Lanny Smoot to be the first Disney Imagineer Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

If you’re a fan of Disney’s theme parks, you owe many of your magical moments to Lanny Smoot. The Disney Research Fellow and Imagineer has been behind some of the most amazing attractions and technologies that have delighted guests for decades. And now, he’s getting the recognition he deserves.

106 patents
Smoot is the first Disney Imagineer and the second Disney team member ever to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Steve Jobs. He will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 9, along with his fellow Class of 2024 inductees.

Lanny Smoot

Lanny Smoot is an American electrical engineer, inventor, scientist, and theatrical technology creator. With over 100 patents, he is Disney’s most prolific inventor and one of the most prolific Black inventors in American history.

Smoot has a whopping 106 patents to his name, based on his inventions that have enhanced the Disney experience in various ways. Some of his remarkable accomplishments include creating the retractable and realistic lightsaber that is a major attraction at Galaxy’s Edge, designing the Magic Playfloor game that is interactive and entertaining on the Disney Cruise Line, building the immersive Fortress Explorations adventure in Tokyo DisneySea, and developing the virtual and interactive koi ponds at the Crystal Lotus Restaurant in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Smoot’s visionary inventions have delighted Disney fans worldwide and added to the magic of the theme parks.

Smoot joined Walt Disney Imagineering’s R&D team in 1999 after working for 20 years in the telecommunication industry and at Bell Labs. He has been pushing the boundaries of technology and imagination ever since, following in the footsteps of Walt Disney, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000 for his multiplane camera invention that revolutionized animation.

The Holotile Floor

But Smoot is not resting on his laurels. He’s always working on new and exciting projects that could change how we experience entertainment and reality. One of his latest inventions is the Holotile Floor, a device that could make virtual reality more immersive and realistic than ever before.