Nitrate

The Imagineering Story · S1 · E3

The Midas Touch

  • TV-PG
  • Nov 22, 2019
  • 62 min
  • 9.1

Michael Eisner and Frank Wells save Imagineering and encourage widespread growth. They make Disney cool and relevant with teenagers. Every design project the Imagineers touch turns to gold. The crown jewel, Euro Disneyland, goes over budget and encounters resistance. Poor press coverage and cultural missteps cause low attendance. Humbled, management shies away from future Magic Kingdoms.

Watch on Disney Plus

About this episode

Michael Eisner and Frank Wells save Imagineering and encourage widespread growth. They make Disney cool and relevant with teenagers. Every design project the Imagineers touch turns to gold. The crown jewel, Euro Disneyland, goes over budget and encounters resistance. Poor press coverage and cultural missteps cause low attendance. Humbled, management shies away from future Magic Kingdoms.

Season 1

6 episodes
  1. 1The Happiest Place on Earth

    69 minNov 12, 2019★ 8.9

    Walt Disney gathers a group of artists and engineers for the purpose of building a dream into reality. These ‘Imagineers’ formulate a set of design principles that transport people from their everyday lives to lands of imagination. Never has there been a place with themed environments, faithful to a story. Walt Disney vows, unlike a film that gets finished, Disneyland will never be completed.

  2. 2What Would Walt Do?

    63 minNov 15, 2019★ 8.9

    Without Walt’s guidance, the development of Florida’s Walt Disney World is a risky endeavor, but Roy O. Disney fulfills his brother’s wish. A second generation of designers carry out the last of Walt’s ideas - EPCOT, where the Imagineers achieve a higher purpose beyond entertainment. Simultaneously, the first international park opens in Japan. No future plans threaten the survival of the company.

  3. 3The Midas Touch

    62 minNov 22, 2019★ 9.1Now viewing

    Michael Eisner and Frank Wells save Imagineering and encourage widespread growth. They make Disney cool and relevant with teenagers. Every design project the Imagineers touch turns to gold. The crown jewel, Euro Disneyland, goes over budget and encounters resistance. Poor press coverage and cultural missteps cause low attendance. Humbled, management shies away from future Magic Kingdoms.

  4. 4Hit or Miss

    63 minNov 29, 2019

    After a tragic downturn, Michael Eisner steps back from creative stress and hires business-minded managers to fill the void. The pendulum swings from art to commerce. The Imagineers enter an era of austerity. While some projects enjoy enormous success, others are cancelled, and still others, disappoint. The pattern seems irreversible.

  5. 5A Carousel of Progress

    63 minDec 6, 2019

    Under Bog Iger's leadership, the Imagineers begin a creative renaissance, plussing parks worldwide.

  6. 6To Infinity and Beyond

    65 minDec 13, 2019★ 8.8

    The Imagineers open a new Disney resort in China, then blockbuster worlds of immersion.