Hidden Disney

Disney’s Magic Kingdom and the iconic Cinderella Castle that marks the centrepiece of the park is a destination children across the world yearn to visit, but the magic of Disney is a carefully crafted experience.





Legend tells that before the park was created, the problem of creating magic - ie bringing characters to life and having them only feature in the lands they are supposed to be - was brought up by Walt Disney. In a previous park he had seen characters walking through other lands to get to their own, effectively spoiling the illusion and the magic for visitors. The solution they came up with is practically invisible to the park guests, but extensive enough to allow the park to run without any interruptions from the real world.





From the moment you step off the park’s monorail, reality is not what it seems. You’re not on the ground floor as you would think. The park is in fact the first floor, with the ground floor below made up of a network of utility corridors or ‘utilidors’ and dressing rooms, cafeterias, break rooms and offices. There is also the "DACS" control room which controls almost everything within the park, from lighting in shows, to animatronics and rides. It also monitors power failures, fire prevention and equipment failures, so it’s a very important piece of technology.

Have you ever noticed how you never see merchandise and supplies being walked through Disney World, delivery vans pulling up outside the gates or bins being emptied? No? This is because everything being delivered comes via the utilidors and only electric vehicles, with the exception of ambulances in emergencies and armoured vehicles collecting cash are allowed within the park. There is also a vacuum system to deal with litter in the park which sucks it in to a central location for processing and recycling. Each area in the park is accessible by steps and elevators from the utilidors which allow costumed cast to magically ‘appear’ in their lands, these same steps and elevators can also be used to transport merchandise and supplies into stores and restaurants away from the eyes of the guests.





Most people on their USA holidays who visit Disney’s Magic Kingdom have no idea of the effort that goes into preserving the sense of magic that permeates the park, which shows just how important and well-maintained this underground world is. You can take a tour to experience the ulitildors, but it is only available for over 16s to preserve the sense of wonder and magic of Disney for the younger guests.