Secrets & Little Known Facts about rides

[MariDisney]

Ah, yeah, that's a myth. Not true. Convincing, though.

The real story is that some of the old mountainclimbing Cast members would pass the time inside the top of the Matterhorn very bored, and one day, a fellow brought a basketball hoop (or something of that sort). Thus, the Matternhorn court was born. I think it might be on Snopes.

I didn't read to the end of the thread, so apologies if this is alrady posted. According to Snopes this is listed a true. Although when you read it, it seems each story has elements of truth.

http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/matterhorn.asp

 

[LadyGracey]

Here's some Epcot ones:

Don't know if this is absolutely true (I'm sure someone out there can verify) but I once read somewhere that one of the reasons they closed Horizons was because the building was structurally unsound and possibly sinking into the ground.

But this I KNOW is true--in the queue for Mission: SPACE, there's a big space-wheel thing (can't tell you the technical term) and in the center is the old Horizons logo.

I posted this somewhere else too:
In MouseGear, high up on the wall facing the row of cash registers (above the section where they have the pens/pencils and those photo acrylic thingys) is one of the "flying machines" from the opening scene of the original Journey into Imagination, minus its balloon and with a different paint job (and with no Dreamfinder, of course). Originally there were three, who knows what happened to the other two.

The Imagination! pavilion was originally supposed to be the Land pavilion at one point (hence, the glass pyramids--like a greenhouse).

And one more:
The attractions in Future World East and West are grouped with a purpose: the ones in East all have to do with more "left-brained" or hard sciences: energy, space, and transportation, while the ones in West are more "right-brained" or have to do with nature: agriculture, the seas, and imagination. The landscaping, flower beds, all reflect this: the ones in West feature water and curving lines while the ones in East are angular and hard-edged.

 

[angela3676]

Actually, if you have Comcast On-Demand, you can watch a series on the Disney Travel section called Fact or Fiction, and there's a piece about the Matterhorn basketball court. There really is one. They actually show it.

Great, i have Comcast. I think I'll try to find it and watch it tonight.

 

[mountdew1]

I posted this somewhere else too:
In MouseGear, high up on the wall facing the row of cash registers (above the section where they have the pens/pencils and those photo acrylic thingys) is one of the "flying machines" from the opening scene of the original Journey into Imagination, minus its balloon and with a different paint job (and with no Dreamfinder, of course). Originally there were three, who knows what happened to the other two.

Well, at least one of em was sold on eBay by Disney back when they ran their own auctions. I remember watching til it hit at least 7,000 and then decided it was to expensive for my tastes. (Not to mention the freight to get it shipped. They were estimating a full semi trailer of crates)

 

[ssawka]

Hi gang,
The monorail station at epcot was built wrong/backwards, but by the time it was discovered it was too late to fix and would have cost millions more to knock down and rebuild. The way it was supposed to be is when arriving from the ttc or mk, you were supposed to be droped off at the station before going around the whole park,then those exiting the park were supposed to go around the whole park and then off to ttc or mk.

That's funny, I think it makes much more sense the way it was built. It gives you a "preview" of the park before you arrive. Although, maybe that's why they wanted it the other way, so everything would be "fresh".

 

[d1sn3ycr@zy]

They last drop on the splash mountain the hole that you go through is a hidden mickey its a side outline of his face. You can see it standing on the outside too.

 

[Alice1386]

Can't believe that I haven't seen this one.

Space Mountain opened today 1/15/1975 in tomorrowland.
the plaque reads"
One Giant step-dedicated to the men and women whose skills, sacrifice, courage and teamwork opened the door to the exploration of man's exciting new frontier.

Aww this is great!!! I can't believe I have never seen it either!

 

[bradk]

on the basketball court: it's more of a half court, but it's there. i think that much is proven. the myth portion is WHY it's there. there's a legend that Walt had to put it there to make it a 'sports arena' of sorts so he could get around some zoning restrictions. That portion isn't so much true. It's there, it's something to do in there, that's the deal with it. Kind of like there's a legend that the reason why Club 33 has an 'address' is because it was required to obtain a liquor license.

on pirates: the pieces absolutely shouldn't be moved around between visits (this would be the first i've heard of such a thing anyway). it is a stalemate although it's been argued by some chess players that there is no legitimate way for the pieces to end up in the position they're in. on top of that, it was created by marc davis but at some point, the pieces did lose their position (for whatever reason, I can't recall offhand) and they had to be reset except they could find no notes from davis as to which piece went where so it had to be re-created. davis also designed the ornamental roof of the haunted mansion which consists of various chess pieces (except for the knight)

 

[LadyGracey]

Well, at least one of em was sold on eBay by Disney back when they ran their own auctions. I remember watching til it hit at least 7,000 and then decided it was to expensive for my tastes. (Not to mention the freight to get it shipped. They were estimating a full semi trailer of crates)

OMG I would've obsessed over that thing... "how high is my credit limit?"
MouseSurplus was selling a door from the old Monorail Red and I seriously contemplated making it into a garden centerpiece. I should stay away from eBay.

 

[mrFDNY]

more..

The pirate ride in both disneyland and disneyworld, was almost not built. See they had a problem antoher ride was in its way. The disney railroad. This is why in both disneyland and disneyworld there is that drop, the pirate ride actually has that drop so it goes under the disney railroad tracks.

