Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Because there's far too much to see and do. We're here to help guide you through. We are a married couple with two boys age 9 and 6 talking all things Disney World. This podcast will cover the tips and tricks we've learned along our journey, history of the parks and attractions, and most importantly why and how Disney makes us feel how we do while in the parks and that it's ok to feel that way.
Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Episode #180: Secrets of the Magic Kingdom Part 1
Uncover the magic and mystery of Disney parks with us as we reveal enchanting secrets and stories that have shaped these beloved attractions. Imagine sporting the exclusive Figma Christmas sweater, only available at Epcot's Creation Shop, and embracing the holiday spirit while exploring its connection to Epcot's Festival of the Holidays. We'll share our excitement for this festive treasure and guide you through the strategic wonders of the Magic Kingdom, exploring its unique design features, including the man-made marvel of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Take a stroll through Magic Kingdom's Main Street, USA, where each window tells a story of innovation and legacy. We'll peek behind the curtains of these commemorative windows, celebrating Disney legends like Frank G. Wells and Walt Disney, and admire the iconic Partners Statue, a testament to Disney's collaborative spirit. Our journey shines a light on the intricate artistry of Blaine Gibson, who brought this vision to life, and the charming nods to "Fantasia" that make this statue a symbol of imagination and history.
Embark on an adventure through the hidden nooks of the Magic Kingdom, where stories of resilience and creativity come alive. From the luxurious transformation of Cinderella Castle's apartment to the fascinating tales of Mickey Mouse's creation, we'll share little-known facts that offer a nostalgic glimpse into Disney's past. Marvel at the Progress City model, relive the transition of classic attractions, and celebrate the character development that defined a generation. Your Disney experience will never be the same once you discover these captivating insights.
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hello and welcome to circle of Parks podcast episode number 180. Today we are going to talk about the secrets of the Magic Kingdom. There is far too much to see and do. We are here to help guide you through, but before we do that we must talk Disney merch, and I think this Disney merch has Zach's attention, it's the Figma Christmas sweater yes I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it.
Speaker 2:They finally have released the Figma Christmas sweater and you can find it in the Creation Shop in Epcot priced at $74.99. And this is a sweater that Zach has been wanting to see for a long time. For those of you that aren't familiar, you get to see it on Figment. Well, but where Figment? Yeah, on the ride.
Speaker 3:Yes, Figment. Yes, yes Figment.
Speaker 2:And so it is finally out. A lot of people were excited about it. It was all over, like YouTube and Facebook and Instagram. So, again, you can currently only find this in the creation shop in Epcot, because it is considered the Festival of the Holidays. Merch.
Speaker 3:Which we may be going next year yes, maybe so yeah, you, if I didn't wasn't working so much, I would be down there just for this yes, he probably would I I would make a special trip down there just to get this sweater. It's awesome. It's everything that's just awesome about epcot and figment and what disney does like. It's everything that's just awesome about Epcot and figment and what Disney does like. It's yeah, everything.
Speaker 2:I have to admit it. I mean they did a pretty good job on it for making it an adult size.
Speaker 3:Yes, it looks it's awesome. It is awesome, yeah, I would totally.
Speaker 2:I want it yeah, if only maybe eventually they'll put another one out for like DisneyStorecom, who knows?
Speaker 3:Yeah, but then it wouldn't be as special, that's true.
Speaker 2:You're not getting it.
Speaker 3:while you're there, I'm not buying it from the hawkers that get it off of eBay.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, yeah, because there's some that are going for over $100 already.
Speaker 3:That's ridiculous, yeah, that's stupid. I mean, it still would be cheaper than that. You'd have to make a day out of it still, oh, I would. Yeah, oh, I'd ride. Living with the land, with the Christmas overlay well, I wouldn't even get off. I'd be like, sir, you need to get off. I'm like, no, I'm good. Um, I don't see a line over there. I'm good.
Speaker 4:I'm not, I'm good okay, all right, thank you everybody we'll get into this episode 180 magics, magics.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I just woke up from a nap. Secrets of the magic kingdom and there are a lot there and, excuse me, I hope this may be a two-parter yes, because I was trying, I was trying to not go too deep, but then not, there's a fine line here, right, right but it's Zach, so he might go a little too deep with the details.
Speaker 3:You can go, like with the Haunted Mansion, you can go so deep, right, like in the details, it's just astounding. And in the back, well, this isn't a backstory show, right, this is just Secrets of the Magic Kingdom. So try to be a little just off on the surface and just below, but you know, we'll see how it goes.
Speaker 2:We will see.
Speaker 3:We'll see. So thank you everybody for joining us. If you're new here, sorry for the rambling. I'm Zach. I'm Brittany and we do this show every single week and our goal is to help you have a better Walt Disney World vacation, and just help you have a better week. Yes, it helps to just get away for 45 minutes to an hour. Go to Walt Disney World with us, forget about what's going on outside in your life and just enjoy. Have some Disney magic here.
