Disney is the most magical place on Earth and even if you think you’re the biggest Disney fan out there, there are probably some facts that you don’t know about your favourite vacation destination. This Disney World trivia for kids (and adults) will hopefully surprise you!
4 theme parks and 2 water parks make up Walt Disney World, Florida, each with its unique theming and characteristics. If you’re heading out to the parks or if you simply want to top up your Disney knowledge, keep on reading! For quiz fans, also check out our Disney quiz with 200 questions and answers to keep you busy on a rainy day in Orlando or keep you occupied on a day trip from Orlando!
Magic Kingdom Trivia
Magic Kingdom is the centrepiece of Disney World and is the place where you can meet a huge selection of characters, experience themed rides related to your favourite movies and have the most unforgettable holiday possible.
Here are some Magic Kingdom facts you probably didn’t know!
1) Magic Kingdom is the Smallest Park
Even though Magic Kingdom is the most popular and favoured park of the 4 theme parks, it is actually the smallest. Magic Kingdom sits on roughly 107 acres of land with Disney’s biggest park, Animal Kingdom, measuring in at over 500 acres!
Magic Kingdom may seem small, but it is still bigger than Disneyland, California, which covers just 98 acres!
2) Tickets Used to Be Extremely Inexpensive
Tickets to Magic Kingdom back in 1971 when the park first opened cost $3.50, which is roughly the same price as a bottle of water in the park now. Nowdays that $3.50 is worth about $25- so tickets were considerably cheaper!
A day pass to Disney nowadays is just over $100 per person.
3) The Magic Kingdom Trains Are Over 100 Years Old
The steam trains that run through Magic Kingdom and carry over 1.5 million passengers each year are actually over 100 years old.
They built the first train in 1916, with the three remaining being built in the years leading up to 1928. Restoration projects are regularly undertaken to ensure the trains are in perfect working condition.
4) Cinderella’s Castle Is Invincible
America is known for its hurricanes, and Cinderella’s Castle is ready to put up a fight. The shell of the castle is made from extremely sturdy fibreglass that can fend off 125 miles per hour winds.
They even strategically placed lightning rods on the castles spears to protect it from Florida’s extreme thunderstorms.
5) Trash Cans Are Everywhere
There is nothing more annoying than carrying your trash around with you, with no trash can insight. Disney understood this and conveniently placed trash cans around the parks, so you’ll never be more than 30 steps away from one.
6) The Liberty Oak Tree Is Over 140 Years Old
The Liberty Oak Tree in Liberty Square is over 140 years old and was brought to its final resting destination from Walt Disney’s family property over 8 miles away.
Relocating the tree took months and workers needed to drill holes in the trunk, insert pins, and eventually lift it with a crane.
7) Liberty Square Has No Bathrooms
Have you ever wondered why there are no toilets in Liberty Square? That’s because when building the Colonial land, they wanted to keep it as accurate to the time as possible. Toilets weren’t yet invented in this time period, so they weren’t included in the creation of the land.
Liberty Square also has a brown crooked pavement winding through the land, which is meant to represent the trail of sewage that would have flown through the streets – talk about mastering the fine details.
8) Magic Kingdom Has the Biggest Crowds
When you think of Disney World, you think of Magic Kingdom, so it’s no wonder Magic Kingdom has the biggest crowds of all 4 parks.
Roughly 17 million people a year flock to Disney’s Magic Kingdom and although this may seem extraordinary, the park can actually accommodate twice the amount!
9) Magic Kingdom Has Secret Underground Tunnels
Secret underground tunnels run under Magic Kingdom for two purposes.
The first is to remove trash from the park. Magic Kingdom uses an automated vacuum collection system that custodians can dump trash into so it can be processed and transferred to either a landfill or a recycling centre. The automated system sees roughly 36,000kgs of trash every day!
The second reason for the underground tunnels or utilidors is so cast members can easily navigate the parks using golf-cart buggies. Cast members can whizz around the underground colour-coded tunnels to save time and beat the crowds.
