Theme Park Trivia: Disney World History Quiz Questions
164 free trivia questions about the parks themselves: opening days, hidden design tricks, Imagineering lore, and the real history behind the magic. Every answer comes with a fun fact. Click any question to reveal its answer, or take turns out loud on your next road trip.
Want it as a game? Our free Trivia Quest keeps score for up to 12 players, each at their own difficulty and theme, with an even bigger question bank.
Easy park trivia
Warm-ups anyone who has visited the parks can take a swing at.
1.What was Walt Disney's very first full-length animated movie?
Answer: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
It came out in 1937. People called it 'Disney's Folly' until it became a smash hit!
2.What castle stands in the middle of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World?
Answer: Cinderella Castle
There's a secret suite inside where special guests can spend the night!
3.What famous frozen pineapple treat can you get at Disney World?
Answer: Dole Whip
Dole Whip is dairy-free and has been a park favorite since 1984.
4.Which ride at Magic Kingdom lets you fly over London in a pirate ship?
Answer: Peter Pan's Flight
It has been flying guests since the park opened in 1971, and the line is still one of the longest.
5.Which Disney World park has a giant silver sphere at the entrance?
Answer: EPCOT
It is called Spaceship Earth, and inside is a slow ride through the history of communication.
6.What stands at the center of Animal Kingdom?
Answer: The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is 145 feet tall with more than 300 animals carved into its trunk and roots.
7.Which Magic Kingdom mountain is a roller coaster in the dark?
Answer: Space Mountain
It only goes about 28 miles per hour. The darkness just makes it feel like a rocket.
8.What street do you walk down when you enter Magic Kingdom?
Answer: Main Street, U.S.A.
It was inspired by Walt's boyhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.
9.What kind of vehicle do you ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?
Answer: A runaway mine train
Cast members call it 'the wildest ride in the wilderness!'
10.On which classic ride do you float past battling pirate ships?
Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean
The ride came first: it opened in 1967 and inspired the movies decades later, not the other way around.
11.Which Magic Kingdom ride lets kids drive their own car on a track?
Answer: Tomorrowland Speedway
A guide rail under each car keeps every driver on course, no license required.
12.What does 'rope drop' mean to Disney park regulars?
Answer: Arriving right at park opening
Veterans swear by it: the first hour after opening has the shortest lines of the whole day.
13.Which Disney World water park is themed as a melted ski resort?
Answer: Blizzard Beach
The backstory: a freak Florida snowstorm built a ski resort, then the sun came back and the slopes became water slides.
14.Which Disney World hotel does the monorail glide straight through?
Answer: The Contemporary
The A-frame tower was designed so the monorail could pass right through the lobby, and it still wows first-timers.
15.What Mickey-shaped food is a famous Disney World breakfast?
Answer: Mickey waffles
Mickey-shaped food tastes better. This is widely considered park science.
16.At which Disney World park can you ride a safari with real live animals?
Answer: Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safaris covers about 110 acres, bigger than the entire Magic Kingdom park.
17.What ride lets you circle above Fantasyland in a flying elephant?
Answer: Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Magic Kingdom runs two Dumbo carousels side by side, doubling how many kids get to fly.
18.In which Disney World park can you visit Pandora, the glowing world from Avatar?
Answer: Animal Kingdom
Pandora's floating mountains tower over Animal Kingdom, and the plants glow after dark.
19.Which EPCOT ride travels through the history of communication inside the giant sphere?
Answer: Spaceship Earth
The ride spirals up 18 stories inside the sphere, from cave paintings all the way to the computer age.
20.What are Disney park employees called?
Answer: Cast Members
Disney treats the whole park as a show. Everyone from ride operators to street sweepers is part of the cast.
21.What do you do on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom?
Answer: Fire a laser blaster at targets
You spin your space cruiser and blast Emperor Zurg's Z targets to rack up points.
22.At which Disney World resort can you watch giraffes and zebras from your room?
Answer: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge's rooms overlook savannas where dozens of African animals roam.
23.What is the name of Disney World's campground resort?
Answer: Fort Wilderness
Fort Wilderness has campsites and cabins in the woods, plus nightly campfire singalongs with Chip and Dale.
24.Chef Mickey's, the famous character breakfast with Mickey and friends, is at which resort?
Answer: The Contemporary
Characters visit your table while the monorail zooms overhead through the same building.
