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From the moment you step into a Walt Disney World Theme park, your senses are stimulated
with the sights and sounds of Disney magic. The parks have definitely evolved over time
as we’ve seen many rides and attractions come and go. Disney is known for their attention
to detail and although so many of these favourites are no longer in the parks, their legacy still
lives on. You can find so many hidden details and secrets that either pay homage to these
lost attractions or are leftover relics of what used to be. So sit back as we explore
the past and count down the Top 7 Hidden Secrets of Extinct Disney World Rides.
Number 7 There’s nothing quite like the buildup of
excitement while driving into the parking plaza at Magic Kingdom. In a way, this sign
has become an icon of the theme park. We’ve been seeing it here for decades but did you
know it used to have a home in Epcot. What’s currently under construction to become the
Play Pavilion, the gold domed building originally opened as the Wonders of Life Pavilion in
October of 1989. Now if you’re familiar with Wonders of Life, this entrance sign along
with the Tower of Life DNA sculpture is probably the imagine engraved in your memory. Well
this wasn’t the original sign and it was actually installed around Sept of 1991 replacing
this. Look familiar? Yup that’s the same metal arch that’s now at the Magic Kingdom
parking plaza. It was installed in time for Walt Disney World’s 20th anniversary celebration
in 1991 which would have been just 6 days after this home video footage was taken. As
you can see, it was originally painted blue but then in 2012 it received a new gold look
that we all know today. With its gold color its now even more of a tribute to how it used
to look in its old home at The Wonders of Life Pavilion.
Number 6 At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the 14 acre
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge sits on what used to be the Streets of America. In addition
to the Backlot Tour, another attraction this area offered was the stunt show, Lights, Motors,
Action! It opened at what was then Disney MGM Studios in May of 2005 but it only had
an 11 year run. Although it was still a popular show at the time, it closed along with the
rest of the Streets of America in April of 2016. It’s said that in Star Wars Galaxy’s
Edge, no references from other planets can be found on Batuu, but that’s not exactly
true. If you head into the Outpost Marketplace you’ll find this rack with three mini speedster
bikes on display. When you get up close, you’ll notice the middle bike has some writing in
Aurebesh. What does this stand for? Well its a hidden tribute to Lights, Motors, Action.
Galaxy’s Edge took over the Streets of America and the Backlot Tour but the Outpost Marketplace
is around the exact same spot where stunt show once stood. This letter in Aurebesh is
an L, then that’s an M and finally an A to give us LMA- the acronym for Lights Motors
Action. The circular symbol also appears to be an abstract version of the tachometer with
a very similar red curved line. Don’t you think? So although this extinct area of Hollywood
Studios is a relic of the past, a tribute to the Streets of America is hidden right
in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.
Number 5 Hollywood Studios has changed a lot over the
last few years and although it’s lost almost a lot of its movie making theming over the
years, a bit of it still exists in the Backlot Express. This quick service restaurant themed
to an old Hollywood Prop warehouse, really transports you to the golden era of Disney
MGM Studios. Inside, there’s a lot of detail to take in but there’s one prop hidden in
the restaurant that has ties to an extinct Epcot attraction. Up on the roof by those
pylons is what appears to be an oversized fidget spinner but it’s actually a piece
of Horizons history. Horizons opened on October 1st 1983 at Epcot. This omnimover based dark
ride took you through a variety of scenes that envisioned what the future would be like.
Near the beginning of the ride you could find the Mesa Verde scene. There were a bunch of
Hovercrafts floating in the distance then you’d pass this. Look familiar? Well this
desert hovercraft is partially what’s in the Backlot Express. I say partially because
its actually the mold Imagineers used to create the vehicle and not the actual prop itself.
When Horizons closed in January of 1999, many of the props were shipped to Paris to be used
on the Studio Tram Tour at the Walt Disney Studios Park. This its where the actual Hovercraft
went. It’s hard to know if the hovercraft mold was placed here before or after Horizons
closed since Disney was still actively removing and adding props to the restaurant in the
90s and early 2000s. It was probably just sitting in Central Shops since 1983. Either
way it’s still really cool to know that a piece of Epcot history still lives on at
Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Number 4 As you’re walking across the bridge to head
into Pandora at Animal Kingdom, if you look into Discovery River on the right hand side
you’ll see this rock formation sort of hidden along the river bank. It’s begun to decay
and is slowly being taken over by nature, but if you squint you can still make out the
shape of a dragon. Well this pile of rocks is actually a little hidden leftover of an
extinct Animal Kingdom attraction. When the parked first opened in April of 1998, the
Discovery River Boats were one of the 4 rides that could be found at the park. You would
travel along the river in one of these boats as you passed by some less than thrilling
scenery and show scenes. Well you know this little rock formation, that used to be a water
feature you’d pass by on the ride and it was placed there to help tie in what’s now
an unbuilt Disney land. The original intent for Animal Kingdom was to focus on 3 different
types of animals; real, ancient and imagined. Beastly Kingdom was a land that was originally
part of the plans for Animal Kingdom and this land would be centred around mythical creatures
like Unicorns and Dragons, covering the Imagined Animal Box. Due to budget constraints it was
put on hold and as a temporary placeholder, Camp Minnie Mickey was constructed instead.
