Hometown Candies

Marceline's Confectionery, located at the Downtown Disney District outside DISNEYLAND Park is modeled after a candy shop from the small town where Walt Disney grew up- Marceline, Missouri. DISNEYLAND's Main Street was inspired by Walt Disney's time in Marceline.

A Backwards Castle...

Early conceptual drawings of Sleeping Beauty Castle always look a bit- off. In fact, that's because the castle never looked quite right to Walt Disney, and he spent many hours staring at a model of the castle to determine what didn't seem right about it. Eventually he came to the conclusion that it looked backwards to him. He picked up the model, turned it around, and voila! The castle as we know it today looked exactly as Walt had always dreamed.

Blast to the Past at DISNEYLAND

In the late 1980's, DISNEYLAND hosted numerous off-season events to attract guests, one of which was Blast to the Past, which boasted a daily "sock hop", car show on Main Street and various musical acts performing songs from the decade of the park's birth- the 1950's.

A Voice for Gideon

Gideon, the criminally inclined cat who helps guide Pinocchio off the straight and narrow path, doesn't speak in the final cut of Pinocchio, but he did originally have a voice. Provided by the legendary Mel Blanc, Gideon's voice was deemed too distracting, so all of his dialogue was cut. Mel Blanc is heard on the final soundtrack, however; he provided one of Gideon's hiccups.

DISNEYLAND's Wizard of Bras

For the first year of its existence, DISNEYLAND had its very own bra shop. The Intimate Apparel shop was located at what eventually became the "China Closet", a shop featuring collectible figurines. The shop, which featured an exhibit on bras through the ages, was never a favorite of Walt's and it lasted just one year. Apparently, buying intimate apparel was not on the top of anyone's list when visiting the Magic Kingdom.

Disney Quote Weekends

"You've had your fun... Now pay for it!"

-Coachman from Pinocchio

Disney Quote Weekends

“Don’t worry about it, just make it beautiful and you’ll appeal to the best side of people. They all have it; all you have to do is bring it out.”

-Walt Disney

Disney & McDonald's

Remember Tuesday's fact? When discussing Walt Disney's airplane, we mentioned that he would often seek out McDonald's restaurants for impromptu meals. His ties to McDonald's go back even further, however- to 1917. At the tailend of World War I, Walt Disney found himself driving Red Cross ambulances in France. One of the other drivers he worked with was none other than Ray Kroc, the visionary businessman who would take the McDonald's concept worldwide. From 1998 until 2008, McDonald's and Disney had a wide ranging deal that would put McDonald's food in Disney Theme Parks.

Disney Divisions: Hollywood Pictures

Hollywood Pictures was another film division of The Walt Disney Studios that, like Touchstone Pictures, was created to release films for a more mature audience. Its first released film was 1989's Arachnophobia.

Walt Disney's Airplane

Walt Disney often found himself needing to fly around the country to conduct business and he typically used the airplane pictured below. Walt kept a map of McDonald's restaurants on the plane and would often have the pilot land near one for impromptu meals. Walt allegedly used the plane to scope out locations for his "Florida Project". The plane is currently on display at Disney's Hollywood Studios during the short tram tour.