Disney's Best Kept Secrets (Posted)

[Virtucomp]

The Contemporary—(1) The contemporary doesn.t have a 13th floor. (2) Look for the
five-legged coat in the mosaic tile mural near the monorail. (3) The highest point for the
monorail is while it is going through the Contemporary.

Fort Wilderness— (1) The name "Fort Wilderness" came from the fort on Tom Sawyer.s
Island located at DISNEYLAND® Park in Anaheim, California. (2) On Opening Day, a
total of 40 CMs welcomed guests to the resort. It opened with 232 campsites. (3) Tree
Trunk Trashcans: The tree trunk trashcans featured at the resort contribute to the
rustic theme. These trashcans are recycled props obtained from the retired Indian
Village attraction that was open in Frontierland at DISNEYLAND® Park in California
from 1955 to 1971. (4) Pioneer Hall: Pioneer Hall opened on April 1, 1974. The
architecture and theme of Pioneer Hall is based on buildings constructed in the late
1800s and is comprised of two stories. Pioneer Hall is home to the popular Hoop-Dee-Doo
Musical Revue, Trail's End Restaurant, and Crockett's Tavern. (5) Lawnmower Tree--
"The Lawn Mower Tree" is a tree embedded with lawn mower parts. The tree is located
100. away from the marina building and 5. off the path leading to Pioneer Hall. There is a
plaque there about it. (6) Tri-Circle D Ranch: The Tri-Circle D Ranch opened with the
Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground on November 19, 1971. The Ranch includes two
barns and a petting farm. The two barns are situated 1 1/2 miles apart. One barn is
located near Pioneer Hall and serves as the home for draft horses, such as those that
are used on Main Street, U.S.A., at the MAGIC KINGDOM® Park. This barn also houses
the ponies that are used for special events such as weddings, pony rides on the Ranch,
and "Meet and Greet" with Guests at DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM® Theme Park. The
second barn, the Trailblaze Corral, is located near the entrance to Fort Wilderness
Resort & Campground and serves as the home for the Saddle horses that are used for
the Trailblaze Corral Trail Rides around the Ft. Wilderness Resort & Campground. On
average, there are 80-85 horses on the grounds. The petting farm includes the following
animals: chickens, cows (Dexter breed), donkeys, goats, horses, miniature horses, pot
bellied pigs, and sheep. Unique animals that have also found a home at Tri-Circle D Ranch
include: Roadsweeper and Bonjara, two of the only 26 registered Gypsy Vanner horses in
the United States have been living on the Tri-Circle D Ranch since July 2002. Historical
Note: Minnie Moo, a Holstein cow famous for her natural Mickey Mouse shaped black
spots, lived on the Tri-Circle D Ranch from November 1990 through July 2001.
(5) Wilderness Cabins: The resort's log cabins, which were introduced in 1997, feature a
Northwest Territory themed exterior. The interior details include lantern lamps above
the kitchen table and chairs constructed to resemble tree branches giving the cabins a
more authentic wilderness look. (7) Trailblaze Corral Trail Rides: Guests can enjoy
guided trail rides through the wooded area around Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort &
Campground (Southeastern portion of the Resort). Check-in for the trail rides is located
at the kennel, adjacent to the main parking lot entrance to Disney's Fort Wilderness
Resort & Campground. The guided trail ride is 1.8 miles long and takes approximately 45
minutes to complete. (8) Ride the boat from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness or
vice versa--about half way between the two resorts on the Fort Wilderness side of River
Country, there is a Cypress Tree away from the shore line with dozens of pairs of shoes

 

[Virtucomp]

on it. Whenever anyone from "Watercraft" retires, all the staff go out there and the
retiree puts a pair of shoes on the tree. It is just part of their small retirement
ceremony for each other. (9) Lobby fireplace--Classic Mickey in the stonework. (10) HM
in the stream by the geyser.

