Disney's Tech Innovator
Disney Legend Don Iwerks, Innovator Behind Iconic Park Technologies and Films, Dies at 96
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Key Points
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Circle-Vision work extended beyond Captain EO to other landmark experiences, including Star Tours and early EPCOT film productions, with Circle‑Vision debuting in Circarama, U.S.A. at Disneyland in 1955 (America the Beautiful).
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The hands of Abraham Lincoln’s Audio-Animatronics figure were modeled on Don Iwerks, giving rise to the “Iwerks Hands” standard used across Disney parks around the world.
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Iwerks’ early career path included joining Disney in 1950 after working in the Process Lab, moving to the Studio Machine Shop in 1953, and earning his first major credit on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), with later leadership of the Machine Shop and Camera Service Department.
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A notable technical refinement was the sodium traveling matte process improvement used in Mary Poppins, highlighting Iwerks’ influence on Disney’s visual effects beyond Circle‑Vision and 3D systems.
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After his Disney career, he co-founded Iwerks Entertainment with Stan Kinsey, which helped pioneer giant-screen theaters, motion simulators, and immersive 3D experiences worldwide, and later contributed to restoring Disney’s historic camera systems for display at The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Don Iwerks, a Disney Legend and one of the most important technical minds in the company's history, died on July 9, 2026. He was 96. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Iwerks spent more than six decades shaping how Disney told stories — through cameras, projectors, and immersive theme park experiences that millions of people around the world still encounter today.
Iwerks was the son of Ub Iwerks, the animator who helped Walt Disney create Mickey Mouse. But Don carved out his own towering legacy — one built not with a paintbrush, but with lenses, machines, and engineering breakthroughs that changed what movies and theme parks could do.
A Career That Started on the Studio Floor in 1950
Don Iwerks joined Disney in 1950, working first in the Process Lab. By 1953 he had moved to the Studio Machine Shop. His first major film credit came on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1954, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He eventually rose to lead both the Machine Shop and the Camera Service Department.
One of his quieter but lasting contributions came on Mary Poppins. Iwerks helped refine the sodium vapor traveling matte process — a visual effects technique that let live actors appear alongside animation. Blaze Trends noted the improvement was a key reason the 1964 film's effects still hold up decades later.
Circle-Vision and the Birth of Immersive Park Filmmaking
Iwerks played a central role in developing Circle-Vision 360°, a system that surrounds viewers with a panoramic film shot by multiple cameras at once. The technology debuted at Disneyland in 1955 as Circarama, U.S.A., showing a film called America the Beautiful, according to Head Topics. It became one of Disney's signature park experiences.
Circle-Vision later powered Star Tours and early EPCOT film productions. Iwerks also developed the 3D camera system used for Captain EO, Michael Jackson's landmark 1986 short film shown at Disney parks. Each project pushed what audiences could see, feel, and believe inside a theater.
His Hands Live On in Every Disney Abraham Lincoln
One of the most personal marks Iwerks left on Disney history is literally physical. When Disney built its Audio-Animatronics figure of Abraham Lincoln for the 1964 World's Fair, engineers modeled the figure's hands on Don Iwerks himself. Yahoo News reported that those hands became the standard template used for Lincoln figures in Disney parks around the world.
The Lincoln figure was a milestone in Disney's Audio-Animatronics program — lifelike robotic characters that would go on to define theme park storytelling for generations. That Iwerks' hands were the model speaks to how deeply personal his connection to Disney's craft really was.
Iwerks Entertainment and a Legacy Preserved for Future Generations
After leaving Disney, Iwerks co-founded Iwerks Entertainment with Stan Kinsey. The company helped pioneer giant-screen theaters, motion simulators, and immersive 3D experiences at venues worldwide, according to Ozarab Media. It was a second act that let him export Disney-style wonder far beyond the parks themselves.
Iwerks also later helped restore Disney's historic camera systems so they could go on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum. Disney leadership remembered him for his heart as much as his ingenuity. His work — from Mary Poppins to EPCOT to the Lincoln robot's hands — touched nearly every corner of Disney's creative and technical history.
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