 

[BarbieGal457]

Here's some Epcot ones:

But this I KNOW is true--in the queue for Mission: SPACE, there's a big space-wheel thing (can't tell you the technical term) and in the center is the old Horizons logo.

And one more:
The attractions in Future World East and West are grouped with a purpose: the ones in East all have to do with more "left-brained" or hard sciences: energy, space, and transportation, while the ones in West are more "right-brained" or have to do with nature: agriculture, the seas, and imagination. The landscaping, flower beds, all reflect this: the ones in West feature water and curving lines while the ones in East are angular and hard-edged.

Oh my gosh! I just rode Mission: SPACE for the first time last week, and I thought I saw the logo! My dear, beloved Horizons .

And that makes soo much sense about left/right brain. I noticed all of this, and knew that there had to be a reason for it, but couldn't figure it out!

Thanks, everyone for contributing to this thread! It's really interesting, and gives me more to see when I go back. After so many trips I feel like a pro, but it's fun to always look for something new.

 

[sbell111]

OMG I would've obsessed over that thing... "how high is my credit limit?"
MouseSurplus was selling a door from the old Monorail Red and I seriously contemplated making it into a garden centerpiece. I should stay away from eBay.

MouseSurplus has that door for sale right now. It's only $2,750 if you happen to have a monorail in need of a door.

They also have the GMC Jimmy that used to be next to Pizzafari, the plane that used to be towards the end of Kilmanjaro Safari, a Horizons ride vehicle, Small Worl fastpass distribution sign, the van that the Green Army Men used to use at MGM, and more stuff.

I love to wander about that site.

 

[Smile4Me]

I've read it several places that Walt almost didn't put Pirates in at WDW because he thought no one would be interested in them, since Florida is on the coast and it would be too familiar a theme.

 

[mom22bless]

Where On Demand?

I looked on mine and couldn't find it.

Actually, if you have Comcast On-Demand, you can watch a series on the Disney Travel section called Fact or Fiction, and there's a piece about the Matterhorn basketball court. There really is one. They actually show it.

 

[jernysgirl]

The Matterhorn (At Disneyland) has a small basketball court inside the mountain. From what I read and have seen, there was some kind of height restriction (and someone correct me if I'm wrong)...anyways, in order for it to be built, this basketball court was added. It's inside where the "mountain climbers" take their breaks.

Here are some pics of the basketball court:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...sketball&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&sa=N

 

[BarbieGal457]

Where On Demand?

I looked on mine and couldn't find it.

I believe you go to Spotlight > Travel & Leisure > Disney.

 

[Dznefreek]

The monorail station at epcot was built wrong/backwards, but by the time it was discovered it was too late to fix and would have cost millions more to knock down and rebuild. The way it was supposed to be is when arriving from the ttc or mk, you were supposed to be droped off at the station before going around the whole park,then those exiting the park were supposed to go around the whole park and then off to ttc or mk.

Uh, no. Even now to correct it they would just have to go in the opposite direction when leaving the TTC.

 

[bradk]

here's something i recently wrote on pirates

Last week we talked about birthdays of Disney characters. In keeping with my belated theme, December 5 marked the birthday of Walt Disney. Unfortunately, December 15 marks the anniversary of his death. But the real meat in this edition's trivia is a little known attraction known as Pirates of the Caribbean, the last attraction that Walt was personally involved with. Originally intended to be a walk-through wax museum, technology developed for the 1964 Worlds Fair by Disney inspired significant changes to what would eventually make Johnny Depp a household word (ask me which cheek my tongue is planted firmly in). Animatronics and a revolutionary boat based vehicle system used for "it's a small world" (then known as the enigmatic It's A Small World) that not only moved guests from point A to point B but could actually be used to adjust hourly capacity by being able to add/remove vehicles as well as control the speed by the rate at which water was being pumped through (unfortunately someone forgot to devise a solution for that inevitable end-of-the-ride backup). When Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971 (a happy belated birthday there too), it was missing POTC, a very popular attraction at Disneyland. Legend has it that Imagineers decided that because Florida was in close proximity to the real thing, guests wouldn't be interested in an attraction meant to simulate it, but outcry proved them wrong and prevailed and just 2 years later, an abbreviated version appeared in the Magic Kingdom on December 15, 1973 - the anniversary of Walt's death.

 

[Csaks]

Hi gang,

When they ran the first test on the tower of terror the basement walls blew out from all the air pressure that the elevator being pulled down caused. They had to be rebuilt with large vents allowing all that air pressure to escape.

Please don't get mad but does this not sound a little fishy. Not saying it didn't happen but you would figure a smart engineer would think of that? The thing is like a huge piston in a air compressor and if no one thought of that they need a career change.

 

[LadyGracey]

MouseSurplus has that door for sale right now. It's only $2,750 if you happen to have a monorail in need of a door.

They also have the GMC Jimmy that used to be next to Pizzafari, the plane that used to be towards the end of Kilmanjaro Safari, a Horizons ride vehicle, Small Worl fastpass distribution sign, the van that the Green Army Men used to use at MGM, and more stuff.

I love to wander about that site.

Yes, there just so happens to be a doorless monorail RIGHT outside.

I want to drive on over to their store.....and sit in that Horizons vehicle
I think I've seen it for sale there before? Can you imagine having that in your house? What would you do with it???? That's not a lawn ornament.