Speaker 2:That is correct and you know, even on tougher days when we do this show, you know it usually puts a smile on our face and takes us to Disney. You know for this 45 minutes, so that's what we hope to help you with All right.
Speaker 3:So let's get right into it, Secrets of the Magic Kingdom. And we're going to start it right off with its location on Walt Disney World property. So it's at the very top of the property, right, Like it's away from anything else in Walt Disney World, Right? Yeah, Very specific reason for that.
Speaker 3:So the original plans for the Florida project which is what it was called back when it was announced is Progress City was supposed to be in the middle, which is what Epcot was supposed to be. Progress City was supposed to be in the middle, which is what Epcot was supposed to be. Progress City was supposed to be an area where all the corporations and manufacturers and inventors and all those could come and show off their new technology and products and whatnot. It'd be like a permanent World's Fair and it would be an actual city where people that worked for these corporations and whatnot would live temporarily, you know, to show this stuff off. And the idea was you would drive through Progress City to get to Magic Kingdom. That was the whole reason why the Magic Kingdom is where it's at.
Speaker 2:Right, so far from everything else.
Speaker 3:So I thought that was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Did you know?
Speaker 3:that.
Speaker 2:Well, through you and some other history that we've talked about off and on throughout the years, yes, but what I have known on my own, no.
Speaker 3:So what's next on the list?
Speaker 2:Next on the list, seven Seas Lagoon, and talk about how it was man-made, zach.
Speaker 3:So Seven Seas Lagoon is not a natural lake. Bay Lake is, but Seven Seas Lagoon is man-made and the reason Seven Seas Lagoon was made is they wanted a separation.
Speaker 2:Now first too, for people that aren't familiar where is Seven Seas Lagoon Seven?
Speaker 3:Seas Lagoon is where the transportation and ticket center is that you cross to get to. The Magic Kingdom Bay Lake is the lake that is next to Contemporary, where Wilderness Lodge is the campgrounds at Fort Wilderness and that new resort Reflections Lakeside thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I think they changed the name. Yeah, where the new one will be built.
Speaker 3:yes, so, if you haven't heard, they're building a new DVC lodge between Warden's Lodge and the campgrounds Fort Wilderness yeah, so that's Bay Lake. That is a natural lake. Right Seven Seas Lagoon is not a natural lake and was built to be a buffer between the real world, quote-unquote in the magic kingdom. So it gives your, your head, your mind, an opportunity to detach from what's going on outside in the real world and prepares you to be in this land of fantasy okay so that's why seven seas lagoon was made.
Speaker 3:So now most of the Magic Kingdom is built on the second floor. Did you know that?
Speaker 2:Yes, I actually did. You did know that.
Speaker 3:So the reason is that Walt wanted Utilidors built at the Magic Kingdom and the story behind that is when he was in Disneyland he saw a cowboy from Frontierland walking through Tomorrowland and he felt and he's right that it takes away from the illusion of where you're actually at in Disneyland. So he said for Walt Disney World not going to happen, right, we're going to have utilidors for cast members to travel and traverse from employee areas to the correct land that they're supposed to be at in costume, right? So that's why you wanted utilidors. The problem with building the utilidors in Florida was the water table was so low that they couldn't dig down because they were running the water.
Speaker 3:Right, so they had to build the land up to accommodate the utilidors. Where do you think they got the earth to build up? From Seven Seas Lagoon? Oh, so the earth from Seven Seas Lagoon actually built up the Magic Kingdom for the utilidors. Now excuse me If you notice there's subtle elevation changes in the Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So if you ever notice when you're going from, you know the the buses or the boats walking up to the turnstiles.
Speaker 2:You're walking uphill yeah, but it's not like it's not obvious, but it is.
Speaker 3:If you pay attention, you can't see it. That's because you're that the utilidors okay. So when you're walking from adventureland and you're going to jungle cruise, you go down. Yes, you're going down, so you're actually going to the first floor okay and when you're doing, when you're riding, it's a small road, you go down. That's because you're on the first floor, okay. So, and when you're also, when you're going from fantasy land to tomorrow land as you're going by Cheshire Cafe, you're walking down.
Speaker 4:Down yeah.
Speaker 3:Because you're walking. Those are the utilidors you're walking down, okay so?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah and I mean, and it makes sense because you know, even if you're, especially if someone was trying to get to like Fantasyland all the way from Frontierland or something, that would look a little different.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the utilidors have all of the parks operations in there, all the trash collections. If you notice, you don't see people walking around the trash cans picking trash up, like getting the trash bags out, right? It goes underground and all of the um operations for the shows, the they actually have cast member um restaurants in there, so they have like mcdonald's on a subway, okay, and they have their uh costuming and all that.
