Behind the Scenes, Part 1

As I mentioned in my last entry, I went on a 5-hour "Keys of the Kingdom" tour of Magic Kingdom.  I learned lots of history and in depth of how Magic Kingdom really came about.

We went on 2 attractions: The Haunted Mansion and The Jungle Cruise.  Our tour guide has worked at Disney practically his whole life and he worked these 2 attractions.  Because of this, we were given even more of an insight!  I'll share with you what I thought was most intriguing.  Don't read if you don't want the secrets revealed!

The Haunted Mansion

-They cut the grass literally with scissors to make it more uneven.
(Think how timely that is!)

-It is the most maintained and *clean* ride in the park, even though it's appearance is supposed to look just the opposite.

-When they first started making the ride there were 2 producers.  The first producer wanted the ride to be scary like it was actually haunted. The second producer wanted the complete opposite and wanted it to be corny and funny.  Because they were fighting over this, they came to a compromise--the first half of the ride is funny and then second part is scary.  This makes complete sense when going through the ride since the ending is the cemetery!

-Guess if the room really stretches or if it's just an elevator when you are in the room getting ready for the ride?  Trick question. It's both.  Disneyland in California has an elevator, and here in Disney World the room actually stretches.


-It's the only Disney attraction around the world that is in every single Disney park and in a different land also. 
(I think in Tokyo he said it is in Fantasyland?? I don't think I would fantasize about that..)


-Tony the Tiger from the Frosted Flakes is in the cemetery!


-Last but not least: the big secret! How do they do the ballroom with all those "holograms" ??
When the ride was first being created, they realized they wanted to do this scene.  So, before they went any further, they had to have a helicopter fly in with a piece of glass the length of the entire scene and place it 8 feet in front of you.  Without realizing it, behind your buggy there is a reflector that projects the images above and below you onto the glass in front of you. It is timed perfectly so that each buggy sees the same thing at the same time.  After he told us this, we looked below us and we actually could see a few "ghosts" before they were projected.  Crazy, right??

The Jungle Cruise

-Walt originally got this idea when he was in Africa. He actually wanted live animals from Africa.  After the realization of the costs and maintenance of the animals, they set out to make look-a-likes.

-There are over 300 plants on this attraction.

-They dye the water green because it's only 3 feet deep so they want to make it look more realistic and so that you do not see the bottom.

-Every single morning the skippers check the (fake) animals to make sure there is no mold on them and they wash them before the day begins.

-There is no steering at all.  The skippers pretend like they are driving the boat, when in actuality, they do it just for the show.  The boats are on a track.

-There is a part that you see mid-way through the attraction on your left side where it looks as if you are going to be ambushed.  There are 3 Indians and all sound like they are saying gibberish and yelling, however, the last one is not.  The last one says "I love disco!" but you will only be able to notice if you listen for it.  The producers of the ride put that in there as a surprise, since it was during the 70's, without Disney actually knowing.

Next blog will be on the rest of the tour.

R.I.P. Wings, until next time.