Almost every Walt Disney World Resort hotel has a guest elevator somewhere, but did you know that some of them are fake? Here’s why two Deluxe Disney Resort hotels installed non-functional elevator doors in their lobbies.
Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts opened days apart from each other in November 1990. These luxurious sister resorts are located within walking distance from EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, though boat transportation is also available. The nautical Disney Resort hotels invite guests for a serene waterside stay amid the hustle and bustle of the Central Florida Disney parks.
On May 17, Redditor u/pHpositive shared a puzzling photo from the lobby of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The elevator bay and the surrounding lobby area seem normal at first. However, upon closer inspection, one of the sets of golden elevator doors has an open room behind it; there’s clearly no elevator shaft or functional lift system.
Yacht Club elevator
“I’ve heard different reasons for not having a 4th elevator,” the Disney Parks fan wrote. “But the imagineers thought that only having 3 sets of doors looked unbalanced. So the one set of doors is fake and has a small room behind it that had pay phones at one time.”
Because Walt Disney Imagineers designed the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts as sisters, they share several design similarities, including the non-functional elevator.
“The same is true on the Beach club side as well,” u/SnifferHusky wrote. “It’s only 3 elevators, but 4 door sets.”
Some Disney Parks fans never noticed the faux elevator–a testament to Walt Disney Imagineering’s clever planning.
“I cant believe I never noticed this!” said u/runnamuck_rapist.
“Huh. Stayed there many times and never noticed,” u/ct06040 replied. “Wild!”
While Walt Disney World Resort has never publicly explained the mysterious faux elevator doors, it is likely that the Disney Resort hotel buildings couldn’t accommodate a fourth elevator shaft. As the Disney Parks fan noted earlier, Walt Disney Imagineers value balance in design, and installed the fake doors to make the room look more complete.
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