Marty Sklar - On the Road in Search of Disney Dreams

Also by Marty Sklar

Dream It! Do It!
My Half-Century Creating Disneys Magic Kingdoms

One Little Spark!
Mickeys Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering

Copyright Marty Sklar Creative, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Disney Editions, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

For information address Disney Editions, 1200 Grand Central Avenue, Glendale, California 91201.

One Little Spark

Words and Music by Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman

1981 Wonderland Music Company, Inc. (BMI)

All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.

ISBN 978-1-368-04515-5

Copyright 2019 Marty Sklar Creative Inc.

Cover photo courtesy of the Sklar family

Figment illustration on front cover by Ethan Reed

Cover designed by Winnie Ho

Visit www.disneybooks.com

For All of Martys Families:

For the Sklar Family

Leah

Howard and Katriina

Gabriel and Hannah

Leslie

Rachel and Jacob

For the Imagineering Family

Imagineers

Past, Present, and Future

For the Family of Disney Fans Worldwide

The Magic has always been for you!

When I think about Mickeys Ten, I think of Marty and how deep his thinking was, yet how casual and understated he was on the surface. And I also think of how Mickeys Ten and Marty were so intertwinedlike two trees that grew together over the years so completely that they can never be separated.

In fact, that also describes Martys relationship with Walt Disney Imagineering. There is no way to unravel whats Martys and whats Imagineerings in this bonded tree of imagination, innovation, and creativity we work to grow and keep healthy each day. And I am thankful for that.

The truth is the concise rigor of the Ten is invaluable, yet it also masks the fact that Marty had many more commandmentsor, better stated, advice points for Imagineers to follow. (For those of you who knew Marty, you know that advice is a pretty soft word; you took Martys notes seriously, lest you receive a red-ink note card to remind you!)

Ill take the risky step of adding a few more commandmentsseven to be exactto Mickeys Ten, or Martys Ten, as we should rightly call them. As the next generation of Imagineers uses them, we can do well to heed this additional advice Ive gleaned over time from Marty, sometimes from notes written in red pen.

1. Respect talent and experience when people retire or leave for whatever reason; celebrate their achievements, and make sure future Imagineers learn from them.
2. The parks must change with the times! Theyre not fixed in time, and theyre not museum pieces.
3. Ethics and creativity transcend company boundaries. All of us who live creative lives owe it to our communities to collaborate and contribute our talents for the better, locally and globally.
4. Diversity in background, gender, culture, age, and experience is our strength, a creative well we draw from. It is a small world, but a diverse and exciting one, too.
5. Trust collaboration. Individual contributions are priceless, but collaboration creates unexpected magic. A roomful of talented people can move mountains. Put them in there, lock the door, and just pass food under the door until they emerge with great ideas.
6. Walk the hallsan organization chart tells you nothing. People are everything, and theyre out there interacting, discussing, and challenging each other in the halls every day. Go out and join the conversation.
7. This is a calling, not a job. To bring happiness, laughter, and fun to millions of people around the world is a joy, a privilege, and indeed a responsibility. Take your fun seriously, and know that creativity really matters. It matters more every day.

For his Ten, and for the many other commandments he articulated for us over the years, I thank Marty. Each day I do.

Bob Weis

President, Walt Disney Imagineering

Note: Youll find the myriad ways Martys Ten Commandments have affected our Imagineering family in .

This book is a testament to Marty Sklars enduring legacy.

When Marty died, unexpectedly, on July 27, 2017, we in his family felt a jolt of shock and grief. None of us expected Marty to leave us so soon; with no warning or intimation that things were about to change, we had not braced ourselves for the shock. It soon became clear that the news of Martys passing had also sent shock waves through his other family, of Imagineers (past and present), colleagues in the themed entertainment business, collaborators in the corporate world, and admirers and Disney fans across the globe.

Just as we were unprepared for our loss, we were equally unprepared for the sympathy and fellowship that reverberated back to us. We were heartened and deeply moved by the wave of condolences that washed over us via phone calls, e-mails, cards, and charitable donations made in memory of Marty to Ryman Arts, the nonprofit arts education organization that he and Leah co-founded in 1990 with other Disney alumni to honor Herb Ryman, their friend and a great Disney illustrator.

Very soon after we lost Marty, and while condolences were still coming in, Imagineers began asking one pressing question: Would we publish Martys third book, which he had nearly finished writing at the time of his death? The queries were coming from people Marty had mentored over the years, many of whom had been enlisted by him to contribute to this book. Marty had been so supportive of them, encouraging them in their work for Disney and, in many cases, their careers after they had left Imagineering, that they never hesitated to respond when Marty needed something. Their answer was always, Yes!

Responding to Martys requests was their way of giving back, of honoring his faith in them, and of carrying on his legacy. Their contributions to this book would be their way of expressing their admiration for Marty and the impact he had on themand would once again declare the value and importance of his seminal philosophy of creating successful themed entertainment, Mickeys Ten Commandments. And so, in those days after our collective shock, when we were asked if we were going to get Martys book to the publisher, the answer, of course, was Yes!

Marty would normally have been actively involved in the editing, polishing, designing, and finishing-up process of getting this book to the presses. Rest assured that, although he wasnt with us to participate in those stages of the process, what we present to you here is Martys book: his experiences, his stories, his perspective, and his voice.

This book is Martys legacyand his gift to you.

Leslie A. Sklar