Grand Floridian—(1) If you stand in the lobby on Wednesdays between 8 and noon, the
WDW florists come in and change the flowers. You can get some of the old ones! (2) If
you go to the Grand Floridian, behind the service desks are the original keys of the Grand
Floridian rooms. If you are a very polite and nice to the cast members, they just might
give you one as a souvenir! (3) If you are the first person to rent a water sprite from the
dock of the Grand Floridian in the a.m. (8:00am open), you have to ring a ship.s bell, and
then, an eerie song starts playing. Then, a cast member gets on the PA and asks who be
wakin. the sleeping pirates this early in the morning. Then, they start play Pirates Life
for Me. They asked for our name and sent us to our boat. We came back in an hour and
were given our "Magical Moment Certificate" and were told our pirates share for the day
was credited back. He then gave me a full refund of the hour boat ride!

Polynesian—(1) Lie on the beach and watch the Electrical Water Pageant and then the MK
fireworks. (2) They have a ceremony when they light all the Tiki torches at night.
(3) Every morning, the beach sweeper leaves huge HM designs raked into the sand on the
beach. In order to view these, you need to be at the Poly before a lot of people have
walked on the beach... as they do get trampled over as the day wears on. (4) Coffee
lovers, take a minute to grab some great brew at Kona--the stand outside of the cafe (or
visit the cafe itself for some great breakfast choices). MUCH better than the brown
tepid water served at the parks/resorts! (4) There is a HM among all the circles of
bamboo (or some kind of wood) as you are going up the stairs to the second floor of the
Polynesian to the restaurants.

Pop Century—(1) On the playdough characters, there are fingerprints in the elephants.
ears. (2) An often-missed free attraction at the Pop Century Resort--in the main dining
area and next to the gift store, at 5 p.m. and sometimes at 8 p.m., they have free prizes
for kids. They make them do little limbos, singing, etc. to win, and all get a prize. It is
small Disney stuff but it's fun to see the crowds gather to watch all the kids.

Wilderness Lodge—(1) Free tours Wednesdays-Sundays at 9 a.m. that tell you how the
hotel was built and a little about the architecture. Ranger Stan is a fountain of Disney
knowledge! (2) If staying at WL, you can ask to be the flag family, where, if chosen, in
the morning, you are brought through the hotel to the roof where you and your family can
raise the 3 or 4 flags up the posts and get some very rare picture opportunities. (3) If
you're a Walt Disney buff, go to the Iron Spike Room at the Wilderness Lodge villas.
They have two train cars from Walt's personal backyard railroad. (4) The Lodge was
designed to look like a bear. At night, you can see it very clearly. On the top of the main
lodge, there are two windows that peak out that make the eyes. The huge light fixture
makes his nose/mouth and finally the wings of the hotel and the lights on the walkways

 

[Virtucomp]

make the arms and claws!

Wilderness Lodge Villas—(1) The sound of a chainsaw buzzing in the woods if you sit on
your back porch long enough. (2) The sound of an owl "hooting" when you are walking
from the lodge to the villas.

HISTORY

Anyone know exactly what happened to spark Walt Disney's idea of building Walt Disney
World?

Well...when Walt was alive, he used to stand at the exit of Disneyland wishing the guests
a farewell at the end of the night. NO ONE ever left the park before closing time. One
night, a family walked by and was leaving the park before closing time, and Walt stopped
them. He asked them why they were leaving early, worried that maybe a CM was rude or
something bad happened. They said everything was wonderful, but when they were on the
skyride, they saw the highway and could see there was a lot of traffic. They wanted to
get a head start home to beat the traffic. Walt would have none of it, so he decided
that day he would build a bigger park and make it a "world" instead of just a "land.” He
wanted it to be that once you enter Disney World you have no ties with the outside world.
Since Disneyland is in the middle of the city and is so small, one couldn't do that. With a
new world, you are engulfed in all that is Disney. Thus, the idea for Disney World was
born (which was later renamed "Walt Disney World" by Roy Disney).