Animal Kingdom Trivia
In my personal opinion, Animal Kingdom is one of the best parks at Disney World. Not only do you get all the benefits of an incredible theme park, but you also get to witness a ton of different animal species, all in one place!
10) Animal Kingdom Is the Largest Park
I mentioned before that Animal Kingdom sits on over 500 acres of land and is roughly 5 times the size of Magic Kingdom, making it the largest of all 4 parks. All those animals need somewhere to live, right?
11) It Has Over 250 Species of Animals Living There
Animal Kingdom has over 2,000 animals from 300 different species living in the park. Included in this are the largest group of African elephants and Nile hippos in North America.
12) The Animals Eat a Tremendous Amount of Food Every Day
With over 2,000 animals, you can bet they eat an enormous amount of food each and every day. Over 10,000 pounds of vegetation, insects, and meat are fed to the animals who call Animal Kingdom home. I bet their food bill is extraordinary.
13) 4 Million Trees and Plants Were Planted in the Park
To keep up the theming inside Animal Kingdom, 4 million different types of trees and plants from 6 of the world’s continents were planted inside the park.
14) The Tree of Life Is Huge
The Tree of Life with its incredible carvings stands up 145 feet tall with its branches spanning 160 feet. 3 Imagineers and 10 artists worked for 18 months to carve the 325 detailed animals in its trunk.
15) You Can Take a Private Night Tour
Taking a private night tour allows you to experience some of the park’s nocturnal animals in their element. The experience includes a trek through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve and a selection of African inspired dishes.
16) Pandora Has Glow in the Dark Paths
The land of Pandora is truly unique and along with its 500 trees and 10,000 shrubs, the land also features glow in the dark paths that are charged in the sun during the day, and glow up at nighttime.
17) Dinoland Has a T-Rex Replica
Although the fossil isn’t an original, the replica of the world’s largest T-Rex skeleton ever found is still a magnificent sight.
The replica is of the T-Rex found in South Dakota is 13-feet tall, 40-feet long, it is the largest T-Rex skeleton ever to be discovered.
Hollywood Studios Trivia
The home of the Tower of Terror, the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, makes Hollywood Studios a paradise for all the movie buffs out there.
18) Hollywood Studios Was Almost Never Built
When brainstorming ideas for a movie and animation area, the Imagineers first thought of building Hollywood Studios as a land inside Epcot.
If they went ahead with this idea, the former Disney MGM Studios would have been a pavilion in the Future World of Epcot. Once Universal Studios announced its plans to open a theme park, the designers made it into its very own park.
In 2008, Disney’s MGM Studio’s name was changed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
19) The Tower of Terror Was Once Struck by Lightning
We all know the story of the Tower of Terror. Lightning struck the elevator and it and its inhabitants disappear into another dimension. Well, when the attraction was being built, it was in fact struck by lightning. After this incident, lightning rods were added to the top of the attraction to prevent this from happening again.
20) The Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster Was Built Outside
During the making of the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, the rollercoaster itself was built outside until its completion when the walls and ceiling were built around it, giving it that dark and unique themed experience.
21) Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Is Massive
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge sits on over 14 acres of land in Hollywood Studios and is one of the largest single-themed lands in Disney. The land is home to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance rides. Along with these rides, the land boasts 5 restaurants and numerous gift shops.
22) The Park Used to Have an Animation Studio
When the park was first opened, you could enter The Magic of Disney Animation studio and witness people working on new Disney movies.
Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, and Brother Bear were all created in this animation studio before it shut in 2015.
23) Indiana Jones Boulder Weighs Over 400 Pounds
The Indiana Jones show is a truly entertaining stunt show that opened a few months after the park itself.
The boulder that Indi runs down the set away from actually weighs over 400 pounds! – You wouldn’t want to get squished under that.
