Special Effects Expert Tylor Wymer Passes Away At 60

Special effects expert Tylor Wymer passed away on Janaury 5, 2016 at the age of 60. After working as the head of special effects for the Walt Disney theme parks, he founded the Orlando FL-based company, WOW!Works in 2001 with Bettina Buckley. The company specializes in entertainment experiences with a focus on creation, design, and production, with Wymer having served as chief effects artist.

He had over thirty years of experience as a designer, design director, and sole architect for The Walt Disney Company’s only live entertainment special effects group. His responsibilities included: mentoring and administrating the design activities of special effects for all of the Walt Disney World Resort live shows. Some of his design highlights include: five Super Bowl Halftime shows for Walt Disney Entertainment, numerous projects for Disney Theme Parks Worldwide, Fantasmic! at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Disney’s Beauty And The Beast on Broadway, and the opening festivities of many Disney’s animated films at Radio City Music Hall and the New Amsterdam Theater. He also worked in Italy on the show facilities and show designs for the original two Disney Cruise Line ships.

In addition, Wymer founded and authored the Walt Disney World Resort Special Effects and Pyrotechnics Training Program. The program models the training and/or tracks hundreds of technicians for The Walt Disney Company in seven theme parks worldwide, still in use today. As a member of the National Fire Protection Association, Wymer was one of the industry's leaders in pyrotechnics and special effects engineering.

“We lost one of the true innovators in our Disney Entertainment family, Tylor Wymer, who for 22 years was the chief special effects wizard in live entertainment for Disney Parks,” notes Matt Conover, project design and delivery executive for Creative Entertainment at Walt Disney Imagineering. "He led innovation in many ways, constantly pushing new ideas, and creating something almost literally out of nothing. He was a great deal of fun to work with and his legacy lives on in not only the effects experts he mentored throughout his time with the company, but also with anyone with whom he collaborated. There are far too many great memories of working with Tylor to call out any one specifically. He was a pioneer and he inspired me. Tylor, you will be missed.”