The Secret Life of Disney

I found something else fun that I can do!!!  Because I worked at Disney World for 2 years, I have a lot of fun and interesting information on Disney World!  I figured I would share all that with you guys because, at least for me, I really enjoy the useless fun knowledge that came along with working on Main Street USA!  I will update this randomly with random cool (probably useless, but cool all the same) facts!

Ready for the first one???  Let's start at the Disney Point.  You all probably wonder, or not, why the workers (aka cast members) point with two fingers instead of one.  If you ever ask them why, they will tell you because other cultures find pointing with one finger to be rude.  Well, that is not the whole truth.  What is the whole truth is that it started after Walt Disney passed away.  He was a chain smoker and always had a cigarette in his hand.  So, whenever he went to point, it was obviously with two fingers.  His successors, his two brothers who took over Disney Corporations, decided that this was one small way to keep their brother, Walt, in the park forever.  There is the real story of how the Disney Point came around (well, and I really think it does stick around because of the culture thing because it is true, but that is why it was started).

Here is Disney fact number two.  Everyone wonders about the tunnels at Magic Kingdom.  Are they really there?  Yes, actually they are really there.  They are only at the Magic Kingdom park.  The reason behind this is because there is a way to get around the outside of all the other parks except Magic Kingdom because of swamps, woods, and rides.  Walt Disney didn't want all the workers uniforms (called costumes in the world of Disney) in the wrong area of the park.  The tunnels made it so that there was no mixing up of the costumes.  The tunnels are not some magical place for the workers.  Actually, they are just cement tunnels...that I used to get lost in a bunch of times.  At the opening, there is a cafe for the workers to eat at and there are break rooms...but that is about as interesting as the tunnels get.  The only cool fact there is about the tunnels is that they are actually NOT underground.  You can't really make a basement or anything underground in Florida...it is just not structurally sound that way, so the tunnels are actually the first floor of the Magic Kingdom.  The second floor is what you see when you come into the park (that is why there is actually a little hill from the turnstiles to about the start of Main Street USA).   

Random fact number 4: All the buildings on Main Street are not the same size!  Actually, they start up larger in the front and get a bit shorter all the way down Main Street USA.  This gives the illusion that the castle is much larger then what it really is and it also makes it look further away when you are walking down Main Street towards the castle.  Now, when you are walking down Main Street towards the train station, it gives the illusion that the train station and then the exits after that is much closer than what it really is.  Walt did this because, of course he wanted to showcase the castle and he wanted the tired people that are leaving the park to feel like they didn't really have to go very far to get there.  One of the best ideas I have ever heard of, that's for sure!  But, next time you go, go to Center Street on Main Street (the little side street that marks the middle of Main Street) and look sideways at the buildings.  You have to really look, and you can see the small differences.  Also, you can really see a difference if you take a picture of the castle from the end of Main Street, walk to the other end, turn around and take a picture of the train station.  You will see the difference there (in what the distance looks like).  Hm, I just added a few things to do on your vacation :-) 

Random fact number 5: Disney cast members are aloud to take home their costumes (also called uniforms but in the world of Disney...costumes) but we are not aloud to be seen outside of work with them on.  If we MUST go out in our costume, then we better not have our name tag on.  They say it could be grounds of termination, however, honestly, we used to all go out in them all the time...especially to IHop after long late shifts...common, cast members gotta eat!!!!  LOL...don't judge, we were looking cool lol.

WHY THE HECK WOULD I WANT TO WEAR THIS COSTUME OUT!?!?!  lol

Disney fact number 6: Working at Disney is like a walk in the park....literally.  There is nothing hard about this job and there is nothing stressful (except during parade when there are people trying to go across the street, but that is for their safety and the last thing you want is a guest to get hurt on your watch).  We make great friends for life and it is truly an amazing experience that stays with you for the rest of your life, and I am sure that many people that have worked there will agree with me on that one.  You get to meet people from all over the world...and how many people get to say that they have a pretty good friend living in England.  To sum up everything, watch this video and it will show you the amazingness of the togetherness and the fun of working at such a place.  This video was not made by me, it was made by Dustin Martin of Plainville Entertainment (a co-worker at the time and another life time friend).  He is pretty much amazing and has many videos here (check them out...pretty amazing stuff!): http://www.youtube.com/user/bigdusty301

Go here to watch the video: http://www.myspace.com/plainvilleentertainment/videos/video/9393797

Disney fact number 7: Did you ever notice that the pathways on Main Street are red?  Did you ever wonder why they are not the regular cement that is used throughout the rest of the park and all other parks?  Well, it is because they were made that way to make the guests feel special...as if they were walking down a red carpet!   Honestly, I don't think very many people would have ever noticed this if it wasn't for learning about it, but that is why they are painted red.  And yes, they have to re-paint the sidewalks a lot.  If you work super early in the morning, sometimes you have to watch out for the wet paint :-)

Disney fact number 8: Sorry it has been a while since I did this...so here is a good one!!!  Have you ever wondered about all that water on Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom?  Well, guess what, they are NOT wasting all that water!  There is a tank in the back that filters all that water to be reused.  It is a huge tank and obviously takes a while seeing that they do not use chemicals in it to filter and clean the water.  This is not the only way that Disney tries to be "green".  I will have more Disney facts coming up about all the different ways that Disney is eco-friendly! 

Disney fact number 9: The windows on Main Street...have you ever noticed them?  There are names written on the windows of Main Street.  These names are names of real people who played a contributing role to the Magic Kingdom!  These are special people that deserve their names up there and made the magic happen!

Disney fact number 10: Did you know that the trains on the WDRR have names?  Their names are Walter E. Disney, Lilly Belle (Walt's wife), Roger E. Broggie (the main imagineer behind EPCOT and the mad who helped acquire all the trains), and Roy O. Disney (Walt's brother).

RIP Donna...you are missed and loved

Disney fact number 11: EPCOT...doesn't that stand for something?  OHHHH, well, yes, yes it does!!!  EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.  Even though EPCOT was opened after Walt passed away, Walt played a big part in EPCOT.  With his vision it was going to be a "City of Tomorrow" and he wanted it to run this way too.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way Walt wanted it.  So what happened to Walt's plans?  See next fact to find out!!!

Disney fact number 12: So, like I said, I would put what happened to Walt's plans here.  Well, that is where the town called Celebration came up...and yes, people really live there!  It is a working city that is what Walt thought the "City of Tomorrow" would look like before he passed away.  And yes, it is a BEAUTIFUL city that I would die to live in!

Disney Fact number 14:  You know Big Thunder Mountain Railway?  You know, the roller coaster in Frontierland?  Did you know that there are six trains for the coaster?  Well they are...and would it be Disney World if they were not named?  Well....no it wouldn't!!!  So what are the names of these trains?  You will love this:
I.M. Brave
I.M. Fearless
I.B. Hearty 
U.R Courageous
U.R. Bold
U.R. Daring


How funny is that!?!?!?

And for number 15: Did you know that Disney is actually a really huge property?  1/3 of it is never to be developed as per Walt's request.  It is to be preserved land!  How nice of Walt!!!  But seriously, the size of Disney is actually about the size of San Francisco!

Disney fact number 16 time!!!  As for the Liberty Bell replica in Liberty Square....looks pretty darn good, doesn't it.  Well, we all know that Disney doesn't do ANYTHING half way!  That replica is actually made out of the exact same cast as the real Liberty Bell is made of! 

Actual Liberty Bell

Disney World Replica