Speaker 2:All everything is underground there right, so they don't have to go and eat at the restaurants that we're used to eating at.
Speaker 3:They can eat for cheaper and they actually have cafeteria where they bring their lunch or whatever on the keys to the kingdom tour. They actually take you through them. So I think that's something we need to look at in the future.
Speaker 2:I think you have to be 16 or over to go, or it would just be when it's a you and me trip or something, but it's like an eight hour six to eight hour thing okay so it's a it's, it's a tour that if you've been multiple times, it's like, okay, like yeah, but at the same time, maybe not when we're just there for two days on our own?
Speaker 3:No, that's not it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, All right. Next on the list forced perspective.
Speaker 3:Forced perspective. So what is?
Speaker 2:forced perspective. Brittany, do you know when you're trying to make things look a different size than what they really are?
Speaker 3:So you're trying to make things look larger than they are? Yes, and how they do this is when they go up. When the buildings are taller, they size down the scale of them.
Speaker 3:So the first floor of main street usa looks normal right but, when you look at the buildings that the higher you go in the building, the smaller it gets in scale. So it looks bigger from further away. So Cinderella Castle from far off looks huge, right yeah. And when you get up to it you're like that's it, not that's it, but you're like well, it's seen. Yes, Sorry, excuse me, you're saying that looks so much further from far away, right.
Speaker 2:Or so much bigger from far away, yeah, so much further from far away, right. Or so much bigger from far away, yeah, because of how far back you can see it, right, and that's the forced perspective.
Speaker 3:They use it a lot in Walt Disney World, particularly on Cinderella Castle in Main Street USA. There are only two buildings on Main Street USA that they did not use forced perspective on.
Speaker 2:Emporium.
Speaker 3:Nope.
Speaker 2:No, oh, the confectionary.
Speaker 3:Nope, there's very specific reasons why.
Speaker 4:I don't know.
Speaker 3:So Town Square Theater and the train station.
Speaker 4:Oh, okay.
Speaker 3:So the train station they did not use forced perspective on is because, if you notice, when you walk into the park you're walking underneath the train tracks right, right, yeah, and it's dark, dark, yes this is like a scene change in a movie okay, so you're walking from outside to inside and now you're complete. If you look back, you can't even see anything but the train station, right?
Speaker 2:right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's correct, that's why they want you to completely forget about the outside world and you see that the massive train station just takes center stage when you look back, after you walk in from in town square right yeah that's why they want you to completely forget about the outside world. Yeah, so the in this? Not only is it a scene change, it's like movie. When you walk into the movies, you see it's like preview posters.
Speaker 3:That's why because, you're seeing the attractions. They have the attraction posters right. Yes, in the tunnel, yeah, like it tells you the fireworks and all that. That's exactly what they're doing. Okay, that's why?
Speaker 2:Because you're seeing the attractions. They have the attraction posters in the tunnel. Yeah, like it tells you the fireworks and all that, yeah, that's exactly what they're doing.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so Town Square Theater is not using forced perspective either, because if it wasn't full size, you would see the contemporary. Yeah, and they did not want you to see the contemporary resort from a turn of the century town square. That would completely right. Ruin the illusion, right right now, when we get to tomorrow, lynn, we're going to talk more about contemporary in a bit, okay, but yeah, so that's why okay, yeah, no, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:All right, staying in the USA area. The windows on Main Street.
Speaker 3:So the windows on Main Street, if you've ever noticed, there are names on them and there's a very particular reason why these are Imagineers names on the windows and they usually have some kind of quippy little saying with them, right, or like a quote or something yes, these are Imagineers or people in the Disney company that were critical and important for the company you have to have passed away to have a window on Main Street and have given significant contribution to the company.
Speaker 3:Marty Sklar, who has now passed away, famous, famous, famous. Probably the most famous Imagineer was kind of the head of this when he was alive and I watched an interview when he was talking about the windows on Main Street. But they all are actual people and usually you'll see something below them that's like carpentry or music. They were probably in construction or helped with music or something like that. My favorite one is the Frank G Wells one.
Speaker 2:Why is that?
Speaker 3:And it's a very so. Frank G Wells. If you don't know who Frank G Wells was, he was not the CEO. I see a lot of publications that call him former CEO. He was not. He was Michael Eisner's president of the Walt Disney Company. So Michael Eisner was the CEO, frank Wells was the president of the company Separate positions. Frank G Wells was the Roy Disney to Michael Eisner. He kept Michael Eisner pretty much in check. Michael Eisner was creative like Walt, was a visionary like Walt, but was kind of difficult to work with. Frank G Wells was kind of the person that went in between the different uh parts of the company and kind of kept Michael Eisner in check all right, kind of kept everything ground kind of kept everything um, yeah, um, after reading several books about the time, the Michael Eisner era.
