Edward Anthony "Eddie" Sotto III (born 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

experiential

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

, mixed-media producer, and conceptualist.Patton, Phil
"Rethinking Auto Showrooms: Shark Tanks, Anyone?"
''The New York Times'', October 25, 2006 Sotto was formerly the Senior Vice President of Concept Design for

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...

, and is currently president of the Los Angeles design firm SottoStudios Incorporated.Interview
"Exclusive Interview with Eddie Sotto, Part One: Social Entertainment Aspirational Design"
ThemedDesign.com, 2009 He also established the

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Futureproof Experiences in 2020 to address the challenges posed to the experiential industries by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

."Rushing for a solution: the COVID-19 medicine show"
Blooloop. Retrieved March 27, 2021. In 2002 Sotto was named one of the thousand most creative people in America in the book ''1000: Richard Saul Wurman's Who's Really Who'' by

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

founder

Richard Saul Wurman Richard Saul Wurman (born March 26, 1935) is an American architect and graphic designer. Wurman has written, designed, and published 90 books and created the TED.com, TED conferences, the EG Conference, TEDMED, and the WWW Conference. Education ...

. In 2018 he addressed the TEDxBermuda event with his presentation "The How of Wow". He was also named one of the Blooloop 50 list of theme park influencers in 2020."Blooloop 50 - Theme Park Influencer List 2020"
Blooloop. Retrieved March 27, 2021.

Background and early career

Sotto was born in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His aunt, Marilyn Sotto, was a costume illustrator and

who worked for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and his grandfather Edward Sotto was a scenic artist at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and a portrait artist. Sotto grew up fascinated by

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

and as a teenager built a 1/200 scale model of the park based on plans obtained from WED Enterprises.Interview
"Imagineer Eddie Sotto talks about theme park ride design"
ThemedDesign.com, 2000 At 21, he acted upon a suggestion to pursue his interests in modelmaking and storyboarding, and was hired as an Assistant Project Director at

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

. There, he designed Wacky Soap Box Racers, a redesign of the park's Steeplechase-style roller coaster, Motorcycle Chase, and contributed to elements of

Camp Snoopy Camp Snoopy is a ''Peanuts''-themed area for children at several Cedar Fair amusement parks. History Camp Snoopy was first introduced at Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and op ...

. In 1983, Sotto became a Show Designer for Hollywood-based Landmark Entertainment Group. During his tenure, he designed and developed themed attractions for

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...

and

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...

as well as designs for

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Walt Disney Imagineering

Sotto's work on the "Laboratory of Scientific Wonders" for a Six Flags project in Baltimore, Maryland, caught the attention of

Tony Baxter Tony Wayne Baxter (born February 1, 1947) is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He anno ...

, Vice President of Design at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), who hired Sotto as Show Producer/Designer for

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

Euro Disneyland Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland Park, is a theme park found at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 12 April 1992 as the first of the two parks built at the resort. Designed and built by Walt Disney Ima ...

. Sotto's Disney mentors included veteran Imagineers

Herbert Ryman Herbert Dickens Ryman Jr. (June 28, 1910 – February 10, 1989) was an American artist and Disney Imagineer. Ryman worked in watercolor, oils, and pen & ink sketches. In 1953 Ryman drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney's vision of a theme p ...

and

John Hench John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an American artist, designer and director at The Walt Disney Company. For 65 years, he helped design and develop various Disney attractions and theme parks. Early life Hench was born on June 2 ...

. Sotto spent thirteen years with WDI, eventually being named Senior Vice President of Concept Design in 1994. He was involved in early development of the

Indiana Jones Adventure Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, ...

attraction for Disneyland, and directed the master planning of

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...

for three years.Interview
"Land of the Rising Mickey"
LaughingPlace.com, 2001 His proposal to include a hotel at the entrance of Euro Disneyland led to the first instance of guest accommodations being incorporated into a Disney theme park. As head of the Concept Development Studio "

", Sotto applied principles of Imagineering outside the theme park setting. This culminated in such projects as the "Media as Architecture" facade of ABC's

Times Square Studios Times Square Studios (TSS) is an American television studio owned by The Walt Disney Company, located on the southeastern corner of West 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The studio is best known as the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and the design of the futuristic Encounter Restaurant in Los Angeles International Airport's Theme Building. Other innovative projects the Concept Development Studio developed included smart wireless toys, augmented reality coasters, online worlds, and resort concepts. Other projects included the Mission: SPACE attraction at

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

and the $90m

Pooh's Hunny Hunt Pooh's Hunny Hunt is a unique trackless dark ride located at Tokyo Disneyland. It is based on the 1977 Disney animated film '' The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh''. History After the rise in popularity of Walt Disney's film adaptation of Wi ...

ride at Tokyo Disneyland.

After Disney

Sotto left Disney in 1999 to become Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs for the Digital Entertainment Network. Established to create "original youth culture programming and e-commerce opportunities ... for Generation Y consumers", DEN clients included

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

, and

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

. In 2000, Sotto became Chief Creative Officer of Progress City. Seeking to explore the convergence of the Internet, architecture, and wireless devices, Progress City was founded to develop leading edge technology solutions for clients such as

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

, and

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

SottoStudios Inc.

