DORIS HARDOON: The Dream Arc of a Theme Park

A producer, executive creative director, and Imagineer for over 31 years, Doris Hardoon, has just received the Buzz Price Thea Award recognizing her for “a lifetime of distinguished achievements.” Beginning her themed entertainment career in 1975 at Marine World Africa USA as a graphic designer, Doris was hired four years later by WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering), working on projects including EPCOT’s The Land Pavilion, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Hardoon became a senior executive creative director, producer, and creative lead for a varied portfolio of investments, working at some point on all six Magic Kingdom-style Disney parks on three continents. Realizing the “Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese” philosophy, Doris lead the successful realization of the Shanghai Disney Resort that opened in 2016. She also served as a creative executive for WestCOT, Long Beach’s DisneySea, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Doris recently retired as an Imagineer and continues her work in the themed entertainment industry through her own design company DDesign Consultancy. On the podcast, she shares the cultural significance of her design choices, discusses how she came to be an Imagineer and she reveals hiding the names of some of her cherished teammates in the ironwork of Disneytown.