Speaker 3:Well, after frank g wells passed away, that's when things in the disney company turned, that's. That's when you stopped seeing the animation quite as good as it was. Uh, michael katzenberg was, uh, the head of animation and he's responsible for the lion king and little mermaid and beauty, the beast and aladdin all After that you kind of started seeing the movies not go so well. Right, like Pocahontas was a great movie, but it wasn't considered part of that era, right.
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 3:Michael Katzenberg was difficult to work with too, and Michael Eisner and Michael Katzenberg didn't get along so well, but Frank Wells was always the person that kind of the mediator, the mediator that got everything done, the person, that kind of the mediator, the mediator that got everything done um so frank wells passed away in a helicopter crash in tahoe.
Speaker 3:he was actually with clint eastwood oh really he was on a different helicopter but they were doing helicopter skiing in tahoe and their helicopter crashed in a blizzard and frank was. It was very unexpected. It was a shock to the company, but his window is above the glass maker. You know the glass company, glassmaking company. Yeah, his is a very, very top and it says Seven Summits on it.
Speaker 3:And that's to represent the Seven Summits, the highest peaks in each continent. Frank Wells was an avid outdoorsman, obviously. A big skier climbed a lot of the peaks, stuff like that Very adventurous, and that's why his says Seven Summits. So I think of the peaks, stuff like they're very adventurous and that's why it says seven summits. So I think that's kind of cool. Yeah, I know for sure. Um, walt's dad has a window on main street which I thought was interesting because walt and his dad did not have the best, uh, relationships.
Speaker 3:Um, but if you go that you know the little caddy corner on the right hand side like you can kind of walk back into it so if you look above on the right handhand side, it'll say Walter Elias His name was and it was like general, because his dad was a contractor. It was like general contractor, yeah. So I think that's cool.
Speaker 3:So who was the only person to have two windows on Main Street, USA? Walt, I don't know. Walt has two windows. This first one is on the train station, At the very top of the train station as you're walking into the park. Walt's first window is at the top of the train station. Can you guess where his second window is?
Speaker 2:The fire station.
Speaker 3:No, not the fire station, the Plaza Ice Cream restaurant above the Plaza Ice Cream, looking towards Cinderella Castle. So I think that's pretty cool how he has well, of course he would have two, obviously right, right, right. But how it's on both ends of Main Street, usa, right, yeah. So I think that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:The beginning and the end, or either way you're looking at it. Yeah Well, good, yeah, no, I didn't realize that for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all right. Next on the list the partner statue. The partner statue is the statue of walt and mickey in the middle of the hub. Yeah, everybody sees it right. Yes, and man. I could go on and on and on about this, but I'm gonna make.
Speaker 3:Uh, my favorite thing about this is it was sculpted by legendary sculptor blaine gibson. He's been what he had did all the statues and a lot of the uh sculpting and all that um. But the most interesting thing about this is how they figured out how to scale Mickey to Walt, because there wasn't really any video or pictures of Mickey with an actual adult, except for one movie, fantasia, and he's holding Stokowski's hand, the orchestra conductor.
Speaker 3:He's holding his hand. Remember Walking up the steps? That is how they determined how tall Mickey should be. In relation to Walt Was based on the movie Fantasia, so I thought that was pretty cool. I like how Walt is pointing out. If you've ever looked at it, he's pointing out towards Main Street USA. I always think that's cool. I like how.
Speaker 4:Walt is pointing out. If you've ever looked at it, he's pointing out towards Main.
Speaker 3:Street, usa, right, I always think that's cool. I always imagine he's telling Mickey hey, look at all these people coming to see our park.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, and that statue. I mean it's very iconic because, yes, people are getting pictures in front of the castle, but so many people get pictures with the statue too.
Speaker 3:I like the pictures of the statue and the castle in the same frame.
Speaker 4:I have a lot of that.
Speaker 2:I think that's really really cool, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Talking about the castle. Next is Cinderella Castle All right.
Speaker 3:So forced perspective, right, we've talked about it. It looks so huge when you're far away. Say, you're seeing it from the ferry boat coming across Seven Seas Lagoon, or sometimes you'll see it when you're on the bus before you go down underneath the connector by the sorry, the lake connector by the Contemporary. You go down that big dip. Yeah, you can see it from there, right, you're like, wow, that is huge. It is only 189 feet tall. It's not very tall.
Speaker 3:Right, not even the tallest structure there now do you know what the tallest structure is in walt disney world? Everest expedition everest. It is 199.5 feet tall.
Speaker 2:You have to keep it under 200.
Speaker 3:You have to keep it under 200, otherwise the faa requires you to put a red flashing light on it for airplanes and that would take away from everything completely would take away from the illusion. Yeah, um, did you know that Walt's apartment was supposed to be in the castle?
Speaker 2:Not until you told me, and then I was like aw.
