Secrets & Little Known Facts about rides

[michaeldorn1]

One of Eastern's demands was that the ride was free. And it was; you didn't have to use any of your A, B, C, D or E tickets to ride (the only other "free" attraction at the MK was the film "The Walt Disney Story", located in the Exposition hall. That theater is still there, and used primarily for internal presentations).

You used to.

Originally, the attraction exit was themed to Endor (it was changed around 2000 or so to the Tattooine theme it has today, sparking rumors of the Podracing film).

Actually, there was another Free attraction. I think it was, also, in Tomorrowland, "Circa Vision 360". It was similar to the 360 degree theaters in Epcot where you stand and the film was projected on multiple screens completely sorrounding you. During flying scenes, it felt like the floor was actually being tilted due to the camara perspectives. I don't recall who the sponser was though. It was a tour of the country from coast to coast.
BTW, I loved "If You Had Wings!" I was also 11 years old, which might have had something to do with it!

 

[michaeldorn1]

Bummed about Body Wars I remember riding that the year it opened when I was a little girl and then trying to explain it to my schoolmates in my "what did you do this summer" report. I guess I shouldn't have started with "this summer I boarded a vessel that was shrunk down and then injected into a body where I went on a wild ride through blood vessels....." Needless to say I got many a screwball look

Anyways, great thread!

Are you sure you weren't doing a book report or a movie review on "Fantastic Voyage"!

 

[pampam]

Actually, there was another Free attraction. I think it was, also, in Tomorrowland, "Circa Vision 360". It was similar to the 360 degree theaters in Epcot where you stand and the film was projected on multiple screens completely sorrounding you. During flying scenes, it felt like the floor was actually being tilted due to the camara perspectives. I don't recall who the sponser was though. It was a tour of the country from coast to coast.
BTW, I loved "If You Had Wings!" I was also 11 years old, which might have had something to do with it!

I'm thinking it was sponsored by Eastern Airlines.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

Is this free attraction you speak of in the same location of the old "Timekeeper" which is not where Monsters Inc. is ??? We only did Timekeeper once I think it was in 2000?

 

[Yemdog]

Great thread!!!

 

[darkkskyzz]

Loving this thread!

 

[nothnbutherainsir]

We got to ride in the front of the monorail October of 2008. I'd done it before, but it was the first time I noticed an owl over the monorail entrance of the Contemporary. I asked the driver if it had always been there, and she told me that it was always there and it was to scare other birds away so they don't come into the resort.

Someone has probably already responded to this but it isn't just WDW that does this. It happens everywhere, a lot of the time in the southern states.

 

[michaeldorn1]

Nothnbutherainsir - Love the Pic of the "Lost" cast on ToT. Where did you find it?

 

[shaws2003]

Nothnbutherainsir - Love the Pic of the "Lost" cast on ToT. Where did you find it?

I was thinking the same thing!! A Dis fan AND a "Lostie"!!

 

[nic100308]

Great thread!! Kudos to all of you for coming up with all these amazing hidden treasures. Here are a few that I got from the WDW Best Kept Secrets list. I don't think I have seen these, but if so sorry for the repeat. Enjoy!

*There are more than 20,000 different colors of paint used in Walt Disney World.

*The Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue in MK, did everyone see what is on Walt's right finger ring?

*No trash can will ever be more than 30 steps away from you. It seems that Walt went to other parks when he was designing the park and counted how long a person would hold onto a piece of trash before dropping it on the ground. He came up with 30 steps.

*The MK Parking Lot only 6 of the 7 dwarfs have a lot named after them! There is Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. No Doc! Why no Doc? Because while naming the sections in the world's 3rd largest parking lot, the designers were afraid people might get the Boat Dock and the Parking Lot "Doc" confused.

*You could fit all of DisneyLand into the MK Parking Lot and still have room to park 500 cars!

*There is a Picture of Walt Disney hidden in the CoP. It is in the daughter's room in the 1940s on the wall you are facing as you sit in front of the stage wall in the upper left corner

*When you take a walk down Main Street, take a good close look at the castle. You will notice that the "bricks" get smaller the higher up the castle goes. The Imagineers called it the "forced perspective" technique. The castle looks a little taller than it would if all the "bricks" were the same size.

