Niles: Former Imagineer shares the hard work behind the magic in ‘Dream Chasing’

Plenty of former Disney theme park managers have written books about their time with the company. But no one has created anything like “Dream Chasing” by Bob Weis.

Released last week, Weis’ memoir details his four decades in the theme park business, including his time as President of Walt Disney Imagineering. Weis started his career working on Tokyo Disneyland and went on to contribute to every Disney theme park in the world, including the reimagining of Disney California Adventure.

But Weis does not introduce himself in the book with any of those projects. Instead, Weis chooses to begin his story in the early hours of a winter morning, when he is struggling to breathe and contemplating a call to 911. It’s a bracing opening for a management memoir from a leader of a company that defines happiness for so many fans. Weis’ bold choice challenges readers who might not be used to seeing such vulnerability from publicly perfect Disney cast members.

Belief in magic demands overlooking the hard work that went into creating that illusion. “Dream Chasing” immerses the reader in that work. But rather than undermining our belief in Disney’s magic, Weis’ book inspires appreciation for the many people who have given so much to create it.

Weis writes “Dream Chasing” with short chapters that read a bit like scenes in a Disneyland dark ride. They’re vignettes — little set pieces that combine to take readers on a journey through Weis’ life. While the narrative focus remains on the work, Weis does not hide the personal effects of spending so much of his life on the job.

Relationships suffer. Some end. When the deadline for completing Shanghai Disneyland approaching, Weis brings us back to his opening scene, which ends with a hospital visit and a resolve to find balance in life. Balance does not mean abandoning your work anymore than it means abandoning your loved ones for that work. The Themed Entertainment Association this month launched a Wellness Council to help its members — the people who design attractions at Disney and other companies — from falling into situations like Weis recounted.

If a dream is a wish that your heart makes, as the Disney song says, Weis’ book illustrates what one person can do with others to fulfill those wishes. The first step is perseverance. Weis does not accept a rejection letter from Walt Disney Imagineering as the final word. He asks for another chance and gets it. Working on Tokyo Disneyland, he describes how a small team of Imagineers helped create what is now one of the world’s premier theme parks by working with partners in multiple countries.

Like many Imagineers, Weis also worked on projects that never got built, such as the Disney’s America theme park that he helped plan in Virginia. That project’s cancelation led Weis away from Disney for more than a decade, but the connections he maintained in the industry eventually brought him back.

Weis fills “Dream Chasing” with insider detail that will charm Disney theme park fans. More than that, though, “Dream Chasing” reveals that magic is the product of mortal work — and, as such, within the reach of anyone willing to do that work.