Von Johnson joined The Walt Disney Company in 1980, first as an Industrial Engineer and later as a Manufacturing Scheduler for Walt Disney Imagineering. This was a period of significant activity including the design and construction of EPCOT, Tokyo Disneyland and Fantasyland at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

 

Johnson joined the inaugural staff of The Disney Channel in 1983 as Supervisor of Operations. The Operations group created guidelines and policies that serviced on-air operations, programming, marketing and promotions.  Johnson was promoted to Production Executive for Disney Channel in 1986, overseeing original productions like Walt Disney World: A Dream Come True, Backstage Disney: the American Adventure, Magic Kingdom Celebration: Live, The Christmas Candlelight Ceremony, Videopolis and the monthly Disney Channel Preview program.

 

The Walt Disney Studios tapped Johnson to serve as Executive Director for Buena Vista Worldwide Services (BVWS) in 1989.  Disney conceived BVWS as a center of excellence for distribution-related services to monitor standards and quality, and to reduce costs.  Services included feature film-to-tape mastering, international television editorial and worldwide media inventory control.  

 

BVWS also managed Disney’s Library Preservation and Restoration program from 1989-1992.  Under this program, BVWS utilized the talents of film, video and imaging technicians to preserve and restore Disney’s classic animated shorts and features for future generations and commercial purposes.  Titles included Fantasia, Snow White, Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty. This preservation effort extended to include Disney’s pre-1980 live-action library including Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Swiss Family Robinson.   BVWS and Disney IT personnel designed, developed and deployed Disney’s first-ever global inventory management application, the Worldwide Inventory Tracking System (WITS).  WITS underwent several significant improvements since 1992 and is known today as the Worldwide Library Management System (WLMS).

 

Von Johnson also served as co-founder and inaugural Secretary for Disney Character Voices Inc., the international localization arm of Walt Disney Motion Picture International.  DCVI continues to select and manage the international adaptation of Disney’s feature releases.