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8 Facts & Secrets About Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

Guests who enjoy a Walt Disney World vacation love to spend plenty of time in the wonderful Magic Kingdom. The park is full of amazing attractions, dining, entertainment, and shopping for guests to enjoy spread out throughout several themed lands. While guests spend plenty of time exploring and enjoying all that the Magic Kingdom, they may not realize that the park is filled with hidden secrets and details. These hidden facts and secrets can pay homage to opening dates, extinct attractions, Imagineers, and more as well as incorporate some clever and innovative tricks to make magic happen. Here are eight facts and secrets about Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom that many guests don’t know.

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8. Peter Pan’s Bike Chains —

One of the most classic and popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom can be found in Fantasyland. Peter Pan’s Flight invites guests to be sprinkled with pixie dust and take to the skies to soar high with Peter and the Darling children. A popular scene of the attraction brings guests over the nighttime skyline of London complete with landmarks and bustling traffic below. While the traffic may look authentic, the effect is created by small pairs of black light paint on moving bike chains.

7. Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover’s Magnets —

An underrated attraction which many guests sometimes overlook is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The attraction is dubbed the highway in the sky and brings guests on a scenic tour of Tomorrowland with beautiful views and glimpses into nearby attractions. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover appears to be a normal attraction which uses power, but it is actually powered entirely by magnets! The attraction features magnets embedded in the track which push and pull the vehicles for a wonderful experience.

6. Presidential Carpet —

Guests who explore the land of Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom should stop by the Hall of Presidents which can be found inside a stately brick building with bright white trim. Before entering into the main theater, guests can enjoy the lobby of the Hall of Presidents where artwork and artifacts from history can be found. In the middle of the lobby is a small patch of carpet which is fenced in. While this may seem random, the fence is protecting the Presidential Seal on the carpet which can only be found elsewhere in the Oval Office.

5. Mr. Toad’s Tribute —

An attraction that used to exist in the Magic Kingdom which was beloved by many guests was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The attraction had guests board vehicles with Mr. Toad at the wheel and encounter all sorts of mayhem which eventually landed them in hell. When the attraction closed it was replaced with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which features a tribute to the not forgotten Mr. Toad. When passing through the scene depicting Owl’s treehouse, guests should look to the left hand side of their vehicles to spot a portrait of Mr. Toad handing over the deed to Owl.

4. Tony Baxter’s Portrait —

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland invites guests on the wildest ride in the wilderness which sweeps them through the mining town of Tumbleweed. The thrilling attraction features twists, turns, and dips and is a favorite of many guests. When moving through the queue of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, guests can spot a significant amount of props and details which help build the history of the mining town. One item is a portrait of Barnabas T. Bullion, the founder of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad who looks an awful lot like Imagineer Tony Baxter.

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3. Tiki Lightning Rods —

Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom is full of exotic experiences waiting to thrill and charm guests. Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room invites them into a small theater to be serenaded by birds, flowers, and tikis in a wonderful show. Before entering into the attraction, guests should check out the many levels of thatched roofing on the exterior. While it may look like normal thatching, the roofs of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room are metal to act as lightning rods.

2. Pirate’s Drop —

Also found in Adventureland is an attraction which brings guests to the seas for a swashbuckling adventure. Pirates of the Caribbean invites guests to tour eerie caves, epic battles, and a burning seaside village for an unforgettable experience. At the end of the cave scenes, guests suddenly find themselves plummeting down a drop in near darkness. While the drop may seem to be only a thrilling element, it serves a functional purpose as well. Pirates of the Caribbean was not originally intended to be built in Walt Disney World as Imagineers felt guests would not be interested due to their proximity to the Caribbean. After many requests the attraction was built, but outside of the preexisting Walt Disney World Railroad tracks. Imagineers had to come up with a way to move guests past the train tracks to access the show building and the answer came with the thrilling drop.

1. Starport 75 —

One of the most thrilling attractions in the Magic Kingdom is Space Mountain in the heart of Tomorrowland. The attraction brings guests into a massive futuristic building where they can board rockets and blast off into the darkness of outer space. When moving through the queue of Space Mountain, guests will notice that they are in the intergalactic spaceport of Starport 75. While the name may seem random, it pays homage to the attraction’s opening year of 1975.

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.