25.The Grand Floridian resort is built in the style of grand hotels from which era?
Answer: The Victorian era
Its red-gabled roofs and white verandas echo Florida's grand Victorian beach hotels.
26.What is the Disney Skyliner?
Answer: A gondola system connecting resorts to parks
The colorful gondolas glide from several resorts to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, many decorated with Disney characters.
27.Disney's Wilderness Lodge is themed after grand lodges of which American region?
Answer: The Pacific Northwest
Its towering timber lobby is inspired by historic national park lodges like Old Faithful Inn.
28.Which resort's buildings are decorated with giant scenes from Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Lion King?
Answer: Art of Animation
Art of Animation's courtyards drop you into the movies, complete with a Cozy Cone pool from Cars.
29.Disney's All-Star and Pop Century resorts are famous for what outside their buildings?
Answer: Giant larger-than-life icons
Think four-story Buzz Lightyear, giant jukeboxes, and huge football helmets towering over the courtyards.
30.The Polynesian Village Resort is themed after which part of the world?
Answer: The South Pacific islands
Torch-lit walkways, a white-sand beach, and views of Cinderella Castle across the lagoon.
31.Which resort sits inside a giant A-frame tower that the monorail passes through?
Answer: The Contemporary
The Contemporary opened with Magic Kingdom in 1971 and is a short walk from the park gates.
32.Giant statues of which creature sit atop Disney's Dolphin hotel?
Answer: Dolphins
The 56-foot statues are stylized dolphin-fish. Next door, the Swan is topped by 47-foot swans, and a walkway links both to EPCOT.
33.Which resort has a pool area called the Lava Pool beside a volcano slide?
Answer: The Polynesian
The volcano waterslide splashes down right by the beach with a view of the castle across the water.
34.Who created Mickey Mouse?
Answer: Walt Disney
Walt dreamed Mickey up with animator Ub Iwerks, who drew him. Legend says the idea struck on a long train ride.
35.What was the very first Disney theme park?
Answer: Disneyland in California
Walt opened Disneyland in 1955 and kept a private apartment above the Main Street fire station so he could walk the park and watch guests.
36.Walt Disney World is in which U.S. state?
Answer: Florida
It sits just outside Orlando, on a property roughly the size of San Francisco.
37.The original Disneyland is in which U.S. state?
Answer: California
It was built on former orange groves in Anaheim, about an hour from Hollywood.
38.In his famous first cartoon with sound, Mickey Mouse steers what?
Answer: A steamboat
That's why the cartoon is called Steamboat Willie! Mickey whistles at the wheel in its opening scene.
39.Which opened first, Disneyland or Walt Disney World?
Answer: Disneyland
Disneyland opened in 1955; Walt Disney World followed 16 years later in 1971.
40.Walt Disney famously reminded everyone that 'it was all started by a...' what?
Answer: Mouse
His full line: 'I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.'
41.When it started in 1923, the Disney company made what?
Answer: Cartoons
Walt and his brother Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio decades before any theme park existed.
42.In which city did Walt Disney start his movie studio?
Answer: Los Angeles
Walt arrived in Los Angeles in 1923 with a suitcase and an unfinished cartoon reel.
43.Walt Disney won a record number of what award?
Answer: Academy Awards (Oscars)
Walt won 22 competitive Oscars, still the record for one person, plus several honorary ones.
44.What year is celebrated as Mickey Mouse's birth year?
Answer: 1928
Mickey and Minnie both debuted in Steamboat Willie in 1928, so they share a birthday.
Medium park trivia
For people who plan their park days in advance.
1.Before Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney created another cartoon character he lost the rights to. Who?
Answer: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Disney got Oswald BACK in 2006, traded to Universal for a sportscaster. Weirdest trade ever!
2.What was Mickey Mouse's first cartoon with synchronized sound?
Answer: Steamboat Willie
It premiered November 18, 1928, which is officially Mickey's birthday.
3.What does EPCOT actually stand for?
Answer: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
Walt originally planned it as a real futuristic CITY where people would live.
4.How many 'happy haunts' live in the Haunted Mansion?
Answer: 999
999 happy haunts, but there's room for a thousand. Any volunteers?
5.Which Walt Disney World park opened FIRST?
Answer: Magic Kingdom
October 1, 1971. Roy Disney finished it and named it WALT Disney World to honor his brother.
6.How many country pavilions circle EPCOT's World Showcase?
