studios . Their eye for color and design made an indelible imprint not only on Disney Parks but also on theme parks worldwide .
Perhaps the one Imagineer who had more influence and impact than any other was Disney legend , John Hench . John was well-known among his colleagues for his understanding of color and color theory , and he put that expertise to good use when Walt asked him to develop color palettes for Disneyland . Eventually , John would go on to do the same for Walt Disney World ’ s Magic Kingdom and EPCOT . John had been employed
Did you know that Spaceship Earth was originally going to be gold ? PHOTO BY CLIFF WANG
by the company for nearly 65 years when he passed away in 2004 at the age of 95 . Until a few weeks before then , he still came into his office in Glendale almost every day . Quite remarkable .
I was fortunate enough to do two walk-throughs of the parks with John : the first time in 1992 through EPCOT and the second time in 1995 when he was still a spry 84 years old . Here are some of the tidbits he passed on regarding his use of color within the parks :
John Hench ' s signature . John ' s work and legacy are all over WDW if you know where to look . PHOTO BY BRIAN COLLINS
THE RED REALITY There ’ s a story that seems to perpetuate among some Disney fans that the theme parks ’ pavement is predominantly red because “ Disney is rolling out the red carpet for you .” If that ’ s what you ’ ve heard or believed , sorry to burst your bubble ( while it certainly sounds nice ). According to John , he selected red