Disney Trivia / Fun Facts / Resources

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1) What year was Mickey Mouse born, and what was his first short film?

1928

Steamboat Willie

Steamboat Willie—the first animated film to star Mickey Mouse and to feature synchronized sound—debuts at the Colony Theatre in New York, November 18, 1928

2) What was Walt Disney afraid of when he was a child?

A Creepy Little Mouse

As a child, Walt Disney was famously afraid of mice. This fear, which he developed while living on a farm in Missouri, was eventually transformed into his most famous creation, Mickey Mouse.

Originally named Mortimer and later renamed Mickey by his wife Lillian, he made his debut in 1928 and became a global sensation, launching Disney's career.

Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901, and grew up in several locations after being born in Chicago, Illinois. His family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri, when he was four, where he spent a significant part of his childhood and developed an interest in drawingLater, the family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, and then back to Chicago before he left to join the Red Cross during World War I. Walt died on December 15, 1965.

3) What were Mickey Mouse's first words ever spoken?

Mickey's First Words Were: 
Hot dog! Hot dog!

In the 1929 movie "The Karnival Kid"

4) What year did Walt Disney World in Orlando open?

Walt Disney World in Orlando
October 1, 1971 

Walt Disney at Press Conference 1966

~ Magic Kingdom — October 1971

~ Downtown Disney — May 1975

~ EPCOT — October 1982

~ Hollywood Studios — May 1989

~ Animal Kingdom — April 1998

~ Typhoon Lagoon — April 1989

~ Blizzard Beach — April 1995

Disneyland in California

July 17, 1955

5) How many Acres or Square Miles is the Walt Disney World Property?

About 28,000 Acres or 43 Square Miles (11,106 Hectares)

  • It's roughly the size of the city of San Francisco or two Manhattan Islands
  • Walt started purchasing the land in April 1964 from 51 people, anonymously
  • Paid $5 million for the property, now estimated at $11 billion (2,200 ROI)
  • Walt died in 1966 of Lung Cancer
  • Currently 1/3 Developed — 1/3 in Conservation — 1/3 Undeveloped
  • Disneyland in California is landlocked at approximately 500 acres.

6) What 4 New Lands with Attractions are coming to Walt Disney World?

"Villains Land" at Magic Kingdom

Maleficent-Themed Roller Coaster & a second ride.

 "Tropical Americas" in Animal Kingdom

Indiana Jones Adventure, Encanto-themed Ride, Animal-themed Carousel & New Playground

"Monsters, Inc." in Hollywood Studios

Suspended Door Coaster & Vertical Lift Loading Station

"Cars Land" in Frontierland, Magic Kingdom

Piston Peak: thrilling rally race ride

This adds 14 acres to the backside of Magic Kingdom

Building 10 acres in the middle of the Hollywood Studios employee parking lot

7) Which park is the biggest...Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios

  1. Animal Kingdom is 580 acres 
  2. EPCOT is 300 acres
  3. Hollywood Studios is 135 acres (Monsters Inc. will add 10 acres)
  4. Magic Kingdom is 107 acres (Villains Land will add 14 acres)

8) How many visitors come to Walt Disney World every year?

59 Million! — (160,000 per day)

  • Magic Kingdom: 50,000 average daily guests (Capacity: 100,000)
  • EPCOT: 33,000 average daily guests (Capacity: 110,000)
  • Hollywood Studios: 30,000 average daily guests (Capacity: 60,000)
  • Animal Kingdom: 24,000 average daily guests (Capacity: 60,000)

Orlando receives approximately 70 million visitors annually, making it the Most Visited Destination in the World.

9) How many years would it take to sleep one night in every hotel room in the Walt Disney World Property Resorts?

Over 110 Years!  

  • There are Over 40,000 Rooms in the Walt Disney Resort.

10) How many Walt Disney World Resort/Hotels are there on the property?

22 Disney Properties PLUS 17 partner properties 

  • Coming Soon — Lake Shore Lodge, Disney Vacation Club (DVC), 2027
    • 900 rooms located next to Wilderness Lodge (old River Country)

Magic Kingdom Area:
Contemporary - 1971 (655 Rm)

Bay Lake Tower - 2009 (428 Units)
Polynesian Village - 1971 (492 Rm & 360 Villas/ 20 Bungalows)

Fort Wilderness - 1971 (800 Campsites & 409 Cabins)

Grand Floridian - 1988 (867 Rm/25 St)
Wilderness Lodge - 1994 (729 Rm, 181 Villas & 185 Copper Creek Villas)
Lakeshore Lodge - 2027 (900 Rm)