Answer: Eleven
Morocco's pavilion is extra authentic: the King of Morocco sent real artisans to build its mosaics.
7.What are guests hunting for when they search for Hidden Mickeys?
Answer: Mickey-shaped designs tucked into rides and decor
Imagineers hide the three-circle shape in murals, carpets, and even rock work. Whole guidebooks exist to track them.
8.What circles the entire Magic Kingdom and stops at three stations?
Answer: The Walt Disney World Railroad
Walt loved trains so much he built a rideable miniature railroad, the Carolwood Pacific, in his own backyard.
9.What happens in the famous first room of the Haunted Mansion?
Answer: The room stretches
At Disney World the ceiling rises. At the original Disneyland version, the whole room is an elevator sinking down.
10.Expedition Everest is a roller coaster in which Disney World park?
Answer: Animal Kingdom
Its giant Yeti animatronic broke years ago and now only appears in strobe flashes. Fans lovingly call him 'Disco Yeti.'
11.Why is Disney's official fan club called D23?
Answer: Walt founded the studio in 1923
1923 is the year Walt arrived in Hollywood and founded the studio with his brother Roy.
12.What was Hollywood Studios called when it opened in 1989?
Answer: Disney-MGM Studios
It began as a working film studio, with real animators producing movies where guests could watch.
13.Which EPCOT festival fills the park with character-shaped topiaries every spring?
Answer: Flower & Garden Festival
EPCOT now runs four festivals a year, which is a big reason its crowds shift by season.
14.What are the people who design Disney parks and rides called?
Answer: Imagineers
The word blends 'imagination' and 'engineer.' The group Walt formed to design Disneyland dates to 1952.
15.In which land is Space Mountain located?
Answer: Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland has been redesigned over and over for one stubborn reason: the future keeps arriving.
16.What does a Lightning Lane let Disney World guests do?
Answer: Skip most of the standby line
It replaced the free paper FastPass tickets that first appeared back in 1999.
17.What ride took over Splash Mountain's log flume in 2024?
Answer: Tiana's Bayou Adventure
Same drop, new story: it picks up after The Princess and the Frog, with music recorded in New Orleans.
18.TRON Lightcycle / Run sits in which Magic Kingdom land?
Answer: Tomorrowland
Riders lean forward motorcycle-style. It opened in 2023 right next to Space Mountain.
19.Which EPCOT ride hang-glides you over world landmarks, scents included?
Answer: Soarin' Around the World
The ride system is a giant cantilevered glider, and yes, the grass really does smell like grass.
20.What is the name of the Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios?
Answer: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
It's set on the planet Batuu. Cast members stay in character and greet you with 'Bright suns!'
21.Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is unusual because its ride vehicles do what?
Answer: Rotate to face the action
EPCOT's first coaster opened in 2022, and its soundtrack shuffles so you never know which song you'll get.
22.Most of Walt Disney World sits in which Florida county?
Answer: Orange
Disney bought the land in the 1960s through shell companies so prices would not skyrocket.
23.What do fans call Magic Kingdom's quiet farewell moment after closing?
Answer: The Kiss Goodnight
About 30 minutes after close, the castle shimmers and a recorded thank-you plays for the stragglers.
24.Which film earned Walt an honorary Oscar with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes?
Answer: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Shirley Temple presented it in 1939. One regular Oscar, seven tiny ones.
25.Who voiced the Genie in the original animated Aladdin?
Answer: Robin Williams
Robin Williams improvised so much that the animators drew the Genie around his riffs.
26.Who wrote and sang the songs for Tarzan, including 'You'll Be in My Heart'?
Answer: Phil Collins
'You'll Be in My Heart' won Phil Collins the Oscar for Best Original Song. Elton John did The Lion King, and Sting did The Emperor's New Groove.
27.Frozen Ever After sails through which EPCOT World Showcase pavilion?
Answer: Norway
It took over the old Maelstrom boat ride in the Norway pavilion in 2016.
28.Remy's Ratatouille Adventure shrinks you down to rat size in which EPCOT pavilion?
Answer: France
The ride opened in the France pavilion in 2021 during Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration.
29.What is the name of Magic Kingdom's nighttime fireworks show?
Answer: Happily Ever After
Happily Ever After pairs fireworks with projections on Cinderella Castle and down Main Street. Fantasmic! is the Hollywood Studios show.
