#1 Abominable B-Ball
Hidden at the top of the 147-foot mountain of Disneyland's first roller coaster, the circa 1959 Matterhorn Bobsleds, is something more surprising than a roaring, fur-covered beast: a single-hoop basketball court for use by park employees on their breaks. It was created by vote to fill the extra space in the snow capped icon, as the coaster makes us of only the bottom two-thirds of the peak.
#2 A Kinder Dumbo
Timothy Q. Mouse, who presides over Dumbo the Flying Elephant (Magic Kingdom and Disneyland), once brandished a training whip to make the elephants soar. Times changed, and the whip was quietly replaced with a "magic feather." One of the original Dumbo "flying elephant" vehicles is on display at the Smithsonian.
#3 Meow vs. Mouse
As any urban dweller can tell you, mice are a fact of lifeespecially at Disneyland, a theme park built in the center of Anaheim, CA, where every day brings spills of all sorts that critters love. To help curb the problem, Disney takes a barn cat approach and "employs" hundreds of collarless, free-roaming mousers that they feed during the day (and spay and neuter) then let loose at night. It's a fun irony that Mickey's greatest natural enemy is given the keys to the Kingdom after dark.
#4 Raiders of the Lost Iguanodon
Although they are different rides on opposite coasts, the track layouts of Indiana Jones (Disneyland) and Dinosaur (Disney's Animal Kingdom) are nearly identical. The sets and lighting are different.
#5 Disco Yeti
The largest and most complicated audio-animatronic ever assembled is the 22-foot-tall Yeti inside Expedition Everest (Disney's Animal Kingdom)and it does not work. When the ride opened in 2006, it lunged menacingly at every passing train, but its systems could not sustain the intensity, and it had to be turned off. Now its design-failure immobilization is concealed with a strobe-light effect, spurring some guests to nickname it "Disco Yeti."
#6 Walt’s the Password?
Although it may be more of an open secret at this point, mum's the word on a mostly off-limits speakeasy-esque private dinner club called Club 33, hidden in Disneyland's New Orleans Square. (Tokyo Disneyland also has one but not the Magic Kingdom.) To find it, look for a gray-green door near the Blue Bayou restaurant with a mirrored plaque that reads "33"but don't bother pushing the button for entry unless you have a reservation. (There's purportedly an 18-year waiting list and $10,000 initiation fee.) Inside, celebrities and business VIPs can grab dinner and a Big Easyinspired cocktail, the only such place within Disneyland itself where alcohol is allowed.
#7 Presidential Fashion
Each president in the Hall of Presidents (Magic Kingdom) wears clothing made using the techniques of his era. For example, if there were no sewing machines in his timewe're looking at you, "Georgie" boythen his suit is hand-stitched.
#8 Bye-Bye, Beatles
For rock 'n' roll fans, Walt Disney World may not actually be the most magical place on earth: The Beatles officially broke up at Disney's Polynesian Resort. While on vacation there on December 29, 1974, John Lennon signed the papers that made their dissolution legal.
#9 Repurposed Film Props
The organ in the ballroom scene of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is the actual one played by Captain Nemo (James Mason) in 1954's 20,000 Leagues Under the Seaalbeit with a different configuration of the pipes.
#10 Copyright Disney
Want to upload that vacation video to YouTube? Don't be bummed if Disney asks you to take it down. As in most privately owned theme parks, everything in Disneycharacters, rides, and architecture, down to every mouse-eared design detailis the company's intellectual property. Disney has not flexed that legal muscle yet, but as a spokesperson seemed to suggest in this story on Daily Finance, it could. It's just one reason that the movie Escape from Tomorrow, shot guerrilla style at Walt Disney World, was such a gamble; the filmmakers even have a cheeky "lawsuit-free" ticker on their website.
#11 Cinderella Castle Trickery
Cinderella Castle feels more imposing than it actually is thanks to the use of forced perspective and a barely perceptible incline. The fiberglass structure (not stone; Disney got special permission from the government for that building-code exemption too) is built higher than the rest of the park.
#12 It’s Not All Imagineered
The gas lamps along Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. are 19th-century artifacts, not reproductions. "Disneyland used to have a costumed lamplighter who lit the lamps at dusk," says Lowery. "When the energy crisis hit in the 1970's, the gas lamps were turned off." Out of nostalgia, the lamps were later re-lit. Lowery believes they originally illuminated Baltimore's streets.