Speaker 3:So, if you haven't heard, there is a suite in Cinderella Castle that you can win or be invited to stay in.
Speaker 3:You can't just go say, hey, I want to stay in this, but that space was originally designed to be walt's apartment, because, you know, walt has the apartment in disneyland above the fire station, right the apartment here in what disney world was supposed to be in the castle, but unfortunately walt passed away. Roy didn't want an apartment here, so this space was just used for storage for a long, long, long, long time until in 2006 dis Disney brought along the Year of a Million Dreams and this they finished the suite and you could win it. So the Year of a Million Dreams in 2006 was a promotional time that lasted for 27 months and the prizes ranged from fast passes to Mickey ears, a trip on the Disney cruise or a one night stay in the Cinderella castle or the dream suite in Disneyland. So there are also the other giveaways where you could be a grand marshal for the parade. You could go, say they it was your last day. They would come up to you like cast members, come up to you and go hey, you can more nights here.
Speaker 3:Blah, blah, blah. Do you stay or do you go?
Speaker 3:you know stuff like that yeah so I just thought it was really cool. Now, how could you imagine how awesome that would be? Oh it would be so yeah it would be wonderful, and you know, there's a lot of mosaics inside as well so the mosaics inside of the castle, when you're walking underneath, like, like, through it, tell the story of Cinderella. So I think that's really, really cool, and the sculptor that did, the mosaic artist that did the mosaics, also did the mosaics outside of the land pavilion.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know what you're talking about now, yeah.
Speaker 3:Same artist and they have a very interesting backstory as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's for another day. That would be from a book that'll be in my book, right? So sticking to more in magic kingdom is all magic kingdom, the model of progress city.
Speaker 3:On the people mover so you know where this is at right, yeah, it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's in the ride, it's in the people, yeah.
Speaker 3:So kind of right, when you first pass the castle it's right there on the left-hand side.
Speaker 2:Right, like before you get to Space Mountain. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:That is only a portion of the model. Nobody knows where the other. This was the original model that they built. This is only a portion of it. They don't know where the rest of it is but, it was just, and that's a massive yeah, because I thought that was it. That's not it, that's like a quarter of it but it shows how big and large, and when we do go on it, I always like to try to look at other parts of, because your, your, your eyes immediately go to the middle of it, right?
Speaker 3:right but I like to look at the outside and and see what else was supposed to like playgrounds, because they're supposed to be schools there too, like families were supposed to live here. You know, I just find it interesting. You can see the people mover and they had the monorails through there and all that. Yeah, yeah, that'd be cool.
Speaker 2:I thought it was cool. I didn't know, it was only a small portion.
Speaker 3:It's just a very small portion of it, yeah and so staying somewhat in that same area, the carousel of progress so the carousel of progress is the show that was built for the 1964-1965 world's fair, and it was originally sponsored by ge to show off the progress of technology through the years right which it still does to this day.
Speaker 3:It does, it does uh, what I find very interesting and there's so much in this that I could talk about, but I'm going to bring it down to a couple parts the robin in the very first scene, the turn of the century scene in the back window. You know I'm talking about yeah that is the same. That is a the same robin that was used in the film mary poppins. You did the robin scene. Yeah yeah, that's the same Robin, same bird.
Speaker 2:The same bird, same bird, all right.
Speaker 3:And the voice of the father in the Carousel of Progress was Gene Shepard. Gene Shepard was also the narrator for the Christmas Story, the movie.
Speaker 2:Which I never picked up on that until you shared that with me the other day.
Speaker 3:But then, when you watch the Christmas story and then.
Speaker 2:Right, well, I can hear it all now. You can hear it in your head Exactly.
Speaker 3:And Gene Shepard was a radio host for many years, did a lot of voiceover stuff for Disney later on and he actually co-scripted the Christmas story, so I thought that was really cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah for scripted the krista story, so I thought that was really cool. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like when you first told me, I immediately in my head could, like you can hear that voice exactly, yeah, and there's a lot of other cool little easter eggs in there that we could do a full episode on it.
Speaker 2:I think on the carousel of progress.
Speaker 3:There's so many little cool easter eggs and hidden mickeys and and whatnot in there. I think it's really really cool, I had to finally look up what a rat race was.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, because that is mentioned.
Speaker 3:And a rumpus room. Okay, it's a party room.
Speaker 4:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Hmm, okay. Adults, you think differently. Adults listening.
Speaker 2:All right, so moving on the cool ship.
Speaker 3:So the cool ship, you know, that spaceship, that red spaceship looking thing that's got refreshments as you're walking past Tomorrowland Speedway, yeah, that may or may not be the actual ship from the 1986 sci-fi movie Flight of the Navigator.
Speaker 4:Oh.
Speaker 3:There's some controversy, not controversy.
