Eddie Sottoformer senior vice president of concept design at Walt Disney Imagination who worked on key parts Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland, died Wednesday afternoon, according to his son Brian. He was 67.
His portfolio at Disney included nearly $500 million in completed projects, according to the Walt Disney Family Museum. These ranged from classically called e-ticket attractions to retail, restaurants, internet, mobile technology and digital architecture such as ABC Times Square Studios.
At Disneyland Paris, Sotto led the design of Main Street USA. He oversaw the master planning of Tokyo Disneyland, which he called the designer's “wonderful playground.” His work there included the revolutionary trackless ride Pooh's Honey Hunt, which Sotto called one of the “most fun” and “most challenging” projects he has ever worked on. He launched Mission: Space at Epcot. At Disneyland, his responsibilities included the Indiana Jones attraction, the Adventureland renovation and the Main Street USA renovation.
Sotto once said that as a child growing up in Hollywood, he knew he wanted to create attractions for Disneyland. “Pirates of the Caribbean blew my mind and I knew I wanted to make things like that,” he said of his inspiration.
At age 21, he was hired as an assistant project director at Knott's Berry Farm, where he developed the Wacky Soap Box Racers and contributed to the design of Camp Snoopy.
In 1983, Sotto moved to the experimental design firm Landmark Entertainment Group, where he designed and developed attractions for Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags and Mattel.
In 1999, Sotto became executive vice president of creative affairs at early streamer Digital Entertainment Network. He soon left and became the creative director of Progress City, which sought to provide cutting-edge product solutions for corporate clients.
In 2004, he founded his own experimental design firm, Sotto Studios. Clients have included Ferrari, Virgin Galactic, Porsche, Aston-Martin, Paramount Pictures, Microsoft, Google, Disney, Universal, Wynn Resorts and the Irvine Company.
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