11 Overlooked Details at Walt Disney World- You Won’t Believe These Hidden Secrets!

One thing that makes Disney Theme Parks stand out from others is the attention to detail. Disney Imagineers not only spend an enormous amount of time making sure that things are as accurate as possible, but they also take the time to add in extra details all over the parks. These details sometimes add to the storytelling, are fun things for the Guests to find, or are direct references to parts of Disney’s past.

More often than not, these details are extremely inconspicuous. The average park goer generally walks right past them without noticing a thing. However, it’s these tiny “in the know” secrets and extra additions that add an extra bit of magic to the Disney experience.

Today, we’re going to take a look at 11 details at Walt Disney World that are often overlooked. Follow along to learn what these details are and how you can see them for yourself the next time you’re at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

1. N*SYNC is at EPCOT

In 1999, Disney launched a program in EPCOT that allowed guests to leave their legacy at the park. From 1999 through 2007, Guests had the opportunity to have their picture etched into steel tiles. Originally, these steel tiles were displayed on granite monoliths at the entrance of the park. However, in 2019, Disney began removing these.

In 2021, a new Leave a Legacy display was revealed. Instead of being displayed on monoliths, the etched images were arranged on a display of colorful panels.

These panels are filled with images of over 550,000 Guests. Do you know anyone with their picture on the Leave a Legacy display? Chances are, you know at least five!

On one of these panels, you can find all five members of N*SYNC. In order to see them, you’ll need to look at Panel 007. Starting at Row 68, the images of the musicians will be located in a vertical line going down the center of the panel.

2. Ariel's Hazardous Role in the Fantasmic! Finale

Fantasmic! is one of the best nighttime spectaculars at Walt Disney World. At the end of this amazing show, there is a beautiful finale scene that features a wide variety of costumed Disney characters. While many of them can frequently be seen throughout the parks, quite a few of them are very rare – including Steamboat Willie!

All of these characters parade and perform on a steamboat as it cruises around the moat. However, as the show comes to an end, the characters make their way inside the boat, because its path goes directly through a firework fallout area.

This, of course, is necessary for the safety of the performers. However, if you pay close attention, you may notice that not every character goes inside. Ariel, who is in her mermaid form, actually stays on the top level of the boat.

Due to her fin, there is no possible way for her to go down the stairs to get to the inside portion of the boat. It’s also not a plausible option for her to be carried down due to her safety restraints. It would also put herself and other performers at risk if she were to be carried down the stairs in the dark.

Instead, she stays seated in the same spot for the entirety of the boat sequence. When the boat nears the firework fallout area and the other characters make their descent into the boat, Ariel is protected. Before Prince Eric leaves, he covers Ariel up with a fireproof blanket to protect her from the debris.

This Fantasmic! Ariel is the second highest paid performer at Walt Disney World due to the hazard pay that she receives. The highest paid performer is the Tinker Bell that takes flight during the fireworks shows at Magic Kingdom.

3. Carousel of Easter Eggs

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In the final scene of Carousel of Progress, there are multiple nods to Walt Disney World’s past. All of these were added to the attraction in 2022, when the characters received an updated wardrobe.

If you take a look at their footwear, the brother and sister, James and Patricia, are wearing matching Christmas slippers. On these slippers is an image of a reindeer. However, this is no ordinary reindeer. Some may recognize this as being a “Silly Reindeer”. Back in the day, these silly reindeer were the ones that were featured in the Christmas parade and guided Santa's sleigh!

Not only do James’ and Patricia’s slippers refer back to Disney’s past, their shirts do too! On the corner of James’ shirt, we can see a unique logo. This is actually made up of a combination of logos that were designed for Walt Disney’s Mineral King Ski Resort. Mineral King was an Alpine-themed ski resort that included 22 ski lifts with gondolas and a lavish five-story hotel. The hotel had a movie theater, general store, pools, ice rinks, tennis courts, a golf course, restaurants, and cafes. The resort would also feature a new show that had singing animatronic bears. (Sound familiar?)

Mineral King Ski Resort never came to be, but the singing animatronic bear show did! This show eventually turned into Country Bear Jamboree and it even features a shout out to the ski resort! During the show, you’ll hear the introduction, “Our next performer used to play with the Mineral Kings”.

Patricia is now sporting a hoodie that reads “Progress Tech”. This references both the Carousel of Progress and Progress City – Walt’s idea of a futuristic living community and the original concept for EPCOT. A portion of the Progress City model can be seen on display on the PeopleMover in Magic Kingdom. This, however, is just a small portion. The entire model was much larger and took up the entire upper level of the Carousel of Progress when it was located in Disneyland.