Speaker 2:On whether it is or not.
Speaker 3:But some it could be, it could not be. No one can really. If you're looking on the internet from multiple sites and sources, no one can really say for sure.
Speaker 2:Hmm, that's interesting.
Speaker 1:But it may be Right, so I think that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, all right, there are peanut shells and elephant prints in the concrete around Dumbo.
Speaker 3:That's pretty cool, don't you think?
Speaker 2:Yes, and then now don't they have those things that when you walk by they pump the smells?
Speaker 3:Oh, the smell. Yeah, I forgot this.
Speaker 2:Are they called smell-a-fence or?
Speaker 3:something Smell-a-fence? Yes, yeah, I'm not a big fan of those things, no, but I'm just saying, like the smell of Storybook Circus is already so sweet, it's just, it's too much for me, right? I don't need extra you know smelly things to pump more sweet smells in there.
Speaker 2:Right, but yes, but definitely, when you're in the area, be looking for peanut shells and elephant prints in the concrete in that area. And, speaking of dumbo, there is an inside play area for your kids to play in while you wait. We didn't know that, not until what? Third, fourth trip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah so when you go wait in line, they hand you a pager and they paid you back. When it's your time to to ride, or if you don't want to ride the the attraction, you just go say hey, we want to go play inside for a bit. Let the kids get some energy out. You get some air conditioning yeah it's a good time. It is it is.
Speaker 2:I'll keep them busy for a little bit there is.
Speaker 3:So the queue of little mermaid we, if you've listened the past few episodes, you know we're talking about. There's a hidden steamboat, willie. If you look just right as you exit the attraction to the right, it lines up in the rock work. It's like a side profile view. And then the hidden mickey that you can only see for about 15 minutes on. Was it the 17th november 17th?
Speaker 2:something or 18th, we just talked about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know, I think the sun the sun has to line up just right. For about 15 minutes You'll see a hidden Mickey and Minnie because it's their birthday. And then there is also a Nautilus from the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea built into the rock work in the queue for the Little Mermaid. I think that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:November 18th, November 18th, but yeah, no for sure. Now you wouldn't know quite as much about this queue if it weren't for the times you've ridden on it with me or waited in it for a while.
Speaker 3:You're right. And now, when we do go to Walt Disney World and we don't do this, I'm always kind of like I always kind of miss it a little bit. I do, I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I agree, all right.
Speaker 3:Winnie the pooh. So winnie the pooh used to be, uh, mr toad, mr toad's wild ride. So in the second scene, if you look to the left at the bottom of the little scene poster thing, you'll see mr toad signing over the deed to winnie the pooh. So I think that's really, really cool. And in the playhouse tree in the front of the attraction, if you go in there, you'll see a Nautilus back towards where Mine Train is from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Nice.
Speaker 3:So where New Fantasyland is? The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and all the new area back there that all used to be 20 000 leagues under the sea. Massive, massive footprint of an attraction there yeah, it was, it was.
Speaker 2:I know there's might be some haters on this, but as a kid that was not my favorite ride.
Speaker 3:I vaguely so this is one of the few things I vaguely remember from our first trip was I don't remember if we went on or not, but I remember seeing it because it was just such a massive attraction seeing 20,000 leagues under the sea when we first went, when I first went as a, as a kid, I have a vague memory of seeing. I don't forget remember. I can't remember if we went on or not, but I do remember like seeing it because it was just such a massive area yeah you went on it I uh yeah, I went on it.
Speaker 2:I'm one, I'm a little claustrophobic and uh yeah, you are in a submarine and well it's just like the nemo submarine in disneyland gosh, yeah, I will not do that right again either. The ride itself cute, but uh, yeah, no, the minute that door closed I was like I don't think I can breathe anymore. And then zach was like there's air coming, like if you lean forward.
Speaker 3:I was like, okay, I just I don't know it was claustrophobic for me. They pumped that air in to kind of help calm people down yeah, because I was about to have a moment I don't get claustrophobic, but it was, it was okay, it was enough for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the one time I was like I don't need to do it again, yeah, but, anyway, moving on the cinderella statue so if you notice the cinderella statue that's behind the castle, just to the left of the bibbidi-bobbidi boutique, which that place is nuts, by the way if you've never been around there, wow yeah, kudos to you parents that go in, and wow yeah, kudos to you parents that go in and do all of that because it's it can be, it's a madhouse.
Speaker 2:I would love to I know you go on it like in a in a adult bippity boppity boutique and get all done up yeah, I'd love that too.
Speaker 3:Um so, the cinderella statue if you look at it from different heights, it looks like a different Cinderella because, you notice the crown behind it right yeah so if you're a kid looking up at it, it looks like Cinderella has the crown on. If you're an adult looking at it straight on or looking down at it it just looks like normal Cinderella. Have you noticed that?
