Joe, We Hate to See You Go
Joe Rohde is simply our favorite Imagineer and we were devastated when we learned of his impending retirement a couple weeks ago. In this week's blog, we are going to look back on Joe Rohde's legacy and describe why we love him so much.
I have to admit, I didn't know who Joe Rohde was until I began working at Disney's Animal Kingdom. In my orientation, I was told a story of how the park came to be. See, at first the Disney executives were not too excited about this guy's pitch for a "living" park centered around animals. They argued that they operated theme parks, not zoos. And they felt a park with animals as the main feature would not be enough to excite guests or bring the Disney magic.
Joe Rohde disagreed, so he did not take the board's definitive "no" as an answer. Instead, he pitched the idea a second time. He got another "no" from Michael Eisner and the board. So he came back a third time, but this time as he went through his flipcharts and specs, an 800 pound tiger sauntered into the room. It sat, reportedly, right next to Michael Eisner for several minutes before deciding to leave. Joe wrapped up his speech and asked for questions, but board's attention had been completely captivated by the tiger. And this is how they were proven wrong about their opinion that animals weren't exciting. They said "yes".
Image credit: Disney
It's no secret that Disney's Animal Kingdom is my home away from home. I knew it was a special place the day I first saw the park and walked around the Tree of Life until I found the chimp that Jane Goodall insisted be added to the tree (Fun fact about the chimpanzee: It is the only named animal on the Tree of Life. Its name is David Greybeard after the first chimp Goodall observed using a tool in the wild). I continued to learn it was a special place when I would enter the park before the sun came up to see the Tree of Life all lit up, or when I would walk to the Maharajah Jungle Trek on a cool day and see the tigers romping, or when I would hear the Siamangs in Asia hooting and hollering from across the river. Most recently, our safari vehicle was held up by a crash of rhinos who wanted to leisurely cross our path all at once.
Joe had it right all along. Animals are captivating. And this place I love would not have existed had he not gone before Michael Eisner and the board three times to defend his vision.
But amazingly, that's not all I have to thank this Imagineer for. In his 40 years at Disney, Rohde left a mark. Here are some other amazing projects he's worked on:
When he started at Walt Disney World in 1982, he was a model designer during the planning of EPCOT (which just happens to be my personal second favorite park).
He created the beloved Adventurer's Club on Pleasure Island (now closed but still loved by Disney fans). This was a quirky and theatrical night club. I regret that I was never of age when I visited, but I did pop in once with my mother because I needed the restroom. When I returned from the restroom, the next thing I knew she was sipping a drink and being sworn in to the Fancy Rat and Mouse Club along with everyone else in the bar. We were then led to the library to be regaled with stories of adventure. (For those who know and loved the Adventurer's Club, the spirit lives on in other Walt Disney World establishments including the Jungle Skipper's Canteen at the Magic Kingdom.)
He designed Disney's Vacation Club property in Hawaii, Aulani. A visit here is on my bucket list!
And if you've heard of him before, it's probably through is leadership and design of Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I remember countless specials getting excited about the opening of Pandora, which Rohde worked on in collaboration with James Cameron. I thought it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. I thought it couldn't possibly make sense at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is why I'm not an Imagineer, because after visiting it, it absolutely made sense and it absolutely lived up to the hype. I remember walking off of my first ride of Avatar: Flight of Passage speechless and in tears. They were happy tears because, while I have high expectations of Disney Imagineers, I hadn't come close to expecting THAT. It was plussed so much and felt so immersive that for a few moments after I became, plainly, a total sap. 10 days later, on my daughter's first ride, she had the same reaction. Pure joy.
Outside of Disney World, Rohde also created the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disneyland, and Villages Nature Eco-Resort near Disney Paris.
Most recently, he had been placed in leadership of designing Disney's second private island port of call, on Eleuthera in the Bahamas. It was to be focused on the ecology and culture of the island. We can't imagine a better person to see that vision come through, but it's unclear how much work he was able to do on that.
Rohde retires on January 4th (which happens to coincide with the last day I worked at Disney's Animal Kingdom during my internship). During his retirement, he has other creative projects he wishes to do, and he wishes to spend a lot of time traveling with the Explorers Club, a conservation travel group he's been part of.
And for those concerned that the projects he created and breathed to life will decay in his absence, he has some pretty great philosophy:
“You have to accept that all your projects move on to the hands of others. This is a very important thing. A design once it is done is meant to stand on its own, it either has the strength and powers to be its own thing, or it’s not a good design. So the idea that myself, or any creative person, needs to be there forever sustaining something, that just means it’s not good design. So I would say all the work I have done was purposefully done in a way that it should have continuity and participation, and that implies change, evolution, modification, participation of others and the ideas that may come in the future. That is what a good design is.”
And good design is exactly what it is.
We'll miss Joe and his iconic earring! What is your favorite Joe Rohde project? Share the love over on our Facebook page. Until next time...
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