Over in the kitchen, we see the father, John, wearing an apron that reads “My Food Rocks”. This is a reference to a previous EPCOT attraction called Food Rocks. Located in The Land pavilion, Food Rocks was an audio-animatronic stage show that featured food with human characteristics. The show was intended to encourage Guests to make healthier eating choices. This message was displayed through a variety of songs that were parodies of popular songs that were sang by famous singers.

4. American History

When Walt was designing Disneyland, he wanted a portion of the park to be a place where Guests could be educated about the founding of America. Liberty Street and Edison Square were both American history-inspired areas of the park that were planned out, but never came to light.

Because of this, after Walt’s passing, it was decided that Liberty Square would be a part of Walt Disney World. Here you’ll find a replica of the Liberty Bell and the Liberty Tree. There are also multiple dining locations, the Liberty Square Riverboat, and The Hall of Presidents.

It’s often thought that The Hall of Presidents derived from Walt’s previous project, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. However, it actually stemmed from an idea that he had for his patriotic portion of Disneyland. At Disneyland, he planned on having an exhibit called One Nation Under God, which would house wax figures of all of the U.S. Presidents. However, he then thought that it would be better if they all moved. Unfortunately though, Walt was ahead of his time for this technological idea.

Watch Where You Step!

One detail that you may not notice at Liberty Square is located right under your feet. When looking at the ground, you’ll see that Liberty Square is filled with red concrete that has a strip of brown concrete running through the center. This brown strip is a reference to 18th Century America’s lack of plumbing. During that time, everyone would throw their waste, scraps, and trash into the middle of the street, causing a stream of disgusting sludge. The brown strip on the ground of Liberty Square is meant to represent that stream of waste. Keeping with that thought, you may also notice that there isn’t a specific public restroom located in Liberty Square, apart from the ones in the restaurants. It’s thought that this lack of public restrooms was intentional in order to keep with the theme.

5. Important Country Bear Dates

In the queue of the newly-refurbished Country Bear Musical Jamboree, there is a display case that’s filled with many of the Country Bears musical accomplishments. At the bottom of this case, is a large amount of fan mail. Every letter is addressed to the Country Bears, has a postage stamp, and is stamped with a postmark.

Pay close attention to these postmarks. There are three different ones. One reads, “Frontierland – Oct. 1, 1971”, which is the opening date of Country Bear Jamboree at Walt Disney World. Another reads, “Bear Country – Mar. 24, 1972” – the date that Country Bear Jamboree opened at Disneyland. The final postmark reads, “Westernland – Apr. 15, 1983”, which is the opening date of Country Bear Jamboree at Tokyo Disneyland.

6. Buenos Días, Señorita

To begin the show at Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, a Cast Member must wake up José. After he wakes up, the first thing he says is, “Buenos días, señorita”, which translates to “Good morning, miss”. While this may seem perfectly normal, this is what José always says. For those who catch what he’s saying, it may seem odd when he responds this way to a male Cast Member.

The reason this happens, is because the entire audio portion of the Enchanted Tiki Room is pre-recorded. Furthermore, the same original audio that was made for Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room in 1963 is what's still being used in the Magic Kingdom version.

However, this still doesn’t explain why José only addresses señoritas when he wakes up. He does this because when Enchanted Tiki Room originally debuted, only female Cast Members worked at the attraction. Therefore, José could always say “señorita” and be correct, since he was only ever speaking to women.

Today, both male and female Cast Members work at the attraction. However, the audio has stayed the same. Sometimes you may catch a male Cast Member responding to José saying something like, “Hey! Don’t call me that!” However, most of the time, José speaks his line unnoticed and the show goes on.

7. Restroom Doors

Have you ever noticed that there are no doors on any of the restrooms at the Walt Disney World theme parks? Of course, I don’t mean the stalls. I’m speaking in regard to the main entrance of the restroom. You simply walk in and out of the restrooms freely without the use of a door.

This is true for all of the parks except for Animal Kingdom. At Animal Kingdom, there are doors that you need to pass through in order to get in and out of the restrooms. Why? As a precautionary measure!

The restrooms at Animal Kingdom are designed like this as a safety tool in case there was ever an instance where one of the wild animals escaped. In the event that there was an escape, Cast Members would be able to direct Guests into the restrooms, shut the doors, and lock them – providing a safe space for Guests to wait until the animal is contained.

This isn’t something that Disney actually anticipates happening, and has never happened in the past. All of the animal enclosures at Animal Kingdom are designed in such a way that they are physically inescapable. However, it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry!

8. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea References

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage was a submarine ride located in Fantasyland from 1971 to 1994. Based on the live-action movie of the same name, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a popular ride among Guests, but essentially a money pit for the company. Today, nods to the now-extinct, fan-favorite Magic Kingdom attraction can still be found throughout the park.

