We can do it

George McGinnis deserves to be honored as a Disney Legend for Imagineering.

It has been too long since I have broached this subject, but with the announcement last week that this year’s Disney Legends awards are to be presented at the D23 Expo, now seems like the perfect time. Never has there been a more public stage for the awards that showcase individual achievement across the many fields of Disney entertainment.

The fact is that George McGinnis, like many of the greats that have wandered the various halls of Disney, did not resign himself to merely one job. Like many of the easily recognizable names before him, his work could, and can, be seen in the parks as well as on film. From robotic characters in Disney’s “The Black Hole,” to monorails, Horizons, and even the safari trucks of Kilimanjaro Safaris, he has moved guests both physically and emotionally. Even today, he still keeps in touch with the other fans out there sharing his stories and further creating Disney magic and inspiring new horizons.

Last year the Gazette presented a series of articles entitled Beyond Today, taking an in depth view into the worlds George McGinnis helped to create. You can read those articles in the Beyond Today section of the site. This year, the Main Street Gazette hopes this plea will be carried across the internet (in forums, podcasts, instant messages, email newsgroups, and tweets) and all the way to Disney’s front door. In addition to the Gazette articles, I have also begun a Facebook group, called George McGinnis: Disney Legend, to give all of those interested a place to come together. Within the group, feel free to share your stories, photographs, videos, links, and ideas of how we, as a community, can come together to achieve something for George McGinnis.

I hope you will join me as we look beyond today, through a world helped shaped by George McGinnis, and find a way to lift up a man who has given all of us so much to dream about.