EPCOT Area:
Caribbean Beach - 1988 (1,536 Rm)
Yacht Club - 1990 (630 Rm)
Beach Club - 1990 (583 Rm/282 Villas)
BoardWalk - 1996 (378 Rm/532 Villas)
Riviera - 2019 (300 Rm)

Disney Springs Area:
Port Orleans French Quarter - 1991 (1,008 Rm)

Port Orleans Riverside - 1991 (2,048 Rm)
Old Key West - 1991 (761 Units)
Saratoga Springs - 2004 (1320 Units)

Animal Kingdom Area:
All-Star Music - 1994 (1,412 Rm)
All-Star Sports - 1994 (1,920 Rm)

All-Star Movies - 1999 (1,920 Rm)
Animal Kingdom Lodge - 2001 (1,307 Rm/708 Villas)
Coronado Springs - 2017 (1,951 Rm)

Wide World of Sports Area:
Art of Animation - 2012 (984 Rm/1,120 Suites)
Pop Century - 2013 (2,880 Rm)

PARTNER PROPERTIES:

Shades of Green† - 1973 (586 Rm)

Dolphin† - 1990 (1,509 Rm)
Swan† - 1990 (756 Rm)
Swan Reserve† - 2021 (349 Rm)
Four Seasons† - 2022 (443 Rm)

Lake Buena Vista Area:
Hilton Orlando (814 Rm) 
Wyndham Garden Lake (394 Rm)
Drury Plaza Hotel (604 Rm)
Double Tree Suites (236 Rm)
Renaissance Orlando (394 Rm)
Holiday Inn Orlando (323 Rm)
Hilton Orlando LBV (605 Rm) 

Bonnet Area:
Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek (1,149 Rm)
Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort (400 Rm)
JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet (516 Rm)
Signia by Hilton Orlando (1,009 Rm)
Waldorf Astoria Orlando (502 Rm)

TOTAL ROOMS—10,594

11) How many Employees/Cast Members work in Walt Disney World Parks & Resorts?

About 80,000 total cast members, full-time & part-time

  • Theme Parks: Magic Kingdom—20,000, EPCOT—12,000, Animal Kingdom—8,000 & Hollywood Studios—5,000
  • Resort & Hospitality: 25,000 managing 30+ hotels, dining and transport operations.
  • Administration & Support: 10,000 in corporate, engineering, and logistics.
    • Disney employs about 15,000 kids in the "College Program"
    • Disney's overall workforce is approximately 233,000 employees.
    • Making it the largest single-site employer in the United States!
    • Over 1.8 million costumes are tracked with barcodes to ensure they remain Disney property. 
    • Nearly 13,000 clothing items are manufactured every year.

12) How much does Walt Disney World spend on FIREWORKS Every Night in US dollars?

Est. at $137,000 Every Night! 

  • Magic Kingdom does "Happily Ever After"
  • EPCOT does "The Luminous Show"
  • Hollywood Studios does "Fantasmic!"
  • Popcorn Sales and Treats pay for it. 
  • Disney is the biggest consumer of GUNPOWDER behind the US Military. 
  • They use compressed air to launch the Fireworks.

13) How much Parking Revenue does Walt Disney World generate daily

About $2 Million Daily!

  • Each park has approximately 14,000 to 18,000 parking spots.
  • Each Disney resort has approximately 1,000 to 2,000 parking spots.

14) How much Revenue does Walt Disney World's 4 theme parks generate daily?

About $36 Million!

DISNEY OWNS OVER 300 COMPANIES

  • 12 Theme Parks spread across six resorts
  • 6 Disney Cruise Ships
  • FOX
  • ESPN
  • ABC
  • MARVEL
  • HULU
  • Walt Disney Consumer Products
  • Walt Disney Studios
  • Disney Music Group
  • Disney Theatrical Group
  • ...and So Many More!

15) How much is Walt Disney World's Annual Electricity Bill?

Over $100 million!  

  • 10% runs on 500,000 solar panels on 270 acres.
  • Goal of 40% solar by 2030
  • The hidden Mickey is 48,000 solar panels in the shape of Mickey Mouse next to EPCOT. 

16) Name 1 of the top 3 Most Expensive Theme Park Rides Ever Built in Walt Disney World?

