In this episode we conclude my much-delayed interview with Imagineer Bob Gurr. In part 1, we talked quite a bit about some of his memories of Walt Disney as well as his work on Disneyland, including clearing up some confusion about some specific terms. Towards the end of that first half we started talking in more depth about his work after Disney, as Gurr Design.
In this episode, Bob talks about…
- Whether he has an estimated life span for attractions when he works on or builds them, using the Monorail as an example
- A bit about the short-lived Viewliner attraction at Disneyland
- Whether there’s a difference in how he designs one-shot pieces or attractions versus ones that are supposed to last a long time
- The flying saucer he created for the 1984 Olympics
- The lighting rig for Michael Jackson’s “Victory” Tour
- A very little bit about his work on the interior of President Eisenhower’s aircraft
- Being a glider pilot for 50 years
- Whether he’s afraid of heights
- Some of the interesting little projects he got to work on over the years that he doesn’t usually get to talk about
- What he learned about himself and how to approach these challenges and how they shaped him personally and professionally
- The one job he bid on and got that didn’t turn out as planned
- His thoughts on how to help kids be more engaged in learning
- How to help a child use the interests they have to learn the things they need to know
- What he never gets asked that he wishes people would ask him
- What inspires him
- His advice to you for following your dreams—it’s unlike anything any of my guests have shared before
- How to develop your curiosity
- Shameless Plug Time
