TODAY IS THE BEST-DAY-EVER! Any day at Disney World is the best day ever. There is a reason it is called the most magical place on Earth! Well, let us tell you some Disney secrets to make your day even more magical.
Actually, there is a lot of hidden magic in Disney that many people do not know about. Walt Disney really went the extra 100 miles to make sure his guests have the absolute best experience! Every little detail in the parks is carefully thought out to make the day amazing for everyone involved, of all shapes and sizes.
Once you are aware of a lot of the hidden Disney secrets, it is really fun to go explore the parks with a new perspective and point out all of your newfound details. That is exactly what Travis and I decided to do on our most recent trip to Magic Kingdom. Here’s a hilarious video of us attempting to show you the secrets of the park, teach you a few things, and fail continuously throughout the day. Be sure to subscribe to stay in the loop with our latest, and awesome, content which will come out more regularly!
(Below the video we have written these same secrets AND MORE… keep reading)
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Along with many Disney secrets, we also give you some Disney tips to prepare for your trip and make yourself more efficient while you are there.
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Disney Tips
First of all, we love visiting Disney on rainy days. We fellow Floridians know that when it rains here, it rarely lasts long and it dries right up. The parks are a bit emptier on rainy days, so you get to enjoy them even more! The inside rides do not shut down, and the outside rides only shut down temporarily. Bring your Disney poncho
and keep it moving. Many times, we find that by the time we get to our next ride, the rain stops. Also, it makes Disney especially magical when you can catch a rainbow.
Bring a backpack
(preferably Mickey) with water and snacks! I was amazed to find out you can bring food into the parks. Trust me- take advantage of this! The food in the parks can be pricy, and I’m not gonna lie, most of it sucks. It all looks appealing, and tastes like nothing. Personally, I would rather spend my money and time on the awesome events and products at the parks, rather than the food … unless it is candy of course! Also, be sure to pack sunscreen in your bag. The Florida weather is unpredictable and the sun is hot!
We always try to go to the parks when they are less crowded, which may just require a little bit of research. Some people have told me that they used isitpacked.com and you can search by the park, but we have never personally used this website. After a major holiday, the park seems to empty out a bit. You will definitely want to avoid going during a holiday. January and February are my favorite months to go to Disney. There are barely any lines and the weather is absolutely perfect. Bring a jacket for when the sun goes down!
Fast Passes are free with admission, and they are absolutely vital to navigating the park in a timely manner. Plan out 4 of your rides per day and set fast passes for them in advance. You can set fast passes up to 30 days in advance! You can skip the line at the time you choose. This significantly speeds up your riding time and allows you to plan your day out better.
Download the Disney App. I use this mostly for the GPS and to view the line wait times throughout the park. They are always updated live. If the Tower of Terror or Mickey’s Haunted Mansion has a wait time of 13 minutes, that means there is actually no wait at all!
Arrive before the park opens! There is a really cute opening ceremony every morning when the gates open. The real reason I like to get to the park before it opens is, the race to get on your first ride without waiting in line and without wasting a precious fast pass!
Skip the parades, run to the rides! There is no better time (without a fast pass) to ride a ride than when the parades are going on. Everyone will race to the parades and the lines are so short! I maximize this time by going on my favorite rides during the parades. If I really want to see the characters, I will plan the character dining. Parades just don’t do it for me. 3 p.m in Magic Kingdom? Rides. Firework show at night? Rides. Actually, there is no better view of the fireworks than from Big Thunder Mountain.
You can get a free souvenir by asking for a celebration pin! You can write what you are celebrating, or just for being there! Just ask a cast member for a pin. Also, when you buy a drink, be sure to take home the Mickey straw. Although this souvenir technically isn’t free, it makes the over-priced soda much more worth it.
You cannot freely smoke in the Disney parks. There are 2 smoking stations if you really need one, but we recommend trying to go a day without it!
Disney Secrets
Any structures in the park that are meant to blend in and be hidden are painted a shade of green/brown referred to as “go away green”. This method is super effective! I literally looked right past all of these structures until I actively looked for them.
There are little vents hidden throughout the Disney parks that pump out specific smells. The smells vary from sweet, to savory, to super buttery popcorn. This is used to entice you to go into specific shops or bakeries, or sometimes to cover up smells such as sewage. We searched for what we called “smellulators” all day. We heard they are little vents attached to buildings and under windows … nope! Finally, right before the final firework show of the night, a cast member explained that they are deeply hidden in bushes and behind things. They cannot be found or smelled by the public. We also learned the hard way that the vents beneath some of the buildings do not smell good at all. Oops.
