[Fun] Random Facts

[999HappyHaunts]

What are some random facts you folks have picked up over the years?

Last trip I found out:

The first orange field in Soarin' is actually an Avacado field because Oranges were out of season when they shot. They had to digitally replace all the avacados.

The helicopter taking off from the aircraft carrier in Soarin' was captured by accident. All day they had been shooting this footage and it was just supposed to be a flyover, but on their last take the Helicopter had to take off for an emergency and they just kept rolling.

When Walt wanted to buy the land for Disneyland the current owners had two conditions: 1. Give our son a job. 2. There are two sets of palm trees that you cannot remove. You can still see these palm trees way above the jungle cruise!

[Bob Weaver]

Re: Random Facts

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland are the only such attractions in the world - no other Disney parks have them.

Space Mountain is actually sunk 17 feet into the ground to make it less imposing and to not compete with the Matterhorn. They excavated 17 feet of ground before building it.

Pirates of the Caribbean was planned as an underground walk-through attraction called Rogue's Gallery. Capacity to move people through it was an issue, but after the success of "it's a small world" at the 1964 World's Fair it was decided to use a similar boat system for the Pirate ride. A tunnel was dug under the park's berm to connect what had already been dug to a new show building outside the berm.

Haunted Mansion was also conceived originally as a walk-through but the same capacity problem changed it. The success of the Omnimover system in Adventure thru Inner Space, where it was called Atommobiles, helped them decide to use the same system in the Haunted Mansion, where it's called the Doom Buggies.

On the opening day of Disneyland, July 17, 1955, (to the press and invited guests), the temperature reached over 100 degrees.

The drawbridge in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle has only been raised twice, once on the televised opening day of the park to the public, and once when Fantasyland was reopened to the public after the 1983 remodeling.

The first person to perform as Tinkerbell and "fly" from the Matterhorn was 71 years old when she first performed it.

Before the Matterhorn was built, it was a dirt pile nicknamed "Holiday Hill" and the dirt came from the excavation for the castle's moat. In the center of it was the central tower for the Skyway. It became notorious as a "makeout spot."

When Dumbo was first built, the elephants were pink, but Walt objected to that based on the analogy to pink elephants, and they were hastily repainted gray.

Kathryn Beaumont provided the voice of Alice in Disney's 1951 film Alice in Wonderland, and also provided Alice's recorded voice in the 1983 remodeling of the Alice ride.

Dallas McKennon provided the voice narration of the Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland and the safety spiel at the beginning of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The building that houses Innoventions has been utilized partially for 5 attractions so far: Carousel of Progress, America Sings, PeopleMover, Rocket Rods and Innoventions.

The Rivers of America water is about 5-6 feet deep at its deepest point.

Mark Twain Steamboat and Sailing Ship Columbia are both guided along the river by an underwater track. The other watercraft (canoes, rafts and the keel boats) float free.

The PeopleMover trains had no motors or propulsion systems. Instead, they were propelled by constantly rotating rubber Goodyear tires embedded every 9 feet in the track.

Walt Disney had a bicycle built for 4 custom-made for the Dapper Dans to ride around in and that bike is still used by them today in the morning hours.

The animals in the Grand Canyon diorama that the railroad goes through are real, taxidermied animals and the diorama is air conditioned for that reason.

At various times there have been a Fantasyland Autopia, Tomorrowland Autopia, Junior Autopia and Midget Autopia.

that's all I can think of now, but there are hundreds more...

[matterhornlove31]

Re: Random Facts

The marker in the center of Sleeping Beauty's castle was NEVER at any point the center of the park. It was a marker for the center of Main Street (for construction purposes). So if you look straight ahead beneath the marker you are looking at directly the center of Main Street.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is often mistaken to be Snow White's Castle because Walt made a slip up once and so most people think that it was suppose to be Snow White's Castle, but it was always meant as Sleeping Beauty's

Opening Day the five was still being built and caused the biggest traffic jam at the time

I hope these are little known facts that one could enjoy

[999HappyHaunts]

Re: Random Facts

Nice Job!

Here are a few more I thought of.

The original queue line and pet cemetary for Haunted Mansion is still intact on the Splash Mtn side of the Mansion. You can ask a Cast Member to take you over there and they will if they aren't busy.

Across the river from the hunting party that jumps out in Jungle Cruise is a hut. This is where Walt's kids used to jump out and scare the bajeezus out of park guests.

Most know that the petrified tree on the ROA was a gift to Lillian, but it was actually just the holder for the real gift. The tree held a precisou stone (I forget what kind) that Walt turned into a necklace for Lilly, she gave the tree to DLand because she didn't want it in her backyard.

