208. Imagineer Greg Combs on Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, and Tokyo DisneySea

Greg Combs joins the Tomorrow Society Podcast to talk about his career of more than 30 years at Walt Disney Imagineering.

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When Greg Combs was studying Theatre in college in the early 1980s, he could not have predicted his ultimate destination at Walt Disney Imagineering. After moving to California, he took a temporary job at Disney as a Show Set Designer and stayed there for more than 30 years. Greg is my guest on this episode of the Tomorrow Society Podcast to talk about his Imagineering career.

Greg started out working on Disneyland Paris, which was already moving at full steam in the early ’90s. After a few early hiccups, he found his stride and worked as a Show Set Designer on many classic attractions. We talk about Greg’s work on Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. We also cover experiences in Japan including work on Journey Into the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea.

Most recently, was an Executive Creative Producer of the Tokyo Portfolio and worked closely with the Oriental Land Company. We chat about the excellent Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast attraction at Tokyo Disneyland and the upcoming Fantasy Springs addition to DisneySea. Greg believes that guests are going to love new lands based on Tangled, Peter Pan, and Frozen. He also talks candidly about some struggles with moving away from a creative role earlier as a functional leader. I really enjoyed talking with Greg and learning more about his career and awesome projects.