Who Knew? Fascinating Secrets About Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World is home to four amazing theme parks, Mickey Mouse and his friends and to a few secrets. From "hidden Mickeys" which are images of Mickey Mouse hidden within rides and the architecture of Walt Disney World to strange but true facts, Walt Disney World holds many secrets. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Hidden Mickeys

Throughout the theme parks and resorts of Walt Disney World are hidden Mickeys. Disney designers, or "Imagineers" as Disney calls them, design rides and other elements of the parks and hotels with hidden Mickey Mouses and other hidden surprises.

If you've been on the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom you've encountered some hidden Mickeys. Next time you're on this ride pay close attention to the dinner party scene. One of the place settings is set in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Or over at Epcot, hop on Sorin' and watch for the golf ball that come flying at you. Yup, there's a Mickey Mouse on the golf ball!

The Contemporary Resort Hotel is a prefabricated hotel

The massive A-frame Contemporary Resort hotel at Walt Disney World is instantly recognizable to most visitors. But what most visitors don't know is that the hotel, build by U.S. Steel, is unique in that the rooms were meant to be removable. You see, the hotel's guest rooms were built off site and hoisted and slid into the hotel's A-frame during construction. The idea was that when it was time for an update to the guest rooms they would be slid out and replaced with a new, updated room. However, over the years, the rooms have settled and gotten permanently stuck within the hotel's frame so no rooms have been removed since the hotel's opening (they have, however, been updated the old fashion way; one room at a time and on-site).

Children never get "lost" at Walt Disney World. Really!

With millions of visitors a year, you'd think that there would be at least one lost child, right? But you'd be wrong. Why? It's simple, really, Walt Disney World only has lost parents. That's right, when a child is found alone, it's handled as a lost parent rather than a lost child. The reason is to help the child to feel better about the situation by stating they're not lost, it his or her parents.

The Golden Girls lived at Walt Disney World

Okay, so maybe Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia didn't call Walt Disney World home, but their house was there; Right on the Disney-MGM Studios backlot! The original Golden Girls house was in Los Angeles, but when the Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened in 1989, an exact exterior replica of the Los Angeles house was built on Residential Street, Disney-MGM Studio's neighborhood street set (since demolished to make room for new attractions). From 1989, exterior shots of the Golden Girls house were filmed at the Disney-MGM Studios.