The fountains near the Snow White statues and the wishing well were put there to add movemtent and sound to the area because prior to them people thought that this was a memorial for Snow White and the dwarves.

Those same statues of Snow White and the dwarves are actually the same hights which is why Snow White is above them and the other animals were made for it, to create the illusion of her being taller.

I alwasy thought Michael in Tiki Room was supposed to be English, he is actually Irish.

The reason the cast member in the Tiki Room goes over and taps on Jose to start the show was because this used to be the way to signal the cast memebr down below the show. Underneath the floor used to be towers and towers of computers to run the show and they didn't run a start button up until later.

The reason the official name for the Tiki Room is Walt Disney's Enchanted Tkik Room was because Walt persoanlly invested a substantial amount of money into the attraction.

The Tkik Room was supposed to be a dinner show, but two things happened. People wouldn't leave and guests were afraid the bird would poop on them!

Keep em coming!

[dogtherock]

Re: Random Facts

Carousel of Progress was rumored to be Walt's favorite attraction and he never wanted it removed from the park.
Big Thunder Mountain is modeled after southern Utah.
When the submarine voyage was opened mermaids (live actresses) sat on the rocks at certain times during the day. They were removed because of the diesel fumes the subs emitted and because teenage boys kept trying to swim to them.

[Datameister]

Re: Random Facts

Space Mountain is commonly cited as being sunken into the ground, which is true. However, there are a number of other attractions that use the same trick to some degree but don't get as much credit for it. Among these are Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Soarin' over California, It's a Small World, and Splash Mountain.

[sleepyjeff]

Re: Random Facts

One attraction was so popular when it opened that Walt charged more than an E-ticket to see it.


-The Enchanted Tiki Room-

[HiddenMickeyBook]

Re: Random Facts

On the Pirates ride, when you go down the two waterfalls at the beginning of the ride, you are actually at the same level as the Esplanade outside the main gate, not underground. When you walk up Main Street, you are going slightly uphill, and even more so once you get to New Orleans Square.

[Datameister]

Re: Random Facts

Most folks who've spent much time reading/learning/talking about Disneyland online can tell you that the whole park is surrounded by "the berm", a wall of earth that separates onstage from backstage, keeping the magic in and the real world out. But what's not as common knowledge is that there are actually many berms, split up by buildings and whatnot, and they do not encircle the entire park. I believe there are as many as eight individual berms just along the park perimeter alone, and many more within the park that are used for similar purposes.

EDIT: I'm sorry, HiddenMickeyBook, but that's simply not true. Main Street sits at about 136' above sea level. (Ignore the sign on the train station.) This is also true for the backstage ground level, on average. The ground of New Orleans Square is about 138' above sea level, a mere two feet higher. When you walk into Pirates, you go up a slight ramp and then board the boats, which are sitting a few feet lower, down in the flume. By the time you've gone down the first waterfall, you're significantly below the average ground level of the park, and the second waterfall takes you even further down. Most of the bottom half of both show buildings is below ground level.

[matterhornlove31]

Re: Random Facts

There are several common "haunted" disneyland stories, but one of the most popular is the boy in the red hat.
It is said that he appears on his favorite ride, and since there are variations of the story that could either be Haunted Mansion or POTC. It is said that the boy loved (either) ride so much that his mother spread his ashes on said ride(s) and every now and then he appears on the cameras.

Another common one is that there is a basketball court in the Matterhorn

Opening Day had horrid reviews because of all the malfunctions and Walt didn't even realize the bad press until the day after because he was so busy going to and fro in the park

The Jungle Cruise wasn't always full of puns, but a more dramatic ride

[kristibaer]

Re: Random Facts

There are several common "haunted" disneyland stories, but one of the most popular is the boy in the red hat.
It is said that he appears on his favorite ride, and since there are variations of the story that could either be Haunted Mansion or POTC. It is said that the boy loved (either) ride so much that his mother spread his ashes on said ride(s) and every now and then he appears on the cameras.

Another common one is that there is a basketball court in the Matterhorn

Opening Day had horrid reviews because of all the malfunctions and Walt didn't even realize the bad press until the day after because he was so busy going to and fro in the park

The Jungle Cruise wasn't always full of puns, but a more dramatic ride

His name is Timmy and he especially loves to mess with females!

[999HappyHaunts]

Re: Random Facts

There are several common "haunted" disneyland stories, but one of the most popular is the boy in the red hat.
It is said that he appears on his favorite ride, and since there are variations of the story that could either be Haunted Mansion or POTC. It is said that the boy loved (either) ride so much that his mother spread his ashes on said ride(s) and every now and then he appears on the cameras.