When 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea closed, it went through a variety of changes. After sitting untouched for quite some time, it was then used as a scenic expansion for Ariel’s Grotto. For a moment, the queue area was also used as a place to meet characters from Winnie the Pooh, since it was located directly across from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. After the ride was completely demolished and filled in, it turned into a children’s play area called Pooh’s Playful Spot. Today, it is the home of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Spot the References to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

As I mentioned, there are multiple nods to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the park today. One of them can be found at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. In front of the attraction, you’ll see Pooh’s tree. This tree used to be located in Pooh’s Playful Spot. However, it was relocated to the front of the ride after the play area closed down to make way for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. If you take a look inside of the tree, pay attention to the grain of wood. One of the knots in the wood is shaped perfectly like a Nautilus – the submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Another Nautilus can be found at Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. There’s a small lagoon located within the queue of the ride. If you look carefully at the rockwork surrounding the lagoon, you’ll be able to see the shape of a Nautilus! In the same lagoon, there is of course also some water. Before 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was drained for demolition, a bottle of its water was preserved. This same bottle of water was dumped into the lagoon at Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid when it opened up.

Across from this Little Mermaid attraction, you can find two more nods to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Located at the corner of the building is a DVC informational area. On the outside of this portion of the building, there’s a sign that reads “H. Goff Cartography”. H. Goff stands for Harper Goff, who was a Disney Imagineer. Goff had a big part in working on the storyboards for the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea live action movie. He also created the design sketches of the Nautilus ride vehicles for the Disney World attraction.

At this same building, make sure you look up! On top of the building is a weather vane that features the legendary giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

9. Pirates Rock

On the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Walt Disney World, there are multiple spots where the rockwork plays a clever trick of the eye and creates an actual image. At both of these locations, the image is a skull. While the rocks look completely normal and natural, when you are standing and looking (or riding past) at a certain angle, the rocks align perfectly to create a skull.

The first one is located outside of the attraction. To the left of the entrance, there is a mast and cannon stuck in a pile of sand and rocks. These are the rocks that you want to pay attention to. Take a good look at them as you walk past them towards the attraction. As you progress, they’ll line up and you’ll be able to see the skull.

The same thing happens while you’re on the ride. As your boat is sailing into the caves, there is a portion where the rocks will line up perfectly as you sail by. Again, you’ll want to keep your attention to your left hand side.

Once you see these formations, it’s going to be hard for you to unsee them!

10. Only One American Flag is Lowered During the Flag Retreat

As soon as you enter Magic Kingdom, you’ll see an American flag located in Main Street U.S.A.’s town square. Each morning this flag is raised and each evening it’s lowered during a special Flag Retreat ceremony.

As you look down Main Street, you may notice that this small town road is lined with American flags. However, these flags are not lowered each day like the large one in the town square. According to traditional flag display guidelines, American flags are only to be displayed in public from sunrise to sunset. Afterwards, it must either be illuminated during darkness or properly lowered.

Disney would surely never so blatantly violate these American standards. How is it that they can get away with not following flag guidelines for the American flags on Main Street? And why don’t they?

Many argue that these flags aren’t real. However, the better answer is that these flags aren’t accurate. While official American flags have 5o stars and 13 stripes, the flags that are displayed on Main Street do not. The exact number seems to vary, but these flags do not have the correct number of stars and stripes, making them unofficial American flags. They can also be referred to as pennants.

Because of these inaccuracies, Disney is not legally required to take these flags down or illuminate them in darkness.

11. These Details Are No Joke – Waka! Waka!

There are some fun details in the queue of Muppet*Vision 3D that most Guests miss. In reality, these details are often passed by (literally), because they’re in an area the Guests are generally never directed to – the extended queue.

Normally, if you’re wanting to catch a show full of jokes, puns, and Muppet nonsense, you can walk right into the pre-show area. It’s very rare for a line to extend out the door, let alone to the extended queue area. If you’re not sure where the extended queue is, it’s the green covered shelter that’s located directly to the right of the Muppet*Vision 3D entrance.

To catch a glimpse of some fun little details, walk over to this area and take a look around. In this area, everything has been Muppet-fied! An extra layer of fun was added to this area of the queue by adding eyes, fur, mouths, and more to simple things such as light fixtures, speakers, pipes, vents, and more! Not only that, the light fixtures are all wearing a pair of the same 3D glasses that you’ll be wearing while you watch the show!

Another Muppet*Vision 3D detail that is often missed is a hidden key. As you walk through the entrance, there is a “Security Booth” located on the right hand side. On the window of the booth, there’s a sign that reads, “Back in 5 min – Key Under the Mat”. If you look down, there’s actually a mat! Go ahead and lift the mat up. Just as the sign said, there’s a key underneath!

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