Disney World is known as the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” but like any other theme park, it has certain rules its guests need to follow.

We’ve covered certain rules regarding special-ticketed events, watching the fireworks shows, and have even looked ahead to Christmas. And now, we are telling you some rules you need to follow around Disney World because doing these things is FORBIDDEN!

Visit the Flavor Lab

What is the Flavor Lab, you may ask? Well, this is where all of the Disney food magic happens! It’s a “research and development” facility with a prime goal of creating new and innovative foods for the parks and resorts. Yes, Cheeseburger Pods were really made here.

The Flavor Lab team is also responsible for Imagineering the “plotlines” behind the Disney restaurant, like traveling to a Centauri Space Station 220 miles above EPCOT or going back to the 1950s at 50s Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios.

There are A LOT of dining options to choose from, and we don’t want you to get too overwhelmed, especially when you’re already trying to plan the perfect Disney vacation, so be sure to grab our Guide to Disney World Dining!

But where IS the Flavor Lab? Well, it’s so hidden that we’re not really sure! It’s hidden away from the public, tucked into a backstage area within an unassuming 7,500-square-foot building somewhere on Disney World property. Why the major secrecy? There is A LOT of testing that goes into building these dishes, so it’s a long process before it’s ready to go out to the public. If a recipe is leaked early, it could cause major setbacks for the restaurants.

Don’t worry — there are still several places around Disney World where you CAN watch Disney chefs prepare food right in front of you, like Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Via Napoli at EPCOT, and Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs! There are also Cast Members at the Main Street Confectionery at Magic Kingdom who will make treats in the viewing window, like candy apples and taffies!

Of course, you can join in on the fun and make some of your own Disney World dishes! Toledo: Tapas, Steak, and Seafood inside Coronado Springs’ Gran Destino Tower has a Sangria University for around $73 per person with tax and gratuity, where you’ll learn how to make your very own hand-crafted sangrias.

There’s also a Cake Decorating Experience at Amorrette’s Patisserie inside Disney Springs for $199, which can accommodate up to two guests per experience. Here, you’ll be able to create your own character dome cake.

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Listen to Nemo and Friends Underwater

Guests staying at the Art of Animation Resort USED TO be able to listen to music and hear Nemo and his friends talk to you when you swam underwater at the Big Blue Pool. Unfortunately, these underwater speakers were removed during one of their seasonal refurbishments due to safety concerns.

BUT there is a way around this one! Just five miles down the road from EPCOT, you can find Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, and this hotel DOES have underwater audio! When you jump into the pool, you’ll be able to hear some piped-in, under-the-sea music.

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Shop at a Bookstore

I’m a BIG reader, so this one makes me a little upset. Disney World DID once have a bookstore called the Writer’s Stop. This opened in MGM Studios back in 1999, originally as a homage to Ellen DeGeneres’ Buy the Book, which was a fictional Los Angeles bookstore featured in her first sitcom, Ellen. This area was also used for author and celebrity signings, but this spot closed in April 2016 to prepare for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Writer’s Stop was replaced by Baseline Taphouse in 2017, which has a backstory of being housed within an old printing factory, paying homage to the prior with letters spelling out “Writer’s Stop” inside.

Speaking of books, if you haven’t checked out AJ Wolfe’s book, “Disney Adults,” be sure to grab yourself a copy!

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Climb the Mexico Pavilion Pyramid

While it’s not an everyday occurrence, it DOES happen. Yes, some guests try to climb the Mexico Pavilion Pyramid. This is a BIG no-no because people who attempt something like this will be banned from the Disney parks altogether. The best you can do is sit on the steps used to get INTO the pyramid and take some pictures there!

You may not be able to CLIMB a pyramid, but you can SLIDE down one! Guests staying at the Coronado Springs Resort will have access to the Lost City of Cibola pool, which features a 50-foot pyramid looming over the pool area! Around the backside of the pyramid, you’ll find a 123-foot jaguar slide.

