MAGIC KINGDOM
Liberty Square
The colored concrete is indicative of the old time drains (there are NO restrooms within Liberty Square boundaries since they had no restrooms in that time period! The only ones you can find there are inside buildings, and they go so far back in the buildings that they are actually outside of Liberty Square proper!). The CM’s wearing the longer dresses would have been the servants where the short
dressed women were usually the woman of the house.
The addresses on the doors are all two numbers. If you put 18 in front of it, that is the style of door that they would have had for that year. As
you walk along, you can see the progression of the style. From the windows to the hardware to the door and window styles themselves.
Liberty Square was supposed to represent the East Coast of the United States all the way across to the Train station behind splash Mountain
which was to represent the West Coast of the United States. The 17th-century mansion of master Gracie is supposedly on the Hudson River.
The Hall of Presidents is supposed to represent Pennsylvania. I think the river for the paddle boat was supposed to be on the Mississippi.
The diamond horseshoe is at the gateway to the west, St. Louis MO. The old wooden cottage of the Country Bear Jamboree symbolically
represents Colorado. Big Thunder Mountain and the tiny town of Tumbleweed were near Monument Valley, MT., and lastly, the train
stopped in Frontierland represented California.
Liberty Square Christmas shop: It’s actually three separate shops with the walls opened between them. They are supposed to be
owned by three different colonial families–a German family, a woodcarver’s family, and a musician’s family.
Liberty Square Christmas shop: Hidden park in Liberty Square in the back of the Christmas Store.
Liberty Square Christmas shop: there is a small tree called the Magical Moments Tree. Every day, one person is chosen to decorate the tree. That person gets a magical moments certificate and a free Christmas ornament. Typically the person chosen is picked early in the day, and is usually a child, but it can happen at any time to a person of any age.
Tug on the Liberty Bell rope
All the shutters on the windows are hanging crooked. This is because in those times leather was used to fasten shutters on and would stretch
over time to hang crooked.
Haunted Mansion: At night, look up at the top story right above the front door. If you watch it for a while you’ll notice a light pass by it and
some shadows, it looks like 2 people are walking by with a lantern.
Haunted Mansion: If you look up at the cemetery gate when you are first going into the cemetery, you can see a paper tag hanging off
of the top-left corner. That is actually the purchase tag that was accidentally left on the gate when it was purchased from a California
manufacturer.
Haunted Mansion: In the graveyard scene, one of the last scenes on the ride, you will find a great hidden mickey. At the end of the room, when the cart begins to turn, look over the right hand side and you’ll see a grim reaper. Look closely at his raised hand, he is holding a hidden ghostly Mickey.
Haunted Mansion: Be among the first to exit for the Doom Buggies by standing on the side with the painting of the lady with the parasol.
After riding the stretching room down, as you walk to the cars, there is a lobby with a desk and lamp. On the desk is a
dictionary that is turned to the word death.
Haunted Mansion: in the ballroom scene, if you look down on the floor of the balcony the doombuggies are traveling on, about halfway through the scene you will see a patch of light and the shadows of two pairs of legs swinging as if there are two people sitting on a ledge above you.
The flag that flies atop of the American Adventure actually has 15 stripes.
There is a silver plate that runs between Liberty Square and Frontierland. This plate represents the Mississippi River, separating the east
from the west, and there is water flowing out from the plate into the Rivers of America.
Hall of Presidents upstairs window facing Haunted Mansion has 2 lanterns lit “one if by land, two if by sea”
Frontierland
At the Frontierland RR Station, look for a wooden leg named Smith. It is a reference to a joke in Mary Poppins. “I knew a man with a
wooden leg named Smith.” “What’s the name of his other leg?”
Look down at the main walkway (which is also the parade route). Instead of just plain cement there’s also and area a couple feet wide that
goes all the way down the walkway and looks like a brownish/yellow gravel. It seems in frontier times the streets had a urine trough in them for the all of the horse urine. The gravel area represents the urine trough.
Big Thunder Mountain: After you exit the ride, and are back outside walking down the exit ramp, look at the rocky wall to your left. You will see a deliberate profile of a hidden Tinkerbell – one of the best hidden characters anywhere in WDW.
Fantasyland
Carousel: Cinderella’s horse is the horse with the gold ribbon tied on its tail.
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: In the first room there is a picture of Mr. Toad handing over the deed to Owl (Pooh ride used to be Mr.
Toads Wild Ride).
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.
Cinderella’s Castle: Inside the walls of the walk-through of the castle are several mosaics. On the mosaic wall farthest from the entrance are the two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drusilla. The mosaic shows one of them with a red face and the other with a green face. Red with Rage and Green with envy!
Tink’s Treasures: Anyone visiting Tinker Bell’s Treasures that wants to can now call Tinker Bell to Fantasyland from Pixie Hollow. Just speak to a Cast Member near the registers closest to Mickey’s Phillharmagic
Peter Pan: Watch when you fly over the Mermaid Lagoon. You can see a mermaid that look remarkably like Ariel from the Little Mermaid.
