Travels With Figment on the Road in Search of Disney Dreams

by Sklar, Marty; Weis, Bob

• ISBN13: 9781368023122
• ISBN10: 1368023126
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2019-11-05
• Publisher: Disney Editions

Summary

Travels with Figment: On the Road in Search of Disney Dreams is the final book from Disney Legend Marty Sklar. In his fifty-four years at Disney—among his assignments in his first ten years was writing personal materials for Walt Disney—Marty travelled the globe, creating Disney magic and committing his adventures to memory.

After his retirement from Disney, Marty kept on traveling, with book tours sharing his memoir Dream It! Do It! My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms and his book full of Imagineering “secrets,” One Little Spark! Mickey’s Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering. In response to the most-asked question raised on his book tours—“When can we read more stories about the Disney world you lived in for more than half a century?”—he drew upon his memory to tell stories he hadn’t shared before. And in this fresh volume, Marty regales readers with more captivating tales from his storied career.

Accolades and tributes to Marty upon his passing in 2017 reinforced the depth of his legacy and impact. Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger put it this way: “Everything about Marty was legendary—his achievements, his spirit, his career. He embodied the very best of Disney, from his bold originality to his joyful optimism and relentless drive for excellence. He was also a powerful connection to Walt himself. No one was more passionate about Disney than Marty, and we’ll miss his enthusiasm, his grace, and his indomitable spirit.”

Travels with Figment is a collection of tales told memorably by Marty, spanning the globe and nearly six decades. Travel along and enjoy the truly fascinating adventures of this exceptional man.

Searching for that perfect gift for the #1 Disney fan in your life? Explore more behind-the-scenes stories from Disney Editions:

• One Little Spark! Mickey's Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering (By Disney Legend Marty Sklar)
  
• Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career (By Kevin Rafferty)
  
• Travels with Walt Disney: A Photographic Voyage Around the World (By Jeff Kurtti)
  
• Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food (By Marcy Carriker Smothers)
  
• Walt Disney: An American Original (By Bob Thomas)
  
• Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition (By Disney Legend Dave Smith)
  
• Disney Facts Revealed: Answers to Fans’ Curious Questions (By Disney Legend Dave Smith)
  
• Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered (By Disney Legend Dave Smith)
  
• My Pride: Mastering Life's Daily Performance from Broadway's Record-Breaking Lion King (By Alton Fitzgerald White)
  
• Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service, Revised and Updated Edition (By The Disney Institute)
  

Author Biography

Marty Sklar was a student at UCLA and editor of the Daily Bruin student newspaper in 1955 when he was recruited-a month before Disneyland opened-to create The Disneyland News, a "small town" newspaper that would be sold at the park on Main Street for ten cents. After graduating in 1956, he joined Disney full time as a member of the Publicity Department at Disneyland. Walt Disney told Marty he had "something more important" in mind for him, and in 1961 Marty was moved to WED Enterprises-the forerunner of Walt Disney Imagineering-where he worked on attractions for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Marty took on this role while also writing personal materials for Walt Disney for use in publications, on television, and in special films, including the important film introducing Walt's vision for Walt Disney World and the EPCOT project. After Walt's passing in 1966, Marty became instrumental in making Walt's vision a reality. By 1974, Marty, as vice president of concepts and planning, guided the creative development of EPCOT Center (now Epcot).

For another three decades, Marty remained the creative leader of Walt Disney Imagineering. He served as Vice-president, President, and Vice Chairman and Principal Creative Executive during the design and construction of nine of the twelve Disney parks. Marty was named Imagineering Ambassador in 2006 and he retired on July 17, 2009-Disneyland's fifty-fourth birthday. In his retirement, Marty remained active in themed entertainment, consulting, mentoring, and authoring his first two books on his Disney experiences. Marty passed away in 2017-but his legacy lives on in all the Disney parks worldwide.