There is a real pet cemetery right outside of the Mickey’s Haunted Mansion line. Ask a cast member if you need some help finding it.
Inside of pet cemetery, you will find the grave of “Mr. Toad” which was a ride from when the park was originally built. The ride has since closed and has been replaced by the Winnie The Pooh ride. Now, “Mr. Toad” rests in a pet cemetery forever, where his tombstone will remain. It is a myth between cast members that there is a poem on the bottom of Mr. Toads stone reading:
“Here Lies Mr. Toad, sad but true. Far less marketable than Winnie The Pooh”
City Hall is the least renovated park of all of Disney World, Orlando. Meaning, this part of the park is in its original state from when the park was built.
There are no bathrooms in City Hall. You must travel to a neighboring land to use the restroom because back in the day there were no public restrooms in City Hall. They wanted it to be as authentic as possible.
The flags hung throughout the park are actually not really flags because they are all missing a star or a stripe or altered slightly. This is so they do not have to abide by regular flag rules, such as lowering to a certain degree and keeping them up all the time. Technically, the “flags” in Disney are actually called pennants.
There is a replica Liberty Bell in City Hall. This replica was actually cast from the same exact mold as the original Liberty Bell, and it is the only replica cast from this mold. This is as close the O.G as it gets.
There is a trash can every 30 steps throughout the Disney parks. This is because Walt Disney did research in other parks to see how long he thought people would hold on to trash before littering. The number he came up with was 30 steps, so you will always find a trash can nearby.
In Cinderella’s carousel, you can find her special stallion! This is a beautiful horse with flowers on it and a gold ribbon on the tail. Do you want a hint to be able to find it easily? Find the big sleigh (there’s only one) on the carousel. Go up 3 rows and look in the center. There you will see her beautiful stallion. Now start practicing that princess wave!
On the Buzz Lightyear ride, when you are leaving the first room, TURN AROUND and shoot the back of Buzz’s saw or the back of the orange robot. The chair will rotate to turn you AWAY from it but turn around. They’re worth a whole lot of points! Also, in the room with Zurg, be sure to hit the target underneath him for 100,000 points!
There is a big black rotating sphere in tomorrow’s land. This “rock” actually weighs the same amount as five elephants! It is being held up and slowly rotated by extreme water pressure. If the rock were to move, the water would shoot up past Cinderella’s castle.
If you book the Beauty and the Beast “Be Our Guest” Dinner, you can order “the grey stuff” which Lumiere famously offers Belle in the signature song, “Be Our Guest”. It is actually really good.
There is a hidden dog potty station in City Hall behind the Christmas shop, which is near the Liberty Bell.
Disney Secrets not mentioned in the video:
Cast members will always point with two fingers because in some cultures it is impolite to point with one.
There is no gum sold is Disney to eliminate people throwing it everywhere. You can only buy mints. You can bring your own gum
into the parks but be sure to properly dispose of it!
The first aid stations in the park will give you many things for free such as ibuprofen, Tylenol. etc. These items can also be bought in the park. The first aid stations are also a good place to go to get some water and air condition if you start to over-heat.
The most frequently asked question in Disney is “What time is the 3 o’clock parade”? Disney cast members have the patience of angels.
In the train station, you can hear a telegraph tapping out something in morse code. This is actually Walt Disney’s speech at the opening ceremony of Disney Land. So cool.
There is a huge hidden tunnel system under the parks to help preserve the real magic of Disney. You will never see a cast member walking through the wrong part of the park, as that would kill the magic. They also use this underground tunnel system to dispose of trash so you never see it being wheeled through the park.
There are said to be about a million hidden Mickey’s throughout the parks. There is a website online where you can mark the ones you find. This can make standing in line a lot more fun and manageable. Basically, this is going to be the longest and best game of iSpy ever!
In “It’s A Small World” there is only one doll that is not smiling. You can find this doll in the last room.
You can avoid getting wet on Splash Mountain by sitting in seat 4. I have not tried this one, but I have heard from multiple sources that it was true.
Outside of the Italian Restaurant “Tony’s Town Square Diner”, you can find Lady & the Tramp’s paw prints.
There are sooooo many more Disney secrets and tips you could follow to maximize your fun at Disney, but I think the main key is to not stress anything! You are literally going to be in the happiest place on Earth. Have fun no matter what, embrace the fails along the way, and have the most magical day ever!
Do you know of any Disney secrets that we may have missed? Leave us a comment to let us know!