Speaker 2:I think so. It's been a while since I've been at that statue, so I'm trying to remember. But yeah, I think you are right. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Pretty cool. I think that's a cool little detail they added in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no for sure. Now, next time we go, I'm going to have to try to stand on my tiptoes and squat down and see all the differences.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, the differences, yep, yeah all right there is a hidden oswald.
Speaker 3:Who is oswald, you might ask? Right, well, before mickey, there was oswald the lucky rabbit, and walt was the creator of oswald. The lucky rabbit had a lot of short cartoons with it. Way back in the day, however, he did not own the rights to oswald. Yeah. So, on a trip to New York City, when he went to renegotiate with Universal yep, universal his contract, the Universal representative basically took everything Walt had, including all of his animators, from him and left him with nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, took Oswald and all took everything.
Speaker 3:And it was on that train trip back from new york to la. Walt sent roy a telegram saying don't worry, everything's going to be fine. And on that train ride home from new york to la is when he drew mickey mouse, he was had lily and with him and he wanted to name him Mortimer.
Speaker 2:Isn't there another character later that got named Mortimer?
Speaker 3:Not as famous as Mickey.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:And his wife, lillian, was like no, don't name him Mortimer. And so he renamed him Mickey Mouse. And Mickey Mouse was born from that train ride from New York to Los Angeles after losing everything that they had.
Speaker 2:Looking it up, yeah, because I know that there's a Mortimer Mouse and there is in other shows later on. You can type in Mortimer M-O-R-t-i-m-e-r mouse and he pops up, because I'm like I know I've heard that name elsewhere before, so he has been in some shows. But I agree with his wife that that would not have been the name for mickey mickey fitz.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so universal owned the rights to oswald until I believe it was 2006. Michael Iger, ceo now, or sorry, bob Iger, now CEO made a trade with Universal for, like an NFL broadcaster I think Al Michaels comes to mind for some reason To Universal, so they could do football commentator, I guess, for NBC, and they got Oswald in return. So they could do football commentator, I guess for NBC, and they got Oswald in return. So now you see Oswald all in the parks and you see references to that.
Speaker 2:But where can you find it? In Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 3:So the hidden Oswald is just outside of the Enchanted Tales with Belle. It's in the concrete. You really have to look for it but it's right there.
Speaker 2:See, I'm too busy getting excited for Enchanted Tales with Belle, You're like. Oswald, who's Oswald?
Speaker 3:I want to go see Belle. What if they had a hidden Belle?
Speaker 2:Well then, I'd be looking. Then you'd be looking for her, but in this time of year she's in her holiday dress.
Speaker 3:Your jacket you're wearing right now kind of looks like the color of the dress. Yeah, that's true, you're right.
Speaker 2:Yes, all right. Next, these bathrooms are kind of famous, the Tangled bathrooms.
Speaker 3:Man, these bathrooms are a mess. There's so many people outside. Well, it's just like a natural resting point for everybody, right? It's very beautiful, especially at night. The lanterns are lit up and they have charging stations for your phones, and the tree stumps in the seating area those are charging stations in there. And I just recently watched Tangled. Yes, I thought it was a really good movie. Yeah, I like it. I loved Maximus. Maximus was my favorite character, the horse.
Speaker 2:Yes, I know Loved him. I've seen the movie several times. Yeah, I loved him.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so here there are a lot of references to it is too tangled, obviously, around the area, but my favorite are in the concrete, are Maximus' hoof prints. I think it's really, really cool. And then, if you look outside, there are some apples scattered about. One of them has been bitten in half and that is because Maximus liked apples. Right, yes, he loved apples, so I think that's pretty cool, and they also have hidden pascals around the area. You really have to look for them, though, and there's not as many as there used to be.
Speaker 3:But, if you look kind of in like the little water stream area, you'll see them.
Speaker 2:You'll see a couple of them I'll have to look.
Speaker 3:So I thought that was really really cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I haven't been to those restrooms in a long time because they are kind of busy. It gets nuts around there, yes.
Speaker 3:I felt a little awkward doing book research when I was there a few weeks ago, like who's this guy with no kids writing stuff down on an iPad, and like taking pictures of these Pascals and the concrete path and the posters that are on the sides of the wall, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, felt a little weird. They probably thought you were weird. They probably thought I was weird. All right, the story of Liberty Square in Frontierland. It actually begins in.
Speaker 3:Fantasyland. You're like what? Yeah, first of all, what's the story of Liberty Square in Frontierland? Here we go, here we go of the 1880s, and he just did not have the room in Disneyland to tell this. He originally wanted a Liberty Square in Disneyland back behind Main Street, usa, where it's still a cast member area right now, still backstage. But he always wanted that and just did not have the room. So when they built Magic Kingdom they had plans. They were like we're going to build Liberty Square in Frontierland together to tell the story of America's growth from the colonial Northeast times to the gold rush westward, right, right. And so you would think that this tells a whole story, right, it does not. So the last attraction as you're walking through Fantasyland towards Liberty Square on the left is it's a restaurant.
