BuzzFeed Staff
The Disney parks are even more magical than you think. You just have to know where to look.
1. There are tunnels under Disney World that allow employees and cast members to move between the different areas.
The tunnels help costumed cast members avoid incongruities. That’s why you never see Tomorrowland cast members in Frontierland, and vice versa.
2. None of the shops in Disney World sell gum, which is why you never see any stuck to the rides or sidewalks.
3. There are thousands of hidden Mickey Mouse heads throughout Disney World and the surrounding resorts.
4. There is never a trash can more than 30 steps from where you are in Disney parks.
Allegedly, Walt Disney himself went to other parks and watched how long people held on to trash before dropping it on the ground, and found that it was only 30 steps or so.
5. There’s actually a secret suite inside Cinderella’s castle. It cannot be booked, and is only used for promotional giveaways.
6. Despite the fact that it’s illegal, several people attempt to spread the ashes of the deceased on Disney rides every year.
7. Fourteen of the opening day attractions in the Magic Kingdom are still running.
The 14 attractions are: “Country Bear Jamboree,” “Dumbo the Flying Elephant,” “Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade,” “Jungle Cruise,” “Mad Tea Party,” “Peter Pan’s Flight,” “Prince Charming Regal Carrousel,” “Swiss Family Treehouse,” “The Hall of Presidents,” “The Haunted Mansion,” “Tomorrowland Speedway,” “Walt Disney World Railroad,” “Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room,” and “It’s a Small World.”
8. At one point, the parking lots at the Magic Kingdom were named after six of the seven dwarves. There was never a “Doc” lot because designers thought it would be confused for the ferry docks.
The lots have since been updates, and are all names after popular Disney heroes and villains.
9. Devices called Smellitizers can be found all over Disney parks, and emit scents in certain areas to match the surroundings.
You’ll notice the scent of baking cookies and vanilla around “Main Street, U.S.A.,” salty sea air in line for “Pirates of the Caribbean,” fresh citrus on “Soarin’,” and burning lumber near the scene depicting the fall of Rome on “Spaceship Earth.”
10. The colored concrete walkways in the Magic Kingdom seem to correspond to each section — but they’re actually colored because Kodak and Disney did a study and found that light reflecting off colored concrete creates more vivid photographs.
11. The “Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” attraction replaced the “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” attraction, and you can see a painting or Mr. Toad handing the deed over to Mr. Owl in line for the ride.
There’s also an image of Pooh posing with a character named Moley, who appeared in the “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” attraction as well.
12. In Frontierland, you can see a wooden leg labeled “Smith.”
It’s a reference to Mary Poppins. In the movie, Bert says, “I knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith,” and Uncle Albert responds, “What’s the name of his other leg?”
13. If you look closely at the second-story windows near the “Hall of Presidents,” you’ll see two lanterns. They are referencing the line “One if by land, and two if by sea” from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
14. The brownish winding path in Liberty Square is meant to represent raw sewage that flowed down the streets of Colonial America, since indoor plumbing wasn’t yet invented.
15. While most of the lawns at Disney parks are meticulously tended to, the lawn at “The Haunted Mansion” is left to grow out and die, to match the mood of the ride.
16. Look for a wedding ring embedded in the concrete in line at “The Haunted Mansion.” It’s said that it belongs to the hanging bride you see in the stretching room and attic scenes on the ride.
17. Toy Story characters used to drop to the ground when guests yelled, “Andy’s coming!” but the practice has been discontinued for safety reasons.
18. It took an act of Congress to install the Presidential Seal in the “Hall of Presidents” attraction. There are only three seals: one in the Oval Office, one in the hall containing the Liberty Bell, and one in the “Hall of Presidents.”
19. There’s a Galactic Communication Network phone in Tomorrowland that plays messages from around the galaxy.
Some of the messages the phone plays:
“Earth’s Crust Pizza! We deliver anywhere in the solar system in less than two lightyears or your order is free. Can you hold please? Thanks for holding. I had to take that incoming call from Saturn, because they hardly ever give us a ring!”
“Hiya, babe, it’s your agent, Johnny Jupitor. You called? Anyway, I gotta call you right back. I’m in a meeting with my number one client— er, I mean, my number TWO client, Sonny Eclipse. You’re always number one in my book, baby. You know that. Let’s do lunch! Oooh, look at the time! Gotta fly!”
“This is Tomorrowland News Networks Corona Borealis with your local time and weather. As always, it’s going to be a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, and at the tone, the time will be now.”
20. The futuristic palm trees in Tomorrowland actually fold up at dusk, and unfold at dawn.
21. Epcot was originally designed to be a model community and home to 20,000 residents. You can still see a diorama for Walt Disney’s vision on the “PeopleMover” ride.
22. There is a secret basketball court for staff in the upper third of the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.
23. The World Showcase at Epcot may seem full, but there’s actually room for eight additional counties.
24. The 1982 book Epcot Center: A Pictorial Souvenirlists Israel, Equatorial Africa, and Spain as potential pavilions.
25. In the United Kingdom pavilion, the Rose and Crown got its name from the two most common words found in pub names in the United Kingdom.
26. The massive castle structure behind the German pavilion at EPCOT was meant to house a boat ride that simulated a trip down the Rhine River.
27. The aquarium in “The Seas” is so large that the “Spaceship Earth” sphere can fit inside it.
28. You can see a dragon on the signs for Animal Kingdom, and a dragon’s head hanging above the front gates. They were there to represent a scrapped area called Beastly Kingdom, which was going to be dedicated to mythical animals.
29. On the “Dinosaur” ride in Animal Kingdom, there are three pipes in the queuing area with chemical formulas printed on them. The formulas on the pipes are for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.
The formula on the red pipe is for ketchup, the formula on the yellow pipe is for mustard, and the formula on the white pipe is for mayonnaise. The pipes are left over from the original McDonald’s sponsorship of the ride.
30. The 14-story “Tree of Life” in the middle of Animal Kingdom is actually an old oil rig.
Engineers found that an oil rig’s ability to hold up against hurricane-strength winds made it ideal for the internal structure of the attractions.