Founded in 2004, SottoStudios' mandate is stated as "seeing the impossible as a beautiful puzzle, and then bringing in the right combination of people to crack the code". The studio specializes in highly themed or exotic design projects, including select private residences, and uses the tools of theme park design to help develop products, brands and businesses. Clients have included Aston-Martin,

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...

, Disney, Knott’s,

Blue Origin Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...

, NBC/Universal, Irvine Co., Kerzner, and

Wynn Resorts Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound . History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...

. Through his company, Sotto developed television series for VH1 networks,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, and created a news format utilizing the

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

search engine for

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smalle ...

. He continues to provide creative consulting and design development services to Walt Disney Imagineering. SottoStudios has applied the theory of "experiential design" to the Las Vegas Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership, and a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

-inspired

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

showroom for Los Angeles' Galpin Aston Martin dealership. Sotto also developed a unique showroom and museum gallery for Galpin

Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...

, California. The studio also developed designs for a

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

showroom. One of Sotto's collaborations with Embraer, the SkyRanch One, was named Best Private Jet Concept at the 2017 Yacht and Aviation Awards. Other Sotto-Embraer partnerships include the Skyacht One and Manhattan Airship. SottoStudios is also a consultant for

Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...

. Other projects have included building a film history-themed pop-up store for

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

and partnering with chef John Sedlar to create Los Angeles' Rivera Restaurant.Interview
"Exclusive Interview with Eddie Sotto, Part Three: Sotto Studios' Latest Project: Rivera"
ThemedDesign.com, 2009 For Rivera, Sotto named and created the restaurant's identity, along with architectural and thematic design elements. He was also a general partner in the restaurant. SottoStudios was also involved in assisting scientist

Danny Hillis William Daniel "Danny" Hillis (born September 25, 1956) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and computer scientist, who pioneered parallel computers and their use in artificial intelligence. He founded Thinking Machines Corporation, a paralle ...

in the design of his 10,000-year clock for the

Long Now Foundation The Long Now Foundation, established in 1996, is an American non-profit organization based in San Francisco that seeks to start and promote a long-term cultural institution. It aims to provide a counterpoint to what it views as today's "faster ...

Futureproof Experiences

In 2020, Sotto created the think tank Futureproof Experiences in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the themed entertainment industry. The group seeks to incorporate talents from the creative, business, and health care industries to create frictionless and compelling entertainment experiences which combine security and pandemic precautions.

Partial List of Projects at Walt Disney Imagineering

Projects in Sotto’s portfolio of design responsibility included:"Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks"
WDWMagic.com. Retrieved January 29, 2012.

Disneyland

* Master Planning Attraction Proposals * Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye Concept Design * Adventureland Renovation *

Renovation * Storybook Land Canal Boats Enhancements * Aladdin's Oasis *

Fantasmic! ''Fantasmic!'' is a nighttime show at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searc ...

Esplanade * Main Street, USA Audio Enhancements *

Space Mountain Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior façade that is ...

Onboard Audio Enhancements

Walt Disney World

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

Enhancements * Mission: SPACE Conceptual Design *

World Showcase Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Disney Parks, Experiences and ...

Proposals * Pal Mickey Interactive Toy * Videopolis Dance Club

Tokyo Disneyland

* Sci-Fi City and

New Fantasyland Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...

Master Planning *

Disney Resort Line The , officially called , is an automated monorail in Japan, which operates between Maihama Station and the Tokyo Disney Resort. The system is operated by , the subsidiary of Oriental Land Co., Ltd. that operates the resort. Legally speaking, ...

Monorail Station *

* Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall * Alice's Tea Party * The Enchanted Tiki Room – Get the Fever! *

World Bazaar Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

Interior Designs

Disneyland Paris

* Executive Designer/Show Producer,

Disneyland Railroad The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United St ...

Steam Trains * Disneyland Hotel Concept Design

Concept Development Studio

* ABC

, New York City * Encounter Restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport * Interactive Ride Technologies * Online Worlds

Voice Over Work

* Main Street Upstairs Windows (Disneyland Paris/Disneyland) * Space Mountain (Walt Disney World/Disneyland) * Market House Telephone (Disneyland/Walt Disney World/Disneyland Paris) * Radio Toontown (Disneyland) * Shrunken Ned (Disneyland) * Aladdin’s Other Lamp (Disneyland) * Disneyland/Walt Disney World Railroad boarding call (Disneyland Paris/Walt Disney World) *

Big Thunder Mountain Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park in Paris. In Tokyo and Paris, the attraction is named Big Thunder Mountain. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is ...

(Disneyland Paris)

Actor

*Star Tours concourse introductory video, original version (Disneyland)

References

External links

SottoStudios Official Site

Futureproof Experiences

Wacky Soap Box Racers

The How of Wow! , Eddie Sotto , TEDxBermuda
* Open Discussion Thread with Sotto at WDWMagic.co
Part IPart II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotto, Eddie Disney imagineers Living people 1958 births