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36 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE by Dylan Nguyen I n his IPC APEX EXPO Tuesday keynote address, "The Art of the Impossible," Paul Bailey, former principal technical director for Walt Disney Imagineering, inspired his audience through a series of anecdotal stories and photos that described a young boy obsessed with "Star Wars" to one day actually leading the creation of Disneyland's Rise of the Resistance ride. As Bailey defined and described "moonshot" projects, he truly spoke from experience. His professional film and theme park proj- ects have been realized through ambitious and often far-reaching goals into what most would consider impossible. But in the pro- cess of working on these projects, Bailey found that his inner drive and curiosity led him down exciting paths he never could have imagined in his younger years. He became a leader of his teams, working side-by-side with some of the most creative and visionary leaders of his generation. What he strove to accomplish in film can be likened to the research and development projects of the audience he was addressing. Bailey began by defining a "moonshot" proj- ect as something that is seemingly impossi- ble to do. They are complex challenges with counterintuitive solutions that often force teams to grow and adapt. They are also very dependent on the people working on the project. While many who start ambitious projects will drop off along the way, don't let this be a deterrent, he said. Stay the course, even in the most difficult moments, and it will always be worth it. His personal example of a moonshot was the creation of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge's signature, and most ambitious, ride experience." He shared his experiences of the project itself as well as Shooting for the Moon Keynote Paul Bailey: