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One of the best things about exploring the Disney theme parks is that any time you visit,
no matter how many times you’ve been, there’s always gonna be little details that you’ll
notice for the first time.
Throughout the Walt Disney World theme parks, there’s so much hidden right in front of
your eyes in many of the rides, attractions, and restaurants.
Over the past couple years on this channel we’ve discussed many hidden details and
secrets in all the theme parks, but theres quite a few that never made it into past videos.
A lot of these hidden secrets are my personal favourites to point out and take note of.
So today, we’ll tour the theme parks and count down the Top 7 hidden secrets at Walt
Disney World.
Number 7 We’re gonna start the list off at Disney’s
Animal Kingdom.
Over in Dinoland USA the main E-ticket attraction is the thrill ride, Dinosaur.
It originally opened with the park on April 22nd, 1998 as Countdown to Extinction.
In May of 2000, the ride was slightly rethemed and renamed Dinosaur to coincide with the
film Dinosaur.
Since opening day the loading area themed to the research facility has remained practically
untouched.
If you’ve ever taken a look around you may have noticed some chemical names on a series
of red, yellow and white pipes.
Well these chemical names are actually significant and make up the main ingredients of Ketchup
on the red pipe, Mustard on the yellow pipe and Mayonnaise on the White pipe.
Even Joe Rohde, lead imagineer of Disney’s Animal Kingdom confirmed that these three
pipes are these three condiments, but what does Ketchup, Mustard and Mayonaise have to
do with Dinosaurs?
Well from 1998 until 2008 McDonalds used to be the sponsor for Dinosaur and all of Dinoland
USA.
So Imagineers secretly hide these chemical formulas on the pipes as a tribute to the
attractions sponsor at the time.
Number 6 This next one will take us into Disney’s
Hollywood Studios.
At the centre of the park sits the Chinese Theatre and it’s fairly well known that
authentic handprints from famous celebrities fill the courtyard.
You can spend a good amount of time just looking through them all but did you know that the
Chinese Theatre isn’t the only place you can find these handprints at Hollywood Studios.
Over on Sunset Blvd, Theatre of the Stars is home to Beauty and the Beast live on stage
but also home to some hidden but not so hidden handprints.
Right at the entrance into the theatre, a handful of these prints are scattered throughout
this area but why would Disney add these handprints here when even to this day, the courtyard
of the Chinese Theatre has plenty of space for more.
Well the park held many hand print ceremonies during its time as Disney MGM Studios, but
a lot of the concrete blocks were stored backstage and were never actually used in front of the
Chinese theatre.
When Theatre of the Stars opened along with Sunset Blvd in 1994, Imagineers used the extra
handprint blocks here in front of the theatre and every day thousands of people walk right
over them without even realizing they’re stepping over pieces of Disney MGM Studios
History.
Number 5 Over at Magic Kingdom, New Fantasyland brought
us the Be Our Guest restaurant which you could definitely consider it to be a walkthrough
attraction.
Themed to the Beast’s castle both inside and out, Be Our Guest has recreated memorable
locations from the movie like the dark and mysterious West Wing and the iconic Ballroom.
The level of theming is just incredible and there’s so many little hidden details and
secrets inside these rooms that are very easy to miss.
While you’re in the main ballroom if you take a look up at the giant chandeliers, you’ll
also see cherubs floating in the clouds.
This ceiling was all hand painted and the cherubs are actually the faces of the imagineers
when they were babies or the children of imagineers.
When you take a close look, you can see how realistic the faces are.
While we’re in the ballroom, the back set of windows gives you a view outside the castle
where you’ll see snow falling.
Now this animated snow is actually original animation cells from the Beauty and the Beast
film.
Tucked away on left hand side you’ll find the West Wing Dining area, complete with the
red rose, and here is where you’ll find a pretty neat little hidden secret.
Every time a rose pedal falls, you’ll hear a roar of thunder and see a flash of lightning.
When this happens, the portrait of the Prince changes to show the beast- and if you’re
not keeping an eye out for it, you’ll definitely miss it.
As you can see there’s a lot of Beauty and the Beast magic just beyond these stone walls,
and if you’re able to get a reservation to Be Our Guest, you don’t wanna miss this
experience.
Number 4 Taking a look at another Disney restaurant,
Grand Avenue at Hollywood Studios is home to PizzeRizzo.
