Here are ten of my favorite Walt Disney World hidden treasures.
10. The Balloons at Sunshine Seasons
Our next gem can be found at the Magic Kingdom. If you are among the first group of visitors to enter the park at park opening, quickly make your way back to Fantasyland where you will find the shop “Tinker Bell’s Treasures." If you are the first person to enter the shop you may be allowed to “awaken Tinker Bell." The cashier will allow you to ring the bell and call out for Tinker Bell to wake up. Once she is awake, you will see her appear behind the cashier’s stand and she will leave a trail of pixie dust as she flies around the shop. You may still be able to catch a glimpse of her pixie dust throughout the day even if you do not arrive at the shop early in the morning. If you are a big Tinker Bell fan, it also never hurts to ask. A friendly cast member might give you the chance to wake up Tinker Bell at other times of the day.
If you are a Walt Disney World fan then you may have heard of forced perspective. This trick of the eye is used by Disney Imagineers in several areas of the park. The Eiffel Tower in the France pavilion of Epcot is another wonderful example of forced perspective. The Imagineers wanted to create the illusion that the 1,063 foot tower is actually standing within Epcot. By making the tower look as if it is far away, the Imagineers were able to build a tower that is much smaller but still appears to be very large. The Imagineers really do think of everything! If a bird happened to land on the tower and you were to witness it, the tower would immediately shrink and the size of the bird would be giant. To prevent the illusion from being spoiled, Imagineers planted deterrents on the Eiffel Tower model which help prevent the birds from perching there.
When you walk down Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom you will most likely walk right past the small side street on your right just past the Main Street Cinema. This has become one of my favorite spots to go because it is always quiet and the further you walk toward the end of the street the quieter it becomes. There are also places to sit and relax and even on the busiest days you might just be the only one back there. Once you find yourself on this small side street take a seat in the small cafe area and just listen for a while. Do you hear anything coming from the windows above? It sounds like someone is giving a music lesson. If you stay long enough you might catch the tap dancing and piano lessons as well.
As you leave the Backlot Tour and head towards Lights, Motor, Action! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios you may see an umbrella planted on a lamp post on the corner. This is directly across from the entrance to the stunt show. Your first impulse will be to pull the umbrella but you may notice something small on the ground. Stand there for a few seconds and see what happens!