Walt Disney is a household name across the globe. The famous Mickey (originally Mortimer) creator, who was recently called out on his bigotry by feminist actress Meryl Streep, left his legacy in The Walt Disney Company, a multi-national mass media corporation. The company, which now owns Pixar as well as the Star Wars franchise, is famous for being known as the epitome of American animation as well as leading in live-action as well as animated film, television, and theme parks. Here’s five things you may not have known about Disney World.
There are tons of “Hidden Mickeys” around the parks.
Walt Disney is probably most famous for the creation of Disney’s mascot, Mickey Mouse. There are literally thousands of tiny pictures of Mickey Mouse’s head, simplified to three circles, hidden throughout Disney World on everything from food to strategically placed details? While there is no officially approved or complete list of Hidden Mickeys, lots of visitors submit their findings online.
The design of Main Street, U.S.A. is based on a real location.
Main Street, U.S.A., located in the Magic Kingdom, is the epitome of those early American attractions that almost every theme park in the country boasts. The location Main Street takes its loose basis from is Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, MO. The town now uses “Main Street, U.S.A.” as a nickname.
About 33,000 bottles of champagne and wine are consumed annually at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
According to Walt Disney World For Grown Ups, the other numbers of expenditures for the Festival include 1,200 fireworks, 1.5 million food samples, 100,000 desserts, and over 5,000 pounds of lobster.
Walt Disney World is the second largest consumer of explosives in the U.S.
Disney Dreaming reports that the theme park comes in second only to the U.S. Military. Walt Disney World uses these fireworks for spectacules every night as well as in other attractions and shows, including the famous “Fantasmic!,” which some have claimed is a multi-media adaptation of the film Fantasia .
That little light that arcs over the castle logo? That’s Tinker Bell.
According to Southern Living, every night a face character (a person who works at the Disney parks dressing and acting as a character, as well as interacting with kids) soars 750 feet, between Cinderella’s Castle and the Tomorrowland attraction, which finds its basis in the once-futuristic year 1986. Tinker Bell’s flight marks the start of the aforementioned firework shows.
[Image via Mousekateerz ]