Walt Disney World Hidden Secrets to Search for Next Trip
Walt Disney World guests often find scavenger hunts to participate in during their trips. Whether it’s searching for Fab 50 Character Collection statues across the four theme parks or participating in A Pirate’s Adventures: Treasures of the Seven Seas in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom, searching out Disney trinkets always offers a fun activity. For those looking for a more subtle challenge, check out these hidden Disney icons throughout the Walt Disney World Resort.
Hidden Mickeys
With over 1,000 Hidden Mickeys scattered throughout the Walt Disney World Resort, guests can really make a trip out of finding these discrete nods to the mouse who started it all. For those looking to fully immerse themselves in the Hidden Mickey hunt, pick up a guide book, like “Walt Disney World’s Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets” by Steven Barrett to give you a starting point.
Hidden Mickeys can be found on attractions, embedded within walkways, engraved into walls, and even in the overall design of attractions and structures, including the thrilling Yeti adventure, Everest.
The once a year hidden Mickey at the Journey of the Little Mermaid! pic.twitter.com/uoqDKzUPpD
— Carl’s Adventures To Disney (@CarlsDisVenture) November 18, 2016
One can actually only be spotted on November 18th at noon, according to cast members referenced in a recent FOX 35 story. Celebrating Mickey’s birthday, the illusion appears as the sun hits a rock formation on that day at Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.
Other Hidden Characters
Nods to other beloved Disney characters are speckled thorughout the Disney parks as well. For instance, when passing by Tony’s Town Square Restaurant as you enter Magic Kingdom, watch for paw prints in a heart in a nod to Tony’s favorite patrons: Lady and the Tramp.
A gilded statue of J. Thaddeus Toad Esquire, better known as Mr. Toad, appropriately appears in the grassy area outside of the Haunted Mansion attraction. Once a staple in Fantasyland, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride closed in 1998 to make way for the delightful attraction, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.”
Guests can also spot Mr. Toad handing over the deed to the property to Owl on the more recent Winnie the Pooh attraction.
The Haunted House is full of hidden Easter Eggs, but the hardest one to spot is the outline of Mickey’s cantankerous sidekick Donald Duck, which sits embroidered on an old, creepy chair within the attraction.
Like the Mr. Toad reference in its replacement attraction, nods to The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios can be seen in the new attraction in its place, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Likewise, Captain Nemo’s “Nautilus” ship can be seen etched within the rocks of Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid in Magic Kingdom. That attraction sits on the space previously used for the “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” attraction.
Searching for the Utilidors
Another fun scavenger hunt in Magic Kingdom also comes for those looking for the Utilidors, the well-hidden passage ways to the underground tunnel system used by cast members throughout the theme park.
“When Walt Disney was building the Magic Kingdom, he didn’t want the magic surrounding the park to break for any reason. He wanted a place for Cast Members to travel between lands, withouth crossing through Liberty Square dressed like a pirate. He wanted a place for all the normal goings-on of a theme park to take place right under guests’ noses, without them ever having to smell the trash,” according to a WDW Magazine article on the purpose of the unique desing feature.
Like the Utilidoors, hidden details and secrets abound at the Walt Disney World resort by design. We hope that you enjoy searching for them as much as we do.