*When you go to Sir Mickey's Shop in Fantasyland, look at where the roof meets the walls. You will see Willie the Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk peeking into the shop.

 

[doconeill]

*The MK Parking Lot only 6 of the 7 dwarfs have a lot named after them! There is Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. No Doc! Why no Doc? Because while naming the sections in the world's 3rd largest parking lot, the designers were afraid people might get the Boat Dock and the Parking Lot "Doc" confused.

I feel slighted.

Here is one...in The Magic Of Disney Animation, there is (or was as of this past April) a picture which is a head shot of an old man wearing sunglasses, in the theater where the CM explains animation with Mushu. It is on the shelf up above on the right corner, behind a Hercules doll.

It is NOT Walt Disney, or Roy, or any of the Disney clan. It is former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey.

Why? The CMs who work there are permitted to bring in personal items and place them on those shelves. One of the CM's family was good friends with the Yawkeys and held him in very high regard, so his item was this picture.

 

[marciemi]

Great thread!! Kudos to all of you for coming up with all these amazing hidden treasures. Here are a few that I got from the WDW Best Kept Secrets list. I don't think I have seen these, but if so sorry for the repeat. Enjoy!

*There are more than 20,000 different colors of paint used in Walt Disney World.

*The Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue in MK, did everyone see what is on Walt's right finger ring?

*No trash can will ever be more than 30 steps away from you. It seems that Walt went to other parks when he was designing the park and counted how long a person would hold onto a piece of trash before dropping it on the ground. He came up with 30 steps.

*The MK Parking Lot only 6 of the 7 dwarfs have a lot named after them! There is Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. No Doc! Why no Doc? Because while naming the sections in the world's 3rd largest parking lot, the designers were afraid people might get the Boat Dock and the Parking Lot "Doc" confused.

*You could fit all of DisneyLand into the MK Parking Lot and still have room to park 500 cars!

*There is a Picture of Walt Disney hidden in the CoP. It is in the daughter's room in the 1940s on the wall you are facing as you sit in front of the stage wall in the upper left corner

*When you take a walk down Main Street, take a good close look at the castle. You will notice that the "bricks" get smaller the higher up the castle goes. The Imagineers called it the "forced perspective" technique. The castle looks a little taller than it would if all the "bricks" were the same size.

*When you go to Sir Mickey's Shop in Fantasyland, look at where the roof meets the walls. You will see Willie the Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk peeking into the shop.

Wow - awesome trivia! I spent several months reading every website and book of trivia (and thread and message board) to come up with good trivia for the Countdown Calendars I was making for my son and for friends of ours. The ones I've highlighted in red I've never seen before and are truly interesting! Wish I'd had them a couple months ago! Thanks!

 

[kt-scarlett]

[In the Fifth Dimension scene on the Foxtrot side, the swirling stars form a Hidden Mickey just before they disappear.

Like this?

 

[nothnbutherainsir]

I was thinking the same thing!! A Dis fan AND a "Lostie"!!

I found it randomly on a website called Tumblr. There are a few Disney sites I follow on there

 

[W.E.D.]

I only know this because the ride broke down when we were right in front of it. But on Splash Mountain, on the straight away before the final climb, there is a Hidden Mickey fishing bob. Red and white dots, but definitely mickey-shaped.

Finally! Confirmation. I have been the only one in my party to see this for sooo many visits, I was beginning to second guess myself!

 

[nothnbutherainsir]

Finally! Confirmation. I have been the only one in my party to see this for sooo many visits, I was beginning to second guess myself!

I've seen it too and no one else has!

 

[ma2jr]

Great thread...luv it!

 

[Tink3Bell]

Always learning more about disney.

 

[disneyworldmom]

"Being a character is one of the most gratifying jobs in the park. They are instantly, automatically loved... the strength of that love is incredible. Mickey Mouse was being mobbed near Mr. Lincoln one afternoon, when a small boy broke free from his father, pushed through the crowd and flung himself at Mickey. "Mickey Mouse," the boy said. The child was autistic and those were the first words he had ever said." - David Koenig, Mouse Tales

I cried a little when I read this quote. What a wonderful thing!

 

[kiranic]

Love this thread...read the whole thing. I really loved the info about RnRRC having so many different song options. I have only rode it once...gives me reason to ride it more times in a row in October!!!