No American institution is as revered and scorned as Walt Disney World, Central Florida’s epicentre of childhood fantasy and fanny-pack. Its intricacies are no less interesting, whether you love it or hate it.
We love to share Disney trivia, not just out of affection, but because some of these items are interesting, amazing, or utterly bizarre. Take it from a Disneyphile. To get you through a short road trip or a long line at Space Mountain, here are a couple of my favorite little-known factoids from Walt Disney World.
Castle Cinderella is virtually bare
Just a restaurant, a gift shop, and the ghost of Walt Disney’s would-be apartment are in the most famous amusement park building on the world. In the castle plan, designers designed an apartment for Walt, but he died before its completion. The room later became a hotel room, which is practically impossible to stay in for a night, unless you win one.
Even made of fiberglass, the castle
The Florida housing bubble was brutal already, but the storm really weathered the Cinderella castle. Even, Cinderella Castle, in the hierarchy of fairy tale homes, comes somewhere above the straw of the Three Little Pigs and sticks to the buildings, just below the brick tower.
Disney World is the size of two Manhattans or San Francisco
But for fewer hipsters and less expensive rent. As protected property, a third of its 40 square miles are reserved.
We bet you are gonna like this, Star Wars fans, Disney built a StarWars themed hotel, see…
On opening day, admission was a whopping $3.50 (about $21 now)
Have you got $3.50 now in your wallet? Oh, congratulations! At Disney World, you can now buy a bottle of water. But not Smart Water, for that, there’s an up-charge. Nowadays, depending on the park you are visiting, a one-day ticket can cost you $102 or $109. For an extra charge of around $60, you can go to several parks or buy multi-day tickets for a reduced price. Which is also not inexpensive, FYI.
EPCOT is an acronym and a fusion of
According to the true Disney nerds, EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Society of Tomorrow, and it was originally intended to be a living, functioning city of the future. This would have been your chance if you had ever wanted to exist in a Ray Bradbury book. Unfortunately, the initial design was derailed by Walt’s death.
There is a myth, however, about the strange genesis of the park. Imagineers were not able to distinguish between the idea of the future or the concept of the world showcase. Supposedly, the clever idea of one Imagineer was to just bring the two tables together with the different park models on them, turning them into one mega park.
Disney World is practically a self-governing city of its own
Walt wanted to achieve some freedom from the counties that his land straddled in order to make EPCOT its own real city. He successfully petitioned the state legislature of Florida to establish the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which would grant self-governance within its boundaries to the Walt Disney Company. This led to the development of the cities that are part of the RCID, Bay Lake, and Reedy Creek (now Lake Buena Vista).
All of this is legal and very confusing, and the article on Wikipedia does a much better job of describing how it all went down, but all you need to know is that Walt didn’t mess around.
The biggest single-site employer in the US, Disney World
And the staff are not only named staff—they’re cast members. There are actually a lot of them sleeping together. And they will possibly tell you in 14 languages where the bathroom is. And don’t ask for freebies from them.
The Haunted Mansion isn’t the only haunted location
The ride is reportedly haunted by the true ghost (not a typo) of a worker who died during the construction of The Pirates of the Caribbean. And that one tourist’s finger is possible, for that matter, wandering around like Cousin It.
Intrepid explorers have burst into the deserted water park and island of Disney
If there were ever a microbial disease bastion, it would sound a lot like an “abandoned water park and island.” We don’t encourage you to go exploring (unless you’re into brain-eating amoeba), but you can see some pretty cool pictures of your cubicle’s protection.
The brown bricks reflect the poop in Liberty Square
You really wouldn’t think much of it if you just walked through Liberty Square and saw the wavy brown brick pattern under your feet. Oh, but take a second to understand the feeling: it is literally meant to reflect the raw sewage that could be found in Colonial America’s streets. You can not find any toilets in Liberty Square, either, to keep up the historical illusion. Until you ride the Haunted Mansion, certainly do not chug a whole soda.
