SATURDAY SIX: Six “Easter Eggs” in the Magic Kingdom

This week’s SATURDAY SIX looks at Six “Easter Eggs” in the Magic Kingdom. Yes, we love the awesome rides, the incredible resorts, and the mouth watering restaurants at WDW, but the more trips we take the more we appreciate all the little details throughout The World. While most guests know of Hidden Mickeys, there are many other Easter eggs to discover, many of which are hidden are in plain sight. Today we are going to look at some of our favorite “Easter eggs” at the Magic Kingdom, so sit back, keep your head on a swivel, and let’s begin our countdown starting with…

# 6 – Mr. Toad in The Haunted Mansion

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, an opening day ride at the Magic Kingdom that entertained guests in Fantasyland until 1998, was the first Disney attraction to have a failed online petition trying to save it. Since then, almost every single attraction that Disney and Universal have closed to make something new has garnered some sort of online support. There was even an outpouring of support for the Sorcerer’s Hat at DHS, an item which – at best – could be called an eyesore.

There are many of us who still miss Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and thankfully there still are a couple of references to Mr. Toad still at the Magic Kingdom today. One of these is located at The Haunted Mansion, and can be seen as you exit the building. There is a small pet cemetery on your left, and if you look towards the back, you’ll see a gravestone for Mr. Toad.

Recommended supplements: The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill and Len Testa. Episode 92: The Save Mr. Toad Protests. To listen, click HERE.

Jeff Lange’s A Fond Look Back at Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. To read, click HERE

Tim Grassey’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride Tribute Video. To watch, click HERE.

# 5 – Pascal by the Tangled restrooms

This is one of the few Easter eggs at the Magic Kingdom where Disney goes out of their way to point out is there, but still many guests don’t see it. When WDW unveiled the first E-Ticket bathroom with the Tangled Tower, they included a ton of wonderful details in area. Our favorite is the hidden Pascals. There were ten Pascals you could find hiding around when the area made its debut in 2013, but it appears a couple have disappeared since. Keep your eyes focused on the stream, rocks, and buildings in the area and you’ll still be able to spot everyone’s favorite chameleon.

Pascal is not the only one of Tangled’s animal friends to get some nods in this area. Take a look at the ground and you’ll see hoof prints made by Maximus’ horseshoes.

Recommended supplement: The Tangled restrooms are gorgeous, and did you know you can get your wedding pictures there? Click HERE. We at the SATURDAY SIX went with the silver package, in which your photos are taken in front of the bathrooms near Spaceship Earth. As they say, it’s not what you make it’s what you save.

# 4 – “One if by land, two if by sea” lanterns in Liberty Square

There are so many incredible details inside Liberty Square referencing American history that you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you quickly hustle through this area on your way to the next E-Ticket attraction. There is the Liberty Tree, with 13 hanging lanterns representing the original 13 colonies. The Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Tree itself is a tribute to the actual Liberty Tree in Boston, which was the meeting place for the Sons of Liberty (who orchestrated the Boston Tea Party). The Liberty Bell inside Liberty Square was made from the same mold which created the original Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

One of our favorite details can be seen in the window of one of Liberty Square’s buildings. If you look closely, you will see two lanterns and this is referencing the poem Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that included the line One, if by land, and two, if by sea. The two lanterns indicated that the British were coming “by sea” across the Charles River, and not by land via Boston Neck. Paul Revere created these signals in case he was prevented from leaving Boston and making his famous ride alerting the Massachusetts country side.

The second detail we’d like to point out (“#2” if you will) is the actual streets that you walk upon in Liberty Square. While most of the pavement is a reddish color, there is a brown ribbon of pavement  – several feet wide – the goes around the entire area as well. This is referencing the fact that there was no indoor plumbing during the colonial period and that our forefathers would take their waste and just dump it into the streets. That’s right #Millenials, we are and always will be ‘Murica.

Recommended supplement: Daisy Lauren’s The Disney’s in the Details: Liberty Square – Click HERE.

# 3 – Giant in Sir Mickey’s gift shop

Ever been in a place a thousand times and not notice something extremely large? Well, it’s happened to us before over at Universal with a giant skeleton hanging in the Islands Trading Post and it has happened to us again in Sir Mickey’s at the Magic Kingdom. Even though we’ve been in the store many times while in Fantasyland, we never quite picked up on its elaborate theming to Mickey and the Beanstalk and somehow never noticed a giant peeking through the roof.

Maybe we should have noticed THE GIANT BEANSTALK growing outside the store?

# 2 – Not every American flag on Main Street USA has 50 Stars

You may not have noticed it before, but every building down Main Street USA is topped with an American flag (so that explains why you’re heart is swelling with pride, although to be fair the swelling could also be related the Pop-Tart Sandwich you ate the day before. You may want to consult a doctor). However, did you know that most of those flags are actually NOT American flags?

It’s true. There are actually a lot of official rules and regulations for displaying the American flag. When displaying the flag on buildings, it is customary that they need to be taken down at night or illuminated. To get around this, the flags you see see flying on top of the Main Street USA buildings only have 45 stars. That’s right, these flags have 3 rows of 8 stars and 3 rows of 7 stars. The main flag you see in the center of Main Street is an official American flag and follows the flag guidelines (including being flown at half-staff on certain occasions as well as being taken down every night).

Recommended supplement: A SATURDAY SIX Salute to All Nations (But Mostly America) as well as the equally fantastic SATURDAY SIX: A Tribute to America. That’s right folks, while some bloggers may do their writing on foreign theme parks (we’re looking in your direction Seth Kubersky and Tom Bricker) we here at the SATURDAY SIX hold our head up high as we should, entrenched on American soil. USA! USA! USA!

# 1 – The Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the queue for Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

As one of the coolest attractions ever built by Walt Disney Imagineering, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will always hold a special place in our heart. Unfortunately the submarines last submerged in the 1990s, but there are tributes to the attraction inside the Magic Kingdom today, both near where the attraction was in Fantasyland.

The first can be seen the incredible rock work on the Under the Sea ~ Voyage of the Little Mermaid standby queue. The second is at the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and can be found inside the big tree standing in front of the attraction. Look around the doors and you’ll se a Nautilus carved into the wood.

Recommended supplements: Jim Hill’s Sure, “Star Tours” is great … But would a “20,000 Leagues” simulator have been even better? Click HERE.

Martin’s Vids: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ultimate Tribute. Click HERE.

We’re not the only ones who miss The Nautilus, Disney’s new Twenty Eight & Main brand has created items including hats, shirts, and a sign featuring everyone’s favorite sub.

There are so many more Easter Eggs in the Magic Kingdom that we’ll be back later with another edition, but stay tuned in coming weeks for looks at the other WDW parks.

So there you have it: Six Easter Eggs at the Magic Kingdom. See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the E-Ticket Report podcast. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan)

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:

Six “Easter Eggs” at the Universal Orlando Resort

Six MORE “Easter Eggs” at the Universal Orlando Resort

Six Hidden Mickeys at the Universal Orlando Resort

Inaugural 2015 Theme Park Awards (AKA ” The Burgys”)

Special Thanks to crack staff photographer Brandon Glover, logo meister Matt Cleary, and blogger to the stars Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Be sure to also check out Brandon on The Park Blogger podcast with co-hosts Aengus Mackenzie and Brian Carey.