30.Which Magic Kingdom land is home to the Haunted Mansion?
Answer: Liberty Square
At Disneyland in California, the mansion sits in New Orleans Square instead.
31.What floating light-and-music show cruises past the Magic Kingdom area resorts every night?
Answer: The Electrical Water Pageant
This parade of glowing sea creatures on barges has run on Bay Lake since 1971, making it one of Disney World's oldest shows.
32.Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, the tiki lounge full of interactive surprises, is at which resort?
Answer: The Polynesian
Order the right drink and the whole room reacts: volcanoes erupt and the windows show a sinking ship.
33.Whispering Canyon Cafe, where servers famously holler and pile on the ketchup gags, is at which resort?
Answer: Wilderness Lodge
Ask for ketchup and you may get every bottle in the restaurant delivered to your table.
34.Which two Disney World resorts share Stormalong Bay, the giant sand-bottom pool?
Answer: The Yacht Club and Beach Club
Stormalong Bay has a lazy river, a shipwreck waterslide, and a real sandy bottom, closer to a mini water park than a hotel pool.
35.The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue dinner show plays at which resort?
Answer: Fort Wilderness
It has been running in Pioneer Hall since 1974, with fried chicken, washboards, and terrible puns.
36.Victoria & Albert's, Disney World's most exclusive restaurant, is at which resort?
Answer: The Grand Floridian
It holds AAA Five Diamond honors, and jackets are required for gentlemen at dinner.
37.'Ohana, the family-style feast with skewers brought to your table, is at which resort?
Answer: The Polynesian
The name is Hawaiian for family, and the bread pudding finale has a fan club of its own.
38.EPCOT's back entrance, used by guests from the BoardWalk, Yacht Club, and Beach Club, is called what?
Answer: The International Gateway
It drops you straight into World Showcase between France and the United Kingdom.
39.Disney's BoardWalk resort recreates what?
Answer: A 1930s Atlantic seaside boardwalk
In the evenings, real jugglers and magicians perform along the waterfront, just like the old boardwalks.
40.Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are themed after which region?
Answer: Louisiana bayou country and New Orleans
French Quarter even serves Mickey-shaped beignets dusted with powdered sugar.
41.Which moderate resort's villages are named after Caribbean islands like Aruba and Trinidad?
Answer: Caribbean Beach
It opened in 1988 as Disney World's very first moderate-priced resort.
42.The Disney Skyliner gondolas connect several resorts to which two parks?
Answer: EPCOT and Hollywood Studios
Riviera and Caribbean Beach have their own stations, while Pop Century and Art of Animation share a floating station on the lake between them.
43.Why is Mickey Mouse's official birthday November 18?
Answer: Steamboat Willie premiered that day in 1928
Steamboat Willie opened at New York's Colony Theatre on November 18, 1928, so that premiere counts as Mickey's birthday.
44.How many themed lands did Disneyland open with in 1955?
Answer: Five
Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland were the originals.
45.What was Disney's music-driven cartoon series of the 1930s called?
Answer: Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies like The Three Little Pigs won the cartoon Oscar seven times in the 1930s and let the studio experiment with color and realism.
46.What did a teenage Walt Disney do in France just after World War I?
Answer: Drove a Red Cross ambulance
Too young to enlist, Walt joined the Red Cross at 16. He covered his ambulance in cartoon drawings.
47.Which famous arts school did Walt Disney help found for training animators?
Answer: CalArts
California Institute of the Arts later trained Pixar and Disney legends. Its classroom A113 hides in nearly every Pixar film.
Hard park and history trivia
Deep cuts: Imagineering lore, studio history, and opening-day details.
1.Pixar hides the same mysterious code in nearly every film. What is it?
Answer: A113
A113 is the CalArts classroom where many Pixar animators studied. It's Andy's mom's license plate!
2.Who was the original voice of Mickey Mouse?
Answer: Walt Disney himself
Walt voiced Mickey for almost 20 years! Clarence Nash was Donald Duck.
3.What year did Disneyland (California) open?
Answer: 1955
July 17, 1955. Opening day was chaos: 100°F heat, ladies' heels sinking into fresh asphalt. Cast members call it 'Black Sunday.'
4.How tall is Cinderella Castle, and why exactly that height?
Answer: 189 ft, since 200+ would legally need a blinking aircraft light on top
At 200 feet, FAA rules require a red beacon, which would ruin the fairy tale. Forced perspective makes it look taller.
