Always remember that the best theme parks in Orlando depend wholly on your very own interests. Pro tip: staying on the property for the entirety of your trip usually comes with a bunch of desirable benefits, like early park access.
There is more to Walt Disney World than fun rides, myriad of Mickeys and deep dives into the magic of our youth. From secret menu items to hidden Easter eggs and interesting factoids, this massive Orlando theme park is home to a treasure trove of surprises—and we’re here to divulge some of them.
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Consider this your unofficial Disney dossier, filled with secrets that will turn you into a bona fide theme park expert.
1. You can taste yet-to-be-released menu items
Guests who sign up for the Taste of Magic Kingdom Park VIP Tour get to mingle with the chefs who create the delicious meals served on-site, tour the backstage kitchen areas and, most importantly, help the culinary team create the next tasty masterpiece by sampling still-in-development food items.
2. There are more than 120,000 possible combinations for constructing a lightsaber in Galaxy’s Edge
A trip to the Black Spire Outpost isn’t complete without a visit to Savi’s Workshop, where you get to build your own lightsaber by choosing from a variety of hilts, kyber crystals, sleeves, emitters, pommel caps, activation plates and blades. If that doesn’t impress you, this might: there are almost 280,000 possible combinations for building an astromech droid at the nearby Droid Depot.
3. You can become a Certified Mountain Climber
This might not be technically true, but hear us out: rumor has it that a handful of guests who have conquered Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in a single day have received a “Certified Mountain Climber” certificate under their hotel room door. We’re told that the surprise is only available to guests staying at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, so you’ll have to book a room there to take on the reported challenge.
4. Scuba-diving machinists clean and repair all water attractions
Unfortunately, you can’t take animatronic Jungle Cruise hippos to the vet. That is why Disney World’s attraction machinist team always has at least a few scuba-trained cast members who can help inspect, clean and maintain the tracks and ride vehicles (including hippos) within the park’s water-based attractions each night before closing.
5. There are hundreds of Easter eggs hidden all over the parks
Nothing at Disney World happens by accident, and that extends to the hundreds of Easter eggs hidden in plain sight throughout the parks.
Speaking of non-accidents: names given to rides and attractions aren’t coincidental. Take Star Tours flight number 1401, named after the street number of Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California. You can also spot a few familiar names if you look up at the windows on Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom, honoring many individuals who contributed to the opening of the park and some of Walt’s own family members.
6. When it rains too much for the afternoon parade, the characters dance through the streets of Magic Kingdom instead
A rainy day at Disney World may seem like bad luck, but the staff always has a few tricks up its sleeve. When the Festival of Fantasy Parade is cancelled because of rain, the Rainy Day Cavalcade takes over instead, when characters and performers ride in vehicles or march down the parade route, some donning brightly colored rain slickers.
7. The Walt Disney World Railroad trains are still powered by steam
The Walt Disney World Railroad has been in operation since the park first opened in 1971, but the four trains that travel the 1.5 mile route multiple times each day are even older. Originally built between 1916 and 1928, they are still powered by steam, honoring Walt Disney’s love for locomotives.
8. There is a drink served at Oga’s Cantina that will tingle
The Fuzzy Tauntaun at Oga’s Cantina (inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge) is billed as a mixture of peach vodka, peach Schnapps, orange and tangerine juices and cane sugar topped with a tingling “Buzz Button” foam. We’ve tried it and what started with a slight tingling on our lips quickly turned into a full-on mouth-numbing situation. The “Buzz Button” is actually a small, yellow flower bud that produces tingling, numbing, excess salivation and a cooling sensation when consumed.
9. Hidden Mickeys were born out of an inside joke
Nobody knows just how many hidden Mickeys—silhouettes or abstract images of Mickey Mouse—have been placed throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. What we do know, though, is how they came to be. Walt Disney Imagineers, the artists and engineers who design all of the parks and attractions, started placing hidden Mickeys in their designs as an inside joke. Some are easier to find than others, but serious aficionados have created websites meant to help visitors spot the hidden gems.
10. It took more than a year to create the carvings in Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life
With its hundreds of animal carvings and towering stature, the Tree of Life is an undeniable icon of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. It took 10 artists and 13 Imagineers a whole 18 months of full-time work to create the 325 animal carvings on the Tree of Life. Constantly working against the clock, the sculptors had between six and 10 hours to create each image before the wet plaster hardened.
11. Order a drink at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and you’ll get to interact with Mickey
Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, located in Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, is known for its exotic decor and tropical drinks, but some visitors may get more than they bargained for. Ordering certain tiki drinks may trigger special effects and cast member interactions. We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but our top picks include the big-enough-for-two Uh-Oa and the rum-based Krakatoa Punch.
