No American institution is loved and despised to the same degree as Walt Disney World, the central Florida epicenter of children's fantasy and couture fanny packs. Love it or hate it, its complexities are no less fascinating.
Learn from a Disneyphile: We love trading Disney trivia, not just for affection, but because some of it is intriguing, awesome, or just plain weird. Here are some of my favorite little-known Walt Disney World facts to guide you on a short trip or a long line up on Space Mountain.
1. The ashes of the dead are everywhere.
It's no joke. I had a friend who knew a girl whose mother died after he died.wanted to be crematedand extended from the top of the Dumbo ride. That sounded weird until I heard it.happens all the time. Apparently, the park even has a special vacuum for these occasions. Which is pretty gross when you think about it. This is a way of interpreting the cycle of life.
2. Disney World Isn't Really In Orlando
Forget everything you thought you knew. Most of the Walt Disney World Resort is located in the town of Bay Lake. Orlando is just its biggest and most memorable named neighbor. It is alsoa nice cityYou really should take your time.
3. It would take forever to stay in any hotel room.
If you've spent a night in any Disney World hotel room,They would need 68 years. And no, they don't rent by the hour.
4. The Magic Kingdom is on the second floor.
The "Underground City" network.not so secret tunnelsshe really exists, so if you want to see Snow White without her costume, stay downstairs. In fact, that sounds like a good way to get out of a restraining order. But since Florida is at sea level and engineers were unable to dig, these "underground" tunnels are actually at ground level, with the park built on top of them, much like modern Rome with roughly the same number of tourists. .
5. Cinderella's Castle is practically empty
The world's most iconic amusement park building is home to just one restaurant, one gift shop and the ghost of Walt Disney's would-be apartment. designer builtan apartment for Walton the castle's plan, but died before its completion. This space was later converted into a hotel room, where it's literally impossible to spend a night without getting one.
6. The lock is also made of fiberglass.
Florida's housing bubble was brutal, but thatCenicienta-Schlossreally weathered this storm. Still, Cinderella's Castle is somewhere above the three little pigs' houses of sticks and straw, but below the brick house in the hierarchy of fairy-tale houses.
7. Disney World is the size of San Francisco or two Manhattans
except withFewer hipsters and cheaper rents. One-third of its 40 square kilometers is designated a nature reserve.
8. Admission cost a whopping $3.50 (now about $21) on opening day
Do you have $3.50 in your wallet right now? Congratulations! Now you can buy a bottle of water atdisney world. But not Smart Water, there is an extra charge for that. These days you drive a day ticket$102 or $109, depending on the park you visit. You can go to several parks for an additional fee of around $60 or buy multi-day passes at a reduced price. Which still isn't cheap, FYI.
9. EPCOT is an acronym and an association
True Disney nerds will tell you that EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and was originally conceived to be a living, functioning city of the future. If you've ever wanted to live in a Ray Bradbury novel, this would be your chance. Sadly, Walt's death put an end to the original plan.
However, there is a story about the strange formation of the park. Imagineers couldn't decide between the future concept or the world showcase concept. allegedly,an imaginerhe had the brilliant idea of simply joining the two tables with the separate park models and thus merging them into one mega park.
Seems legit.
10. Disney World Is Basically Its Own Autonomous City
In order to make EPCOT its own town, Walt tried to become somewhat independent of the counties that dotted his land. He successfully petitioned the Florida state legislature to create the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which would give The Walt Disney Company self-government within its borders. This led to the formation of the towns of Bay Lake and Reedy Creek (now Lake Buena Vista), which are part of the RCID.
Everything is cool and very complicated, andthe wikipedia siteexplains much better how it all happened, but all you need to know is that Walt wasn't kidding.
11. Disney World is the largest single-site employer in the United States
And employees are not just called employees,you are an actor. many of them areprobably sleeping together. And they can probably tell you where the bathroom is in 14 languages. Just don't ask for gifts.
12. The Haunted Mansion Isn't the Only Haunted Place
The true spirit (no typos) of aWorker who died during constructionPirates of the Caribbean is supposedly following the ride. It's hima tourist's fingerprobably wandering around like Cousin Itt.
13. Intrepid explorers have invaded Disney's abandoned island and water park.
If ever there was a bastion of microbial disease, it would sound a lot like "abandoned island and water park." We don't recommend exploring (unless you like brain-eating amoebas), but you might see somegreat photos from the safety of your cabin.
14. The brown stones in Praça da Liberdade represent poop.
If you've ever walked down Liberty Square and seen the wavy pattern of brown brick beneath your feet, you probably haven't given it much thought. Ah, but wait a second to appreciate the feeling: it was actually designedto show raw sewagefound on the streets of colonial America. To maintain the historical illusion, youI can't find restroomsnot even in Praça da Liberdade. Definitely don't drink an entire soda before driving to the Haunted Mansion.
15. Every year visitors eat 2 million pounds of these caveman turkey legs.
Unless the rumor is true, some of these turkey feetthey are really emu?
16. Sunglasses are dying at Disney World.
More than200 pairs of sunglassesthey are delivered to lost and found every day. It's like all those socks that disappear in the wash but multiply to the nth degree. And with many more cross-eyed tourists.
17. There are no straws or cup lids in Animal Kingdom.
Disney doesn't trust animals not to have their ownLegs in straws or lids. Or, more likely, they don't trust humans not to throw them where animals can get them.
18. Disney World took design inspiration from the Midwest.
Walt just lived in it.Marceline, Missourifor a few years, but it impressed so much that he used it as the inspiration for Main Street, USA. It is unknown if he tried to serve everyone casseroles at dinner.
19. It also has very impressive public transport.
Walt Disney World has a public transportation system that offers plenty of spaceShame on American Cities. With about 400 buses, the fleet is larger than that of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. (One reason: on peak days, Disney blocks L.A. traffic.)
20. Originally, there were supposed to be more hotels in the Magic Kingdom.
The original plans called for Venetian-themed, South Asian-themed, and Persian-themed hotels. However, these plans werethey were kicked out after the oil crisis tarnished tourism. oh and theshah of iranhe supposedly wanted to finance the Persian hotel, but since that was going to happen in the late 1970s, the plans basically got out of hand.everything that happened to himargon.
21. The Polynesian and Contemporary hotel rooms were built outside.
After the construction of the prefabricated rooms, there waspushed into the frames of buildings. This makes it like sleeping in a giant furnished drawer without Gideon's giant Bibles.
22. The Beatles broke up at Disney World
Disney is the most magical place on earth, unless you're a Beatles fan. In the winter of 1974, John Lennon went on a family vacation to Disney's Polynesian Resort. There he was on December 29th.signed the documentwho killed the Beatles.
While we're at it, here's another fun historical fact: In 1973, during the days of the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon attended a media Q&A at Disney's Contemporary Resort. During this session, he made his famous statement: "I'm not a thief.“
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rebeca dolanis an employee of Thrillist.