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Spend 24 Hours Inside the Parks

Although this was something that DID happen in the past, it’s not available anymore, so PLEASE don’t try it! Both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland had annual 24-hour Disney Days where the parks would open at 6 AM and close at 6 AM the following day. These events would usually happen around the end of May as a celebratory “kickoff” to summer vacation and have specific themes. There is a very HIGH chance Disney will never do an event like this again, but if you are hoping for some extra time in the parks, you can always attend an After-Hours event!

These are separate-ticketed events that allow guests to spend time in the park after it closes to the general public. There are also Extended Evening Hours, which give Deluxe Resort guests and guests of other select hotels TWO extra hours in select parks on select nights. But the parks, in general, do have some pretty long days with Animal Kingdom opening around 8 AM each morning and Magic Kingdom closing around 10 PM or 11 PM each night. Add Early Entry on top of that, and you’ve got yourself an even LONGER day!

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Watch Fireworks in Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom closes much earlier than the other Disney theme parks, but that’s not the only reason why there aren’t any fireworks at this park. The main reason is that big (and loud) fireworks simply scare the animals, which is a recipe for disaster.

However, that doesn’t mean Animal Kingdom is a stranger to nighttime shows and spectaculars. Back in 2017, the Rivers of Life at the Discovery River amphitheater was introduced. This show featured lasers, light projections, fountains, and beautiful illuminated floats that looked a lot like giant paper lanterns shaped into different flowers and animals. This show was suspended in 2020 when the parks closed due to the pandemic and was then announced to never return.

And when Animal Kingdom closes when night falls, they will sometimes hold a nighttime show called the Tree of Life Awakenings. This show features colorful projections of bright colors, animated animals, and a beautiful soundtrack. And there’s even a holiday version, which typically starts up in November and runs throughout the remainder of the year!

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Swim in the Fountains

We know that it can get pretty hot in Disney World, but that doesn’t mean you need to go swimming in the fountains in the parks and resorts — Disney has two water parks for a reason! Even when Disney Springs has one of the most beautiful fountains, jumping in will give you a one-way ticket to ban-town. Some Disney parks also have splash pads and interactive water walkthroughs (that are totally not forbidden, by the way). For example, Magic Kingdom has Casey Jr.’s Splash ‘n’ Soak Station in Fantasyland and the little water-spitting tiki heads right outside Jungle Cruise in Adventureland.

EPCOT has the full Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana walkthrough, which allows guests to play and learn with the walkthrough’s “living” water features, and you can get SOAKED (but only if you want).

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Stand on Top of Spaceship Earth

In the late 1980s, Disney World released a commercial for The EPCOT Center, which highlighted everything you could experience at the park at that time! And at the end of the commercial, Mickey Mouse himself was on top of the Spaceship Earth sphere — waving at the camera like he wasn’t doing the scariest thing ever. Now, obviously WE can’t go on top of Spaceship Earth, but we CAN ride an attraction AND enjoy a drink or two inside at GEO-82. The entrance to this lounge is just before the exit of the attraction passed the Project Tomorrow interactive experiences. Just keep in mind that this lounge does require advance dining reservations.

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Fly Down the Castle Like Tinker Bell!

We all have that dream of flying out of the castle like Tinker Bell does during the fireworks show, but, unfortunately, we can’t. Her flight is a SPEEDY one and a HIGH one. She takes to the skies at 189 feet, up to 20-30 mph, meaning she reaches her “final destination” in less than a minute. If you DO want to fly, you have a couple of options — Dumbo the Flying Elephant and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin in Magic Kingdom, Soarin’ in EPCOT, Avatar Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom, and the Aerophile in Disney Springs.

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Dine with an Imagineer

While this used to be a thing, it has since gone away. Back in the day, a few different Disney World restaurants had Dine with an Imagineer experiences, allowing you to chat with an honest-to-goodness Disney Imagineer while enjoying a four-course meal. Some of these restaurants included the Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios, Citricos at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

This is one of those experiences that ended once the pandemic closures came around. Imagineers have quite a celebrity status around Disney World, and while you can’t dine with them, you CAN dine at some celebrity restaurants around the property, which often host these celebrity chefs for a special seminar or Q&A session. A couple of examples include Maneet Chauhan’s eet and Iron Chef Masaharu at Morimoto Asia.

