By Zach Johnson
The Disney Legends Award ceremony will mark the final day of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa®, a one-of-a-kind, multi-day fan experience showcasing the very best in creative storytelling and innovation from across the worlds of Disney. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the event will be filled with tributes and unforgettable moments to honor and celebrate the icons behind the magic who have made a lasting impact on Disney.
This year, The Walt Disney Company’s highest honor will be presented to 13 individuals — Chris Berman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Susan Egan, Eric Goldberg, Anne Hathaway, Bob Iger, Kim Irvine, Dwayne Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Lin‑Manuel Miranda, and Alan Tudyk — who for generations have defined Disney across entertainment, storytelling, and experiences.
In an exclusive Q&A, Kim Irvine —who is being recognized in the Imagineering category—reflects on her contributions to the company and what it means to be named a Disney Legend.
How does it feel to be honored as a Disney Legend?
The honor of being named a Disney Legend is both thrilling and daunting. It is an honor that has previously been bestowed on my most valued and important mentors, whom I have always strived to emulate: my mother, Leota Toombs, being one of them. It is astounding to me that I should join their ranks.
How does it feel to share this distinction with your mother?
I feel so fortunate to have been raised by two parents who believed strongly in the value of the arts and encouraged my sister and I to pursue it as a career. My father, Harvey, was an animator and cartoonist. My mother, Leota, a wonderful painter and sculptor, and a Disney Legend herself! I strive to do the same with my children and grandchildren and wish that more parents would see the value of encouraging their children to pursue a career in the arts.
What was the most rewarding part of helping to shape Disneyland Park?
My early years in the WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) model shop were pure magic. Working side by side with those incredible original Imagineers will always remain my most treasured times — listening intently to their stories of Walt, the creation of Disneyland, and absorbing all that "tribal knowledge" that is Imagineering. I try to live by those lessons every day and pass them on to all of today's young Imagineers and "Disneylanders."
Much of your work involved preserving classic elements of Disneyland Park while also managing necessary changes. How did you balance nostalgia with innovation?
Being asked in 1976 to lead a newly formed WED team that would be dedicated to Disneyland Park was a most challenging but rewarding assignment. As my mentor, [Disney Legend] John Hench, often reminded me, "Walt's dream for his first born, Disneyland, was for it to always be evolving and growing. It is not a museum or a finished movie in a can," he would say, "but a living place that needs to stay relevant, new and exciting!"
I have found that, even if a guest had never been on a certain attraction, or to a shop or restaurant, they still want it to remain exactly as they remember it. The thing is, I totally get that. Changes to things that we love are hard; we want them to freeze in time. But that was not Walt's wish for Disneyland. An Imagineer must work hard to keep Disneyland relevant to our audience, always keeping in mind its original intent.
What advice would you give Imagineers hoping to make their own mark at WDI?
I think that rule actually applies to working anywhere in The Walt Disney Company. Walt's dream was to give people joy, to educate through entertainment, to remind them of the curiosity of a child and of what it feels like to play. I recall a day that John Hench and I were on one of our many walks down Main Street, U.S.A. There was a family in front of us and the father was wearing a Goofy hat and dancing through the crowd. John turned to me with the biggest smile on his face and said, "It really does work, doesn't it?" I think that is every Disney employee's endeavor — to makes people's lives better, even if just for a day.
How would you sum up your 55 years at Walt Disney Imagineering?
I am so deeply grateful to have been a tiny part of creating those memories for the last 55 years.
But I am afraid that it was a lifelong commitment! I still continue to look for ways to do this in my retired life every day!