Casey Ging
Senior Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering
Class of 2015
Describe what you currently do, and tell us the best thing about it.
I am a Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering. I work in a multidisciplinary team to conceptualize new theme park attractions at Disney Parks around the world. I love working with some of the most inspiring people in the world every day. We work in such a collaborative medium and every person on the team has something to add to the experience.
What led you to the ETC?
I went to undergrad for architecture, but I always found myself drawn to interactive storytelling in the physical world. I wanted to create role playing games, but in the real world! The ETC was one of few places that offered an opportunity to play with new technologies that enabled this type of location based storytelling, so it was exciting to get the opportunity to go there.
What projects did you work on at the ETC?
I worked on a variety of projects, but two of my favorites were “Infinit-E Dome” and “Play4Life”. For Infinit-E, our team invented a hemispherical touchscreen display to teach middle school kids about sustainable energy. It was amazing to see how much more kids retained when you taught them through a collective interactive experience. On Play4Life, our team created a top down projection system that allowed users to interact with digital games that inspired them to move around. The goal was to keep young kids active in a cold weather winter environment. In the first year, users had traveled over 4,800 miles in our experience!
What’s your favorite ETC memory?
I have many! But all of them are similar and revolve around the late nights around the building solving problems as a team. The most enjoyable moments were when a team was working together to figure something out and someone says that “crazy idea” that turns out to be just the solution you were looking for. It happens on every project, and it is always a memorable moment.
How did ETC prepare you for your career, and what impact has it had on your life?
The ETC was the first opportunity I had to work in truly multidisciplinary teams. Our teams were always made up of people from vastly different backgrounds with diverse skill sets. Learning how to communicate across disciplines, take input from others with a different view point, and learn how to push each other, but not break each other are fundamental skills that I use literally every day in my life and in my career. I could not have asked for better preparation.
What is the most interesting or enjoyable thing that you’ve gotten to do in your career so far?
When we opened Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, I had the chance to stand outside an attraction I spent 5 years working on. It was amazing to watch Guests as they fulfilled an aspiration they had been waiting their whole life to do … fly the Millennium Falcon! It was one of the most fun and rewarding days of my life. It made all the years of hard work worth it.
What advice would you give current students?
Project life and entertainment is a difficult world. The projects have long durations, the demands shift and change, and you sometimes spend years working on things that don’t make the final cut. It is imperative that you step back and celebrate every win you can with the team. Even if it seems small at the time, the final product is just a lot of small things stitched together one win at a time. Take the time to be excited by that.
Describe the ETC in one word.
Exhilarating.
What are you working on now that excites you?
I can’t talk about it, but it is awesome!