6 Things to Look Out for at Disneyland
Disneyland truly is a special place. I’ve yet to find another atmosphere that can sweep anyone of any age out of the gray mundane world of everyday life and into a colorful world of youthful whimsy like Disney can. Every square inch of the park is a beautiful flurry of sights, scents, smells, and memories that takes you back to the carefree days of childhood. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about.
But what exactly is it that makes Disneyland so different from other theme parks? What makes it so special to so many people? In my opinion, Disney’s success in creating the (objectively) perfect theme park comes down to their insane attention to detail.
A quick google search will reveal hundreds of clever details and quirks hidden everywhere inside the theme park, such as mickey mouse ears built into the sidewalk or a Walt Disney cartoon theater on main street.
And while there are countless fun details to find, here are a couple of my personal favorite Disneyland easter eggs to keep an eye out for while visiting (or daydreaming about visiting) the park:
Look away green
No one wants to notice trash cans, fire hydrants, and sprinkler heads while at a theme park. Yet, you can hardly have one without trash cans, fire hydrants, and sprinkler heads. Disney’s solution to this problem? Look away green.
Look away green is a special shade of green designed to make you not look at it. It’s a shade that encourages your eyes to slide right over it. And it works quite well. If you actively search for look away green while at Disneyland, you’ll notice electrical boxes, fire hydrants, sprinklers, certain lighting fixtures, and sewer grates painted this exact shade all over the park, often tucked into bushes or trees to further obscure the green.
The result: you can either easily elect to not notice fixtures painted look away green or make a fun game out of trying to spot them blending into the surrounding shrubbery.
Security guards
Similarly to how Disney does not want you to notice their fire hydrants, they do not want you to notice their security guards. And even though you could easily spend a whole day in the park without ever noticing a single security official, you are never out of their sights while visiting.
This is possible because Disney’s guards are often dressed in the the exact same mouse-themed clothes you are. That’s right, many can be found around the park with tourist shirts on their torso and Mickey Mose ears on their heads.
Another fun game while at Disney is to keep an eye open for wide-shouldered “tourists” that don’t seem to be there with anyone or actually going on any of the rides but always seem to be keeping a keen eye on the other visitors.
Cats
An easter egg you might have to work a little bit harder to find in the daytime is a member of Disneyland’s resident population of cats. In the park’s early days, the staff fought like crazy to get rid of the cats that roamed the park at night. But they eventually gave up and subscribed instead to the “if you can’t beat ’em, use ’em as pest control” philosophy. The park is now home to around 200 cats that keep the rodents away and mostly stay out of sight while keeping down the number of unwanted rodents including, ironically, mice.
Edible plants in tomorrow land
This next hidden detail is less about finding things in the bushes and more about…eating things in the bushes. That’s right, if you happen to find the food offered at Disney’s restaurants too expensive you can always resort to eating the plants in tomorrow land. Many of them are edible herbs. However, from my personal experience of attempting to eat a couple non-edible bushes, I can tell you that not all of them are in fact fit to consume. Eat with discretion.
Popcorn People
Another cluster of hidden details can be found at any of the popcorn stands dedicated to filling thousands of hungry guests with buttery goodness. Adorning every popcorn machine in the park, plastic popcorn-turning characters can be found towards the edge of the machines “turning” handles to churn the kettles.
The turners are unique to each stand, and they are related to the area of the park they are located in. For example, in Tomorrowland an astronaut can be found dutifully churning the corn, and near the Haunted Mansion a zombie like character is responsible for the job.
Pet cemetery
If you happen to find yourself stuck in a long line at the Haunted Mansion attraction, no worries. While waiting in outside the mansion, visitors have the opportunity to read the decorative tombstones lining the manor. And while the stones in the front read the names of many of the creators of the ride, the graves on the side of the attraction contain humorous homages to an assortment of animals, including an upside down tribute to Freddie the bat and a lamentation over why Billy the frog had to “croak”.
