Disney Trivia....

[OrlandoMike]

All of the tall buildings in the parks...the Castle, Tower of Terror, Everest,etc... top off at 199 feet.

Because if they were 200 feet, they would need a red warning light for aircraft!

 

[MemoToMe]

All of the tall buildings in the parks...the Castle, Tower of Terror, Everest,etc... top off at 199 feet.

Because if they were 200 feet, they would need a red warning light for aircraft!

That's why, as I understand it, up until last year, the "Mickey Hand Holding a Wand That Also Had an Epcot Sign Attatched To It" monstrosity was the tallest stucture at WDW, since the flashing red light wasn't as obtrusive.

Thankfully it has since been dismantled.

 

[disneydiva0729]

Mine are probably common knowledge but here it goes:
1.) Most of the tombstones in the grave yard of Haunted Mansion are for Imagineers that worked to create the ride.
2.) The store names on the windows pay tribute to key players in the building of Disney, one of those is Ron Miller and Diane Disney.
... I'm sure I'll come up with better ones when its not 2 am

 

[ConcKahuna]

When Roy was buying the land to build WDW on, he used fake company names. Some of them were MaPo (Mary Poppins), M. T. Lotts, and WEDway industries. A local reporter found that all of the companies were chaired by a Ms. M. Mouse and that's when the story that Disney was comming to Florida broke.

 

[yasuern]

WDW is 100xs larger is size than Disneyland - all that is DL could fit into the property that is Epcot.


the river water on the jungle cruise is actually dyed brown and is only 3.5 ft deep the islands you pass while on the jungle cruise are called Manhatten and Catalina


The antique mining equipment in BTR attraction is genuine and cost a reported $300,000

AK contains live plants from every continent on earth except Antartica

propably everyone knows but last one
The rocks that the lions lie on at KS are climate controlled - warmed in the cold and cooled when its hot to encourage the lions to be in a good viewing spot.


Okay one hidden mickey everyone knows I am sure
On ToT as you head towards the ToT elevator drop shaft and many twinkling whitish lights end up on the elevator doors - just before they disapear it forms a Mickey Head.


Okay thats all I have for now.


Sue

 

[ConcKahuna]

The largest hidden mickey used to be at the Disney-MGM studios!

The entire central portion of the park as once a hidden Mickey, until they built the Sunset Boulevard area that leads to The ToT and RnRC.

Some portions of the Mickey head (like Echo lake) are still around, although he's been altered a lot since the opening.

 

[OrlandoMike]

How did anyone spend a whole day at MGM back in the day?

This is probably currently the largest "Hidden Mickeys" that I know of. It's a tree farm loacated just North West of the Magic Kingdom. You can see it from a plane if you fly over the area.

 

[MonorailMan]

How did anyone spend a whole day at MGM back in the day?

This is probably currently the largest "Hidden Mickeys" that I know of. It's a tree farm loacated just North West of the Magic Kingdom. You can see it from a plane if you fly over the area.

MGM/DHS may be the smallest park, but I always get lost in it. It's laid out a bit wonky. I usually wind up going in circles around Echo Lake for a few hours until I realize there are some fairly well-disguised turn-offs. And don't get me started on how long it usually takes me to find MuppetVision 3D.

That is how I spend 3/4 of a whole day at DHS. The other 1/4 is spent in the restrooms and eating.

 

[OrlandoMike]

That is how I spend 3/4 of a whole day at DHS. The other 1/4 is spent in the restrooms and eating.

You may want to grab a park map next time!

 

[MonorailMan]

You may want to grab a park map next time!

What kind of fun would that be?

 

[ConcKahuna]

Walt Disney wanted each land of the Magic Kingdom to have a "hot dogger". This was his term for an eye-catching "icon" (so named because he liked cold hot dogs and tended to use them as pointers as eating if he noticed something).

When designing Animal Kingdom, Joe Rohde origionally didn't want maps or signs in the park. The park is designed as an "adventure" and guests were meant to find their way around, being suprised by the different areas as they found them. This is also the only park designed without "hot doggers", it was intended that no lands be visible from any other part of the park (although the Tree of Life is visible everywhere).

That's why areas like Harambe Village (the Africa section) are completely hidden until you cross the bridge, then you get the "aaaahhhh" moment as everything comes into view.

 

[OrlandoMike]

My first trip to Animal Kingdom we pulled into the parking lot and I thought "Wow, this is pretty ghetto!"

Little did I know, they designed it that way! Tons of asphalt, nothing else, so when you entered the park you were "Wow'd" but the contrast!

