INFO: Bill Watkins, Ride Engineer Behind Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Visits Disneyland Park

This week, the Disneyland Resort hosted a special visit to Disneyland park for retired Imagineer Bill Watkins, who was instrumental in engineering the Space Mountain attractions at both Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, as well as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Resort. As the ride engineer for these attractions, Bill designed their track layouts and vehicle chassis with a passion for physics and storytelling, helping to inspire the creation of these iconic attractions around the world.

Bill enjoyed a personal tour of Space Mountain and observed the operation, rode the attraction twice and met cast members. Now in his 80s, Bill contributed to a number of attractions at Disney Parks around the world and completed the first all-computer design of a Disney attraction with Space Mountain. He worked at Walt Disney Imagineering from 1966 to 1985, and oversaw mechanical design for the openings of Epcot and Tokyo Disneyland.

Bill had a fun morning and appreciated his visit to the attraction. He last visited during the 50th anniversary of Disneyland park in 2005, when Space Mountain officially re-launched with astronaut Neil Armstrong as the guest of honor. Since it opened, more than 250 million guests have ridden Space Mountain at Disneyland park.

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My enthusiasm for all things Disney all started when my parents took our family to WDW for a vacation. My first trip was at age 13. Since that first time, I have made a trip to WDW almost every year from age 13. As far as I knew there was only one place to vacation! My fascination with WDW began on that first trip. I wanted to know how things at WDW operated and what made it so magical. I wanted to know details like how many people worked there and the length of the monorail track. It is that fascination that fueled my interest in WDW. Each year that my family vacationed at WDW, I learned more about WDW as they built more parks and added more attractions. I am not the average fan; I want to know all the details and I love researching the facts of WDW. I research facts through the Internet, books and DVDs. To me, the best part is to conduct research trip at WDW. After college, my father was transferred to Orlando and I moved with my parents. Seeking employment, I applied for a job at WDW. I passed the first rounds of interviews and was proud to join the Disney family as a security cast member! The job was great. It included Disney-specific training and security training before assuming four duties: driving a security vehicle, standing a post, working in a resort or walking a park or other area. Sometimes I even had special duties like working the Epcot Christmas Processional. I would escort the celebrity guests from backstage to onstage. Interestingly, every cast member is given a WDW fact book monthly to aid in answering guest questions. The pocket book contained great Disney facts that added more fuel for my thirst of Disney facts. Well, all-good things must come to end so we moved back to NJ. In the summer of 2010 I moved back to Florida I am now living in Orlando less then 15 minutes from WDW and living the dream and have fun along the way. Favorite Park – Magic Kingdom Favorite Character – Mickey Mouse Favorite restaurant – California Grill Favorite attraction – Toy Story Mania Favorite resort – Bay Lake Tower / Contempoary First time at a disney park – 1976 & have been every year since Who was on your first disney trip – My entire family Favorite disney memory – My first trip and my first trip with my kids How far do you live from disney now – 15 minutes When is your next Disney trip? – every weekend Favorite Disney Movie – Jungle Book & Toy Story

INFO: Bill Watkins, Ride Engineer Behind Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Visits Disneyland Park