and Barbara Bouza in high school, named my cats Rohde and Baxter, in short it was everything I've ever dreamed of and loved. I chose to go to college and my major, my hobbies, everything to lead to my goal of joining WDI.

About a year and a half ago I decided to do the Disney College Program, I figured it was a great way to see the backstage workings, get the company name on my resume, and start to network within the company. I worked on Rise of the Resistance and extended my program out to a full year; however, about a month and a half before the end of my program, I was terminated. (Long story short, I broke a small policy I misunderstood, it hurt nobody and no negative effects occurred because of my actions, and a vindictive coordinator brought my name to park executives and HR. The other CP's I was with were not fired)

Now for the last few months I wonder if I still have a chance to go into WDI. I still want to, but don't even know if I can trust Disney with my livelihood again. When I left, my leader told me it would be on my record forever and while it didn't disqualify me, it wouldn't help anything either. Is it still worth my time to have the notion that I'll be going into WDI in the back of my mind? I don't know if I'll really be happy doing something in a "similar field", knowing that it's a replacement of what I really want to do. Should I just change career paths to something totally different?

I would appreciate any help, relatable stories or simply advice as I feel I am very lost at this point in my life. I still plan to finish my degree, but again, don't know if I can enjoy a career that would become a shadow version of what I always wanted. Thank you for your time and responses.

I am a senior in high school and I am wondering what engineering discipline to major in to work with animatronics as an imagineer. I am already in an early college program doing Mechatronics, but I don’t know if that would be too broad to major in

Gimme articles on the historical and technical and any blueprints and schematics! I should’ve been bookmarking this stuff beginning like two decades ago, I can’t find anything substantial tonight.

Edit: I’m afraid this came across as “GIVE ME ANAHEIM CITY BLUEPRINTS and official Disney literature” when I meant I was looking for “fan”-written histories on the berm, hopefully including old hand-drawn schematics.

For example, I remember seeing an image of some hand-drawn schematics for The Haunted Mansion produced during its conception. I’m looking for those sorts of uploads of original industrial designs/plans + historical write-ups as they relate to the building of the berm and the complicated constructions of rides/lands beyond it.