1- Spaceship Earth
Estimated Cost: $1 Billion
Park: EPCOT — Opening: 1982

2- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Estimated Cost: $500 million
Park: EPCOT — Opening: 2022

3- Pandora – The World of Avatar
Estimated Cost: $400-500 million
Park: Animal Kingdom — Opening: 2017

4- Test Track 3.0
Estimated Cost: $300 million
Park: EPCOT — Opening: 1998

5- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Estimated Cost: $225 million
Park: Hollywood Studios — Opening: 2019

6- Tron Lightcycle Run
Estimated Cost: $200 million
Park: Magic Kingdom / Tomorrowland — Opening: 2023

7- Tiana's Bayou Adventure (Splash Mountain)
Estimated Cost: $142 million
Park: Magic Kingdom / Frontierland — Opening: 2024

8- Tower of Terror
Estimated Cost: $140 million
Park: Hollywood Studios — Opening: 1989

9- Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
Estimated Cost: $120 million
Park: EPCOT — Opening: 2021

10- Expedition Everest
Estimated Cost: $100 million
Park: Animal Kingdom — Opening: 2006

About 3+ Billion Dollars for the Top 10 Rides in the Park! — 10 to 20,000 riders per day

17) What does EPCOT stand for?

EVERY PERSON COMES OUT TIRED!

  • Not Really! 
  • Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

Walt imagined a city where people lived, worked, and thrived in a futuristic utopia. 🌆 Instead, we got a park where we eat around the world and ride Spaceship Earth. Still magical…just with more delicious snacks. 🤤✨

18) Which Iconic Band officially broke up at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort?

The BEATLES 

  • Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit in London’s High Court to dissolve the Beatles’ mutual partnership.
  • An 87-page document was signed by all four on December 29, 1974, at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.

19) Which Theme Park is 4 degrees hotter than the other 3?

Animal Kingdom 

  • Due to a "rainforest effect" from its dense vegetation trapping heat and limiting airflow, this can create a "greenhouse effect".
  • There are more than 300 different species of animals at Animal Kingdom, and around 2000 animals.

20) What are the three mountains in Magic Kingdom?

  1. Space Mountain
  2. Tiana's Bayou Adventure (Splash Mountain)
  3. Big Thunder Railroad Mountain

21) According to Walt Disney Pictures, what are the 3 highest-grossing films worldwide?

Inside Out 2 (2024)
$1.7 billion

The Lion King (2019)
$1.65 billion

Frozen 2 (2019)
$1.45 billion

22) If you wash ONE load of laundry each day...How long would it take to wash what Disney washes in ONE day?

About 50 YEARS!

  • Disney provides laundry services for all cast members and resorts.
  • They wash 285,000 LBs (129,200 KGs) of laundry daily!
  • Dry Clean about 32,000 Garments
  • They have 4 locations totaling about 500,000 sq ft

Disney's Washing Tunnel

23) Does Walt Disney World have a Police department

NOPE!

  • Disney contract with the Orange County Sheriff! 
  • Disney does have a Huge Security Team!
  • Disney also has 4 Fire Stations!
    • With 160 full-time firefighters and paramedics
    • They respond to about 80 alarms per day

24) How many Sunglasses are lost in Walt Disney World annually?

  • Over 76,650 pairs of SUNGLASSES (210 per day)
  • Over 6,000 CELLPHONES (16 per day)
  • Over 18,000 HATS (50 per day)
  • Since Walt Disney World opened in 1971, visitors have lost more than 1.6 million pairs of sunglasses at the parks

25) How many Hamburgers are sold annually in Disney World?

  • 10 Million Hamburgers (27,397 per day)
  • 6 Million Hot Dogs (16,438 per day)
  • 1.6 Million Turkey Drumsticks (4,383 per day)
  • 9 Million Pounds of French Fries (24,657 pounds per day)
  • 300,000 Pounds of Popcorn ($60k per day)
  • 3.3 million Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars (9,041 per day)
  • 13 Million Bottles of Water (35,616 per day)
  • 75 Million Coke Products (205,497 per day)
  • WDW has over 300 dining outlets with a staff of 350 chefs

26) How many U.S. Flags are on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom?

  • ONE Official U.S. Flag!
  • It's been taken down every day at 5 pm since October 1971
  • The others are missing a stripe or a few stars 
  • They are fake flag props and do not need to be taken in during inclement weather, nor do they need to be illuminated at night.

27) In Florida, we don’t have basements, but if you dig down 8 ft, you'll hit water. Magic Kingdom has an underground tunnel system...HOW?

Magic Kingdom's on the 2nd Story!

  • You're walking uphill to Magic Kingdom
  • Cast members move through color-coded tunnels
  • It's said the "Trash" is the fastest ride in the park, be whisk away at 60 MPH.

28) What closed down in 1974 when the monorail was built in Walt Disney World?

  • The Lake Buena Vista STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) Airport.
  • Closed due to safety reasons with the monorail
  • "Singing Runway" with grooves spaced to play the opening notes of the Disney song "When You Wish Upon a Star" as planes landed.