5.'it's a small world' was originally created for what event?
Answer: The 1964 New York World's Fair
It was a UNICEF pavilion! The Carousel of Progress debuted at the same fair.
6.The Tower of Terror is themed after what classic TV show?
Answer: The Twilight Zone
The queue's library plays a Rod Serling intro stitched together from real Twilight Zone episodes.
7.What is the name of the little purple dragon mascot of EPCOT's Imagination pavilion?
Answer: Figment
'Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow...' Figment is a figment of imagination, and a park legend since 1983.
8.Roughly how big is the entire Walt Disney World property?
Answer: About the size of San Francisco
Around 43 square miles, roughly two Manhattans! Most of it is still undeveloped land.
9.What was the first Pixar movie ever released?
Answer: Toy Story
Toy Story (1995) was the first fully computer-animated feature film in history.
10.Who co-founded the Disney company alongside Walt?
Answer: His brother Roy
It was originally called Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Roy handled the money; Walt handled the dreams.
11.What attraction is the longest-running stage show in American theater history?
Answer: Carousel of Progress
'There's a great big beautiful tomorrow!' Walt worked on it personally for the 1964 World's Fair.
12.What was the first Disney cartoon to win an Academy Award?
Answer: Flowers and Trees
Flowers and Trees (1932) was also the first cartoon released in full three-strip Technicolor.
13.What are the 'Utilidors' at Magic Kingdom?
Answer: Tunnels cast members use beneath the park
The park you walk through is actually built one story up. The 'ground' is the roof of the tunnel system.
14.Which Disney short was the first full test of the multiplane camera?
Answer: The Old Mill
The Old Mill (1937) won an Oscar. The multiplane camera gave flat art real depth, layer by layer.
15.Toy Story 2 was nearly lost during production. What saved it?
Answer: A backup on an employee's home computer
A stray delete command wiped the movie from the servers. Galyn Susman, the supervising technical director, had a copy at home because she was working there after having a baby.
16.What are the names of the three hitchhiking ghosts in the Haunted Mansion?
Answer: Ezra, Phineas, and Gus
The names started with fans and cast members, and Disney eventually made them official.
17.Who wrote the songs for both Moana and Encanto?
Answer: Lin-Manuel Miranda
'We Don't Talk About Bruno' hit #1 on the Hot 100, the first Disney song to do it since 'A Whole New World.'
18.What is Disney's special paint color 'Go Away Green' used for?
Answer: Hiding utility buildings and doors in plain sight
The dull gray-green makes fences, speakers, and backstage doors fade from your notice while you look at the fun stuff.
19.What is Club 33?
Answer: A private members-only club inside Disneyland
Named for its address at 33 Royal Street in New Orleans Square. The waitlist famously runs for years.
20.Which Disney film pioneered stereo surround sound in theaters?
Answer: Fantasia
Fantasia (1940) shipped with 'Fantasound,' custom multi-speaker equipment decades ahead of its time.
21.How did Walt Disney help pay for building Disneyland?
Answer: A television deal with ABC
ABC invested in exchange for a weekly 'Disneyland' TV show. Walt also borrowed against his own life insurance.
22.The vultures in The Jungle Book were modeled on which band?
Answer: The Beatles
The Beatles were even floated to voice them, but schedules got in the way. The mop-top haircuts stayed.
23.What is unusual about how the Liberty Square riverboat is steered?
Answer: It follows a hidden rail under the water
The Liberty Belle really is a working steam paddle wheeler, but a guide rail under the river handles the steering.
24.What year did EPCOT open?
Answer: 1982
October 1, 1982, exactly 11 years after Magic Kingdom opened. Admission was about $15.
25.How much was adult admission to Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971?
Answer: $3.50
Rides cost extra through lettered ticket books. The best rides took the coveted 'E ticket,' which is where the phrase comes from.
26.Which 1964 film mixed live action with animation and won Julie Andrews an Oscar?
Answer: Mary Poppins
Walt pursued the book rights for about 20 years before P.L. Travers finally said yes. She never warmed to the penguins.
27.What was the first Pixar film to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar?
Answer: Finding Nemo
Toy Story predates the category entirely, and Monsters, Inc. lost the very first one to Shrek.
28.Which voice actor played both Winnie the Pooh and the Cheshire Cat?
