Rick Rothschild (2021)

Rick Rothschild is a producer, director and film maker, who blends a unique set of entertainment skills developed with over 50 years in the world of theme parks, theater, media and museums. Bringing deep technical knowledge together with strong creative perspective enables him to provide vision and direction as he effectively and efficiently integrates complex ideas, story and systems into a complete entertainment product.

Along with the responsibility of creatively directing and producing over 25 unique Disney attractions during a tenure of over thirty years as a senior creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, Rick led and participated in concept development teams exploring new attractions, theme parks, recreation and immersive experiences as well as consulting with a number of prestigious US museums and educational institutions.

His first directorial role with Disney was leading the creation of The American Adventure for EPCOT Center in 1982. In 1987, Rick was named Executive Producer, Entertainment Center Projects, responsible for helping guide the planning of several Disney entertainment/retail centers, including Pleasure Island, which opened at Walt Disney World Resort in 1989.

Through the 1990’s, as an Imagineer, Rick was the creative executive who developed the central third of Disney’s California Adventure theme park and was the creator and director of Soarin’ over California, a thrilling flying ride experience honored with a Thea award (2002.) Working with top entertainment industry talent over the years, he helped create popular 3-D attractions including Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, It’s Tough to be a Bug! and Mickey’s PhilharMagic.

Additional Disney theme park projects include three attractions for Tokyo DisneySea: Magic Lamp Theater features 3D Disney animation integrated with live performance; StormRider pushes the art of immersive simulation; and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a journey into unexpected magic and mystery; Armageddon - Les Effets Speciaux, a special effects spectacular at Walt Disney Studios - Paris; in Florida, The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and a new Hall of Presidents were also completed under his leadership.

With a 2007 opening, Rick directed the team that created Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland, magically bringing beloved PIXAR animated characters into a totally immerse undersea adventure which received a THEA Award (2008.)

In 2008 after retiring from WDI, Rick founded FAR Out! Creative Direction continuing to offer his creative and producing services to the industry.

Rick recently served as Overall Attraction Creative Director for Niagara Takes Flight, a new flying ride attraction that opened in August 2025 as part of Niagara Park’s Table Rock visitor center in ON, Canada.

From 2011 through 2024, Rick acted as the creative director of FlyOver, a stand-alone fully immersive “flying ride” attraction. Most recently, he opened Believe Chicago on Chicago’s Navy Pier and Awaken Canada in Vancouver, BC in 2024; following Windborne in 2022 and Wonders of the American West in 2021 on the Las Vegas strip as well as Legendary Iceland in Reykjavik in 2019. These attractions joined the original FlyOver Canada opened in Vancouver BC (2013).

As overall creative director/producer, Rick was honored with his seventh and eighth THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement (AOA) as part of the teams that created of Bermuda Storm, an innovative and highly immersive centerpiece attraction for Chimelong Universe Spaceship (2024) and Kaka’s Ocean Adventure, a state-of-the-art 5D immersive ride theater at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (2017).

After retiring from Imagineering, Rick helped bring two groundbreaking attractions to Disney theme parks around the world; the 2010 revival of the 3D experience Captain EO starring Michael Jackson that he helped originally create in 1986 along a whole new George Lucas inspired StarTours attraction which received industry recognition with a THEA Award (2012.) As the overall show integration director for Nemo & Friends SEARIDER which opened at Tokyo DisneySea (2017), he was recognized with a nomination by the Visual Effect Society while also receiving a THEA Award (2018.)

Rick served as President of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) in 2011-2012 and continues as a member of its Past Presidents Council. In 2025, he was recognized with the TEA Buzz Price Lifetime Achievement award. He also is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, and the Visual Effects Society.

Rick received his degree with honors in Theater Design from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and attended the MFA Theater Arts program at UCLA. He worked in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Spokane and Ohio area on over 100 productions as both a scenic and lighting designer prior to joining Disney in 1978.