29) Who said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible”?

Walt Disney —

A few other of Walt's favorite quotes...

  • " All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."
  • "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
  • “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever.”

30) In "The Lion King" movie, what does “Hakuna Matata” mean? 

“No worries”

31) How many Disney Movies have been produced?

648 Movies — According to "The Numbers"

32) How many stories is the Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios?

  • 13 Stories
  • Its actual height is 199 feet

33) What are the names of the seven dwarfs in Snow White? 

  1. Grumpy
  2. Sneezy
  3. Dopey
  4. Sleepy
  5. Doc
  6. Bashful
  7. Happy

34) Who is the most famous actor/actress to come out of Disney?

  1. Jennifer Stone — Actress. Producer. Writer. 
  2. Selena Gomez — Music Artist. Actress. 
  3. Demi Lovato — Music Artist. Actress.
  4. Miley Cyrus — Music Artist. Actress.
  5. Bella Thorne — Actress. Director.

35) What is the Disney rule 30?

  • Walt Disney's meticulous attention to guest behavior led to the implementation of the 30-foot trash can rule
  • By observing how far guests would walk before discarding litter, Disney determined that placing trash cans within a 30-foot radius minimized littering and maintained park cleanliness.

36) The monorail runs through the lobby of which Disney Resorts?

  • Only the Contemporary Resort Lobby

37) The Disney PhotoPass Photographers take how many photos daily?

About 10-15 Million 

  • PhotoPass photographers take between 100,000 to 200,000 photographs of guests on any given day at over 100  locations in the parks.

38) Which messy item does Disney not sell anywhere inside the park?

GUM...it's not sold at Disney World.

39) How many Horticulturists does Disney have?

... team consists of approximately 800 professionals. 

  • They tend to 175,000 trees
  • 800 hanging baskets across the entire resort properties
  • 3.5 million bedding plants
  • 4 million shrubs
  • 13,000 rose bushes
  • 200 unique topiary sculptures
  • PLUS, Over 100,000 Poinsettias Are Planted for the Holidays

40) Does Disney have a farm

YES, at EPCOT, they grow over 30 Tons of Produce for their resorts in the park.

41) How many miles of roads are there in Disney World?

  • 175 Miles
  • There are 424 Resort Buses that drive over 40 million miles per year.

42) Did you know Magic Kingdom...

...has 12 Monorails — 14.7 miles of tracks, the largest in the world, and 3 600-passenger ferries.

43) Did you know that Disney...

...has 67 Miles of waterways with 36 Watercraft, and the Disney Skyliner has 304 Gondolas.

44) Can you live in Disney World?

YES, at Golden Oak, a Four Seasons Resort.

  • BUT, you don't own the land.
  • Home prices generally range from $5 million to upwards of $20 million.

45)  Disney Springs is not a theme park but a collection of several “neighborhoods,” a hundred or more stores, restaurants, and entertainment experiences. Each neighborhood has a distinct atmosphere: Name Them!

  • Town Center
  • The Landing
  • West Side
  • Marketplace

46) Where Are the 12 Disneylands in the World?

47) Magic Kingdom is divided into six distinct areas (or lands) that converge on Main Street, USA, and Cinderella’s Castle. Name them?

  • Main Street, U.S.A
  • Tomorrowland
  • Fantasyland
  • Frontierland
  • Liberty Square
  • Adventureland

48) Do you know Disney World has a Club 33?

Club 33 is a private Membership club with a variety of tailored experiences for its Members.

  • $35,000 initiation fee and an $16,000 annual fee
  • The waitlist is estimated at 10 years 
  • Locations:
    • Magic Kingdom: Located in Adventureland
    • Epcot: Found in the American Adventure pavilion.
    • Hollywood Studios: The entrance is at the Hollywood Brown Derby.
    • Animal Kingdom: Situated in the Africa area of Harambe Village.

49) How old is Crush in Finding Nemo?

150 years old (and still young!)

50) What was the first-ever feature-length animated film?

It's hard to imagine a time when animated films were considered a ridiculous concept, but when Walt Disney set out to create the first feature-length cartoon in 1937"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"he was laughed at.

Walt Disney won a record 22 Academy Awards throughout his career.



Disney Springs

Disney Springs Shops

Reedy Creek Improvement District

Transportation

Disney World Expanding

Villains Land

Magic Kingdom Underground

Road Improvement around the Floridain

Road Improvement around the Floridain

Lakeshore Lodge 2027

Some information was gathered from the D23 Fan Club.

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