Preparing for our trip in May and even though I am a vet I am sure there are some things about "The World" that I don't know that would be helpful on the trip. Like little traveled paths or little known facts about WDW for example. With that being said could you please post them here!
When in May are you going? The first 2 weeks of May are usually dead so be happy that if you are going during that time, that you will get to see and do a lot!
Many years ago I started looking for all the secret things, but I was missing them because the kids were more interested in rides and what not. So, I create a game which got them interested in finding all these details, which in turn forced me to write down all these secret things down. The Kids loved it and each time we go we are craving new things to find or search for. We have done Hidden Mickeys to death. And as the years have past, it become harder and harder to find something we haven't searched for.
So, as a vet like you I know the feeling.
I would love to hear some secrets that I haven't found!!! But I think that's just wish full thinking. We have done the same at Disneyland several years, too.
Over the years, I have compiled quite a list. A lot of details have become obsolete and I have attempted to clean those up (or leave those for those who remember secrets of times past). As well, I removed a ton of the common not-so-secret secrets.
Here's the list:
Magic Kingdom
After riding on magic carpets over Agrabah search for the Adventureland Charm. This charm is within the cement and has a design that resembles a Hidden Mickey.
As you exit Pirates of the Caribbean look and follow the footprints of peg leg Davy Jones.
By Pirates of the Caribbean find hidden perry skull.
At night, find a "fairy ring" formed by paving stones just beyond the well. If you stand in the middle of the fairy ring at night and slowly call out "Leota" three times, she will come to one of the upper windows of the mansion with her candle.
At the Frontierland RR Station, look for a wooden leg named Smith. It is a reference to a joke in Mary Poppins. "I knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith." "What's the name of his other leg?"
Begin the Epic Year Quest, within each park find tributes to the year the park opened. Start with Fire Station 71! Magic Kingdom opened in 1971. (find a crate on the Frontierland waterfront which has the year the park opened! Best found from the Riverboat)
Count stars or stripes on a flag but not the one in the center of town square.
Dopey, Sneezy, Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, and MICKEY? When you see the sign for the Dwarves' Mine, look closely to the right as your car curves to enter the mine. On the lower part of the right entrance panel, you'll see a drawing of Mickey dressed as a Dwarf and carrying a shovel within the wood.
Find and listen to the phone in tomorrowland. What does Sunny Eclipses manager have to say? Sunny Eclipes is the alien singer in the restaurant Cosmic Rays in Tomorrowland, find him.
Find Hidden Stitch! In Mickey's Star Traders Shop, Stitch is racing beside a train in the mural.
Find little Stitch! In the Island Supply Gift Shop, Stitch is hiding in a basket above the counter.
Find Nutcracker Mickey! In the last scene of the Carousel of Progress. On the Fireplace are 4 Nutcrackers (wooden soldier style) The one nearest to the audience is Mickey Mouse!
Find old party line phones on Main Street and have a listen.
Now is the time, to find Sorcerer Mickey Painting! On Carousel of Progress in the last scene, an abstract Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's apprentice from Fantasia is in a painting on the dining room wall. To spot it, look immediately to the left rear of the scene as it rotates into view.
Find Stitch's cousin wearing his mouse ears! By Merchant of Venus, face the cash register and look at the mural on the wall behind the register on the left hand side. Look up where the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA or PeopleMover) track is (in the mural).
Find the Bride's Ring (thrown from the attic and trampled into the ground by the invisible horse) by the Haunted Mansion.
Find the four symbols of the WDW Theme Parks within the Magician Mickey Meet and Greet on Main Street. A red book, a crystal ball, a plant, and Sorcerer's Hat.
Now is the best time, to find the picture of Walt Disney hidden in the CoP. It is in the daughter's room in the 1940s on the wall you are facing as you sit in front of the stage wall in the upper left corner. Listen to the Big Beautify Tomorrow, think about Walt Disney.
Find the rubber animals in Cinderella's fountain.
