Snapshot Sunday - Offstage WDW

You need a bird’s eye view to see these Hidden Mickeys!!

offstagewdw — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:10:14 +0000

Have you ever seen the head of Mickey Mouse embedded into the rocks while waiting for an attraction or in the decor of your favorite restaurant? Maybe you have seen one in the sidewalk or in the carpet of your resort room. These Mickey Mouse silhouettes were no accident and known as Hidden Mickeys! Imagineers strategically place and design things to resemble the head and ears of Mickey Mouse! Not only does it make it fun for guests to find, it also adds a little bit of extra magic to your day! Hidden Mickeys can found throughout the parks, attractions, restaurants, and resorts. They can also be seen in films, TV series, and other Disney products. Now that you know, you will be begin to notice them even more! There are over 1,000 recorded Hidden Mickeys from a fan, but there is no official list or count from Walt Disney World to confirm or deny any Hidden Mickeys that guests spot, so it’s really in the eye of the beholder.

Hidden Mickeys can be traced back to the beginning of Epcot. Since this park was created to be more of an adult park, where alcohol would be served; Disney characters were deemed inappropriate to be ‘mixed’ with alcohol. In order to include Disney characters in the park but in a different way, Imagineers got creative and started to include Hidden Mickey silhouettes into various design elements. Since then, characters can be seen in the park, but Hidden Mickeys were popular and here to stay. They became a tradition moving forward and continue to be a special gem for guests to find!

Even though Hidden Mickeys are fun to find during your visit there are a few that are so grand that you can only see the from the sky! Check it out!!

Hidden Mickeys that can only be seen from the AIR!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The whole entire park was designed as a Hidden Mickey! This picture is a bit dated and the park has had many changes since then, but the basic park design stays the same. Here, Imagineers designed this Hidden Mickey to not only have the three circles to represent Mickey’s head and ears, but it also includes some of Mickey’s facial features in the design of the walkways and landscape placement. The bottom of Mickey’s head is the Chinese Theater and Echo lake makes up one ear. The other ear is the Grand Avenue area leading guests towards the Tower of Terror.

Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom

Little did you know that you were riding along a Hidden Mickey as you take your seat on Expedition Everest! Imagineers took this Hidden Mickey to a new level when designing the track and structure of this attraction. Mt. Everest represents Mickey’s head and the tracks were designed to create the perfect Mickey ears to complete this Hidden Mickey.

Lake Mickey

Nestled in the middle of the Walt Disney World Speedway, Lake Mickey was built 2 years after the speedway, in 1997, after drainage issues were discovered in the infield.The Speedway closed in 2015, but Lake Mickey still can be seen from above.

Walt Disney World Solar Facility

This solar panel farm spans about 22 acres. Duke Energy is in a 15 year agreement with Disney to build, own and operate the farm on Disney’s land. In return, the farm will provide solar power to Walt Disney World. It is located just west of Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort near the east shoulder of World Drive and the intersection Epcot Center Drive.

Fun Fact: This is only one of the solar farms that Disney has.There is a newer farm of solar panels spanning 270 acres!!! This is the size of two Magic Kingdom parks put together. This solar panel farm is able to power two of the four theme parks.

Mickey Mouse Forest

In 1992, this Hidden Mickey forest started to take root. More than 60,000 trees were planted on 60 acres, just northwest of Magic Kingdom. Many volunteers came together to help plant and be apart of this incredible project. People flying out of Orlando airport can spot this Hidden Mickey as they take off or come in for a landing!

No matter how big or small, Hidden Mickeys are a classic treasure for guests of all ages to enjoy. During your next visit, see how many you can find and if you ever happen to be flying over the area, don’t forget to look down to see if you can spot these incredible Hidden Mickeys!

Source: Google Maps, Near Map, Disney

The post You need a bird’s eye view to see these Hidden Mickeys!! first appeared on Offstage WDW.

Snapshot Sunday: Guess that snap!

offstagewdw — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 19:32:47 +0000

This incredible sight can been seen during your visit to one of the six lands at Magic Kingdom. In fact, the land where it is located is actually exclusive to Walt Disney World. Can you guess it?!

It’s The Liberty Tree located in Liberty Square!

[See image gallery at offstagewdw.com] Even though Liberty Square does not have ‘land’ in its name, like its neighbors Adventureland and Frontierland; Liberty Square takes you back to Colonial America. Submerging guests in the rich history of America and honoring the country’s early heritage. Liberty Square has many unique and meaningful features keeping it true to its time. Here are just a few of the historical symbols and attractions that you can see in Liberty Square.

