Leave It at the Gate

What does it mean to “leave it at the gate?” In the context of Disney Parks, the phrase is a friendly inducement to dump all your worries at the ticket checkpoint and open yourself up to magic. Or so led attendees at the 2023 AIA National Conference in San Francisco to believe. As president of Walt Disney Imagineering, Bouza was on hand to discuss all the constructive work the multinational entertainment conglomerate is doing. She recounted her first childhood visit to Disneyland and stressed the importance of fantastical storytelling to Disney’s mission. She also joked about the temptation to veer off-script, even as she skillfully avoided the fracas kicked up by Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

In the recent past, the AIA has tried to find keynote speakers who don’t match NCARB’s textbook description of an architect. These speakers are both a lure for members and a message to the general public that architecture is, in fact, relevant. Bouza closed her talk by reciting an adage from Encanto’s Abuela. She urged audience members to “open your eyes,” but I wonder if we (AIA, included) are seeing the same thing.