They say smell is the strongest sense when it comes to memory. That’s why it comes as no shock to us that there are certain smells that instantly trigger a certain Disney memory.
Here are 17 smells any Disney World fanatic will recognize instantly.
1. The Orange Groves on Soarin’ Over California (or the African Grasses on Soarin’ Around the World)
2. Ice Cream Cones from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor
3. The Stink Bug in It’s Tough to Be a Bug
4. The Fresh and Fruity Scent of the Polynesian Village Resort
5. Freshly Popped Disney Popcorn
6. The Valley of Mo’ara during Flight of Passage
7. Laila Perfume from Norway
8. The Pie in Mickey’s PhilharMagic
9. The Cannons and Water at Pirates of the Caribbean
10. The Welcoming Smell in the Grand Floridian Resort Lobby
11. The Main Street Confectionery
12. The Dusty Smell of the Haunted Mansion
13. The Library of Alexandria Burning in Spaceship Earth
14. The Skunk in Journey to Imagination With Figment
15. The Crisp, Fresh Smell of the Lobby at The Beach Club
16. The Gingerbread Cookies from Clarabelle Cow’s Float in Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
17. Dole Whip from Aloha Isle
And those are some of the most recognizable Disney smells! Make sure to keep reading AllEars for the latest Disney news!
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What are your favorite Disney World smells? Let us know in the comments!
I got to stay at our home resort Riviera for the first time last year (2021) and the scent in the lobby hit me like a brick wall walking in and I have never felt more home! I literally stood inside the double doors with my eyes closed just smelling the air…. I’m sure I looked like a crazy person! I was able to find a candle company that sells it and I get it as an oil as well and use it on my dryer balls so my clothes get a faint Riviera scent
Oddly enough, for me is the addition of diesel bus exhaust. From my and my brother’s band trips for Magic Music days (charter busses from Ohio) and the resort busses.
Did you say “Rome burning” in order to get comments? 😉 Well played. Clearly it’s the Library of Alexandria.
Disney water for sure! Most of the water rides and fountains smell the same – not quite sure what it is, but it reminds my whole family of Disney!
Totally could smell everything as I was reading! My favorite to date is the GF resort ❤️ I liked it so much I found a copycat scent on Amazon and diffuse the smell in my house everyday!!
The smell of the powdered hand soap in the theme parks.
Grab Destino lobby smell for suuure!
Im obsessed with Beach Club Lobby! I use my Scentsy Atlantic Air to get close to it for years, and I can’t WAIT for it to be available through Scentsy with their Resort scents!
A classic is the Chilli Cheese Dog burp from Stitch’s Great Escape!
All the DCL 🚢 ships
Smell of stepping outside airport. Just smell of Florida. We love it
I discovered this year when my father got Cliniques ‘Happy’ for men, that it smells EXACTLY like Polynesia from Soarin. Hence me running after him all of Christmas Day going ‘you smell AMAZING’
Karamell-Kuche
The smell of the monorail and wet dirt in the morning. Very specific smells that remind me of WDW!
Animal Kingdom Lodge…. has this cedar/wood-fire smell. I specifically have asked about this scent to cast members and NO ONE could tell me what made it smell like that. It is my favorite smell in WDW and the odd thing is that the scent was there in Winter 2015 but it was disappointingly not there in Fall 2016. Anyway… thanks Molly for all you do! ☺️
The Beach Club USED to have a clean,crisp, Wonderful smell!! Now It’s Just some Generic Sweet Flowery Smell!!!! YUCK!!!!!! Go back to The Old Smell!!!!!!!
One of my favorites is the fruity, coconut-y smell of Ole Port Royale at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
The rose-scented “white room” in the original “Journey Into Imagination.” It was the most calming place in all of WDW.
How about the smell of money leaving your wallet?
Bay Lake Tower smell!!
I’m going way back for this long gone smell. In Universe of Energy, moving under the big door into the swamp as the moving theaters lined up, the musty, musky, wet dog, swampy jungle smell would hit you. Add the fog and the increase in temperature and humidity, and you really felt like you were there!
They moved this smell over to the Carousel of Progress
The smell of the sweet roasted nuts from the cart in Hollywood Studios! It’s to the right of the stage, just before you go down the steps towards Little Mermaid. Those candied nuts are awesome!
The smell of San Angel Inn at the Mexico pavilion 🤗
Years ago we stayed at Wilderness Lodge with a parking lot view room. Our room actually overlooked the smoke houses out back for whispering Canyon. I’m convinced that that same smell is piped into all the parks to make people hungry. My smoker at home has the exact same smell and it makes me think of Disney every time I open it. That and Rome burning which we have a candle for that smells exactly like the ride. My favorite ride on the property btw.
Agreed, Mike! Love Spaceship Earth!
The smell of the Art of Animated lobby. I’ve been trying to find something that smells similar for at home.