The Liberty Tree
The Liberty Tree is the oldest tree in the park! This 100-year old Oak tree was found on the property about 8 miles from it’s current location, it it the largest tree ever to be transplanted at Walt Disney World. It took careful planning and months of prepping to get this 38-ton tree to its new home. Bill Evans was one of Walt Disney’s personal landscapers, he was handpicked by Walt himself to oversee the landscape projects at Disneyworld; he was in charge of this huge project and came up with the innovative way to move this oak. Holes were drilled through the hardwood center of the trunk and steel rods were inserted to create a support for hoisting and hauling the tree with a 100-ton crane.

[See image gallery at offstagewdw.com] This tree now stands tall and grand in the middle of Liberty Square. It is decorated with thirteen hanging lamps which represent the original thirteen American colonies. The story of the Liberty tree dates back to Colonial Boston at the beginning of the American Revolution. It is said that the Sons of Liberty gathered under a large elm tree to protest the British Stamp Act. From that day forward, the tree became known as the “Liberty Tree.” It became a meeting place and was often decorated with lanterns and a yellow flags were raised to call people to meetings

At the base of the tree there is a plaque that reads: “The Liberty Tree – Under the boughs of the original Liberty Tree in Boston in 1765, Patriots, calling themselves The Sons Of Liberty, gathered to protest the imposition of the Stamp Act. In the years that followed, almost every American town had a Liberty Tree — A Living Symbol Of The American Freedom of Speech and Assembly.”

The Liberty Bell

[See image gallery at offstagewdw.com] This iconic American symbol of Independence can be seen in Liberty Square. In 1976, 50 reproductions of The Liberty Bell were made to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States; each state had a reproduction made of the original Liberty Bell. In 1989, Disney requested the reproduction for the state of Pennsylvania and their request was granted. On July 4, 1989, the reproduction was placed in Liberty Square. There is a plaque at the base of the bell that reads: For over two centuries, the Liberty Bell has Symbolized Liberty to Most of America. Cast from the same mold, this bell is a “Second generation” of the Original bell that hangs in Philadelphia”.

The Hall of Presidents

Step inside this attraction to meet the presidents of the past. The Hall of Presidents honors each president with a realistic Audio-Animatronics replica of each president. Guests can watch a 25 minute film made by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, about the foundation of America, the struggles along the way and the presidents who made a great impact. The Great Seal of the United States can been seen here. Congress had to vote and approve it so it could be displayed and respected in a honorable manner. It is on the carpet in the hall surrounded by a gate to prevent any guests from walking on it or causing any damage.

[See image gallery at offstagewdw.com]

The Streets of Liberty Square

The next time you are at Liberty Square, take a look at the color of the pavement. It all has the same color throughout the land with a brown streak running several feet wide long the street. In order to keep with the times, this was purposefully done to represent the sewage of early Americans. There was no indoor plumbing in early America so many people would take their waste and dump it into the streets. It sounds gross, but Disney wanted to maintain an authentic look and image of that time. In keeping with that no plumbing aspect, you can expect to not find any bathrooms in Liberty Square (except in the restaurants), but don’t worry, there are some in the neighboring lands close by!

Also take a close look at the building numbers the next time you visit. Each building in Liberty Square has a two digit number. If you add an 18 to the beginning of that number, you will get the year that style of house would have been built!

[See image gallery at offstagewdw.com]

Even though Liberty Square is the smallest of all the lands it is packed with nostalgia and pride. Take some time to enjoy the fine details and history of Old America- a young country, proclaiming freedom and independence.

Photo Sources: Disney, WDW-Magazine, WDWInfo

The post Snapshot Sunday: Guess that snap! first appeared on Offstage WDW.

Can you name that Disney character?!

offstagewdw — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 18:54:52 +0000

Sometimes after you have watched your favorite Disney movies over and over, it’s easy to name that character from a particular scene…or is it?! Test your Disney character knowledge here and see if you have SCENE it before!

*Be sure to scroll to see the results and the original picture uncovered!*

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Created on January 23, 2021

Name that Disney Character!

Do you think you can see a scene from a Disney movie and name that Disney character?! Test your movie scene and character knowledge here!

1 / 10

Cinderella

Rapunzel

Belle

2 / 10

Snow White

Aurora

Rapunzel

3 / 10

Pocahontas

Ariel and Eric

Anna and Olaf

4 / 10

Rapunzel

Simba

Peter Pan

5 / 10

Peter Pan

Remy

Tiana

6 / 10

Flounder

Sebastian

Nemo

7 / 10

Pinocchio

Dumbo

Remy

8 / 10

Remy

Peter Pan

Aladdin

9 / 10

Bambi

Meeko

Olaf

10 / 10

Flounder and Ariel

Dori and Marlin

Pinocchio and Gepetto

Your score is

The average score is 81%

All picture credit: Disney

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