This isn't about a theme park, but it's very interesting. It's a story that the CM who
gave us a KTTKT told us: Before Walt Disney started his own company, he was a young
cartoonist looking for work. He signed on with a very small and little known company and
started drawing and creating. He created a rabbit that he named "Oswald the Lucky
Rabbit". Apparently, this company loved the rabbit, but wanted to make some changes.
Walt refused, saying that this was his creation and he didn't want it changed. He then
sold the rights of his creation to this company and quit to set out on his own. The
company? Warner Bros., who then renamed Walt's creation "Bugs Bunny!"

Link to the whole story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit

KEEPSAKES

Pressed Pennies— (1) Avoid the bight shiny pennies. Depending on what penny you use,
you may get a smear of zinc (silver looking metal). In 1982, pennies were made with both
copper and zinc. Use pre-1982 pennies. (2) You might want to get the design pressed
onto the "face" of the penny because the "tail" side sometimes leaves parts of the
monument and you end up with an incomplete image. (3) Generally, if you insert the penny
so that the "face" side is to the right, that is the side that will be pressed with the
design. Also the quarter to the far left tends to be the quarter that gets pressed in

 

[Virtucomp]

Quarter Presses.

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Christmas Shoppe—(1) In the very last room where they do the embroidery, look up. The
the rafters look like lattice work. If you look carefully, you will see HMs in it. (2) At
least once a day in the Christmas shop they have a Magical Moment. One of the CMs
chooses a child and has that child color in a paper ornament and then signs it, and they
hang it on the Christmas tree there with the ones that have already been done.

World of Disney— (1) Get a Magic Moment Certificate from Information.

CAST MEMBERS— (1) If you ask a cast member for directions, they will point with two
fingers because pointing with one finger is considered rude.

WATER PARKS— (1) The old "swimming hole" of River Country still stands to this day.
Although it is abandoned and visitors are not allowed on its premises, it can still be
viewed from the water. If you rent a Sea Raycer in the Seven Seas Lagoon, look on the
map they provide you for an island known as Discovery Cove (Island). Right across the
way, you'll see the old little swimming hole formerly known as River Country. (2) You can
also see parts of it when you go to Mickey's Backyard BBQ. (3) At Blizzard Beach,
there.s a hidden ice gator. If you are in Melt-a-Way Bay facing Summit Plummit and if
you look in the rocks in between the two life guard stands on the right side of the pool
(the two known as Wave One and Wave Two), just above and to the left of Wave One, you
will see carved in the rocks an outline of an alligator. (4) When at BB and waiting for the
chairlift back to the top, get into the single rider.s line, if you don't mind being split up.
This is much quicker. (5) Summit Plummit is the tallest waterslide in the world!

GOLF—If you have the first tee time on any morning at any of the golf courses, you are
allowed to select the pin placement on the finishing hole. You can make it as tough or
easy as you want. Next to the green is a sign saying "so and so" from "insert city" chose
the pin placement today.

Downtown Disney

At Pleasure Island, the nonsensical historical plaques showing how they relate to
Merriweather Pleasure on all the buildings.

Polynesian

The ladybug release program takes place at the Polynesian Resort every Thursday
morning at 11:00 a.m. and also at 10:00 a.m. at the Wilderness Lodge. Each guest is given
a matchbox containing some ladybugs. You then release the ladybugs onto the nearby
plants. Ladybugs are attractive carnivorous insects that eat other "bad" insects. By

 

[Virtucomp]

using this process, Disney World has managed to reduce their chemical pest control by
more than 70%. This is an educational experience for your child that could come in handy
if your child is expected to hand in some educational papers for school concerning their
trip. The ladybug release is free and open to anyone who wishes to participate.

Pioneer Hall— Pioneer Hall opened on April 1, 1974. The architecture and theme of
Pioneer Hall is based on buildings constructed in the late 1800s and is comprised of two
stories.


Reception Outpost— The Reception Outpost opened in July 1973 and was constructed of
pine logs imported from Montana.

