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6 Secrets Most People Don’t Know About Disney’s Epcot

Many guests who visit Walt Disney World love spending time in Epcot for its unique combination of two separate areas of the park. Future World invites guests to explore the wonders of technology and nature and World Showcase celebrates the unity of all cultures with eleven different pavilions each highlighting a specific country. Guests who spend time in the park can enjoy blasting off into space, traveling back in time, diving into the seas, traveling the world, and hang gliding over some beautiful sights. With so many amazing things to experience in Epcot, some guests get caught up in rushing around trying to see it all and end up overlooking some amazing details. Hidden amongst many of these small details are secrets that guests simply love discovering. Here are six secrets most guests don’t know about Disney’s Epcot.

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6. Garden Grill’s Hidden Mickey 

The Garden Grill Restaurant in The Land Pavilion is a popular full service meal that many guests enjoy while visiting Future World. The restaurant is very unique in that is rotates slowly and offers guests glimpses into the attraction Living with the Land. Guests who dine there can also enjoy fresh produce grown in the greenhouses of The Land while meeting Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Pluto. Many guests who dine in Garden Grill enjoy the overall ambiance of the décor, but don’t realize that there is a Hidden Mickey to be found! Near the entrance of the restaurant is a mural which depicts lots of flora and fauna. In the mural is a very hard to spot Hidden Mickey hiding behind a tall fern with horizontal leaves.

5. Familiar Faces

Spaceship Earth is the flagship attraction of Epcot that brings guests on a journey from the beginning of time to celebrate the development of communication. Guests onboard the attraction pass by important moments in history like the burning of Rome, the Renaissance, and man landing on the moon. Since there are so many scenes on Spaceship Earth, there are dozens of audio animatronics throughout the attraction and many guests don’t realize that they have familiar faces! While constructing the attraction, Imagineers decided to use preexisting molds that had already been used to create audio animatronics in the Hall of Presidents in the Magic Kingdom. Therefore guests enjoying Spaceship Earth can spot presidential faces like William Taft as an Egyptian, James Buchanan as Gutenberg, John Adams as a monk, and Teddy Roosevelt as a Roman.

4. Flight Numbers

One of the most popular attractions in Epcot is Soarin’ which can be found on the lower level of The Land Pavilion across from Living with the Land. Guests who enjoy the attraction can take to the skies on a hang gliding journey over beautiful sights all around the world! Guests might notice that the flight number of Soarin’ is 5505, but they probably don’t realize that it is referencing May 5, 2005 which was the opening day of the attraction.

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3. The Land’s Hidden Mickey

Living with the Land can be found directly across from Soarin’ and shares with guests the importance of respecting and maintaining the land. Guests can learn about how the land thrives in extremely different weather settings and then enjoy beautiful greenhouses where fresh produce is growing. At one point during Living with the Land, guests move past a series of tubes on either side of their boat filled with sea creatures like eels and shrimp. In one of those tubes guests can spot a classic Hidden Mickey formed by three circles of mesh wiring.

2. A Hidden Drawbridge

Each night, World Showcase Lagoon comes to life with Epcot Forever which combines pyrotechnics, fireworks, dancing water, laser lights, and beautiful music to convey. Many guests don’t realize that many of the items that enter the World Showcase Lagoon come from under a drawbridge in the Outpost section of World Showcase. Guests who are walking near the Outpost can look closely at the ground and notice that a small bridge there actually hinges upward and becomes a drawbridge for items to pass under.

1. Spaceship Earth’s Hidden Mickey

Guests who enjoy Spaceship Earth can spot several Hidden Mickeys throughout their journey, but one in particular can be spotted by the whole family in the Renaissance scene. Just after passing by two monks working on the left hand side of the attraction vehicle, guests will see an art studio where craftsmen are painting and sculpting. On a small table with paint supplies, guests can spot a classic Hidden Mickey formed by three paint rings.

About Caitlin Kane

Caitlin Kane first started visiting Walt Disney World when she was two years old, and despite spending most of that trip quarantined with the chicken pox she managed to fall in love with the place. Visiting WDW every year since, she especially loves learning all about the history and small details of the parks and eating/drinking her way through the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival each fall. When she's not in Disney, Caitlin lives in New York and spends her time counting down the days to her next trip.