Alright, let’s talk about Wienies. What the heck is a Wienie? It is a termed coined by Walt Disney himself, to describe a large visual element within a park. Wienies can be seen from a distance and are meant to draw people in towards an area.
It is pretty obvious the main Wienie for each park.
These large structures can be seen from various areas within each park. Cinderella Castle and The Tree of Life are situated more or less in the “center” of their park. The “lands” or areas then radiate out from them like the spokes of a wheel.
Wienies also help guests to navigate throughout the park more easily. There are the main ones as listed above and secondary ones.
Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Each Pavilion, with maybe the exception of Germany & United Kingdom, have their own secondary Wienie.
Hollywood Studios
This park is filled with secondary Wienies! The most famous, their former Sorcerers Hat and Mickey Mouse Ear Water Tower, which has long since been removed.
Animal Kingdom
At Animal Kingdom, the lush landscapes are visual magnets on their own.
What’s in a Name?
Soooo why name these visual magnets “Wienies?” The story goes something like this: the Disney family had a standard poodle named Duchess, whom adored Walt… she was his dog! Duchess was an old gal with several ailments, who spent her final days sleeping. The only time she showed excitement was when Walt came home. Here is a quote from Diane Miller (Walt’s oldest daughter) in an 1956 interview:
“In the evening it was cooler, so maybe that helped. Dad would park his car in the garage and come in to the house through the kitchen. He would go to the refrigerator and pull out two uncooked hot dogs, one for himself and one for the dog. He would play with her, wiggling the hot dog around and she would go wherever he moved around and was so happy when she finally got her treat. It was part of an evening ritual and both of them loved it and looked forward to it.”
During the initial construction of Disneyland, Walt spoke with amusement park developer George Whitney. Whitney explained that the flow of the crowd could be controlled with lighting, sounds, and raised buildings. People would tend to move to the taller structures that they could see once they left a ride. Walt knew the perfect name for these visual magnets… Wienies! Just like the hot dog wienies he would use to entice Duchess to move around.
Wienie or Weenie?
If you google Disney Wienie, you will see it spelled both ways; however, I used the spelling of Wienie as it is used in this form in “The Imagineering Field Guide to (insert park name…I have them all!) at Walt Disney World.” It is an Imagineer’s tour of the parks written by Imagineers! With the Imagineers as the source, I think it is safe to say the correct spelling is in fact, Wienie.
There are far more Wienies than people would think, and there are some that I probable left out. Next time you are walking around a park, see how many Wienies you can find!
