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AK Secret Path Gone?!?

TubaGeek

TubaGeek

God bless the "Ignore" button.
Original Poster
I hear that the secret path between Africa and Asia is blocked off now! Apparently they flooded the stepping stones and grew trees by the entrance. I'm pretty ticked, that was just about the single coolest thing in WDW. Anyone know anything else about it?
 
xtimMOOthyx

xtimMOOthyx

Member
It is definitely still there! My mom and I found it when we were there over Spring Break last month. There is some overgrown foliage and the water is a little higher, but it is there, and is a lot of fun to find. Good luck!
 
ryank007

ryank007

Member
We also walked on it a couple of weeks ago for the first time. It's a lot shorter than I imagined it to be, but still a cool little feature.
 
kjd469

kjd469

New Member
When my daughter and I were at AK in December, we set out to find the secret path. However, right around the entrance to the path, we encountered a Dream Squad Member who happened to strike up a conversation with us. We confessed to him that we were searching for the secret path, and he told us that although it did exist at one time, they have now let it grow over, and if you are "caught" on it, they will ask you to leave. He strongly discouraged us from entering - we were at the entrance to it - and we left disappointed - the least he could have done was bestow a "dream" upon us!! After hearing this, we did not feel comfortable entering the path, but I guess if you've got the guts, go for it!!
 
J

JLW11Hi

Well-Known Member
I could see there being a concern about people walking over the waterfall itself. After going over the stepping stones, its easy to assume that you can walk over the rocks on the waterfall as well. But those rocks aren't exactly made for walking over, and there isn't a path on the other side (just a view of the backstage, that I am sure they don't want anyone to stumble upon!)
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
There are other secret places in the parks that people have been to that are not supposed to be found by guests. :lookaroun
 
J

J_Krafty24

Active Member
The closing of the secret path may have had something to do with ADA standards.

At my college in one of the parking lots there was a long skinny parking lot island that ran the full width of the parking lot right next to one of the buildings. On the building side of the island was a line of staff parking and a line of short term parking. The rest of the parking was on the other side of the island. All the students would walk thru the island instead of doubling the distance and walking around it. The cleaning crew asked that stepping stones be placed on the island so that the students would not track as much mud into the building.

The reason that they were not allowed to put stepping stones on the island was because that would create an official pathway that was not wheelchair accessable. Disney keeping an official "secret pathway" may run into the same problems.
 
TubaGeek

TubaGeek

God bless the "Ignore" button.
Original Poster
raven said:
There are other secret places in the parks that people have been to that are not supposed to be found by guests. :lookaroun
Click to expand...

Are you talking along the same lines as this path, or am I just missing something? If you mean another secret path, you had best start talking!
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
J_Krafty24 said:
The closing of the secret path may have had something to do with ADA standards.

At my college in one of the parking lots there was a long skinny parking lot island that ran the full width of the parking lot right next to one of the buildings. On the building side of the island was a line of staff parking and a line of short term parking. The rest of the parking was on the other side of the island. All the students would walk thru the island instead of doubling the distance and walking around it. The cleaning crew asked that stepping stones be placed on the island so that the students would not track as much mud into the building.

The reason that they were not allowed to put stepping stones on the island was because that would create an official pathway that was not wheelchair accessable. Disney keeping an official "secret pathway" may run into the same problems.
Click to expand...
I think it more than likely was a security issue since it was closed sometime after 9/11. Once you get back to the path, it's pretty much scout's honor that you aren't going to wander off backstage.

I remember trying to access it in 2002 when I was working and thinking "I don't remember all these bushes being in the way." Needless to say, when I ask my manager he informed me it had been closed.:lol:

It has only become more obvious that it is no longer supposed to be guest accessible as the years have gone by. I can imagine anyone who has tried to access it recently has had to go through some very obivious "stay away" foliage (not to say that I wouldn't still try if I didn't know that it was offically closed).
 
teebin

teebin

Member
kjd469 said:
We confessed to him that we were searching for the secret path, and he told us that although it did exist at one time, they have now let it grow over, and if you are "caught" on it, they will ask you to leave.
Click to expand...

I cannot imagine Disney staff asking one to leave the park just because you walked on an overgrown path that is well documented as being open to the public in historic Disney approved books though yet they have since tried to hide it. The dream rep was being obtuse in his or her statement. I can imagine them asking you to get off the path as it is no longer opened to the public.

I for one know where it is, but I am not going to tempt getting told to "get out of there" as I hate negativity, especially at a Disney park. The paved path that was built in its stead just a bit lower down the brook(s) is beautiful enough for me and few ever walk it.
 
kjd469

kjd469

New Member
I didn't mean "leave the park", I meant "leave the path" - I'm sure they would be completely withing their rights to ask you to do so.
 

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