Well. Tony had a gathering at the Tam O' Shanter Restaurant today and announced that tomorrow he will be no longer be Imagineering on a full time basis but becoming a consultant.Seems like retirement being on his birthday and all. I was not present but heard that in a speech he gave that things had culturally changed and that he was not really being fully challenged with projects as in the past . I'm not quoting and thus is second hand. I'm sure something more accurate will be released by WDI that spells out what the arrangement and drivers are.
I always thought of Tony as part of the soul of WDI and learned many great lessons from him. He hired me. Will always be grateful to him for giving me a shot when WED had rejected me in interviews twice before! I hope he can use part of this next phase in his life to inspire others as he did me. I found that there is life after Disney and have been more challenged creatively after than when I was there.
I hope he finds those great projects and can spread his experience around. Truly the end of a great Era but I hope for him it's the beginning of another!
Thank you Tony for the good times!