Wilderness Cabins— The resort's log cabins, which were introduced in 1997, feature a
Northwest Territory themed exterior. The interior details include lantern lamps above
the kitchen table and chairs constructed to resemble tree branches giving the cabins a
more authentic wilderness look.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

1. The Disney-MGM Studios were originally designed to be a new pavilion for Future
World at Epcot. When Eisner and F. Wells saw the plans for it, they decided not to
limit the concepts and ideas to one attraction, and thus, a 3rd theme park was born.
2. In MGM there is a hidden attraction, it is Gertie the Dinosaur. She is a tribute to
the vaudeville actor and artist Windsor Mackay. About 1912, he decided to spice up
his act with a cartoon of a railroad, projected on the screen, and he would interact
with it. The audiences thought that this was trick photography. He then decided to
come up with Dinosaur Gertie. This was before the concept of the multiplane
camera or even cells. He made about 14,400 drawings on rice paper. Each one not
only had Gertie drawn on it but also had the background scenery (silent movies had
16 frames per second and this ran about 15 minutes or 900 seconds). He started this
act in 1915. The audiences recognized at this point that Gertie was a cartoon and
could not be trick photography. This was the first recognized projected cartoon.
Many years later, Walt Disney met Windsor's son. The son was very happy to meet
Walt, but Walt was even happier to meet him. Walt told the son that "I owe
everything I have done to the idea started by your father". There is a small sign
near Gertie in the park, but it does not go into this detail.
3. Tower of Terror--When you fall the first time (only in the left shaft) all the way on
the bottom, there are black statues of the family with their luggage.
4. The break room for the Tower of Terror is located between the two drop shafts.

EPCOT

To minimize crowds, start in Mexico and proceed clockwise around the various countries.

 

[Virtucomp]

Once again people tend to go to the right starting in Canada.

Off Kilter: 30-minute concert (Canada)

You can see a letter signed by G Washington in the restaurant. (Morocco)

Catch the Mariachi band (Mexico)

Try the delicious open face sandwich at the Norwegian bakery. It has lots of smoked
salmon & chopped egg. High protein, light, delicious!

In the Norway pavilion, you'll notice that the buildings are built very close together. If
they allowed more distance between them, the pressure from the snow accumulation
would eventually push the walls in.

World Showcase

Watch for street performers in all the lands. The World Showcase Players often select
people from the audience to help with their skits. I was chosen to play Ebeneezer
Scrooge in (the "silly" version of) "A Christmas Carol" last Dec.! I even had a line: "Bah
humbug! Harumph!" (And I got to say several times!) Other audience members played
Marley and Tiny Tim, but I was the star. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
When it was over, they gave me a little badge that says "Honorary World Showcase
Performer".

Each of the cast members in the pavilions in the world showcase are “interns” that are
citizens of the presented country.

Do the Hidden Treasures of the World Showcase tour. If you are into trivia and want to
learn the secrets of every country, this is a tour for you.

We found two hidden Mickey's that we have not heard about on here yet. One is on the
FW program paper they gave us. It is a 'knot' in the grain of the wood below the
wording. Second one was when we got Jasmine.s autograph at Epcot. The mural behind
her has all sorts of little buildings. One of the towers has a small window with the
Mickey shape.

Pirates of the Caribbean

WDW's POTC opened on the seventh anniversary of Walt Disney's death.

Resorts

It would take more than 20 million, 12-ounce cans of Coca-Cola to fill one of the

 

[Virtucomp]

humongous Coke cups at the Home-Run Hotel in Disney's All-Star Sports Resort.

It would take nearly 9.5 million tennis balls to fill one of the tennis ball cans at Center
Court Hotel in Disney's All-Star Sports Resort. That's enough to stretch from Walt
Disney World Resort to Key West.

World's Largest . . . Stormalong Bay, Disney's Beach Club Resort swimming area, holds
750,000 gallons of water, making it the largest sand-bottom pool in the world.

The musical staff notes across the registration desk at Disney's Port Orleans Resort-
French Quarter spell out the first verse of "When the Saints Go Marching In."

