Look up at the entryway in the Village Haus restaurant in DISNEYLAND. See how Figaro is helpfully yanking the exit sign? A bit of Disney whimsy? Actually it's a little cover-up!
When DISNEYLAND first opened, Walt had to make some sacrifices to save money. One of those was to build out Fantasyland with a "medieval carnival fantasy" theme instead of the Old Europe look that Walt originally wanted. (Ironically, his brother would choose to use the "medieval carnival fantasy" theme that Walt hated out in Florida.) In 1981, Walt's son-in-law chose to fix this at DISNEYLAND by building the Fantasyland of Walt's dreams.
So the New Fantasyland was built! New facilities, new facades and more were built and in the midst of all the construction, a rather obvious problem cropped up- a contractor had misaligned this exit sign, a problem that could only be fixed by tearing the wall down, a setback that would further delay the grand re-opening of Fantasyland.
Enter the enterprising Imagineers. A quick paint job and the error would now look intentional- though crafty Figaro hints at the real reason behind the subterfuge by winking at us. A clever cover up that meant the park would be able to open its new Fantasyland on time.
