Visitors to Walt Disney World in Florida typically encounter two things when they walk through the gates of the Magic Kingdom: a theme park that truly can be “the most magical place on earth” and crowds that can send that magic right into the pixie-dusted dirt.
But when lines are long and crowds are ornery, those “in the know” can preserve – and even enhance – the magic of Walt Disney’s second theme park by looking for details and experiences that 99 percent of all guests will never see. Disney’s team of designers, known as “Imagineers,” don’t just take pride in their work – they live for it. In every building and attraction, they put a little of themselves in, often in the form of inside jokes, secrets and other often-overlooked details that can really make a Disney World experience “magical.”
Most visitors today know about “Hidden Mickeys,” the three circles that create the Mickey Mouse logo, which are hidden practically every five feet on property. They are made by dishes on the dining hall table in the Haunted Mansion, barrels on the lift on Splash Mountain, and balloons high overhead on It’s A Small World – just to name a few of thousands. Always be on the lookout for Hidden Mickeys.
But if you really want to make your time there an experience to remember fondly, seek out some of the more rare and unseen secrets.
Begin your day with a surprise – request a ride in the front of the monorail. It will just be your family with your captain. It offers a view of the trip like no other.
If you’re walking down Main Street early in the morning and are approached by a uniformed “cast member” (as Disney World employees are called), don’t blow them off and hurry over to Space Mountain. Be friendly. If they ask whether you’re spending all day in the park, say “Yes.” They are likely setting you up to lead the afternoon parade as Grand Marshals. My wife and I had this experience during a trip two years ago, and she still talks about it on a weekly basis. We even rode in one of Walt Disney’s personal mini-cars.
Most people know about the Lady and Tramp paw prints in front of Tony’s Town Square restaurant, but they tend to completely overlook the muted silhouette outside the blue tinted window inside of the restaurant. If you peer closely, you can see that through the glass is an alley. Just on the other side of the window, the two love puppies are having their famous spaghetti dinner.
Then there’s “Push,” the walking and talking trash can in Tomorrowland. He’s hard to catch out and about, but when you do, it’s a truly magical moment.
The first family with a young child to visit Tinkerbell’s Treasures shop in Fantasyland gets to “wake up” Tinkerbell. Tap on her box and she begins her daily route, flitting around the store with a magical, twinkling chime.
When you’re in the train station, check out the penny music machine upstairs and the high shelves downstairs. The penny machine is a full old-fashioned automated band that will catch everyone’s attention. It’s a machine that, despite being about 100 years old, is far more impressive than any Ipod. Downstairs, one shelf holds the luggage of several well-known Disney characters – a detail that will delight your little ones.
When you’re waiting in line next to the Haunted Mansion’s front doors, read through all of the tombstone epitaphs. Pay special attention to that of Madame Leota. Every minute or so, her face presses out slightly, her eyes open and dart back and forth, and she returns to sleep. People will call you crazy for about a minute, when five other people see it and start shouting.
Once you go through the mansion, take your time exiting. Take a gander at the engraved wall of the mausoleum and the pet cemetary for a few chuckles, then see if you can find the granddaddy of Disney World scavenger hunt photos – the bride’s ring in the sidewalk. Skeptics say that it was never intended as a secret, but was just a leftover from a pole that was removed. But Disney lovers and cast members have constructed quite a story about the ring, which they say the doomed bride pitched out the window before murdering her husband-to-be. It’s embedded in the stone sidewalk and is very difficult to find, but it’s there.
As you’re walking down Main Street U.S.A., you’ll be overwhelmed by the tempting scent of freshly baked cookies wafting from the bakery. Truth be told, you’re being lured like a fish by a worm. Those smells are piped into the street to grab your attention. You’re not smelling cookies, you’re smelling a cookie “scent.”
If you’re looking for something a bit different, hop on the very first morning raft to Tom Sawyer’s Island in Frontierland. There’s a hunt of a different sort there – the hunt for Tom’s lost paintbrushes, which are scattered randomly around the island each morning. If you find one, bring it back and present it. You’ll get a special pass for “priority entrance at Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.”
Sometimes, old school Disney World lovers have to say goodbye to an old friend, and it’s probable that they won’t let go too easily. But Disney’s team of Imagineers realize that sentimentality plays a big part in the park’s success. To appease the longing of the wistful, they often include a small homage in the attraction that replaces the now extinct favorite. Two examples are found in Fantasyland, where folks riding The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh often overlook – or don’t understand – the framed photo of Mr. Toad handing a deed over to Owl, which hangs in Owl’s house. The Pooh ride replaced one of Disney’s best-known creations, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
Another such tribute is found on the new Pooh playground, which sits in the long-vacated spot that once housed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was spectacular in its time. Inside one of the houses, on the upper frame of the door, is a small knot in the wood that is an exact image of the submarines from the previous ride. One may wonder, since few adults will even fit through the kid-sized doors, whether the Imagineers did it to appease guests, to honor it as a personal tribute, or to leave a tiny “We Remember” sign for the ever-present spirit of Walt Disney.
Remember – there are four Walt Disney World parks on the Florida property, and each houses its fair share of inside jokes and secrets. Keep checking for my updates to read about the magic that abounds in Disney Studios, Animal Kingdom and EPCOT.
