Your best WDW Secret!!

[sdale1227]

I can't confirm that it is the Soarin' logo on the ball, but I always thought that it was a Hidden Mickey on the ball.

It is a Hidden Mickey!

[starlightbh8]

The Tower of Terror ride alternates the number of times they drop you up and down, so your experience on this ride could be different every single time !!!

Just thought that was pretty interesting, since at the time i rode it each day while being there, it did seem like this was true.

I only found out about this secret from the travel channel after i came back, when they went behind the scenes of Walt Disney World, but it was great to hear it wasn't just me thinking the ride felt different every time .

[cskiff7895]

New to the forum, but have been a fan of disney for years. I don't think this has been mentioned yet but it's a cool little secret i learned many years ago. When you're in Liberty Square and you walk west towards Frontierland you will notice the color of the concrete changes, where the color changes you will also notice that there is a metal plate that runs the whole width of the walkway. If you look to the south you will see a wooden water wheel, to the north is the Rivers of America. Walk over to the water wheel and you'll notice a little stream running under the metal plate on the walkway and it runs into the Rivers of America. This little stream symbolizes the Mississippi River, as you make your way from Colonial America (Liberty Square) over the Mississippi to the Wild West (Frontierland). Just another one of the many details that the imagineers put in to the parks and have not advertised.

[MandaBella]

Welcome to DWT cskiff7895!

That's an interesting tidbit about the mighty Mississippi River between Liberty Square and Frontierland! I'm surprised I never heard it during the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I'll have to look for that next time I visit.

[Rocketeer]

Welcome to DWT cskiff7895!

That's an interesting tidbit about the mighty Mississippi River between Liberty Square and Frontierland! I'm surprised I never heard it during the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I'll have to look for that next time I visit.

Hey - we'll have to bounce that one off Lou and see if he has seen it!

I agree that that's new to me too - I'll be sure to look for it on my next visit!!!

Thanx cskiff!!!

[cskiff7895]

Thanks guys. Just another little fact i picked up, the people mover (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) was actually built 20% it's orginal size, many of you remember that EPCOT was really supposted to be a city, and that was the orginal intent of the poeple mover. Also, has anyone heard the backstory of the ring enbedded in the pavement at the HM? I know it was an old pole used for crowd control and it broke off flush with the ground, and where the diamond would be is actually the broken tip of a screwdriver that was used to try and pry the piece out,. I finally found it last time I was there and was wondering if anyone had known the back story to it?

[cskiff7895]

nevermind...i just read that they covered it up and found the story.

[disneyfanatic101]

This might have been posted before, but I didn't want to look through all the pages.

I'm sure all of you know about the underground trash collection system in MK...but did you know that even the carts in the MK are positioned just so? They are positioned in certain areas so they can use the trash collecter. Let me know if this was listed before.

[wallyrich]

Our family has stayed at the Contemporary, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Wilderness Lodge Villas, Polynesian, and Port Orleans Riverside.

We stayed at the Contemporary in the tower with the park view before and after the renovations. The views are priceless, the fast access to the monorail is great, getting up in the morning and hearing all the excitement at Chef Mickey's was exciting, but the rooms were small. I loved the TV and hated the automatic fans in the bathroom.

We stayed at the Polynesian Resort after the renovation to the room. I loved the new design. The bathrooms are poorly lit unless you leave the lights on for 5-10 minutes. They are using florescent lights and take a bit to get to full brightness. This room seemed slightly larger then the Contemporary. Finding the hidden Mickey in the painting on the wall was exciting for all of us. This resort was more serene and peaceful then Contemporary if that's what you are looking for.

Wilderness Lodge Villas (WLV)
Now we are starting to get larger. Certainly larger then the Contemporary or Polynesian. Great theming, you actually felt like you were in the wilderness. The down side to this was the really long walk to the main building as well as your car. Using the buses takes up too much time waiting for them.

Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR)
Great rooms. If you get the 2 bedroom the other bedroom has their own bathroom and that was a huge sell with my daughters. The deck is real tiny compared to the Old Key West as well as the kitchen and living room. The couch was not useful as a bed. It was reported to be very hard and uncomfortable.

The WINNER:
OLD KEY WEST.
The theming is great. It is peaceful except for the occasional golfer that messes up their swing. It is great that you can park your car right near your room, SSR
has a longer walk and WLV is almost 1/4 to 1/2 mile from your car in the parking lot. The deck is large enough to have a table and four chairs and still have room for 4 other people. There are rooms that have spectacular views of portions of EPCOT and the water parks. It is a leasure boat ride to downtown Disney. the living room is huge. The kitchen is large enough for two people to work comfortably in. There is ROOM to move around. Oh, and unlike all the new resorts they do not have the automatic fans.

OK there's my two-cents worth.

[Mr. Imagineer]

im sure this is not a secret especially to you all who know so much about Disney but if you ask they will let you ride in the front of the monorial. also is it true that disney has its own police department but everyone is undercoverin regular clothes and made to look like a tourist? (not sure if thats a secret but someone told me that once)

Yes, that is true. I've seen a guy that had a gun...

[BryanFykes]

Yes, that is true. I've seen a guy that had a gun...

There is also United States Secret Service employees always present on Disney property. Why? Walt Disney World is one of the places in the US where fake currency is most frequently passed. The Secret Service polices all conterfiet currency cases, in addition to protecting sitting and former presidents.

[BryanFykes]

This might have been posted before, but I didn't want to look throgh all the pages.

I'm sure all of you know about the underground trash collection system in MK...but did you know that even the carts in the MK are positioned just so? They are positioned in certain areas so they can use the trash collecter. Let me know if this was listed before.

I think you might be mistaken on this one... so I'll add my 2 cents

It is a common misconception that the Automated Vacuum collection system (AVAC) connects to each and every trash recepticle in the MK. As a former CM, I can attest that this isnt true. trash is collected from the cans in bags and taken to centrally located points in each area. I worked at Pinnochio's Village Haus. We had one in the dining room, in a small closet sized room. its beneath the raised seating area, if you are curious.

The trash is ****ed through large diameter pipes to a central processing plant about 1/2 a mile directly behind the Toontown fair. it is compressed and trucked away, although I think some is burned in an incinerator. I think I remember someone saying something about that.

If you take the Keys to the Kingdom tour, you will occasionally hear loud scraping/banging noises coming from the pipes overhead. thats the AVAC. makes the Utilidors smell pleasant too, as the pipes leak in some places.

More trivia, they are Very loud, Very Smelly (!!!), and apparently very dangerous, as there are numeous warning posters and such in the "hopper" areas.

Now if you were speaking about some sort of "no cart is more than a X feet away from a AVAC collection point" then you could be right. it seemed that could be true.

Enough trash talking...

[BryanFykes]

posted twice somehow... delete

[Mac Mika]

Re:AVAC System
I used to work at the Diamond Horseshoe. We used the Adventureland Veranda AVAC. I wish I had one in my home. It was great, dump the trash and then it gets "sent" away.
The incinerator was located behind Splash Mountain by the parade building last I recall. It sits by itself across from the parade building where the floats are stored and it has some pipes connected to it that come from the park.

[Mac Mika]

Yes, that is true. I've seen a guy that had a gun...

More than likely the guy you saw with the gun was an investigator with the Orange County Sheriff's office. They have several investigators assigned to tourist areas including WDW. My neighbor was one of those assigned to WDW.
WDW Security does not carry guns.