Beastly Kingdom is also the reason behind the dragon in the Animal Kingdom logo and
the Unicorn section of the parking lot. Everything was designed with the full intention of Beastly
Kingdom eventually becoming a reality and the Discovery River Boats would tie in these
3 types of animals found at Animal Kingdom. Although the River boats added kinetic energy
into the river, guests were less than impressed with the experience. It wasn’t the most
exciting and it was actually supposed to be treated as more of a transportation system.
It was a very short lived attraction and closed in August of 1999 just over a year after the
park opened. Even though the ride has been gone now for more than 20 years, there are
some other remnants in addition to the dragon fountain that can still be found around the
river. For starters, both of the old load and unload docks are still standing today.
When you walk over the bridge to get into discovery island, on the right hand side this
was an old boat dock from the ride and this is the other one which is found in Asia. Also
a a lot of the rocks placed around the river, like these here in Africa were also part of
the Discovery River Boat experience. They used to be Geysers that would spray water.
What’s incredible to see now is just how much of it has been overtaken by nature. I
guess that’s what 20 years does. SO next time you’re at Disney’s Animal Kingdom,
take a walk around Discovery River and find these hidden relics of the past.
Number 3- This next one brings us back into Hollywood
Studios but instead of having ties to Disney World it references an extinct part of Disney
California Adventure. There’s nothing quite like the sights and sounds of Sunset Blvd
that let you travel back into the 1930s. On top of these art deco buildings you can find
variety of era appropriate billboards. Like this one for Hess. but if you look to the
buildings on the right hand side, you’ll see a billboard for Paradise Pier. If you’re
familiar with Disney California Adventure then you’d recognize this as Paradise Pier
which was one of the original lands at the park. We have California Scream,’ the Golden
Zepher and the Sun Wheel tied together with the same Paradise Pier font. Well this billboard
hasn’t been around for long and was installed in October of 2017 while Disney was enhancing
the area for new winter holiday offerings. At the time this billboard went up, Paradise
Pier was still at Disney California Adventure but then in November Disney announced it would
be transformed into Pixar Pier. After a couple months of constriction and re-themeing, Pixar
Pier was opened to the public in June of 2018 officially making Paradise Pier an extinct
Disney land. This billboard isn’t hidden per-say, but if you aren’t looking, you’ll
definitely miss this fun tribute to the now extinct Paradise Pier.
Number 2 When Disney MGM Studios opened in May of 1989,
the Chinese Theatre was home to the Great Movie Ride. It was a classic Disney dark ride
that allowed you to travel through many iconic scenes from film history. It was always a
must do. Well as the park began to separate itself from the movie making theme, Disney
closed the Great Movie Ride in August of 2017. They announced that Mickey’s very first
ride would take it’s place then in March of 2020, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
opened. Well it was sad to lose the Great Movie Ride but Imagineers delivered and gave
us some hidden easter eggs and tributes to this now extinct Disney ride. The first one
is a pretty easy to spot if you know where to look and can be found in the Carnival scene.
On the left hand side you can find a poster for the Great Moving Ride which is obviously
a play on words to the Great Movie Ride. You can see that the characters in the poster
all have their hands up. Without a doubt that’s a little reference to the Footlight Parade
scene with the chorus girls, but that’s not the only Easter Egg. In this same scene
you encounter a Twister. In the Great Movie Ride, just before you approached the Wizard
of Oz scene there was a video of Sorcerer Mickey but it was supposed to be the Twister
scene from the Wizard of Oz. The outline of this black Shillouette is actually a twister
but due to licensing rights, Disney was only able to use 3 minutes of the films dialogue
which was all taken up in the full show scene. So this Twister could very well be a reference
to the extinct attraction, and if that wasn’t enough, once exit the carnival scene you’ll
see the twister on the left hand side. Amidst the debris there is this mailbox and on the
mailbox it says “No place Like Home” which is a line from the Wizard of Oz. Twister.
No place like Home. Wizard of Oz. Great Movie Ride. It all ties together. I did try to take
a photo of the mailbox and failed miserably, but when you’re right there in person its
much easier to spot, I promise.
Number 1 Over in Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom
you can find the Barnstormer featuring Goofy as the Great Goofini. This coaster originally
opened in October of 1996 as The Barnstromer at Goofy’s Wiseacres Farm in Mickey’s
Toontown Fair. They went with the farm theme since this area used to be home to Grandma
Duck’s petting farm in Mickey’s Birthdayland. They just reused the farm building for the
Barnstormer queue and called the area Wise Acres Farms. Well in February of 2011 the
original Barnstormer closed along with Mickey’s ToonTown Fair to make way for what we now
know as Storybook circus. Just over a year after closing, the newly themed version of
the Barnstormer opened in March of 2012. With the new circus theme, there wasn’t a trace
left of the farm, or at least no prominent traces left. Hidden behind the marquee sign
for the ride, you’ll see some jumbled letters painted on the wood. So to pay tribute to
the old incarnation of the Barnstormer and Mickey’s ToonTown, Imagineers scrambled
Wise Acres Farms onto the planks of the marquee sign. The only way you’d really spot it
is if you look behind while in the queue or while you’re on the ride heading back into
the station. Using some photoshop magic I rearranged the wooden boards so that they
properly spelt out Wise Acres Farms. It’s another fun hidden secret that pays tribute
to an attraction of the past but it’s an easy detail to miss.
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So out of all of these extinct Disney rides we spoke about in the video, which would you
bring back today? I’d love to know! Leave a comment down below to start a conversation
and don’t forget to hit that like button if you enjoyed the video.