If you wanted to stay in all the guestrooms in all of the hotels and resorts currently open
on Walt Disney World property (at a rate of one per night), it would take more than 72
years.

Horticulture

50,000 sprinkler heads and 2,000 miles of irrigation pipe are needed to water more than
3,500 acres of landscaping at Walt Disney World Resort. Since 1971, more than 100,000
trees and 2 million tended shrubs have been planted.

Each year, a horticulture staff of more than 600 plants 3 million bedding plants and
annuals and maintains millions of other plants including more than 2 million shrubs, 13,000
roses, and 200 or so topiary.

The "Liberty Oak," which is the focal point of the Liberty Square area in the Magic
Kingdom, is the proud parent of more than 500 young trees. They all started out as
acorns harvested from the majestic oak.

Earth Day 1991 signaled a "moving" experience for an impressive oak -- a 55. tall tree
weighing in at nearly 85 tons. It was moved 12 miles across WDW property. It is doing
well in its new "digs" serving as a centerpiece for the Ol' Man Island recreation area at
Disney's Port Orleans Resort-Riverside.

THEME PARKS

Walt Disney World is home to Florida's two highest "mountains." In the Magic Kingdom,
Big Thunder Mountain rises 197 feet above Frontierland. Space Mountain in
Tomorrowland is 180 feet tall.

If you're enjoying fresh vegetables at the Garden Grill, Sunshine Season Food Fair or
Coral Reef restaurants at Epcot, chances are they were grown right in the theme park.
Last year more than 30 tons of fruits and veggies were harvested from The Land

 

[Virtucomp]

pavilion's greenhouses.

Spaceship Earth, the visual and thematic centerpiece of Epcot, weighs 16 million pounds -
- more than three times that of a Space Shuttle fully fueled and ready for launch. The
outer "skin" of Spaceship Earth is made up of 11,324 aluminum and plastic-alloy triangles.
Also, did you know that rainwater never falls off the sphere? It's absorbed into the ball
and funneled away.

If you emptied the water from The Living Seas in Epcot into one-gallon milk jugs and laid
them side by side, they would stretch from here to New Orleans, Knoxville ,or Raleigh --
540 miles. And the recipe for the artificial sea water called for 27 truckloads of sodium
chloride or common table salt.

The fountain at Epcot Innoventions Plaza can shoot water 150 feet in the air -- within 30
feet of the top of Spaceship Earth. If all of the shooters were fired at once, there
would be 2,000 gallons of water in the air.

More than 26,000. of lights outline the Epcot World Showcase pavilions -- a string long
enough to stretch across the Golden Gate Bridge more than six times.

Spaceship Earth at Epcot is the tallest attraction at Walt Disney World Resort. The
giant Sorcerer Mickey hand and wand make the attraction approximately 240 feet at its
highest point. It tops The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror at the Disney-MGM Studios

(199 feet), the Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle (185 feet), and The Tree of Life at
Disney's Animal Kingdom (145 feet).

The Earffel Tower, Disney-MGM Studios' water tower landmark, would wear a hat size of
342 3/4.

 

[DisMc]

Nice thread!

 

[yekcoh_99]

Wow!!!

 

[disneyxo]

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to post this. Lots of interesting information.

 

[Red_Rider]

Wow, this thread is AMAZING!!! Thank you so much!!!!

 

[MorenaSangre]

Great stuff - that's the kind of thing I love to know. As a (fairly) local resident and AP holder, I enjoy seeing the little details as much as the "big Stuff."

I haven't read in depth yet, but skimmed and didn't see the mention...I had heard that appropriate leftover food from Disney restaurants that was not fit for human consumption was sent to AK for "recycling" in some animal diets. Anyone know if that has any truth?

 

[knewton64]

COOL THREAD.

 

[Ecboyd]

The "I made Magic" stickers are no longer available. We asked in nearly every store on Main Street and at City Hall.

: (
Nope, no more I made Magic stickers.

So we Made Our OWN!