Disney in a Minute: What is an Easter Egg?

In the world of Disney, an Easter Egg is not a pretty colored egg. But a Disney Easter Egg is something you have to hunt for! And the term does come from the idea of an Easter egg hunt, where folks look for hidden eggs. An Easter Egg in Disney-speak is a hidden detail, a reference, an image, or even an inside joke that’s tucked into a theme park attraction, a film, or a show. Imagineers, animators, and writers intentionally place these Easter eggs into their creations as a little surprise treat for sharp-eyed fans.

In theme parks, Hidden Mickeys are a classic example of Easter Eggs. Throughout the parks and inside attractions, you can find subtle arrangements of shapes forming Mickey’s head and ears. And they are almost everywhere! Look closely at the bread basket below from a Disney Cruise Line dining room. Do you see the Mickey shape?

It’s common for Easter Eggs to allude to other Disney entities. Especially on rides, Easter Eggs may reference older rides built in the same space, or versions of the ride in other parks. For example, a screen in the Space Mountain queue that references “Active Earth Stations” is really a list of all the Space Mountain rides at different Disney parks. And each version of Test Track has included a “Fun to be Free” reference – a nod to the World of Motion ride that was originally in the same pavilion.

But it’s not always another ride; the “5505” flight number used at Soarin’ in EPCOT comes from May 5, 2025, which is the date the attraction opened there.

One of my favorite Easter Eggs is in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at the Magic Kingdom. As you pass through Owl’s house, there’s a small picture of Mr. Toad handing the deed to the property to Owl. When the Pooh attraction replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which formerly occupied that space, Imagineers thought this would be a good way to pay respect to what came before.

Pixar is also famous for hiding Easter eggs in its films. For example, “A113” often appears. Turns out that’s the number of a classroom at the California Institute of the Arts where many Disney and Pixar animators met. Talk about an inside joke! The other most famous egg is the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story. Look closely and you’ll see it shows up in almost every Pixar film, even when the story takes place where a pizza truck wouldn’t really exist.

Easter Eggs in films aren’t limited to Pixar; Disney’s animated features will sometimes hide a reference to characters from their other films. In Frozen, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Tangled show up very briefly in the crowd attending Elsa’s coronation. In Aladdin, the Genie pulls Sebastian from The Little Mermaid out of a hat. Heihei from Moana shows up in Raya and the Last Dragon. Both Pixar and Disney movies have these kinds of Easter Eggs; Jessie from Toy Story can be seen in Monsters, Inc.

But Easter Eggs aren’t just inside jokes. They’re a way to get you involved in the Disney universe, to help you feel a little bit like you’re “in the know”. By finding Easter Eggs, you’re interacting with this universe, not just passively observing. Spotting a new Hidden Mickey in a park can bring a smile, or make you nudge a companion with a wink to say that you’re both in on the joke!

Disney in a Minute is a series of short posts designed to help you better understand a term or planning topic. Do you have a Disney term that you’d like a little more explanation for? Let us know in the comments!