Post submitted by Victoria

In honor of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, we present 50 cool, obscure and simply odd things you probably didn’t know about the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth. Many were culled from Mouse Tales by David Koenig (Bonaventure, $19.95). Some were provided by Disney archivist Dave Smith, and others came from 101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland by former park employee Kevin Yee and lifelong fan Jason Schultz (Zauberreich, $14.95).

1. Disneyland’s original Tinker Bell was a 71-year-old Hungarian circus performer named Tiny Kline. The first to fly off the top of the Matterhorn on a zip line, she previously worked as a stunt aerialist, hanging from a flying airplane by her teeth.

2. High inside the hollow Matterhorn is a basketball court. It’s part of an employee break room. Los Angeles Lakers’ center Vlade Divac has been up there to shoot hoops.

3. Many of the faces of the pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean are modeled on those of the “Imagineers” (Disneyspeak for the park’s artists and engineers) who created the ride. There’s evidence one face was modeled on Walt Disney’s.

4. Ron Ziegler, Richard Nixon’s press secretary during the Watergate scandal, once worked as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise ride. Continue Reading

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A Listropolis Original

I worked at the Magic Kingdom for 7 years, and was able to take with me a ton of secrets that ruin the "Magic" of Disney. Since I'm now burdened with these secrets, I figured I'd share 6 of them that most people have no clue about. If you're a die-hard Disney fan that still believes in fairy tales and pixie dust, this list isn't for you.

1. There are tunnels under the Magic Kingdom - the tunnels are large enough to drive vehicles through, and serve as a way for cast members to access areas of the park specific to their costume. I did a much larger post about the Disney tunnels on another site that goes into details, and provides a list of park access points from the tunnels. These access points are scattered throughout the park, but most people never notice them.
   
2. Main Street Illusion - All of the buildings on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, are built using forced perspective, making it seem as if Main Street will never end as you walk into the park, and making it seem very short when you're leaving. The windows on the second floor were all created much smaller than the windows on the first floor, and the building slightly angle towards the castle.
   
3. Hidden Mickeys - this is probably the best known of all the Disney secrets. If you've never heard of hidden Mickey's, they are just mickey heads scattered throughout everything done by Disney - EVERYTHING. There are plenty of sites that cover the locations of the hidden Mickey's, but I doubt anyone knows where all of them are. They are on every Disney attraction, in most Disney movies, formed by buildings and gardens that can only be discovered by air, and many other places you'd never expect.
   

   
   

4. X-Rated Fun - Not the x-rated you're expecting, but many Disney videos have dirty little secrets hidden in them. The most notorious is the penis hidden in the castle on the cover of the Little Mermaid, and the word "sex" being formed from dust in the Lion King. There's also a pornographic legend about the "Partner's Statue" in front of the castle, which is a statue of Walt and Mickey holding hands, and if you turn a certain way, you see a whole lot more than you bargained for.
   
5. Flash Mountain - No, not Splash Mountain, Flash Mountain(NSFW). Flash Mountain isn't really a place. It's actually a phenomenon where woman flash their breasts as they're going down Splash Mountain. It's much more common than you'd expect, and if you watch the logs coming over the drop, you're bound to experience Flash Mountain. A picture is snapped as you go over the falls, and now they are heavily monitored for flashes, middle fingers, and gang signs. If any of those show up, the picture won't print, and you'll be left with only a story to tell.
   

   
   

6. No Deaths at Disney - I'm not sure if this one is still true, but as of a couple of years ago, it was ok for Disney to say they had never had a death at the park. If someone were to be fatally injured at the park, they would not be pronounced deceased until they arrived at the hospital - away from the park. Nothing happy fun about this subject, but it's a dark secret, and not many people know about it.

Know of any other dirty Disney secrets? Let us know in the comments section.

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