 

[zeitzeuge]

I found a few more Disneyland Trivia for those interested regarding Attractions:

Small World: Over in Disneyland's, on the Eiffel Tower, you'll see a doll which is a tribute to the original World's Fair attraction's doll designer, Imagineer Mary Blair.

On the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland, if you turn around after you pass the scene where Pooh is pigging out on honey, you can see 3 animals that were from the Country Bear Jamboree (a tribute).

On POTC after the drops as you pass the skeletons on the beach wait till you almost hit the curve to the steering skeleton, and turn around, the rock formation that supports the standing skeleton with the seagull hat, forms the head of Goofy.

There is atleast one real skull in Pirates. In the 60s when the ride was being built plastics were not quite there yet to recreate real human bones so they improvised and used a couple real specimins. A couple have been replaced over the decades but that the one in the bed with the red cusion is still, to this day a real human skull.

ToonTown is full of all kinds of surprises. Step on all the manholes and open all the mailboxes. Everything is interactive.

If you are a Twilight Zone fan in the "video room" you can find the Fortune Telling Machine from the William Shatner episode, a Robot from another famous episode, glasses that represent the famous "I just want time to read" episode and more replicas of these famous episodes.

While in the queue for Star Tours, you'll hear a voice paging "Mr. Egroeg Sacul, Mr. Egroeg Sacul." which is George Lucas spelled backwards.

 

[ConcKahuna]

There is atleast one real skull in Pirates. In the 60s when the ride was being built plastics were not quite there yet to recreate real human bones so they improvised and used a couple real specimins. A couple have been replaced over the decades but that the one in the bed with the red cusion is still, to this day a real human skull.

Disney-related but not Disney (actually it's MGM), the corpses at the end of the Polterguiest movie (in the pool) are all real. It seems Spielberg didn't want to use the budget to make fake corpses, so they purchased some from a scientific research company. Many think that's where the movie's curse came from.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Ok now THAT'S just creepy!

 

[MonorailMan]

This is only partially off-topic: Did you know you can order real human skulls online?

*starts singing the theme to "Good Times"*

 

[zeitzeuge]

Ok, now YOU'RE just creepy!

 

[dale62676]

This is resort related, but the Fort Wilderness Campground had its own railroad for many years in the 1970s. My first visits to WDW were always with my family in our RV, so we loved staying at FW (and still do!). And while I have no recollection of it, I have proof I rode it, at 18 months old in 1978. I'll have to find my baby-book and scan some of those pics.

Anyway, the train was dismantled due to several factors: 1.) The track was not properly laid, and the ties were not set in enough supporting fill (the area was mostly soggy wetland beforehand), so maintenance was a huge cost. 2.) The trains were pulled by actual steam engines, and some of the cast members who ran it were assigned just out of attractions, were not actual engineers. Thus, many times the engines were not filled properly with water and the trains had emergency stops in the middle of the route. 3.) The track was laid within a few feet of many campsites, with many street crossings. The train's whistle had to be blast at each crossing, but could be heard a mile away. Some folks complained about having a LOUD 7am wake-up!

The trains sat rotting for many years in storage, some lost forever, but one has since been restored offsite. Here's a link to more FWRR history. But if you look in the right places, you can still find some track today! (Here's a hint, you'll need to rent a canoe at the Bike Barn.)

 

[dale62676]

There are less than 12 water bridges in the world(where water goes over land) and there are 3 of these at WDW.

The Bay Lake / Seven Seas Lagoon water bridge is my icon!

I love water bridges! That's so awesome you're on the Green Launch! That is my dream job if I ever work at WDW. I may be a bit over-qualified though. I spent 8 years in the US Navy, getting to drive many small boats as well as huge warships, and was a deckhand for the Boston Harbor ferries. I was even going for my Coast Guard 100-ton Captain's license at one point. I know you don't need a Captain's license to work at WDW. The best part of staying at FW or WL is taking the Green Launch to MK!
I'll try to say hi next time I'm down!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Disneyland - Disney World - And Cedar point did a three way train swap in 1999!

Disneyland sent an engine to Disney World, Disney World sent an engine to Cedar Point, and Cedar Point sent an engine to Disneyland.

I can only find details on one of the engines, the one that was sent from Cedar Point to Anaheim.

She was built in 1902, and Cedar Point acquired her in 1962, totally rebuilt her, and she ran as the Maud L. until 1999 when Disneyland acquired her. She was totally rebuilt again and began running in 2005 as the Ward Kimball.

Here is Maud L. at Cedar Point.

And here she is now, as the Ward Kimball...