Main Street window reading can absorb lots of time. There are books on who and history/biography, but they don't go into the positioning of thr windows. Read some of those books and with that knowledge analyze positioning of such windows. Which window is highest window? Who is first and last? Theme of building verses who is on windows, etc.
Foolish mortal please find the resting place of Mr. Toad of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
If on the Lilly Belle paddle boat. Ask to ride in the pilot house.
In front of the steps to the Jungle Cruise are a series of Tikis. Once you find these stand in front of each one and count to ten.
In line at Haunted Mansion. Play every instrument except the bag pipes!
In line at Haunted Mansion. Read the poem.
Before going print the Haunted Mansion Crypt-o-gram key. In line at Haunted Mansion, take a picture of the bookself. Later decrypt the message from the picture. Once decrypted go back and take video, using the decrypt message find the new messages to be decrypted and decrypt those messages.
In Pirates of the Caribbean ride, listen to the pirate who is hanging off the bridge with the hairy legs sing "it's a pirate's life for me!" Listen to his parrot companion sing "it's a parrot's life for me!" There are some mini songs in iasw, too.
In queue area for Big Thunder, look for crate that says, "Lytum & Hyde Explosives Company."
On Main Street look up at the windows that have signs that say something like "music lessons", you'll hear a voice practicing scales and someone tap dancing.
Roll the Water Sphere Map found in Tomorrowland plaza. Keep rolling until you find Cinderella Castle on map.
Ride Cinderella's horse! On Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, there is one special horse that is Cinderella's horse. It is the white one. I mean its the one with a gold ribbon on its tail.
Search for Stitch's Spaceship! On Buzz, Stitch's spaceship is flying through space in a corner of the first mural on the right wall as you exit the ride.
Search out the Sorcerer's Hat! On Carousel of Progress in the third scene, Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat sits at the right side of the room, next to the girl on the shaker machine.
Stand in front of the hearse at the Haunted Mansion and listen for a ghost.
Find as many crows as you can in the Haunted Mansion.
The busts of the haunted mansion need your help.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh playground tree replaced "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!". Search for the tribute to this old ride. The tribute is a depression in the wood shaped like a submarine is inside Mr. Sanders' tree. No wait don't do that, observe the waterfall at Little Mermaid and try to find the wtp tree on mine ride.
The mill on Tom Sawyer Island has a large, fast-spinning gear in the center that consists of cogs which form compartments. If you look carefully and quickly, you will see that one of the compartments contains a bluebird in a nest.
The turbines in the mill on Tom Sawyer Island creak and groan as they rotate. Listen closely to the sounds they make, they are playing the song "Down By the Old Mill Stream."
The fountain behind Cinderella's Castle (next to Tinkerbell's Treasures) Has Cinderella in it holding a bird. If you stand directly in front of Cinderella and curtsey to her, you will see the crown behind her painted onto the wall go onto her head.
Tony's Town Square Restaurant is a replica of the famous Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp. Outside the restaurant, in the pavement, find two sets of dog paw prints inside a heart.
Winnie the Pooh replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Search for the tribute to this old ride. The tribute is a picture of Mr. Toad handing the deed to the house over to Owl.
If a fan of Jungle Navigation Co., go back through the many years of pictures you have and count how many different colors of jeeps have been over turned.
Travel with the Jungle Navigation Co. in search of a Pygamy War canoe which resembles Donald Duck. What are the other canoes on either side? What are they chanting?
EPCOT Center
After the Maelstrom, sit down at the furthest away bench. Listen for a conversation in Norwegian.
Complete the Ratatouille Challenge. Eat food in each country, more family friendly then the other challenge.
Epic Year Quest. Find the farm mailbox on the Living with the Land ride. Epcot opened in 1982.
Find Habit Heros and Sum of All Thrills
In Italy, wander around by the shops (where the fountains are), look around for little press-button.
Lift the lids on the Coke iceboxes at the Refreshment Outpost at Epcot. One makes the sound of a bottle cap being opened and the bubbling sound of soda carbonation. Other boxes spray water when opened. If you can't find them just have a big swig of Beverly soda.
