Children and adults alike know the Disney theme parks as wholesome, family-friendly fantasy lands, meant to fill visitors with awe and wonder at the magic of it all. And Disney does a very good job of projecting that magical image and inspiring those feelings of awe and wonder. But the Disney theme parks have some interesting secrets under the surface. Some are the kind of secrets any good magician has – the kind that work behind the scenes help Disney continue to appear idyllic and bewitching. Others only add to the magic. Here are some of Disney’s most interesting secrets – something to keep in mind the next time you’re there.
- Do you ever wonder how Disney parks stay so clean? Well, for Disneyland, part of the answer is feral cats. The cats hide in inconspicuous cat houses throughout the park during the day, and at night, over 200 feral cats roam the park, helping keep the park free of rodents (except, of course, for Mickey). Another interesting cleanliness fact: throughout all the Disney theme parks, there should always be a trash can within 30 steps of wherever you happen to be. It turns out that when Walt Disney was planning his park, he checked out other theme parks for ideas. One of the things he looked was how long a park-goer would carry a piece of trash before giving up and dropping it on the floor. The answer he came up with? 30 steps. Therefore, Disney parks have trash cans at least every 30 steps. So there’s no excuse for littering.
- Hidden Mickeys. This story begins with Epcot center. While Disneyland and Disney World were meant to be fantasy lands for children, Epcot was instead intended to be a futuristic utopia, a place not inhabited by cartoon characters. So Mickey was not supposed to appear anywhere in Epcot other than name tags, price tags, and Mickey shaped manhole covers. However, some of Disney’s Imagineers – Disney’s design engineers – couldn’t stand the thought of a Disney park without Mickey. So they hid the famous mouse ears in different places around the park – in the design of a totem pole, for example, or in paint rings left by artists in the Renaissance section of the park. Soon enough, it seemed that everyone was getting into the game, and now there are hidden Mickeys in every Disney theme park. There are people who make a scavenger hunt out of looking for them.
- Hidden Tunnels. After Disneyland was built, Walt Disney decided that he didn’t like seeing costumed characters crossing through different parts of the park to get to where they belonged – having a cowboy in Tomorrowland, even in passing, spoiled the illusion. So when Disney World was built, the design included a series of underground tunnels. These tunnels allow Disney cast members to travel around the park in without ever breaking character or appearing in the wrong place. The serve another purpose, too – they are also part of the plan to keep Disney clean and litter free. Disney’s janitors can emerge from underneath the park to clean up any messes, then unobtrusively disappear back into the ground. If you like, you can actually take a tour of the tunnels, but no children under 16 are ever allowed to take the tour. It’s all part of keeping up the illusion.
Disney has other secrets as well – like a private club with a membership of fewer than 500 people in the world and a 14 year waiting list, and a scent generator that adds authentic scents to the ride you happen to be on (sea salt on the Pirates of Caribbean ride, for example.) It’s all a part of what makes Disney the magical land of fantasy that it is.
