From Inspiration to Reality: A Young Imagineer Meets Mark Rober at Disneyland

“I guarantee someone watching right now is a future Imagineer.”

For most viewers, it’s an inspiring line from one of Mark Rober’s always-creative CrunchLabs videos on YouTube. But for Brian Chung, a former Disney intern and current financial analyst for Walt Disney Imagineering, it became something more.

After watching a behind-the-scenes look at the work consistently taking place at Walt Disney Imagineering, Brian found himself drawn to a side of Disney that blended creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving in ways he hadn’t considered before, quickly turning inspiration into action. Just a few months later, that same sense of curiosity would lead him to an unexpected trip, a carefully planned surprise, and a moment he never saw coming.

Calling all future Imagineers, Disney Parks fans, and those with a calling for creativity: read on to learn more about Brian’s journey toward Walt Disney Imagineering, and how one moment paved the way for a dream opportunity to meet one of his larger-than-life heroes.

Before stepping into his full-time role as a financial analyst with Walt Disney Imagineering, Brian built his early career experience through two internships with The Walt Disney Company: first with the WDI finance team in Glendale, California, and later with the franchise strategy team in Orlando, Florida.

But his journey with Imagineering started even earlier.

While watching one of Mark Rober’s well-known CrunchLabs videos on YouTube highlighting the work happening at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, Brian discovered a new side of Disney that he had previously been unaware of. This blend of advanced engineering, endless creativity, and behind-the-scenes storytelling stuck out and caught his attention, inspiring Brian to explore an internship position with Disney.

“It didn’t even really get on my radar until I watched that Mark Rober video where he did the walkthrough at the Glendale Imagineering campus. I knew it was just one small part of Disney, but it sounded so interesting. I was always so interested in design engineering, and I thought, well, maybe they have something open in finance as well,” Brian stated.

While Brian noted that his family had a tradition of visiting the parks together about once every 10 years (most recently at Walt Disney World), this moment marked a turning point in his life and his eventual push toward a career at Disney.

Eventually being accepted to the finance team in Glendale, Brian was welcomed into the fold for his first internship with The Walt Disney Company. From there, as an expression of appreciation for his first Disney steps in the early portion of his still-fresh career, Brian decided to take a risk and reach out to Mark Rober’s team in a personal email.

Sharing how the Imagineering piece and many of Rober’s additional videos over the years had inspired him to take creative risks and participate in challenging projects along the way (from creating derby cars as a young boy to committing to the LC robotics team when he was younger), Brian let the team at CrunchLabs know how much of an impact that their videos had made on people like him around the world.

Brian stated that even though his interests changed, his love for creativity and innovation never wavered. It’s a mindset that helped guide him to where he is today, entering a dream role with endless possibilities still on the horizon.

Just a few weeks into his brand-new job in Orlando, Brian was settling into his role until his newest team presented an unexpected opportunity: a work trip to California in April to support one of his team’s operational planning meetings.

Initially caught off-guard by this last-minute addition to his calendar, Brian leaned into the moment, determined to learn as much as he could and ask as many questions as possible along the way. Although he was certainly nervous about this sudden assignment, it reflected a mindset that he’s carried early in his career: saying “yes” to experiences that push far beyond his normal comfort zone, an inspiring mindset from one former intern to the other.

So, lifted by that outlook, Brian charted his course for Anaheim, where he connected with several cast members from across The Walt Disney Company who were eager to greet him on his first work trip to Disneyland Resort. Yet shortly after arriving in sunny Southern California, something unexpected caught his attention. Several cast members on the WDI communications team discreetly reached out to Brian, asking him to film some “day in the life” content on his phone, raising some curiosity in Brian’s mind. Could this work trip just be a whole setup for something larger happening? Something certainly felt a little fishy.

“You’re asking the finance guy to do this? That might not be the very best content that you’ll get, but it sounded fun,” said Brian. Sparked by the power of saying “yes” to exciting-yet-unclear opportunities in front of him, Brian agreed and took his first steps into a larger picture that would eventually lead to something far bigger than he could have ever imagined.

Once he arrived at Disney California Adventure park for his meeting, Brian was thrilled to connect with several fellow peers from Walt Disney Imagineering for the first time in-person. Yet when he was asked to be mic’d up to help record some of his “day in the life” content to document his trip, he sensed something might actually be up.

From there, his leaders revealed that there was one last person that they wanted him to meet: Mark Rober.

Still under the impression that it was just merely a coincidence, Brian approached Mark casually, expecting nothing more than a quick hello before heading off to his next scheduled meeting.

But as cameras began to gather and this shining moment suddenly lingered, it became clear that this wasn’t just by chance. Outside of the Animation Building inside Disney California Adventure park, Brian had his golden opportunity to connect with Mark in-person to reveal his journey up until this point, share the email that he sent months and months ago, and explain how Mark helped inspire him along the way. With Brian’s managers fully committed to this once-in-a-lifetime surprise, complete with staged meetings, packed bags, and carefully coordinated logistics to keep everything under wraps, it became clear to Brian that this moment had been planned entirely for him.

“I remember telling my manager after that my cheeks were so sore just from smiling the whole time – it was just such a great experience,” said Brian. “This was such a big moment for me, and I’ve been telling this story to anyone and everyone.”

Brian’s past few months have been a thrilling roller coaster full of twists and turns, as he recently graduated from the University of Washington in December (with a major in Finance and Supply Chain) and is preparing to walk at his school’s graduation ceremony very soon. Brian also mentioned that he closely followed the Disney Careers website and LinkedIn during his initial internship process, further fueling his interest in the company and ultimately inspiring him to pursue a future with Walt Disney Imagineering.

As our conversation wrapped, the former Husky reflected on this special moment with an appreciative sense of gratitude, describing the experience as something truly unexpected.

“I see this all the time for a lot of guests at Disney who get to participate in these ‘surprise and delights’ or ‘magical moments,’ but it’s not something that I would have ever expected that they would do for a cast member, especially once that’s just three weeks into my new role… that’s one of the big reasons that even after my internships ended, I knew I wanted to come back to Disney for a job. The culture here is just so supportive.”

It’s a full-circle milestone that reinforces exactly why he chose this path in the first place. Yet it also serves as an inspirational reminder for us all that the key moments that inspire you can help shape where you end up and who you are truly meant to become, guided by a pure passion for rising creativity and the endless push for innovation.