Disney Legend Leota Toombs and her daughter Kim Irvine (a forthcoming Disney Legend) recently received one of the most poignant honors at Disneyland in California with a Main Street window dedication. The physical in-park tribute is one of the Disney company’s highest achievements.
Here’s a look at the tribute to Leota Toombs and Kim via Irvine window dedication on Main Street, USA at Disneyland.
The newly-unveiled (and first-ever mother and daughter pairing) Main Street, U.S.A. window dedicated to Disney Imagineer, Kim Irvine, and her mother, Disney Legend, Leota Toombs, located above the Crystal Arts shop at Disneyland. It was unveiled during a small ceremony before the park opened on April 21. Kim will be honored as a Disney Legend at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this summer!
The window features a business called Crystal Ball Glass Co. accompanied by both of their names as well as the business tagline which mentions “Summoning the spirits of creativity in windows, doors, and regions beyond” along with the the touts of the proprietors being Artists, Glaziers, and Design Mediums.
About Leota Toombs
Leota “Lee” Toombs Thomas is enshrined forever in Disney history as the face of Madame Leota, the disembodied head speaking from inside the crystal ball at the Haunted Mansion. Her Disney career began in 1940 in the Ink and Paint department, followed by a stint in Animation where she met her husband, animator Harvey Toombs. After a break to raise their children, she returned to the company in 1962 at WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), where her talents as a natural craftsman helped shape 1964-65 New York World’s Fair attractions like “it’s a small world” and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Following the Fair, she transitioned to Disneyland landmarks, including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Her transformation into Madame Leota occurred when Imagineer Yale Gracey discovered her facial proportions perfectly fit a test model; Blaine Gibson created a life mask, and the team filmed her in specialized makeup. Because she had a high, childlike voice, she also provided the vocals for the “Little Leota” bride figure at the attraction’s exit. In 1971, Lee relocated to Walt Disney World to form the on-site show maintenance team, later returning to California in 1979 to train Disneyland figure finishers and artisans until her passing in December 1991. Her legacy continued through her daughter, Kim Irvine, who joined Imagineering in 1970. When the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay was created, Irvine recorded a new incantation for the scene; because their life masks were nearly identical, the team discovered they could seamlessly project Lee’s face shape onto Irvine’s head, beautifully preserving the family connection inside the attraction.
About Kim Irvine
Over her 55 years at Walt Disney Imagineering, the leadership of Kim Irvine has resulted in an enduring legacy of creativity and elevated artistic standards across Disney parks globally, but especially at Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom, Disneyland. At the time of her retirement in 2024, Kim served as Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering’s Anaheim office and oversaw the concept design, color styling, and interior design for most Disneyland® Resort projects. A Southern California native, this prolific Imagineer “grew up” with Disney as a living experience in her own home. Her father was an animator at the studio, Harvey Toombs, and her mother was Imagineer and Disney Legend, Leota Toombs, who among her many accomplishments left an indelible mark on Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion as the visage of the ethereal Madame Leota. In 2001, when elements from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas were incorporated as a seasonal overlay for the same attraction, Imagineers asked if Kim would be the new face of Madame Leota. In 1970, Kim forged her own path as a painter and model builder at WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) in the firm’s famed model shop— making hats for bears, putting feathers on birds, and painting mock-ups of all types—including working on “it’s a small world” for Walt Disney World® Resort. Her experiences were vast. Among many other projects large and small, she was instrumental in opening the first Imagineering office in Anaheim (a site she’d eventually help lead), the design of the Rancho Del Zocalo Restaurante, the Disneyland Dream Suite, the refurbishment of “it’s a small world”, remodeling Club 33, the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café, and the constant design supervision of the Park’s iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle. In 2011, Irvine became the first female recipient of the prestigious Buzz Price Thea Award® for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievements from the Themed Entertainment Association®.
