Disney spotlights Kim Irvine at D23’s final day as 13 honorees named for the Disney Legends Awards

The Walt Disney Company used the final day of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa to shine a spotlight on Kim Irvine, the latest recipient of the company’s Disney Legends Award and a longtime leader in Walt Disney Imagineering. In an exclusive Q&A posted by Disney, Irvine discusses her craft and career, including what she says it takes to keep classic theme-park elements true to their original intent while still evolving for new audiences.

Disney said the Disney Legends Awards ceremony will close out D23’s multi-day run, a fan-focused event presented by Visa that the company describes as showcasing “the very best” in creative storytelling and innovation across Disney’s businesses. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the event is positioned as an in-person celebration of the icons behind what Disney calls “the magic,” with tributes and moments honoring enduring impact across entertainment, storytelling, and experiences.

This year, Disney said it will present its highest honor to 13 individuals, listing Chris Berman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Susan Egan, Eric Goldberg, Anne Hathaway, Bob Iger, Kim Irvine, Dwayne Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Alan Tudyk. The company’s release frames the honorees as spanning multiple creative worlds, from animation and stage and screen to live entertainment and branding.

In the conversation, Irvine, recognized in the Imagineering category, describes the honor as both “thrilling and daunting.” She connects the award to family and mentorship, saying she is joining a lineage of Disney Legends that includes her mother, Leota Toombs, and that her own early drive to work in the arts was strengthened by her parents’ example. Irvine also references her father, Harvey, who was an animator and cartoonist, and emphasizes encouraging children to pursue careers in the arts.

On Disneyland Park specifically, Irvine said her earliest work in the WED Enterprises model shop, which is now part of Walt Disney Imagineering, was “pure magic.” She credits working alongside “original Imagineers” as a foundational experience, describing the process as not only technical but also cultural, including learning stories about Walt Disney and absorbing “tribal knowledge” that she says guides Imagineering today.

Irvine addressed the central design tension that theme parks face: preserving nostalgia while making changes that keep guest experiences relevant. She said that when she was asked in 1976 to lead a newly formed WED team dedicated to Disneyland Park, it was both challenging and rewarding. She also quoted a reminder from Disney Legend John Hench, who told her that Walt’s vision was for Disneyland to keep evolving and growing, not to be treated as a finished product or a static museum experience.

She described how guest attachment complicates change, explaining that many people want attractions, shops, and restaurants to remain exactly as they remember them, even if they have never visited every corner of the park. Still, Irvine argued that an Imagineer must “work hard” to keep Disneyland relevant to its audience by holding onto the original intent rather than freezing everything in time.

Irvine then offered advice for future Imagineers, saying that the underlying goal for her and other Disney employees is to deliver joy, educate through entertainment, and restore the curiosity of childhood. She recounted a walk down Main Street, U.S.A. with Hench and a family in front wearing a Goofy hat and dancing, with Hench telling her, “It really does work, doesn’t it?” She ties that moment to what she sees as the job’s purpose: making people’s lives better, even if only “for a day.”

Disney also provided broader context on the Disney Legends Awards program, calling it a 39-year tradition. The company said the program began when Fred MacMurray was honored in 1987, and that this year’s class brings the total number of Disney Legends named to 329. In addition to Irvine, the company referenced a long list of past honorees that includes figures from film, TV, music, animation, and design, underscoring the awards’ cross-industry scope.

For now, Disney has not detailed any specific operational outcomes tied to the awards beyond the ceremony and the Q&A format, nor has it disclosed quantitative impacts on D23 attendance or Disney business performance. Still, the placement of a career spanning Disneyland Park at the center of the festival’s wrap-up indicates Disney’s emphasis on Imagineering as part of its broader brand story, and it sets up continued attention to how the company balances legacy and reinvention across its parks, studios, and consumer experiences.