MAGIC MAKER
WALT DISNEY IMAGINEER , JOE ROHDE
BY KIMBERLY MASIMORE
Whether you know him as “ that man with
the earring ” or as the creative mastermind behind many of your favorite Disney attractions , chances are , Joe Rohde has impacted your love of Disney in some way .
As 2020 drew to a close , Rohde announced his retirement , and a collective gasp could be heard around the world .
This month we celebrate the many contributions the Executive Designer and Vice President , Creative at Walt Disney Imagineering ( WDI ) has made with a look back at his career .
AN ADVENTURE BEGINS After graduating from Occidental College with a degree in fine arts , Joe taught set design at Chaminade
College Preparatory . The father of one of his students worked for Disney , saw his impressive set designs , and approached him to work for WDI . Joe was more interested in production , but he eventually took the offer and , at 25 , began his career at Walt Disney Imagineering .
ABOVE : Joe Rohde at an Earth Day event . PHOTO BY COURTNEY REYNOLDS BACKGROUND : This sculpture mimics the silhouette of the mountain range at Animal Kingdom . PHOTO BY RICH RAMOS
Rohde ’ s first project at WDI in 1980 was as a model designer at EPCOT . Inside the