Make your way through the hedge maze found in the back of the UK.
Search for a viking wearing mouse ears! In the loading area for the Maelstrom attraction, the Viking sitting in a boat beneath the middle red stripe of the sail.
Search for miniature Donald Duck! Look in the miniature train exhibit in Germany.
Search for the Mouse Trap Board Game! On Spaceship Earth, look in the room where a family is watching tv. Mouse Trap... it might take a second to sink in.
Turn on 3 different drinking fountains. Left side of the big fountain, to the right of the play fountain between Future World and World Showcase, and to the left of the restrooms between Imaginations and Innoventions West. Then shed a tear while looking at JIYI.
The diamond in the rough must find Aladdin's lamp! Search next to the shop in Morocco near the Henna Tattoo area, there is a music stage (for Mo' Rockin) and a cart outside to the right of the stage. Aladdin's Lamp is tied to the one of the rear stage posts. (Find the second lamp!)
There is a hedge maze in the back of the UK in Epcot. Find your way through it.
MGM
By Stage 1 Company Store, find Mickey shorts! They are hanging on a line near one of the exit doors.
Check out the "Singing in the Rain" umbrella that is attached to one of the streetlights between Muppetvision and Light Motor Action!. Grab the umbrella handle while stepping on the black square embedded in the cement underneath it for a nice surprise!
Epic Year Quest. Find the plaque that honors the opening of the park. MGM opened in 1989. Near the end of Hollywood Boulevard, toward the Sorcerer's hat, is a statue of a cameraman and camera in a park-like area on the left.
Epic Year Quest. Look at the gas pumps at the front for year Disney – MGM Studios opened.
Find Donald hidden on the Animation Courtyard Entrance arch to the left of the Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant entering the animation area.
Find hidden Dory and Marlin! As you enter the American Idol theater, the big globe to the right as you're looking at it has a picture of Dory and Marlin from Finding Nemo underneath it. The best way to view it is to walk to the stage and look under the stairs.
In a window above Hollywood & Vine Restaurant, there was a silhouette of Roger Rabbit. Or look for wrecked blinds.
Find Mickey in the Graveyard Mural! Within the Backlot Tour, before the displays for the Wicked Witch of the West and Darth Vader there is a mural to the right of the entrance (just inside the entrance door) depicting a large graveyard at night.
Find Steamboat Willie Mickey! On the mural at the end of San Francisco Street are newspapers in a News Stand at the left lower area of the scene. Some of the newspapers have Steamboat Willie as an article.
Find the key to the Muppetvision Theater. Just after you go through the turnstile, ask Kermit if he is at the box office otherwise you will need to find the key on your own.
Find the tank from "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" movie. Between the Prime Time Cafe and the Indiana Jones Outpost you will see, tucked away in a corner, a display of props used in the "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" movie. If you don't find it you must pull the rope!
In line for Rock 'n Roller Coaster ride, search for different license plates and figure out what they say.
Listen for gun shotsgangsters talking in in the New York neighborhood. Can you hear the gangsters talking inside the building?
Look for the original stuffed Mickey! Shown on the Tower of Terror Pre-show video. The little girl in the video is holding a Mickey stuffed plush when she loads into the elevator. Look for that stuffed mickey elsewhere, you might not be able to do this in one trip.
Outside MuppetVision 3-D, find Gonzo's big-eyed Mickey pool toy.
Pat the head of the idol as you go past for good luck! If you exit the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular theater from the far right-side stairway (as you face the stage) pay attention as you go onto the landings, look for the hand of a CM rising above the railing holding the golden idol from the show's Mayan temple. Then meet Indy and/or cast after the show, bottom right-side of seating area.
Ride The Great Movie ride between 12:00 and 5:00, ask the last Cast Member before entering the ride if the western scene is running and if we could wait for a car which will have the western scene.
When you get off the tram back stage tour ride, walk through the building with all the costumes in it and go straight through the area where you can have photos taken with the phony backdrops. Find old Roger Rabbit stuff, boxes and gags. Remember the old real backdrops with cell foregrounds.
