The First Floor of the Magic Kingdom...The Utilidor System

[Banzai]

http://www.disneypix.com/MagicKingdom/Utilidor/Utilidor4.jpg


Picture 1: Heading Northeast, turn left heads past picture 3 and out of the system, turning right will take you to picture 2.

Picture 2: Locker rooms are to the left out of the picture, heading straight takes you to Tomorrowland, while turning right will take you to picture 4.

Picture 3: The 'FANTASYLAND' on the wall is the same one as picture 1, turn left again takes you to picture 2, while turning right takes you to Liberty Square, Adventureland and around to Main Street U.S.A.

Picture 4: Heads for Main Street, the ramps to the left and right are under the castle.

[Minnesota!]

very cool!

[helenabear]

Very neat!!! :D

[olena]

Mickey Underground! I like it.....:D

[catsrule]

cool

[JohnTBap]

MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TMI TMI TMI TMI TMI TMI TMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DocRafiki]

I'm very disappointed to see these pictures here. Disney used to be so good about keeping backstage areas sacred. Then they've just laxed over time... building backstage areas in Toontown where you could see beheaded characters from the Skyway, allowing tour groups into the utilidor (maybe the source of these pics?), letting guests exit through backstage areas when the park is packed.. :mad:

In training, it was strongly stressed that if you took photos under there, you would be fired on the spot. But since then, I've actually seen a TV show where they showed parts of it!

just another example of the dwindling magic, IMO :( Or is it just me getting older?

[WDWfanatic288]

very cool!!

I wanna take the Keys of the Kingdom tour really bad now! lol :p :p

next time we go I will finally be old enough...yay!

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the post.

[pumba]

any cameras.....if you have a chance to do it ....take it....but bring sunscreen

[WDWHound]

I thought Disney didn't allow any pictures backstage. They might not be too happy if they find these posted here.

[Big Dude]

I'm no expert but it seems to me that from the angle of the shots, they were taken by either a concealed camera (possibly in a bag of some sorts), a person kneeling down or a vertically challenged person. My guess would be a concealed camera judging by the expressions, or lack thereof, of the subjects in the pictures (except for Mickey of course because he's always smiling) and the quality of photos.

This is the site (http://www.disneypix.com/MagicKingdom) from which the pictures originated. It says it is a Robert Fleming Enterprise. I could not find a disclaimer on the page saying that the site is not affiliated to Disney. There are a lot of photos on this site of various parts of the World.

I'll have to agree with WDWHound in that Disney would probably not be too happy should they happen upon these pictures.

Adam aka Big Dude

[GeorgeY]

A few years ago, actually quite a few years ago, there was a special on Disney World on the Disney Channel. It discussed the development and building of WDW through EPCOT and then did alot of behind the scenes tour. During one part, it discusses that guests feet do not get so tired due to resliliant asphalt that was poured, and then goes on to say "Another thing that guests are completely unaware of is the world operating below them". Shot 1 looks exactly like a screen shot that was played on that show, with Mickey walking and the bike rider going by.

I think these pictures are stills from publically released PR video from Disney.

George

[Dodie]

I'll admit that I think this is wrong...

We took the tour and it was very clear that NO pictures/cameras were allowed. Although these photos are interesting, you might want to add "spoiler" or "pictures" in the title of your post. There are some people who may not want the magic spoiled for them.

Then there is also the legal question of whether or not Disney would appreciate the photos being posted....:confused:

[toefungus]

I remeber Oprah a few years ago went to WDW, and they had her driving around in the utilidors. They looked pretty cool!.

[EngrDaisy]

I can tell you that these photos are old, by at least five years, and I would not be surprised if they are older than that. I believe I have seen these photos before in books published by Disney, so they probably are some sort of PR shots. Pictures are strictly forbidden in the Utilidor and I have never seen anyone attempt to take pictures there. I seriously doubt they would be taken on a tour because the tour guide would definitely catch that.

[bfeller]

I had the same reaction about the pictures. I took the Keys to the Kingdom Tour 2 years ago and never imagined that anyone would take these pictures and get away with it. I was a little shocked seeing them but it does start up some great memories.

[cotye]

Interesting! :)

[Ona]

I may be wrong but those pictures look very like those from the WDW Explorer CD-Rom. It has a very short film taken in the Utiladors. That would also explain the quality too.

Ona ;)

[Tiggerlover91]

When I worked at Disney, I was told absolutely no pictures were to be taken for any reason whatsoever!! If we were caught, we were fired....immediately!! :confused: :mad: I hope this doesn't ruin things for those who don't want to know...and I also hope this doesn't stir things up on the CB.

[TinkerPixie]

Interesting pictures!

Dont get so upset... we all know that there are utilidors down there, and Mickey isn't minus a head, that's probably what would upset a child the most.

Those are just big halls in the back of Mickey's house!

;) ;)

[cassie]

I took the tour this past May and they were adament about no cameras allowed. At the beginning of the tour the people who had cameras still with them had to give them up to the CM's until the tour was completed. We were also warned throughout the tour that if anyone still had a camera on them not to take pictures.

[DocRafiki]

I too think these are "approved" photos (though I wish they still kept that area top secret). From my memory, it's not too common to see a character completely dressed just walking down the hallways, esp without a guide. It seems everyone was "partially undressed" when I'd see them. It would be easy enough to sneak a pic of a crowd of partially-dressed CMs, probably easier than catching a full-dressed Mickey.

[NJEMT]

I've got to say...The utilidor system is amazing! I'm going to take the tour with my DW when we get there. On behalf of all who didn't like these pics here, I agree that they should not have been posted because some people just do not want to know how the magic is made. Lets face it...If it's out there and you try to hide it...people WILL find a way to see it! You really can't blame people for wanting to see all aspects of the "magic". When you were a kid, didn't you ever take something apart to see "what makes it tick"? (I know I did!)
:crazy: :bounce: :crazy: :bounce: :crazy:

[grinningghost]

I'm not too upset at the pictures being posted, but what is upsetting is what DocRafiki brought up. That what was once top secret is now sneaking out little by little. It's almost as though Disney is looking for another way to squeeze every last dime out of our hands. "Give us money and we'll show you Mickey eating a cheeseburger". Please tell me there aren't Snow Whites and Cinderella's having a smoke down there. That might be crossing the line.

[NoodlesTheRabbit]

They do look like the photos from Walt Disney World Explorer CD-ROM.