Speaker 2:The last attraction as you're walking through Fantasyland towards Liberty Square on the left is it's?
Speaker 3:a restaurant, the last attraction.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sorry, it's Peter Pan.
Speaker 3:Peter Pan. Where does Peter Pan take place in? Not the whole movie, but England, england. Where did the first settlers of America come from? England, england. So you actually start the transition of the story of America at Peter Pan's flight, and that is why not the Liberty Tree Tavern, but the Columbia Harbor House is the only restaurant that is in two different lands. Part of it is in Fantasyland and the main part of it is in Liberty Square. This is to represent your transition across the Atlantic, from England to a northeastern colonial port town of the 1700s 1800s.
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 3:And if you go in the Columbia Harbor House you notice it is very themed nautically and certain decorations make it look like you're in the hull of a ship. So I think this is the most interesting storytelling in the Magic Kingdom, I think.
Speaker 2:Right, they do. And then the restroom location of it.
Speaker 3:We'll get to there.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:And so I think that the storytelling here starts in England at Peter Pan's flight and ends all the way at Big Thunder Mountain mountain, which is to represent the gold rush era of california and the, the buttes and arizona and all of that area the desert southwest, I think is is just really great storytelling there yes, I would agree picking your nails there no you're bored no, I'm not, no, but no, I but no, I agree.
Speaker 2:But the bathroom.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're going to get there?
Speaker 2:Oh, we're not there. Is that separate? Yes, oh, I'm so sorry. Well, we'll get back to that, guys. Sorry, yes, so next is the Haunted Mansion.
Speaker 3:So the Haunted Mansion is actually based on a real mansion in the Hudson Valley area of the 1800s. So this is again a storytelling part from the northeast all the way out to the southwest and west right.
Speaker 4:Right yeah.
Speaker 3:So I think that's really cool that it's based on an actual mansion used from the Hudson Valley 1800s era. But my favorite two-part again. We could go on and on and on and on about the storytelling and Easter eggs and whatnot in the Haunted Mansion and even in my book when I write about it I don't even try to touch the surface because it's just so much. It's just so much. I wouldn't want to offend the diehard Haunted Mansion fans if I forgot one little detail right.
Speaker 4:Right, because they know that stuff. Yeah, they do.
Speaker 3:What I find really really cool. To kind of just scratch the surface a little bit, the hearse that is out in front in the queue was an actual movie prop from the Western film the Sons of Katie Elder in 1965. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4:That's pretty impressive.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a long time ago and I like how it looks like there's a haunted or an invisible horse with the reins.
Speaker 4:Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's really really cool.
Speaker 3:And as you exit the attraction, if you look to the left, you'll see a pet cemetery. You'll see Mr Toad in the pet cemetery. I wonder if Br'er Rabbit is ever going to show up in the pet cemetery. They need to. I think that would be really really cool, Don't you think yeah?
Speaker 4:Yeah, they need to they need to.
Speaker 2:All right, so we're at 41 minutes now and we have one, two, three, four, five, six we have a lot.
Speaker 3:Why don't we end it right here with part one? What do you think?
Speaker 2:one, what do you?
Speaker 3:think I guess. So If we could go on another 45 minutes and we don't want this to be an hour and a half episode, Alright, so we're stopping after Haunted Mansion. Haunted Mansion. I think that would be a great spot to stop for this week's episode. So we'll go ahead and move on to Disney trivia. So how many blocks did it take to build Cinderella Castle Brittany, do you know?
Speaker 2:First I was thinking quite a bit, but then, once you told me no, it made sense with the answer.
Speaker 3:Zero, yeah, zero blocks to build Cinderella Castle. Now it looks like there's lots of blocks, but it's just plaster and concrete. That's how they can paint it pretty easily and make it look whatever. And this week's winner on top again from Instagram is Britt Brooke. Congratulations, britt Brooke. You are this week's Disney trivia winner. Thank you so much for listening. Stay tuned for part two of Secrets of the Magic Kingdom next week.
Speaker 2:Next week. Talk to you soon.
Speaker 3:And if you want, you're ready to go, huh.
Speaker 2:No, just the way you were winding down.
Speaker 3:If you want to support the podcast, the best thing to do is to share the show with your friends. Give us a listen, leave us a five-star rating or review. Really appreciate it. Brittany cannot get her stuff together over there Sorry. You can email us circleofparks at gmailcom, we're at wwwcircleofparkscom and we're on Facebook, instagram and X all at Circle of Parks. Thank you so much for listening. Really hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:And we look forward to talking to you again next week.
Speaker 4:Talk to you again next week, talk to you soon, thank you.