While eating at Sci-Fi Restaurant, watch the movies until you see Donald Duck!
While eating at Sci-Fi Restaurant, watch the movies until you see spaceman Mickey!
Within One Man's Dream, find a Donald Mug near Walt. On the left side of the display aisle (and before you're ushered into the theater), you see Walt Disney standing with a pointer in front of a wall map. Find 3 Mickeys and a Donald at the desk in the section with the animatronic robot.
Animal Kingdom
At the Tusker House Restaurant in AK, you can hear kitchen noises if you sit in the outside dining area. It sounds like dishes clanging together, sweeping up broken glass, etc..
Epic Year Quest. On the walkway between Primeval Whirl and the rest rooms in DinoLand is a highway sign for route 498. Animal Kingdom opened in (April) 1998.
Find a "Steamboat Willie" pin on one of the spine on the upper back of the horned dinosaur. Dinoland
Find David Greybeard carved into the Tree of Life, find the history of this why this was not in the tree itself.
Find path which goes around the Tree of Life, well not so much anymore.
You can find the main animals but can you find the misc. animals: a Collared Lemur, Galapagos Tortoise, Giant Anteater, Malayan Flying Fox, Grey Kangaroo, Medium Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, and/or a White Cheeked Gibbon.
Do some bushwhacking and find the hidden trail which is now completely overgrown.
Look at roof tops in Dinoland and walls of Restaurantasorus, lots of secret stuff.
As you exit Goofy's Barnstormer, look to the left (towards the front of the car) for a life preserver- specifically, look at the name on it.
In the queue line for Under the Sea: Voyage of the Little Mermaid, you'll hear many songs from the film. You also might hear one NOT from that movie- that would be "Whale of a Tale", the song sung by Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
EPCOT
In the German Pavilion, one of the glockenspiels high up shows a young Heinz Doofenshmirtz being chased by a woman.
Disney's Hollywood Studios
At the Echo Lake area, on the side opposite the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, look for a large pile of shipping crates. The addresses on the crates are shout-outs to various movies.
Speaking of the IJSS, you can get your photo taken with Indy! After the show, the cast member who portrays Indy (and possibly one of the other performers) hangs out at the front of the set by the center of the first row (usually). While everyone else is piling out, make your way to the small line that no doubt will be forming.
On days when Fantasmic is performing, head to the Streets of America at a certain time for a whole gaggle of characters who come out for a "surprise" meet and greet, some of whom don't meet on a regular basis elsewhere. Now, what characters are there can change, and how many times a day and when they do this depends on the Fantasmic showings. You can find more information right here.
Finally, not a secret, but since no one else has mentioned it, Memorial Day Weekend is most likely going to be one of the Star Wars Weekends this year, so DHS will most likely be VERY busy that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you don't like Star Wars, those are the days to do other parks. On the other hand, you might be able to catch a ride with one of the celebrity guests (my sister's friend got to hang out with Ray Parks at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster during last year's SWW).
As part of the game we played, finding stuff gave you points which would unlocked different items. Items included help for Space Ranger Spin and Toy Story Mania.
I think a lot of vets know the Space Ranger Spin Hints but I don't think many know the Toy Story Mania hints...
Toy Story Midway Mania Hints:
Pie Throw Practice Booth
There are absolutely no points to be had here, so take time to get used to your gun.
Don't shoot the guy in front of you because he will always block with the target, but if you shoot across you will be able to hit the guy.
Hamm And Eggs
In the bottom corner a fox will pop out worth 500 points. Shoot it, and two hens will run out, worth 1,000 and 2,000 points respectively.
There are two pigs above the hen house, each worth 100 points. Shooting both of these will make a cat appear, and each time it appears, its point value will increase.
Shoot the cats and repeat.
At the top of your half of the screen, you will see a barn. You will need to shoot all the targets in it, and it will flip.
Now, three mice targets, worth 2,000 points each will be in the barn. They are very small, and will hide from you.
