Disneyland has lots of secrets. Quite possibly they are not so secret anymore. Especially with cell phone’s, cameras and social media out there. I don’t think you can keep anything a secret nowadays. Today I was thinking I would share Disneyland secrets that you may or may not already know. Either way, I hope you find this post entertaining!
Disneyland Secrets Part 1
Secrets, secrets, secrets… There are so many Disneyland secrets that could be discussed! I wanted to share 10 of those secrets with you today. Some you may have heard of and maybe others you haven’t. However, after you read this list, maybe you can look for some of these secrets around the park on your next visit!
Whether trying some of the other Disneyland secrets that are listed here or just enjoy the history!
America Sings characters are in Splash Mountain.
First, America Sings was an attraction that ran at Disneyland in Tomorrowland from 1974-1988. It was housed inside of a circular rotating building set up like a theatre. There were four acts that represented different musical eras. Audio-animatronic animals sang various songs from each era. (If you are curious about the show, you can watch it here.)
A lot of the characters from America Sings were put into Splash Mountain. Most notably is the scene after the splashdown. There is a Riverboat that has a cast of characters celebrating. They are all from the old attraction America Sings.
Hidden Donald’s can be found in the park.
The second Disneyland secret is that hidden Donald faces can be found at the Disneyland Resort. Most people know to look for the hidden Mickey’s, however, there are some hidden Donald’s as well!
One can be found inside of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. There is a chair near the floating candelabra hallway scene. One of the hidden Donald Ducks can be found there. Make sure to try and spot this hidden secret on your next trip to the Disneyland Resort!
Some Disney foods are park-specific.
Next, you can only get certain food at certain parks! This means that some of the delicious foods and treats at Disneyland aren’t available at Disney World, Disney Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disney, or Shanghai Disney. Likewise, some foods at all those Resorts aren’t available at Disneyland in California. In addition to the foods, there are also some attractions that are park-specific too.
Time to travel abroad right?
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is the only attraction that has a bathroom.
This next Disneyland secret is one that I have talked a little about in my post about Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. However, it is a fun secret I will talk about again.
The Tiki Room is the only attraction at Disneyland that has a bathroom! I bet you are wondering why. Well, the reason for that is because the Tiki Room was originally going to be a restaurant with a show. During the development of the show and building, Walt saw the completed show put together. He loved it and knew that everyone would love the show. However, if everyone loved the show, they wouldn’t want to leave! That would be a problem. Therefore, even though the table and chairs had already been purchased and the building built to house a restaurant (complete with bathrooms) the restaurant idea was scrapped! But the show stayed! Thank goodness! Even today after more than 50 years, this show is still entertaining thousands of people each year.
Haunted Mansion was built long before it opened.
Another Disneyland secret is that the building for Haunted Mansion was finished in 1963 but the attraction wouldn’t open until 1969. The building sat empty for six years!
There are many reasons as to why this happened. First, Walt Disney was preparing some attractions for the 64/65 World’s Fairs. A few different attractions. (One attraction was It’s a Small World.) Therefore, a few of the attractions he was working on for Disneyland were put on hold. Haunted Mansion was one of them.
The next reason Haunted Mansion sat empty was that Walt Disney passed away in 1966. It took a while for Walt’s brother and the Imagineers to know how to proceed with Walt Disney not there to share his creative ideas and make the final decisions. However, once they started to proceed, the Imagineers decided to reimagine Haunted Mansion before opening.
Winnie the Pooh has a remnant from Country Bear Jamboree.
Another secret on this list of 10 Disneyland secrets is that there is a remnant from Country Bear Jamboree inside of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
In Critter Country, (formerly Bear Country), was a musical audio-animatronic show called Country Bear Jamboree. It featured many bears singing some comical tunes. On the wall of the theater were three audio-animatronic mounted heads. One was a moose, another was a deer, and the last one was a buffalo. They were just hanging around…
While you ride the Winnie the Pooh attraction, the heads of these audio-animatronics can be seen, but you have to look carefully and look behind you. They are hanging at the entrance to the “Hunny heaven” room.
Splash Mountain has a remnant from Bear Country.
Disney likes to leave little nods to the past around when an attraction is replaced. Kind of a “gone but still loved” reminder. Similar to the animal heads from Country Bears still hanging in Winnie the Pooh, there is a reminder in Splash Mountain as well.
Before Critter Country and Splash Mountain were at Disneyland, the land was called Bear Country. As you entered the land, up on a hill in the trees was a Bear in his cave. You could hear him snoring! It was a really cool feature. One that I missed when it was replaced. However, Disney Imagineers added a little cave and you can still hear the bear snoring! It is even the same snore as before.
These are only two, of many examples of remnants being left behind in Disneyland.
Disneyland restaurants have secret menu items.
All over the Disneyland Resort, inside of some of the dining locations, are secret menu items. These are special meals that can be made that are not listed on any of the menus. For example, at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland, you can get ice cream nachos. At the Refreshment Corner on Main Street, U.S.A. they have a chili mac and cheese in a Mickey bread bowl.
Over in California Adventure, you can get mac and cheese in a bread bowl at the Pacific Warf Cafe.
Don’t be afraid to ask about secret menu items during your next trip. You never know what you could be ordering that is off the menu!
Cast Members point with two fingers.
When you get directions from a Cast Member, they will point with either two fingers or their entire hand. Never with one finger. This is because it is considered rude to point with one finger in some of the other countries. Another reason is that it is more accurate to point with two fingers or the entire hand.
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle has a working drawbridge.
The drawbridge in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle can be lifted and lowered. However, it has only been done twice. Once when Disneyland opened in 1955 and the second was when Fantasyland reopened in 1983 after being re-imagined.
In Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed today’s post of Disneyland Secrets. There have been so many Disneyland secrets over the years. With Disneyland being around for over 60 years, there are bound to be a lot of secrets out there. These are 10 secrets to get you started!
Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon!
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions or comments on today’s post, please feel free to ask them below. I would love to help!
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