Answer: Sterling Holloway
That unmistakable voice was also Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book. Paul Winchell was Tigger.
29.Thurl Ravenscroft, heard singing as a marble bust in the Haunted Mansion, was also famous as what?
Answer: The voice of Tony the Tiger
He also sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.' Fans often mistake his bust for the Ghost Host. It isn't.
30.What was Walt Disney's middle name?
Answer: Elias
It honors his father, Elias Disney. Look for family names painted on the Main Street windows.
31.What is the 'Disney point'?
Answer: Pointing with two fingers or an open hand
Single-finger pointing reads as rude in some cultures. Park legend says it also echoes photos of Walt pointing with a cigarette.
32.Where did Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hold its glittering 1937 premiere?
Answer: Carthay Circle Theatre
Both Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure feature Carthay Circle replicas in tribute.
33.Who directed both Up and Inside Out?
Answer: Pete Docter
He also directed Monsters, Inc. and Soul, and today he runs Pixar as chief creative officer.
34.Roughly how big is the Magic Kingdom park itself?
Answer: About 107 acres
Disneyland's original park is even smaller at roughly 85 acres, yet squeezes in more attractions.
35.Which film kicked off the era fans call the 'Disney Renaissance' in 1989?
Answer: The Little Mermaid
The hot streak ran about a decade, through Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Mulan.
36.About how long is the entire Walt Disney World monorail system?
Answer: Nearly 15 miles
The famous 'Please stand clear of the doors' announcement is so beloved that fans put it on T-shirts.
37.What was the first official Mickey Mouse cartoon released in color?
Answer: The Band Concert
The Band Concert (1935) features Donald Duck repeatedly derailing the orchestra with his flute.
38.What was the name of Disneyland's chaotic opening day TV broadcast in 1955?
Answer: Dateline: Disneyland
One of its co-hosts was actor Ronald Reagan, decades before he became president.
39.Legend says four Pixar films were sketched out at one famous 1994 lunch. Which of these was NOT one of them?
Answer: The Incredibles
The four were A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and WALL-E. The Incredibles came from Brad Bird later.
40.Which two historical figures host EPCOT's American Adventure show?
Answer: Ben Franklin and Mark Twain
The Ben Franklin animatronic appears to walk up a flight of stairs, a trick the Imagineers were especially proud of.
41.What was the first feature-length animated film to get a sequel in theaters from Disney?
Answer: The Rescuers
The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was also the first fully digital feature, using the new CAPS ink-and-paint system.
42.What was Disney World's adults-only nightlife island that closed in 2008?
Answer: Pleasure Island
Its clubs staged a 'New Year's Eve' party every single night. The area is now part of Disney Springs.
43.Disney Springs was previously known by what name?
Answer: Downtown Disney
And before that, the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, all the way back to 1975.
44.What is the tallest attraction at Walt Disney World?
Answer: Expedition Everest
At 199.5 feet it stops just under the 200-foot line that would require an aircraft beacon, same as the castle.
45.Who currently narrates Spaceship Earth at EPCOT?
Answer: Judi Dench
Earlier narrators included Walter Cronkite and Jeremy Irons. The script changes with each refurbishment.
46.What was the Kansas City studio where young Walt made his first animated shorts?
Answer: Laugh-O-Gram Studio
Laugh-O-Gram went bankrupt in 1923. Walt left for Hollywood with a cardboard suitcase and about $40.
47.What was the code name for Disney's secret 1960s Florida land purchases?
Answer: Project Future
Dummy companies with joke names like 'M.T. Lott' quietly bought about 27,000 acres before the press caught on.
48.Walt's groundbreaking audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln debuted where?
Answer: The 1964 New York World's Fair
The Illinois pavilion's lifelike Lincoln stunned crowds, and the technology became the parks' signature.
49.What was Disney's first fully live-action feature film?
Answer: Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1950) was filmed in England, partly to use company money that was frozen in Britain after the war.
50.Which Mickey Mouse cartoon was made first, even though Steamboat Willie premiered first?
Answer: Plane Crazy
Plane Crazy was test-screened as a silent film in May 1928, but sound made Steamboat Willie the official debut.
51.What did Walt Disney call his legendary core group of veteran animators?
Answer: The Nine Old Men
The nickname was a joke borrowed from President Roosevelt's description of the Supreme Court.
52.Which songwriting brothers wrote the music for Mary Poppins and 'it's a small world'?
