Top 10 Little Known Facts About Walt Disney World

When you become completely obsessed with Disney and go as often as I am blessed enough to go, you learn some things along the way. There are so many little facts and secrets about the Parks, but these are simply ten that I feel are particularly interesting, weird or just plain cool.

10. Tram

The tram is the second fastest ride in Hollywood studios. I was told this by a tram cast member many years ago. The first fastest is obviously Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. (Toy Story Mania can certainly whip you around but I’m not sure how fast it goes!) The tram is by no means a thrill ride, but it is certainly impressive.

9. World Showcase

There is room for several more countries in the World Showcase. This part of Epcot seems pretty cramped as it is, but there’s actually a lot more room. Disney Imagineers left extra space when designing this part of the park so that they could expand in the future. No word yet if that will become a reality, but at least it’s a possibility!

8. Main Street

The windows on Main Street have the names of important people in Disney history on them. The seemingly obscure names above the shops on the famous street actually have great meaning. One label is for Elias Disney Contractor, which is the name of Walt’s father and is his middle name. Main Street is also meant to replicate Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri.

7. Name

Walt Disney World was originally just “Disneyworld,” like “Disneyland.” When Walt died after a battle with lung cancer, his brother, Roy, was left to be chairman, CEO, and president of the company. One of the first things he did with his new authority was to change the name of the parks so that Walt’s vision would always be remembered as his.

6. Benches

The benches in Animal Kingdom are all made from recycled milk jugs. Disney has always been committed to conservation and this is extremely true in Animal Kingdom. This park has an entire section dedicated to the important subject and even uses paper straws for the protection of their animals. But even the benches have been crafted with recycled care. I understand that some benches are wooden, but the fun, multicolored, animal-carved benches are 100% environmentally friendly.

5. Parking Lot

All of Disneyland can fit into Magic Kingdom’s parking lot. Disney World is undeniably bigger than Disneyland, but sometimes it’s hard to put into perspective just how much. Not including California Adventure, the entire Disneyland Park fits in the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot with some room to spare. Disneyland just does not feel that small when you’re there. However, Magic Kingdom’s parking lot can certainly feel that big at the end of a long, hot day in the park!

4. Second Floor

Magic Kingdom is actually on the second floor of WDW. This one might be a little better known for those who have done the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Beneath the Park is a tunnel system that allows travel to happen unnoticed. Walt wanted these underground tunnels so that characters could travel around the park without being seen out of place by guests in other lands. He didn’t want Belle walking through Tomorrowland simply to get to Fantasyland and confusing people. The tunnels fixed this problem.

3. Bathroom Doors

Animal Kingdom is the only park to have doors with locks on all its bathrooms. That seems kind of weird, right? The reason is for security. In an emergency event that the animals get loose and run rampant, guests are to hide in the bathrooms with the door closed and locked. Thankfully, I don’t think those doors have ever needed use, but it’s nice to know the precaution is there.

2. The Seas

The aquarium in The Seas with Nemo and Friends is large enough for Spaceship Earth to comfortably fit inside. The great globe is 180 ft. high and 165 ft. in diameter. This goes to show just how massive the tank is, even if it doesn’t seem that large when you’re watching the dolphins. The tank itself actually holds 5.7-million-gallons of saltwater providing a wonderful home to over 6,000 sea creatures.

1. Popcorn

5.2 million bags of popcorn are served each year at Walt Disney World. That’s almost 345,000 pounds. I don’t know whether this fact is incredibly interesting or incredibly disturbing. I read somewhere that this would be enough popcorn to fill Space Mountain from floor to ceiling, but I can’t verify it, unfortunately.