Ever since Walt Disney World opened in Florida in 1971, it has become one of the biggest institutions in America. However, Disney’s enormous success was no accident. The park had such a great success because it made a great deal out of visitors’ experiences, besides, of course, a little bit of pixie dust.
Even so, when your resort welcomes millions of guests every year, there are many experiences you need to learn how to handle. There are many things going on behind the scenes, starting from all the hidden underground tunnels, to its 30,000 guest rooms. Here are a couple of interesting things we thought you might enjoy reading about:
Walt Disney World needs more employees than any other Disney park combined
If someone would app up the number of employees at any other Disney property around the world – Disneyland Resort in California, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai Disney Resort, it would still require around 5,000 folks to complete the total number of 70,000 people who work at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Even more, each of these employees, from their costumed princesses to their front-desk clerks, are nicely referred to as “cast members”. With that many people working there, Walt Disney World is the biggest single-site employer in the whole United States.
There’s no structure taller than 200 feet at Disney World
The famous Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has 199 feet tall. There’s no coincidence in there. Buildings taller than 200 feet are asked to flash aviation lights. Naturally, that would ruin some of the magic.
Admission used to cost the same as a bottle of water does today
When Disney’s Magic Kingdom opened for the first time in October 1971, the admission price for guests was only $3.50, which is a bottle of Dasani at Disney in 2022 (but adjusted for inflation, which was around $21). Unfortunately, prices went all the way up, and a one-day pass is now around $109.
Disney World has a top-secret underground trash system
In order to remove the trash from the park, Disney World needs an automated vacuum collection system that works in the majority of the park’s vast underground utilidors, but also underground tunnels.
To use that system, custodians need to remove trash and then dump it into special processors. And from there, it is carried underground and carried along at 60 miles per hour to another central location where it’s processed, compressed, and then transferred to a landfill or recycling center.
There’s a whole other world of tunnels below guests’ feet
Besides the AVAC system, Disney’s utilidors are also seen as home by a gigantic network of underground tunnels that help cast members to smoothly navigate the park. All the tunnel walls are nicely color-coded, so the cast members will easily know where they are.
If they go in the wrong direction, that’s fine, because they also have a golf cart-like battery-operated vehicle (even if an ambulance might drive through the utilidor system in case of any emergency). Guests on the Keys in the Kingdom tour might be the only ones permitted in the tunnels.
The Disney World Railroad still uses an old train from the 1910s
The Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom is an amazing place to take pictures, but it’s also worth mentioning that it’s a fully functional steam-powered train that carries around 1.5 million passengers a year. The four trains were initially built between 1916 and 1928, and they have been restored to run in great shape.
Epcot was initially intended to be a model community
Walt Disney had all kinds of plans for Disney World, and one of them included creating a controlled community at Epcot, which comes from the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
The dystopian plan was to select 20,000 people to live in the city, which would have all kinds of shopping areas, residential properties, theaters, restaurants, and even a climate-controlled setting. However, after Disney passed away, the project was seen as unrealistic, and it was rapidly scrapped.
The American flags at Disney World are 100% fake
As real American flags have to follow the national flag code, like flying at half-mast during times of grief, the ones that are at Disney were purposely made to miss a stripe or a star. The park didn’t have the worry about any flag etiquette, as the flags are, in theory, pennants.
There’s a good reason why rainwater never falls off the famous Epcot Spaceship Earth
Epcot’s famous Spaceship Earth was made in such a way that when the weather is strange, no water ever pours off the 16-million-ton sphere. However, the water travels through a passage and then gets funneled into the park’s World Showcase Lagoon.
Dinsey World has probably one of the tallest fountains in the entire world
The fountain from Epcot Innoventions Plaza can easily shoot water 150 feet in the air. It’s famously known as the tallest fountain in the world, which can be found in Busan, South Korea, and shoots only 30 feet higher. If the Innoventions fountain would, by any chance, release all of its shooters at once, it might emit 2,000 gallons of water.
Cinderella Castle can easily withstand anything Mother Nature might throw at it
I think we can all agree that the Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom is simply breathtaking. However, looks can be deceiving, as the castle seems more like a fortress. Even if the exterior seems to be made of stone, the building’s shell is actually fiberglass. That’s mainly because the dreamy home was originally built to withstand hurricanes, and can easily fend off winds as high as 125 miles per hour.
You’re never too far from a trash can
Disney really planned everything in detail – including how irritating it is to have to carry around the garbage. In order to keep their guests as happy as possible, each space was made in such a way that the visitors are never too far from a trash can.
It would require decades to stay in all the rooms at Disney World
Even if you’d stay in one guest room every night, you would need 68 years to stay in all 30,000 rooms at the Disney World hotels and resorts.
Mickey Mouse has more outfits than any of your fashion-forward friends
The famous style icon Mickey Mouse has more clothes in his closet than you could ever imagine. As a matter of fact, he has 136 different outfits, including a nice tuxedo and a scuba suit (what for, we’ll never know). Minnie’s collection is a bit smaller than his, as she has only 100 outfits.
Over 1.65 million sunglasses have been lost by now at Disney World since it first opened
Did you know that more than 210 pairs of sunglasses are lost at Disney World every day? The lost and found department collects around 6,000 cell phones, 3,500 cameras, and 18,000 hats every year.
Disney world visitors LOVE soda
Every year, guests buy over 75 million Coca-Cola beverages. That’s usually compared to only 13 million bottles of water. Well, hydration is important, folks!
You have the option of taking a private tour of the Animal Kingdom at night
Not all the creatures in Disney’s Animal Kingdom feel good in the sunlight. If you want to spot the park’s nocturnal animals, you have to go on a thrilling nighttime safari. Besides a trek through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, the experience might also include a meal of African-inspired dishes, alongside regional beer and wine.
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1 thought on “17 Disney World Hacks Only Employees Know”
He sure made a lot of money with that rat!!!!!!!!!!!