I loved this book. It was as if Rafferty was sitting next to me every day and telling non-stop stories about his career with Disney.
Like Charlie Bucket in “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” one of the things that Disney fans dream of doing is pulling back the curtain on all those closed doors at Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California. It is here that Disney Imagineers create a plethora of fantastical things ranging from attractions to signage and everything in between. In a way, Kevin Rafferty’s autobiography, “Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career”, is a little like Willie Wonka himself. He takes Disney fans on a wondrous journey through his career with The Walt Disney Company. Rafferty could have easily sung the words that Willie Wonka sung in the movie, “Come with me / And you'll be / In a world of / Pure imagination … We'll begin / With a spin /Traveling in / The world of my creation.” One would think Rafferty, who grew up in Southern California and had a passion for drawing and art, would be drawn to working for The Walt Disney Company. Well, you can erase that thought out of your head, because, in 1974, Rafferty was studying to become a Roman Catholic priest. After five years, Rafferty left the priesthood and enrolled at Cal State to study art.
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