Random WDW Info - I Never Knew!

[justskip70003]

i called in sick to work yesterday to read all these interesting facts... definatly subscribing!! keep em coming pleaseeeeeee

 

[WriteDisney]

Ok I won't just bump it this time...

From the WDW Radio site:

If you look closely at the ground as you walk down the center of Main Street, USA ,you will see a series of "pucks" embedded in the pavement. These are actually small sensors used to locate and identify floats along the parade route. As float passes over each of these "pucks," they transmit information back to a central computer (identified as "pageant"). This information is used to synchronize each float with it's music., and ensure that it is in the correct location in relation to the other floats.

 

[the who #3]

please everyone, send your interesting seldom known or seen facts. this is really a great thread. all that magic is created by all of these things, some large and well known and some small and difficult to discover alone. but aren't they interesting and when the puzzle is together they fit.

 

[WriteDisney]

bump

 

[W.E.D.]

This is awsome..keep em' comming:

Saw this on Modern Marvels:

The Cinderella Castle looks bigger than it really is because the windows get smaller as they get higher, thus giving the illusion they are "further away"

This is "forced perspective" and is actually used throughout the parks for the effect of making things look bigger than they really are.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

1) The Rose and Crown sells more Gunness annually than any other establishment in the world (not just Disneyworld, the entire world).

I'm sure that my brother allots for approx. half of this.

 

[Jgetterman]

The tree of life at AK is actually constructed from an oil rig. It was the only thing strong enough to support the structure the engineers had envisioned. Disney bought an abandoned oil rig and shipped the entire thing to WDW. From there built the limbs off of the structure and incased it in cement that they carved into the faces that you see today.

Neat!

 

[Jgetterman]

My parents live on the land that was originally going to be Disney America in Prince William County, right outside Washington DC. I remember all the debates and protests because Disney America was so close to Manassas Battifield and people didn't want the land disturbed.

Now the land is nothing but homes, golf courses, shopping centers, etc. I personally think that Disney America would have been the better plan.

I don't want people to think this is a rumor, so here's an article to support my post. http://chotank.com/disneyrom.html

 

[tawasdave]

Reading a book about the MK with tidbits of facts...Did you know that the voice of the autioneer on Pirates of the Carribean ("Show'em your larboard side") is the same voice as the "Ghost Host" at Haunted Mansion?

 

[Pretendo]

Very very entertaining read!

 

[dawnn12]

bump

 

[richcook99]

So, so much stuff. Will there be a quiz?

 

[mimzkat]

When we did the IllumiNations cruise last summer, our skipper asked us if we knew why the Swan / Dolphin didn't blend in with the other water-themed hotels in the area. (That's always bugged me -- and it always seems to shatter the illusion when you're strolling the Board Walk and see those modern high rises over there!)

Nobody knew, so he explained.

He told us that the S / D were actually built first, and were originally supposed to go over on Hotel Blvd. But Eisner wanted to start developing the "Epcot Resort Area," and ordered them moved.

The result: one of the more glaring and disappointing lapses in Disney theming!

I've seen a lot of posts about the Swan and Dolphin. I just listened to a podcast from WDW Radio about these hotels that was pretty interesting and I think will answer a lot of the questions and comments that have been posted. It is podcast #225 from June 5, 2011 and can be found at www.wdwradio.com under podcasts. Enjoy!

Only 54 more days until we return to the world!

 

[jsgrand0]

a CM once told my parents that the new tower at the Contemporary was for a new water park! sometimes i think they make it up to give an answer when someone asks and they dont know it...

If I remember correctly, when I became a CM, we were told something along the lines of, if you don't know the answer to a guest's question, make something up! CMs are seen as all knowing and they didn't want that illusion ruined! This was 12 years ago mind you....

 

[jsgrand0]

If I remember correctly, when I became a CM, we were told something along the lines of, if you don't know the answer to a guest's question, make something up! CMs are seen as all knowing and they didn't want that illusion ruined! This was 12 years ago mind you....

and maybe this explains why you hear so much conflicting information from cast members!!

 

[WDWPrincess1208]

Dueling Dragons at Universals Islands of Adventure was originally supposed to be in Animal Kingdom but they were worried the noise from the coaster would scare the animals.

 

[tjevans]

This story is 100% false. I was on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in March and told that he handed out small chocolate candies to those entering the park on opening day. He noticed how long it took for trash to go onto the ground. That measurement has been used since then to designated a trash can area.

I haven't read all the way through the thread to see if someone pointed this out, but that would have been a very disturbing sight. Walt passed away before WDW opened.

 

[doconeill]

I haven't read all the way through the thread to see if someone pointed this out, but that would have been a very disturbing sight. Walt passed away before WDW opened.

It would have been at Disneyland...but the same basis was used at WDW...

 

[doconeill]

I've seen a lot of posts about the Swan and Dolphin. I just listened to a podcast from WDW Radio about these hotels that was pretty interesting and I think will answer a lot of the questions and comments that have been posted. It is podcast #225 from June 5, 2011 and can be found at www.wdwradio.com under podcasts. Enjoy!

Yes, it is an interesting history (and doesn't jibe with what the skipper said - big shock!), but they WERE built first due to a contractual agreement with the contractor who helped build EPCOT Center. They were not "moved", but rather Eisner would likely have preferred they be on Hotel Blvd. and NOT on property.

Dueling Dragons at Universals Islands of Adventure was originally supposed to be in Animal Kingdom but they were worried the noise from the coaster would scare the animals.

DD was supposedly designed for the Beastly Kingdom section that never got built at all, and didn't have to do with the noise. The mostly accepted story is that after Beastly Kingdom was known to have fallen to the axe, the Imagineers who designed it and were laid off went to Universal and they built it for the Lost Continent.

I take that story with a grain of salt though...if the coaster was designed by Imagineers under Disney's employ, it would be unlikely they could have just walked with the design.

AND there WERE noise concerns at Universal, as it was built near a high school, so the rails are actually sand-filled to absorb noise, and they had to erect walls.

 

[Sleepy425]

In response to the posts about sorting trash by hand -
I was a custodian at the Magic Kingdom in 2004. When we emptied the trash cans from on stage, they were brought backstage to the area where they were dumped (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the vacuum machine thingy). Prior to dumping them, we were expected to sort through them and pull out soda bottles/water bottles/cans/etc. They even had a contest at one point where managers put "coupons" in bottles and threw them in the trash. We got prizes for turning in the coupons.

And, unfortunately, some Disney employees do not have a ton of money. I can remember one guy in particular who would get so excited to find toys and such in the trash. He took them home to his children.

As far as lost items are concerned - if they aren't claimed after a certain amount of time, they are sent off to a place in the Magic Kingdom cast member parking lot called Property Control. These lost items, as well as slightly defective merchandise, can be bought at unbelievable bargains.