Shoot all three mice and the entire screen will fill with 1,000 point targets for you and your teammate to hit.
Rex and Trixie Dino Darts
Start of by shoot all the balloons of the Stegosaurus back.
Shoot the lava flows on the Volcano and it will erupt with targets.
Each person has has a meteor on their side. Keep shooting the meteor. The meteor will get lower and lower. Keep shooting the meteor so that it hits the ground.
The screen will be filled with targets striking down, hit those targets!
Green Army Men Shoot Camp
Coordinate with your teammate, because about 5 seconds into the game, each side of the screen will have a 2,000 point plate pop up into the air.
If both sides hit theirs at the same time a tank will appear and shoot out 6 plates, each worth 5,000 points.
In between the tank shooting, aim only for 1,000 and 2,000 point plates.
Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers
There will be a rocket ship filled with 8 aliens worth 100 points each.
They will re-spawn shortly after you hit them.
Work with your teammate and ring them all before the re-spawn. The rocket ship will blast off, and a robot will appear.
The robot's mouth that will open and close. When it's open, a point value will be shown, starting with 500, and eventually reaching 2.000. Throw as many rings into the box as possible when it is open.
When the robot's mouth is closed, stay on your side, and focus on these targets, in this order: Jetpacks for 2000, Planets for 500, and Far away aliens for 5,000.
Do not miss the 5,000 point aliens that will appear on the side.
Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery
Part 1:
The screen should have 7 targets. When each target is shot, 3 to 5 new targets will pop out.
Shoot each target once! Don't waste times shooting the same ones twice!
If you and your teammate have quickly cleared the screen of each bullseye then each target will disappear, and the screen will explode full of new bullseyes worth 2,000 and 1,000 points.
Part 2:
Your car will begin moving along with the screen. This part is very short. Keep and eye out for the bigger targets. You should be able to hit at least three targets worth 2,000 here.
To get the targets worth 2,000 points, shoot the targets worth 500 points that are grouped in pairs. Each time you do this, a 2,000 target will pop up. Repeat this as much as you have time for.
Part 3:
There will be two mine carts traveling toward you. Alternate hitting them from left to right.
After the first three, a bat will appear above worth 1,000. Quickly hit him, and go back to hitting mine carts. Another bat worth 5,000 will then appear. Tag that one too, and finish with the mine carts. If you've done this correctly, your two final mine carts will be worth 5,000 each.
Finale:
Your final objective is to shoot as quickly as possible at the target as it grows in points. It will max out at 2,000.
Space Ranger Spin Hints:
Hold the trigger of your laser down, you'll occasionally get 1,000 points even if you don't hit anything.
Aim for far away targets for the most points.
Targets that are moving are worth more points than targets that are stationary.
Targets that are down low and are at hard-to-reach angles are worth more points.
Once you hit a target keep firing at that target because it is scored EVERY time you hit it.
If the cars stop during the ride, it's an opportunity to shoot more targets and rack up points!• Remember where the special targets are!
First Room
As you approach the orange robot on your left (the Rock'em Sock'em Robot), try to hit the Z on the front of the robot's left hand for it is worth 100,000 points.
There is target on the ceiling exiting the first room, be sure to hit it.
Volcano Room
In the "volcano room", hit the top of the volcano because it is worth 25,000 points and it will erupt when you hit it.
Hit the moving wormlike creature that sways left to right because it's worth at least 50,000 points.
Battery Room
On left, try to hit the batteries on the bottom when they fall over they are worth 50,000 points.
Aim for the tiny batteries, the smaller they are the more points they're worth.
On the right side of the next scene, you'll see Zurg sitting in a device with a meter on the bottom of it, rating your shot from "pitiful" on up. If you hit the target at the very bottom of the meter, that should also be worth 100,000 points.
Flying thru Space Room
Follow the animated spaceships moving left to right. Hit the Z on them when they pause and you will scores a significant number of points.
Final Showdown
Enter the last room and engage in a final showdown with Emperor Zurg.
There are different hints for Buzz in Disneyland, which I have those too if any one wants.