24) The Rock ’n’ Rollercoaster Limo Has 125 Speakers
One of the factors of the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster that makes it an incredible experience is the music blaring in your ears as you ride the 1 minute and 22-second ride that takes you from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds.
125 speakers feature in each of the ride’s limos, making you truly feel like you’re in a rock concert.
25) Toy Story Land Has More Than 400 Blocks
To make you feel like you’re walking through Andy’s backyard, over 400 colourful blocks were added to Toy Story Land, along with tall pencils, string lights, and the movie’s favourite toy characters.
26) You Can Find Audrey Hepburn’s Handprints Outside the Chinese Theater
The replica of the Chinese Theatre found on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is home to Audrey Hepburn’s handprints.
Her handprints can’t be found in front of the original theatre in California, but they can be found in Disney!
Epcot Trivia
Epcot is honestly one of a kind and there isn’t anywhere else on Earth where you can experience 11 different cultures all in one place.
27) Rainwater Never Falls off Epcot’s Spaceship Earth
The Spaceship Earth centrepiece of Epcot features a drainage system that allows rainwater to drain from the sides of the ball and into the World Showcase Lagoon.
If you’re standing underneath the massive spherical building, you won’t get wet! Pretty cool, right?
28) Epcot Has One of the Tallest Fountains in the World
The fountain in the Innoventions Plaza can propel up to 2,000 gallons of water up to 150 feet in the air.
29) It Is the World’s Eighth Most Visited Theme Park
Epcot ranks in as the eighth most visited theme park in the world! It follows after Magic Kingdom, Shanghai Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Universal Studios Florida.
30) Test Track Is the Fastest Disney Park Attraction
The Test Track ride in Future World can reach its top speed of 64.9 mph, making it the fastest ride in Disney.
31) Epcot Has the Second Largest Salt Water Tank in the World
The tank found in “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” is the world’s second-largest saltwater tank with over 6,000 fish from 60 different species.
32) The Nightly Firework Display Is Expensive
The incredible World Showcase firework display comes at a price. The fireworks, lights and lasers cost Disney around $25,000 each and every night!
33) The Norway and Mexico Pavilions Weren’t Included Originally
11 pavilions make up Epcot’s world showcase and originally only 9 were built. The Norway and Mexico pavilions were added in 1984 and 1988 to make up the now 11 countries represented in the pavilions.
Walt Disney World Random Trivia
Now we’ve covered each of the individual parks, here are some random Walt Disney World facts that you may not have known.
34) No Structures Are Taller Than 200 Feet
Buildings that are taller than 200 feet require flashing aviation lights to warn off planes. The Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest both stand at 199 feet to avoid ruining the Disney magic and having to install these lights.
35) The Flags in Disney World Are Fake
American flags need to follow a national flag code, so Disney purposefully made their flags with missing stars or stripes to avoid having to worry about flag etiquette.
36) You Can’t Buy Gum
For all the gum chewers out there, to help maintain the park’s cleanliness, Disney World doesn’t sell chewing gum.
37) Mickey is a Fashionista
Mickey has over 290 outfits in his wardrobe with his beloved Minnie only having 200!
38) Disney Staff
Disney World employs over 60,000 cast members, making it one of the largest employers in the US.
39) How Many Hotel Rooms?
If you were to stay in every single hotel room at Disney World, it would take you 68 years!
40) Disney World Is Huge and Its Own City
Disney World is the size of San Francisco (the perfect base for visiting Alcatraz) and twice the size of Manhattan! Who knew that?
Disney is a self-governing city with Walt petitioning the Florida state legislature to create the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This move gave the Walt Disney Company the ability to self-govern. This is going to be limited or completely dissolved but we are awaiting for the exact details.
41) Bye Bye Sunglasses
Disney really is where sunglasses go to die. Every day more than 200 pairs of sunglasses are lost on rides or around the park. If you’re heading to Disney, it’s probably best to buy a sunglass chain.