Answer: The Sherman Brothers
Richard and Robert Sherman also wrote 'There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow'. Walt's favorite of their songs was 'Feed the Birds'.
53.The Rescuers Down Under made Disney history as the first animated feature to be what?
Answer: Colored entirely on computers
Its CAPS digital ink-and-paint system, developed with Pixar, replaced hand-painted animation cels.
54.What was The Lion King called early in production?
Answer: King of the Jungle
The title changed when someone pointed out the obvious: lions don't actually live in jungles.
55.Which Pixar feature film was the first solely directed by a woman?
Answer: Turning Red
Domee Shi directed Turning Red after her short film Bao won the Oscar. Brave had a woman as co-director.
56.What is the name of the bronze statue of Walt and Mickey in front of Cinderella Castle?
Answer: Partners
The original Partners statue was unveiled at Disneyland in 1993; Magic Kingdom's copy stands at the castle hub.
57.What secret space sits high inside Cinderella Castle?
Answer: A luxury guest suite
The Cinderella Castle Suite can't be booked at any price. Guests only stay there by winning a special invitation.
58.What nickname did fans give Expedition Everest's yeti after its full motion broke?
Answer: Disco Yeti
The huge yeti figure has stood still for years, lit by a strobe effect, so fans lovingly call him Disco Yeti.
59.Which two hotels opened alongside Magic Kingdom in 1971?
Answer: The Contemporary and the Polynesian
The Fort Wilderness campground joined them that November, about seven weeks later.
60.The famous 'Purple Wall' that fans photograph is in which Magic Kingdom land?
Answer: Tomorrowland
The plain purple wall near the Tomorrowland entrance became such a photo spot that Disney gave it a fancy repaint in 2018.
61.Roughly how many animal carvings cover Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life?
Answer: About 325
The tree stands about 145 feet tall, with animals carved into its trunk, roots, and branches.
62.What was unusual about how the Contemporary's rooms were built in 1971?
Answer: They were prefabricated and slid into the frame by crane
The modular rooms were constructed off-site and lifted into the A-frame like drawers into a dresser.
63.Which legendary Disney artist created the giant 90-foot mosaic inside the Contemporary?
Answer: Mary Blair
Mary Blair also created the look of 'it's a small world'. Look for the five-legged goat hidden in the mosaic.
64.What was River Country, which sat next to Fort Wilderness?
Answer: Disney World's first water park
It opened in 1976 and closed in 2001. The site is now being transformed into Disney Lakeshore Lodge, a new nature-themed resort opening in 2027.
65.Bay Lake Tower, with its Top of the World Lounge, is attached to which resort?
Answer: The Contemporary
The lounge's balcony is a legendary spot for watching Magic Kingdom fireworks.
66.Which resort opened in 1991 as the very first Disney Vacation Club property?
Answer: Old Key West
It opened simply as 'Disney Vacation Club Resort' and was renamed Old Key West in 1996.
67.What makes Shades of Green different from every other resort on Disney World property?
Answer: It is reserved for U.S. military members
The U.S. Department of Defense runs it as an Armed Forces Recreation Center for service members and their families.
68.What is unusual about the Swan and Dolphin hotels?
Answer: They are on Disney property but not Disney-operated
They sit in the heart of Disney World but are run by Marriott, so even Disney's rules bend a little there.
69.The monorail's resort loop stops at which three hotels?
Answer: Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian
All three sit on the monorail loop that circles Seven Seas Lagoon, so guests can glide straight to Magic Kingdom.
70.Pop Century was planned with a twin 'Legendary Years' section that was never finished. What became of it?
Answer: It became Art of Animation
The half-built buildings sat empty for years before finally opening in 2012 as Art of Animation.
71.Which architect designed the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk resorts?
Answer: Robert A.M. Stern
Michael Graves designed the neighboring Swan and Dolphin, giving that whole corner of Disney World famous architects.
72.Disney's Wedding Pavilion, where couples marry with a castle view, sits beside which resort?
Answer: The Grand Floridian
It opened in 1995 on its own little island, framing Cinderella Castle perfectly down the aisle.
73.Which resort opened in 1988 as Disney World's flagship luxury hotel?
Answer: The Grand Floridian
An open-cage elevator still graces the lobby, where a society orchestra played for over 30 years; today a grand pianist keeps the Victorian mood alive.
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