While the Magic Kingdom may be the world’s most popular theme park, there are still some tidbits about the park that Disney wants to keep at the down-low… and we’re not talking about the underground Utilidor tunnels.

From beloved rides that were originally unplanned and lands that were planned very differently to some under-the-radar nooks and crannies and even some controversy, Walt Disney World’s original theme park holds some secrets.

Big Thunder Mountain Was Originally Designed as Part of a Larger Attraction

As the ride’s recent heralded reopening after a long refurbishment, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is still one of the Magic Kingdom’s most beloved attractions, which makes it all the more surprising for many to learn that the famed coaster was originally planned as a small, supplementary attraction to something much larger.

During the early years of Walt Disney World’s development, a team of Imagineers — led by Marc Davis — planned a massive project for the park’s Frontierland called Thunder Mesa. The complex, designed to look like a massive desert mesa, would have been home to the Western River Expedition, a massive E-Ticket boat ride that was to feature hundreds of cowboys, Native Americans, and animals telling the story of the American West in Davis’s style of comedic vignettes.

Furthermore, the mesa was meant to be topped by a mountain range and a mine train roller coaster attraction on its exterior (sound familiar?) that was designed by future Disney Legend Tony Baxter.

However, budget constraints and other factors (which we’ll get to in a second) eventually led to the whole Thunder Mesa project being scrapped.

Tony Baxter took his plans for a mine train coaster that was originally planned as an ancillary attraction to the Western River and fleshed them out into Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The coaster was built on a portion of the land that was set aside for Thunder Mesa — which allegedly led to a long-standing grudge from Davis towards Baxter — and opened in 1980 as a massive addition to Frontierland.

Pirates of the Caribbean was Originally Left Out… and is MUCH Smaller than the Disneyland Version

So, about those major reasons Western River Expedition and Thunder Mesa weren’t built? Pirates of the Caribbean.

See, during the planning stages for the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” Disney executives and Imagineers — including Marc Davis — decided to cut the ride, feeling that Florida residents would be “bored” by pirates since they were already part of the state’s culture and lore. However, Disney had spent so much time thinking about piracy’s history in Florida that they ignored the fact that millions in the state (and up and down the east coast) had spent years wanting to see the ride for themselves. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the #1 complaint received by guest relations was “Where are the Pirates?”

A version of Pirates of the Caribbean was quickly greenlit, opening at the Magic Kingdom in 1973. However, this Florida version is significantly shorter than its Disneyland counterpart, lacking several scenes during the early portion of the ride, as well as lacking some animatronics and other effects. On top of that, the budget for Pirates came from funds that had been set aside to construct Thunder Mesa.

Center Street Voices

There’s a small easter egg on Main Street for those looking for it. If you’re able to grab a quiet moment on Center Street, the small side street about halfway down the street near the current Starbucks location, listen closely, and you can hear the conversations of the residents living above the small courtyard.

Cinderella Castle’s Mosaic Had a Controversial Designer

Inside Cinderella Castle sits a series of massive 15-foot-high wall mosaics that tell the story of Cinderella. Based on designs by Imagineer Dorothea Redmund, the murals use thousands of tiles made of multicolored Italian glass, silver, and 14-karat gold, with more than 500 colors represented throughout. In addition to their beauty, the mosaics have the distinction of being one of the few pieces of Disney World art to feature a credit, as they are credited to both Redmund and Hans Scharff.

So, who’s Hans Scharff? He was a German military officer during World War II. Known as the “Master Interrogator of the Luftwaffe”, he was responsible for interrogating captured American fighter pilots, flying aces, and other high-ranking prisoners during the war.

Scharff, who spoke fluent English and was familiar with British and American cultural customs thanks to his ancestry on his mother’s side, shied away from violence and intimidation techniques, instead putting on an elaborate attempt to relate to his captives as a route to having them reveal information when they “didn’t even realize they were doing so.”

Following the end of the war, Scharff — like many major Nazi military and scientific figures — was recruited by the United States as part of coordinated operations to utilize their knowledge and expertise, like Operation Paperclip. Scharff met with USAF officials and lectured about prisoner interrogation techniques at the Pentagon and other locales. To this day, several U.S. agencies, including the FBI, utilize his methods.

In the years following the war, Scharff turned his attention to art, an interest from his pre-war life. He began crafting fruitier and art pieces made of tile mosaics. His firm, Hanns Scharff Designs, became so successful that he was able to move to Los Angeles and began working on high-profile projects, leading to the 1971 Disney World project. A decade later, the Scharffs worked with Disney once again, this time producing the massive nature-themed mosaics that flow up and down the two entrance ramps to The Land at the park then known as EPCOT Center.

In addition to their Disney work, the duo installed several other mosaics, including a marbled mosaic floor in the California state capitol building, a building facade mosaic at Utah Tech University, an eagle mosaic floor at the University of Southern California campus, and several other “private homes, hotels, schools, universities, department stores, shopping malls and churches worldwide.” Hans Scharff passed away in 1992, with Monika continuing design work until the 2000s.

The New Fantasyland Expansion was Almost VERY Different

During their development, Disney’s theme parks, lands, and attractions often go through numerous changes between the design and construction phases. Take, for example, the Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland from the early 2010s. When concept art for the project was first released, the area where the coaster currently sits was occupied by several interactive Disney Princess meet and greets (in a similar vein to Enchanted Tales with Belle).

Reaction to these plans was negative, with many lamenting the lack of a major new attraction and the emphasis on Princesses. Disney pivoted, replacing the meet & greets with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction, which has consistently been one of the Magic Kingdom’s busiest rides since it opened.

A Special Disney Species

The Swiss Family Treehouse is one of the few Walt Disney World attractions that appears nearly exactly as it did on opening day, as the interactive walk-through attraction has been open since the park opened in 1971.  The “tree” that makes up the base of the attraction has its own species designation according to Imagineering: the Disneyodendron eximus AKA the out-of-the-ordinary Disney tree.

Next time you head to the Magic Kingdom, keep these tidbits and history in mind! Stay tuned to DFB for more on the secrets of Disney World!

3 Magic Kingdom Restaurants the Experts Refuse to Book

Which of these secrets was new to you? Let us know in the comments below.