Another common one is that there is a basketball court in the Matterhorn

Opening Day had horrid reviews because of all the malfunctions and Walt didn't even realize the bad press until the day after because he was so busy going to and fro in the park

The Jungle Cruise wasn't always full of puns, but a more dramatic ride

I heard a different version of the Red Hat boy story. I heard he was in Fantasyland and he looks like he is carrying something.

And of course there is Dolly on the Matterhorn, to mom that stood up and lost her noggin.

I spoke with a custodian one night while in line for the Matterhorn. She overheard me talking about Dolly. She swore up and down that there is a ghost leaving nickles around the park. She will clean out an area, make it spotless and then turn around and find a nickle right in the open.

[kristibaer]

Re: Random Facts

There are several common "haunted" disneyland stories, but one of the most popular is the boy in the red hat.
It is said that he appears on his favorite ride, and since there are variations of the story that could either be Haunted Mansion or POTC. It is said that the boy loved (either) ride so much that his mother spread his ashes on said ride(s) and every now and then he appears on the cameras.

Another common one is that there is a basketball court in the Matterhorn

Opening Day had horrid reviews because of all the malfunctions and Walt didn't even realize the bad press until the day after because he was so busy going to and fro in the park

The Jungle Cruise wasn't always full of puns, but a more dramatic ride

Opening day was filled with problems. One biggie was plumbing issues and Walt had to choose between water fountains or toilets working. He opted for toilets and served free Pepsi that day (it was REALLY hot that day)!

[999HappyHaunts]

Re: Random Facts

Sightlines are hugely important Disneyland and World. The color of Big Thunder in WDW and DLR are different. In WDW you can see it from Fantasyland so it is more pink so that it looks like Candy Mountain. In DLR it is sunk into the ground so that you cannot see it from other lands. (I think I have that right, it may be the other way around...)

The there are two animatronics from America Sings! that are not in Spalsh, they are in the Star Tours queue!

One of my favorites: Just outside the candy shop on Main Street, where you can watch them make the candy, look down and you will see a vent. This vent is pushing out the air from the candy room to entice you to come in and buy some. It gets me EVERY time!

If you haven't ever waiting for someone by the lockers on Main Street stroll over there and listen. You will hear two istinct conversations coming from the upper windows.

[GummiBears_Rock]

Re: Random Facts

Fun Facts of Disney

i spent hours on this thing back in august
it literally has hundreds of secrets

[Datameister]

Re: Random Facts

Fun Facts of Disney

i spent hours on this thing back in august
it literally has hundreds of secrets

But beware that many of those are no more factual than the stories told in the park's many attractions...

[matterhornlove31]

Re: Random Facts

I have a lot of opening day facts because my girlfriend did a presentation in her speech class about Disneyland's opening day and I helped her research it. We found so many interesting things. For instance:

Women's stilleto's were being left behind because they were getting stuck to the concrete on Main Street (due to the immense heat)

I think it's the first five lines of Walt's opening day speech are in Morse code when you wait for the train over in NOS

[999HappyHaunts]

Re: Random Facts

I have a lot of opening day facts because my girlfriend did a presentation in her speech class about Disneyland's opening day and I helped her research it. We found so many interesting things. For instance:

Women's stilleto's were being left behind because they were getting stuck to the concrete on Main Street (due to the immense heat)

I think it's the first five lines of Walt's opening day speech are in Morse code when you wait for the train over in NOS

The best part about the ladies in heels is that the only place to buy shoes in the park on opening day was the indian village, they had moccasins. To get to the village you had to go through Frontierland which was a dirt path, the dirt got kicked up so much that they had to spray it down so people could breathe... So in order to go get new shoes the ladies had to walk through mud!

The Morse code is the opening day speech, but it didn't used to be. It used to be how they kept the trains on schedule before phones and computers. They had two operators communicating when the trains arrived and left. The problem was that they got bored and started to send messages about guests and cast memebers figuring that no one could translate Morse code. One person could... Lilly Disney. They were replaced with the recording and computers.

[dead_Mau5]

Re: Random Facts

There is a basketball hoop within Matterhorn not a basketball court as it is often believed.When the attraction was being constructed, Californian law proclaimed a complex of its size could only be governmental or sports-related. Disney later worked around this roadblock in court. The basketball hoop was installed as a reminder of this event.

[DisneyIzz]

Re: Random Facts

Another thing about Opening Day - the freshly poured asphalt was so wet on Main Street that many women got their high-heeled shoes stuck in it!

[Edit: just realised someone posted this a few minutes ago just above! my bad!! ]