What did you not know then, but you know now (and you feel embarrassed)?

[graphite1326]

For future reference I'm pretty sure the park maps have a list of the rides and where they are in the park, in case some of you are still not aware there's a ride in such and such place.

As for me, I had no idea the Boardwalk existed until a couple years ago. I don't know how long it's been there, but I'd never heard of it or seen it referenced anywhere until I was planning my last trip. And I've still never been. I'm not totally convinced I want to go though, seems like a way less interesting Downtown Disney... er, Disney Springs or whatever it is and maybe not worth the walking unless you're staying in one of the resorts back there?

I like to go to BW in the evening when the street performers are out and about.

 

[Sherrill]

Everyone knows there's a lot to learn if you've never been to Disney before. I think we all would agree the first trip is a learning experience. You can't do it all the first time and there's always new things to see.

However, some things should be more obvious... this is really embarrassing, but we didn't know Spaceship Earth was an actual ride until our 3rd trip! There I said it! I'm not sure what took us so long to discover it, I think we thought it was like Mickey's sorcerer hat at MGM (it was MGM back then), but I will add that we thought it was really awesome. My kids were a lot younger then and they got such a kick at seeing their photos at the end. We must have ridden it several times that trip. I remember we were able to just walk on then.

Do any of you have something that took you a while to discover?

I think that ride is the best known secret to most people. It took me over 5 visits to figure it out.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Going back to before my first visit, I always assumed Disney World was going to be pretty much like Great Adventure (Six Flags) but with Mickey's face on the roller coasters.

The first time I went, I kept saying, "What's this? Another theater? Wow..."

 

[DfromATX]

I think that ride is the best known secret to most people. It took me over 5 visits to figure it out.

I'm glad we weren't the only ones!

 

[Lily1958]

I was really embarrassed when I found out Geddy Lee is not a woman.
More on topic, I was horribly embarrassed when I showed Pluto my pressed penny that had Goofy on it at a character breakfast when I was 3. When I realized my mistake, I was badly enough embarrassed that this memory stuck from that young age. I still avoid eye contact with Pluto to this day.

Don't be embarrassed. Pluto is a good boy. He forgives you.

 

[KimAnnFran]

Well, as a child in WDW I never realized that Fantasy Land had a cross through, because my parents didn't and lead us back the long way....LOL as an adult, I figured the whole thing out! LOL!

 

[gniko21]

Back in the late 70's I rode the Jungle Cruise for the first time with some friends. It had just rained so the canopy on the boat had water in it. As we pulled away from the dock the cast member asked me to take over piloting the boat while he dumped the rain water from the canopy. I was nervous about that because I was unsure where I was going & was afraid I was going to hit something. He told me which way to go & let me continue. Nevertheless, I was concerned that the boat was not responding quickly when I turned the wheel & scared that I was going to do something stupid. Of course, I didn't know that the boat was following a track until after the ride. It was embarrassing to say the least.

 

[Amidala]

On a side note - Maybe it's because I'm Canadian but we hated the American Adventure. Walked out a bit early. It just felt like we were being bombarded with American pride propaganda.

That's a fair summing up, but pretty much the same thing can be said of HoP. If you're hoping for an honest look at American history (warts and all) Disney is definitely not the place for it...at all. The animatronics are very impressive, though, so it makes sense to consider AA a hidden gem.

Also, there's a lot I still don't know even after working at the parks. If you asked me the difference between an AP holder and a DVC member I literally could not tell you. And growing up, my mom was never very into parades or fireworks, so I had no idea these things were scheduled and happened nightly. As a kid, I kind of assumed fireworks just went off at random times. Ironically, now that I'm older nighttime shows and parades are up there on my list of favorite things about the parks...I can watch them every day for weeks without getting bored. Unrelated: I wish they would reintroduce parades at DHS (or elsewhere), especially now that MK is one parade down.

 

[danyoung56]

My first visit to the MK was in 1978. And I've been going to WDW at least twice a year since the mid-90's. And I just discovered the Plaza Inn maybe 5 years ago. Didn't even know it was there!

 

[Ralphlaw]

Our first trip was in 2003 with my mother (who loved plants and the more sedate attractions), and we didn't know the following:

1. The Mexican Boat Ride.
2. Livin' with the Land (which she would have loved).
3. The Behind the Seeds tour (which she also would have loved).
4. The Morrocan restaurants and the Japanese walk up restaurant.
5. Hoop de doo and the Luau.
6. The boat ride between Epcot and Studios.
7. The China, France and Canada films in World Showcase.
8. The American Adventure.
9. Carousel of Progress.

Yeah, stupid stupid stupid. Or, can't do it all in one trip. Or, wasn't it great back when mysterious untapped stuff was all over the place?

 

[DfromATX]

Back in the late 70's I rode the Jungle Cruise for the first time with some friends. It had just rained so the canopy on the boat had water in it. As we pulled away from the dock the cast member asked me to take over piloting the boat while he dumped the rain water from the canopy. I was nervous about that because I was unsure where I was going & was afraid I was going to hit something. He told me which way to go & let me continue. Nevertheless, I was concerned that the boat was not responding quickly when I turned the wheel & scared that I was going to do something stupid. Of course, I didn't know that the boat was following a track until after the ride. It was embarrassing to say the least.

Bless your heart...