Adventureland
Pirates of the Caribbean: Always stay in the left hand side of the queue when entering the line for the ride. At random times of day, Jack Sparrow will be in the jail cell on this side, and it makes for a great picture & is good entertainment.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Ask the cast member when you board if they said good morning to George today. George is supposedly a ghost that haunts the ride, and if they don’t greet him everyday, the ride will break down frequently or other strange things will happen.
Main Street USA
When you first enter Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, walk under the train station where the lockers are. Facing Cinderella Castle, look for a door on the right just before you exit from under the station. Open this door and get a look at the Mural on the wall.
Tony’s Town Square: Paw prints of Lady and the Tramp outside of the porch on the sidewalk.
Tony’s Town Square: At the back, there is a beautiful 3-paned dark blue window, through which you can see the shadowy silhouettes of Lady and the
Tramp sharing their late-night meal of spaghetti.
In the Main St. RR Station lower level, up on one of the shelves (Cast members (CM’s) can help you locate it) you can see Aladdin’s lamp
as well as other characters’ belongings waiting to be picked up.
Harmony Barber Shop: This shop is on the left hand side as you walk down mainstreet, and is a little bit hidden. The wait gets very long, so if you want to visit, go early in the day. You can get a haircut, or just get “pixie dusted”. This is especially made into a big deal if it’s a baby’s first haircut as they get a special set of mouse ears and a Magic Certificate.
Tomorrowland
Carousel of Progress: The current voice of the main character you may recognize as the voice of the narrator from “A Christmas Story”.
EPCOT
Futureworld
Spaceship Earth: the scene with the monks writing. One has fallen asleep and has a Mickey shaped ink blob next to him.
World Showcase
The bridge continuing on past France symbolically crosses the English Channel. See if you can find a bike and an easel as if an artist were
coming back to finish a painting of the store across the canal. (Location may change periodically) This is also the location of the rear
entrance (International Gateway) from some of the resorts to Epcot.
Germany: If you know the holiday story about the pickle ornament, find the pickle tree (in a store).
Germany: At the courtyard if you look up towards the back there is a clock. If you are there around the hour, it will ring and a German boy
and girl will come out (they are made our of wood, they are not real) and twirl around.
Morocco: Take a look at all of the mosaic tile artwork on the walls. You will notice that each mosaic has at least one cracked/flawed tile in it.
The Moroccan people worship Allah and believe that only Allah can create something that is “perfect,” so every mosaic was purposely
flawed!
Morocco: There is a “gold” prayer room in Morocco that was included for the CM and is open to the public.
England: The tea shop outside and inside architecture represents UK in the 1600s–thatched roof, huge hearth inside low ceilings, dark lighting even the style floor. The next shop represents the 1700s and has a sign out front that says Est. 1702. It has higher ceilings and basic wrought iron lighting fixtures. If you look at it from the outside, you can see the cantilever build. They threw out the upstairs windows into the drains that ran down the center of the streets. Just another reason gentlemen walked nearer the road and wore large brimmed hats while ladies walked very near the bldgs. The next building is 1800s neoclassical. See the window styles and even how ornate the window coverings and lighting are? Look up at the ceiling and how it is painted. As you exit that shop, look to your right. There is a whole other building over there, and it is in the same 1800s time frame to stay in sync. Look at the rooftops. See the Mary Poppins style chimneys?
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Singing in the Rain Umbrella: Near Lights Motor Action at the end of NY Street.
Going into the Great Movie Ride, the lions at the front are not really lions. They are dogs! And the female has a baby whatever-it-is under her paw
If you exit the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular theater from the far right-side stairway (as you face the stage) pay attention as you go onto
the landings, look for the hand of a CM rising above the railing holding the golden idol from the show’s Mayan (or South American in the
movie version) temple. The idea is to pat the head of the idol as you go past.
While facing the entrance of IJSS, look to the left. There’s a display of Indiana Jones props. There’s a rope that says “do not pull”. Pull the rope and listen.
Muppetvision 3D. Right after you walk in the building on the right you will see and window that has a sign hanging “Be back in 5 minutes, Key is under the mat”. Check under the mat and there really is a key.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
I usually enter it by the It’s tough to be a bug fastpass distriubution. you go in the area where the machines are, all the way to the right. it
looks like it could be a queue line for ITTBAB, but it’s the path.
Check out the pathways between Africa and Asia for Devine
On the path, as you walk to get to the FOLK, there is a bridge that you walk over. On the right side of the bridge, if you look over the side to
the left, you will see what appears to be a Dragon Waterfall (the sole surviving hint of Beastly Kingdom).
At the Tusker House Restaurant you can hear kitchen noises if you sit in the outside dining area.
GENERAL
Ask for a list of Hidden Mickey’s from Guest Relations and/or pins including: “Just Married, Happy Birthday, First Visit, Happy Anniversary, Happily Ever After, I’m Celebrating, My Magical Triumph, Family Reunion” and “Honorary Citizen” pins. Coming next year is “Honorary VoluntEAR”
DOWNTOWN DISNEY
Downtown Disney, Art of Disney Store – The Art of Disney Store runs a trivia quiz daily with prizes.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with August 15 to October 15 considered to be Peak Hurricane Activity.
Quietest times to visit - January after New Year; First half of February; September after Labor Day; October; November up until Thanksgiving week.
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