The Walt Disney Company recently celebrated its “Wish Week”; is not a promotion for a new movie, the opening of an attraction or a product launch, but rather a celebration of its long-standing partnership with Make-A-Wish, the nonprofit organization focused on granting wishes to children with critical illnesses.
The initiative spread to Disney parks, Broadway productions and special events, but one of the most distinctive experiences occurred at Walt Disney Imagineering.
For Eli, a 12-year-old Make-A-Wish boy, his desire was to look behind the curtain at how Disney parks and attractions are built and operated, with a particular fascination for how engineers and designers bring characters to life through animatronics and immersive storytelling.
As a member of his high school’s robotics team and deeply curious about how things work, Eli has also spent time learning about Imagineers, animatronics, and the history behind the most iconic attractions at Disney parks. However, through Wishes Assemble, his curiosity was completely satisfied.
“We knew Eli was interested in robotics and audio-animatronics, so we really pulled back the curtain,” Imagineer R&D executive Leslie Evans told TechRadar. “We show a bit of the legacy of how our first audio-animatronic figures were designed and animated and then take them into the real spaces where Imagineers are designing and building the next generation of figures.
“This includes everything from the technology that powers our characters, to the character sculpts and physical base, and finally the textures, finishes, masks and finishing touches that take these characters from screen to real life.”
One of the highlights came when Eli was introduced to the BDX Droids, some of Disney’s most advanced robotic characters, and even got the chance to control one himself.
The expressive Star Wars-inspired robots combine custom hardware, animation systems, sound design and reinforcement learning models, allowing them to balance, walk, react, dance and move with distinct personalities. While the droids have multiple systems, Disney also pairs them with artists who use handheld controllers similar in size and design to a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch 2.
Eli guided one of the BDX droids as it walked, jumped, turned its head, made sounds, and performed pre-programmed actions. However, robotics here is only part of a broader goal.
“When prototyping new characters in R&D, we always think first about the story, the feeling of the moment we want to create, and what makes a character really come to life for our guests,” Evans explained.
Evans says the philosophy – using advanced technology in the service of emotional storytelling – is central to Imagineering’s approach to innovation.
“We start with a lodestar of the experience we want to bring to life and then use technology to make it happen,” he said. “Digging into both the creative process and iterative development really gave Eli a sense of what goes into bringing these stories and characters to our park guests.”
That combination of engineering and creativity was one of the main reasons Eli connected so deeply with imagination in the first place.
“Eli chose this wish because being an Imagineer encompasses all of his passions,” said his mother, Amber Stortz. “He has also always had an inquiring mind when it comes to engineering, but still loves the creative and artistic aspects of engineering that only Disney offers.”
Steve Cotroneo, design director for Dimension at Imagineering, says that for some guests, understanding how technology and art come together can become its own kind of magic.
“For some, the ‘behind the scenes’ process can be just as magical, if not more so, especially for creative people who are passionate about art and technology, and Eli is absolutely someone who is passionate about both,” Cotroneo said.
The timing makes this wish especially meaningful. After a rare six-week break in treatment, Eli recently learned that his cancer had returned. While his treatment plan remains unchanged, his family sees this wish as a moment of joy and renewed strength before he returns to what they call “fight mode.”
At Wishes Assemble, Eli’s experience reflected the broader goal of the week: turning wishes into real-world moments that bring joy, connection, and strength to children and families who need it most.
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