(Florida Today) – How would you like to walk down Main Street and gaze at Cinderella's Castle without so much as a hat obstructing your vision? It can be done, and you won't even be arrested for trespassing in the process. I am talking about Disney's Keys to the Kingdom backstage tour. It costs a few dollars extra, but they throw in a free meal. Why not? Our tour began with a few preliminary facts. There are 55,000 cast members at Disney World and 11,000 characters. The portion the public sees is called Onstage and everything else is Backstage. Along Main Street, our guide pointed out dozens of interesting trivia items.
• For example, at one end of the street are bronze statues of Roy Disney sitting with Minnie Mouse and at the other end of Walt Disney standing with Mickey Mouse.
• Also, there is a second-floor sign indicating the location of Walt's old office above his favorite food source: The ice cream stand.
• Some of the company names you see in the windows are the front corporations used to buy up ranch land at $80 an acre. The day after Disney announced the theme park location, land in the area began selling at $80,000 an acre. This forced me to contemplate the sorrow of those poor farmers who sold to Disney without knowing it. I also thought about the joy of their former neighbors.
• Did you know the flags around the park resemble American flags? These flags stay up during all kinds of weather and at night. Disney has changed the flags in subtle ways to keep from desecrating our nation's symbol. Heartwarming, in a public relations kind of way.
Interesting...
About this time, a few costumed characters walked by. They can't talk to visitors, but I devised a way to see whether they were cranky. I walked up and asked, "Where does your costume chafe the most right now?" I could almost always provoke a groan. It was a fun day learning Disney secrets and seeing its fa-mous underground. I still would like to work for Disney and learn more. Does anyone know the name of a good tattoo remover?
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