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Who is Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde and what attractions did he develop? We discuss the legacy of the theme park designer.
When discussing theme park design, it’s impossible not to mention Joe Rohde. The 40-year veteran of Walt Disney Imagineering has created some of the most stunning and inspiring attractions ever built. Today, the Executive Designer and Vice President Creative of the Walt Disney Company formally announced his retirement for January 4, 2021.
Joe Rohde is originally from California but he grew up in Hawaii. He moved back to California for college he received a degree in fine arts. Most of Rohde’s background is in stage production design. For those looking to break into the world of creating theme parks, according to Rohde, theatre is the place to start!
Contributions to Disney Parks and Resorts
During his years at the Walt Disney Company, Joe Rohde’s catalogue became fairly extensive. He’s worked on both coasts and even back in Hawaii to create some of Disney’s best destinations. Originally, Rohde began as a designer for the Mexico Pavilion in EPCOT in 1980. Since then, he’s bounced back and forth on both coasts, developing Captain EO in Disneyland, Norway in EPCOT, and the now-gone Adventures Club in Pleasure Island. In recent years, Rohde led the team to transform Disney California Adventure’s Tower of Terror into the even more impressive Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!
However, one of Joe Rohde’s largest projects had him as lead designer of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Later on, he developed the Expedition Everest roller coaster some years after the park’s inception. Pandora — The World of Avatar, Rohde’s final addition to Animal Kingdom, brings to life an alien world. Floating mountains, singing creatures, and two jaw-dropping attractions exist in this land. At night, Pandora literally glows!
For anyone who’s visited Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii, Rohde led that project, too. Aulani is arguably Disney’s best hotel and resort. His attention to detail expands beyond copying something from a native land. Rohde dives into the culture and understanding of why a thing exists, and why its story should be told.
Though Rohde is widely known for his beautifully designed theme park contributions, one design issue still haunts him today. The animatronic yeti in Expedition Everest stopped moving shortly after the coaster’s debut. For more than a decade, Disney World fans have bugged Rohde with questions, complaints, and jokes about the “disco yeti” which now uses a strobe light to simulate its movement.
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“Are you gonna fix the yeti?” is a typical question at any Rohde guest panel or Twitter post. However, Rohde is direct, informative, and kind in his approach to an otherwise annoying question. He frequently explains the costly, unforeseen flaw in the design. It’s a reminder that Joe Rohde alone didn’t create the ride, the parks, or the resorts, but a team of highly imaginative designers ready to break new ground. It’s also remind that trying something new often has a flaw in the design. Nonetheless, Expedition Everest is one of the best attractions at any theme park.
For us, Rohde’s contributes are about much more than design. His messages about the importance of theme, storytelling, and diving into the details has improved our own process. Rohde shows us that you can’t just design something you like because it looks good. Instead, you must ask why a thing exists and its purpose. We must learn those nuances before making a choice and design from there. As the old saying goes, the magic is in the details—and we’ll certainly miss Rohde’s magic.
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