Team gets to pitch project to Disney

A "TRON"-based thrill ride concept created by four University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students, including two from this area, is one of six finalists in a Disney competition to create the next great theme park attraction.

Samantha Juna of Carol Stream and John Wieser of Palatine will spend nine days at Glendale, Calif.,-based Walt Disney Imagineering starting June 8 to pitch their project.

Their team will be asked to complete the concept and make a professional presentation to a judging panel of Imagineers, the brains behind many of the popular themed attractions at Disneyland. They also will have the chance to interview for internships at the company.

The "TRON: Gridlock" concept takes visitors on a ride in which they are taken prisoner and then sends them on a high-speed chase through an elaborate computer system. Wieser is a senior architecture major and Juna is a junior industrial design major. The other members of the team are Marchelle Gant and Brent Dirks.

Disney officials say the 19th ImagiNations design competition lets students showcase their talents and gain practical knowledge in design, as well as rub elbows with professional theme park designers.

The competition invited student teams to design a ride, attraction, hotel or a land either brand new or within an existing Disney theme park or resort. The winners will not necessarily be built by Disney but give the students a way to demonstrate their creativity.

More than 150 teams entered the competition and a panel of 30 Imagineers narrowed the field to six teams, which include a total of 20 students from across the country.

The finalists used themes from "TRON," "WALL-E," "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid," "Tarzan" and Disney's Adventureland attraction.