How Disney Runs Their Disney World

I am fascinated by the spectacle that is Disney World. I have also been to Disneyland but I cannot remember it, and I have not been to the other parks, but I can imagine they are all quite similar. They put on such a clean presentation, but there must be a lot we do not know about. Here are some of those things that interested me the most:

1) According to this source, Disney World has a network of underground tunnels. Well, not really underground. Because Disney World is build at sea level, the park is actually built above the normal elevation of the area and the tunnels are at sea level. Regardless, it reminds me a little bit of East Campus here at Duke, but I'd guess Disney World has fewer unauthorized visitors in their tunnels.

A photo of the tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom

2) The same source as above told me that people spread ashes of their loved ones around the park so much that they have a specific vacuum for when it happens. Skeptical, and frankly a little grossed out, I wanted to look further into this. I found a message board asking about this issue. One response that brought out a chuckle from me was that "she must be very special to have wanted part of her ashes to be left at WDW." Apparently there are all sorts of legal ramifications to spreading ashes on private property and one response claimed it was "not allowed under any circumstances." A few other sources agreed with this, but it appears to happen frequently anyway.

3)  You can stay in the Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom! It is used for promotional giveaways rather than normal bookings. The building is pretty empty, with only 1 hotel room (incredibly hard to get to stay in), a restaurant and gift shop. 

The inside of the hotel room in the Cinderella Castle

4) Disney World hires a lot of people. Supposedly, Disney World is has the most employees - or cast members - of any single-site location. As much as people hate on Disney, they employ a lot of people and that is a good thing.

5) Disney has an abandoned water park. In 2001, Disney closed their River Country park for a few reasons. One of those reasons was that they could not use natural water bodies for their park. The area, in fact, is carrying some rare, water-borne amoeba that has killed a few people. On top of this, some crazy people have actually snuck into the abandoned place!

A photo of the abandoned River Country park.

6) Each year, almost 2 million pounds of turkey drumsticks are bought at Disney World. That is just so. much. meat. This does not seem like quite so much when you compare it to the approximately 736 million pounds of turkey consumed in the US during last year's Thanksgiving, but it sure is a lot of turkey considering it is one of very, very few dining options at Disney World.

Just a man and goofy and their turkey legs (or a man with 2 turkey legs trying to pass off that one is for Goofy)

7) Over 200 pairs of sunglasses are brought to the lost and found every single day. This hits pretty close to home since I lost my sunglasses at Disney World. Think about how many pairs are not even brought to lost and found too!

8) Disney plants a lot of its own fruits and veggies! EPCOT's Land Pavilion produces over 30 tons of fruits and vegetables per year that are used throughout the parks. Considering that the average American eats almost a ton each year, this really sounds like a whole lot of fruits and vegetables. 

9) Adding to their sustainability efforts are the funds they donate to efforts of wildlife preservation and restoration. They own a wilderness preserve mitigation project.

10) Disney is probably one of the cleanest places anywhere. One reason for this is that they do not sell any gum. Another reason is that you are never more than 30 steps from a trash can. It is practically easier to throw away trash properly than it is to litter!

Trash cans at Disney World

11) Disney has these things called Smellitizers. They are put all over the parks. They send out scents to areas to match the surroundings. Example of this are the salty smell in the line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the honey smell at the Pooh ride.

12) There is a wedding ring in the concrete in the line for "The Haunted Mansion" that is there to expand the story of the hanging bride in the ride. When I was last at Disney World, my friends and I looked for the ring but we couldn't find it.