It’s an Italian New York pizza joint themed to the muppets, owned by Rizzo the Rat.
Now the seating areas in this restaurant are huge but there’s one seating area in particular
that’s pretty bizarre and it’s hidden right at the back of the restaurant.
From the outside, if you head up these stairs, across the balcony seating area and through
these doors you’ll find Rizzo’s Deluxe Supreme Banquet hall inside the restaurant.
It’s literally a wedding reception area that usually has very few people, if anyone
at all, in the room.
It feels like you’ve just stepped into the 80s, and its pretty great!
They play a variety of songs and sometimes the lights even get a little crazy.
It’s really the perfect place for your own personal dance party.
This room was brought to our attention by our friends at Paging Mr Morrow and its become
one of our favorite little hidden spots at Hollywood Studios…well that’s when the
restaurants actually opened.
As of recently PizzeRizzo has become seasonal so it may or may not be open when you visit
the park, but if it is, make sure you step inside to check out this little hidden gem
at Hollywood Studios.
Number 3 Adventureland at Magic Kingdom is full of
well, adventure but have you ever walked through the land and noticed this by the Jungle Cruise?
Or heard this?
Or seen this?
Or maybe even this as you’re walking through the pirates of the Caribbean gift shop?
Well if you have noticed any of these things, they’re all part of the interactive game
called A Pirates Adventure Treasures of the Seven Seas.
Now this attraction is listed on the park map but not many people know about and it
doesn’t help that the operating hours are only from noon until 6pm- but it is a lot
of fun for the young and the young at heart!
With five different missions, you’re given one of these maps which brings you all around
Adventureland.
Each map is different which means that you’ll get to activate new stations every time you
play.
One mission takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete and the biggest secret with this
game is that you can actually get a free fast pass for Pirates of the Caribbean.
How you ask?
Well all you need to do is complete two missions and a cast member will give you and the rest
of your group playing a fast pass for Pirates.
This is especially great if the ride is pulling in standby waits of 30 minutes or more.
Instead of standing in a line, you can be exploring Adventureland looking for treasure,
then head onto Pirates of the Caribbean using your fastpass.
Plus you get to keep the map and also get a collectible card as a souvenir after you
complete each mission!
Number 2 Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is simply
breathtaking, with it’s lush landscape, the floating mountains and the cascading waterfalls,
but here’s a little secret, one of these waterfalls is not like the other.
Instead of using real water, Imagineers used a spinning wheel that rotates a bit slower
than the actual speed of falling water.
This creates the illusion that this waterfall is much further than it actually is.
When we take a look at this wide shot again, it all blends together seamlessly.
You’d never know it wasn’t real water if it wasn’t pointed out.
It’s a brilliant little detail thats hidden and disguised right into the mountain range
and it’s a great example of how forced perspective to trick your mind.
Number 1 We’re gonna close the list off at Frontierland
in Magic Kingdom, where you can have a Zip a Dee Do Dah day on Splash Mountain.
The drop down Chickapin hill is a highlight of the ride and the dark ride show scenes
feature dozens of audio animatronics.
68 animatronics to be exact, bring the the world of Br’er rabbit to life as he tries
to find his laughing place.
Now this is one ride where there’s so much to look at along your swift journey that many
details are very easy to miss.
While your log finds its way into the laughing place scene, you’ll see many animatronics
along the right hand side but be sure to look up to catch this gopher on the ceiling.
Now sure this guy is sort of hidden but the secret here is what he says, take a listen.
FSU!
It might sound like just a random high pitch sound or a sneeze, but this gopher is actually
saying FSU, the acronym for Florida State University.
FSU!
One of the imagineers who worked on Splash Mountain graduated from FSU and this was a
way to pay tribute to their Alma Matter.
Now the only way you’ll hear FSU is if you’re sitting in the front row and are directly
under the gopher as that piece of audio plays.
If you’re in rows 2-4, you probably won’t hear it since by the time you pass underneath
him, he’s already said the line.
FSU
Once you know exactly what he’s saying its a fun little secret to be aware of the next
time you ride Splash Mountain.
So did you know about any of these little hidden details before this video?
Do you have any other favorite hidden secrets at the Disney parks?
I’d love to know!
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if you enjoyed the video.
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