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Eating Living with the Land Produce Right Off the Vine

If you’re following any Disney World drama, then you’ve probably heard about the infamous incident from a couple of years back where a guest jumped out of EPCOT’s Living with the Land boat ride to grab a cucumber from the greenhouse. And, as you can imagine, this DID NOT go over well. Not only are you stealing from Disney, but you’re also risking the safety of yourself and everyone around you. Yes, the food looks delicious, but there are other ways to eat it.

For example, you don’t even have to leave the Land Pavilion to try it! Just head upstairs to Garden Grill during lunch and dinner and try the salad, which is made with the veggies grown straight from the attraction! EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival also frequently uses the produce for its Outdoor Kitchens. The Land salad is also found at Tiffins Restaurant at Animal Kingdom.

You can even go behind the scenes on the Behind the Seeds Tour. For around $40 per person, you can take a one-hour walking tour through the Living with the Land greenhouses, which gives you a chance to learn about how these plants thrive and grow in their different environments.

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Visit “Roger Rabbit Land”

While Disney World has had some MAJOR ideas for lands and attractions, not all of them come to fruition. One that has really fizzled out is Roger Rabbit, who was supposed to be the main character of MGM Studios — much like how Figment is the main character of EPCOT. But the plans for Roger Rabbit were A LOT bigger. When MGM first opened back in 1989, the characters from Who Framed Roger Rabbit were EVERYWHERE, and that wasn’t all you’d see from them. Disney was also planning to add several attractions, including a simulator ride and two dark rides.

So, why didn’t this happen? Well, there was some major butting of heads between Disney and Steven Spielberg. After the movie’s success, several disputes broke out between the two sides over creative and financial issues regarding ownership of the characters. This feud eventually led to Roger Rabbit’s rides — and sequel — never coming to life. But there are still some Easter Eggs within the park!

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Streak

Yes, I really have to say this. Streaking in Disney World is STRICTLY prohibited. Back in November 2023, Cast Members in DisneyLAND had to handle a rather… bizarre circumstance at “it’s a small world.” A man on the attraction decided to hop out of the boat, strip off his clothes, and run around the set. He was escorted out, arrested by the Anaheim police, and has now been banned from Disney parks. According to The Los Angeles Magazine, “The 26-year-old offender was hospitalized and then arrested for indecent exposure and being under the influence.” So, this is your reminder to pace yourself with your drinks and keep your clothes on!

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Find Walt Disney’s Cryogenically Frozen Head

There are an astounding number of people who believe that when Walt Disney passed, his body and/or head were cryogenically frozen and are now hidden in the tunnels underneath Cinderella Castle. And we hate to burst your bubble, but this just isn’t true. It seems most of these rumors were actually started by tabloids written around the time of Walt’s very real death. This was later fueled by books written by a few sources claiming to be credible on the matter that, when examined more closely, had no basis for their claims.

So, where are the remains of Walt Disney? He was actually cremated, not frozen. They now reside in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. To further PROVE that these are the remains of Walt, his death certificate was signed by the licensed mortuary attendant verifying his cremation. His daughter, Diane, even went so far as to state, “There is absolutely no truth that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics.”

What will you find in the tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom? You’ll find something called the Utilidors. The only people who have access to this are Cast Members and guests taking a Keys to the Kingdom backstage tour. This five-hour guided walking experience lets you see the “backstage” of Magic Kingdom and teaches you about how Disney brings this well-loved park to life daily. This tour is $169-$189 per person. The cost of your ticket will include lunch and a little commemorative gift but does not include general admission to the park.

The next time you’re at Disney World, remember these 14 things and make sure NOT to do them! Follow us at the Disney Food Blog for more Disney news, updates, tips, tricks, and history!

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Did you know about these forbidden things? Let us know in the comments below!