Zamgwar's
"My 2 Cents!"

The Little Things

This article appeared in the
December 13, 2000, Issue #63 of ALL EARS® (ISSN: 1533-0753)

What makes Disney so special as a place to visit, beyond the attractions, is its attention to detail.

The little things.

The things that don’t necessarily have to be there. They are like using real whipped cream that you’ve beaten by hand on strawberry shortcake. Or hearing live musicians in a pit at a play, rather than a group of well voiced electric synthesizers.

Things like the elevator cable relays in the basement of the Tower of Terror, that turn and spark as the elevator returns. Or the fully furnished boy's bedroom, in the top of the farmhouse in the Land.

There’s the small broken gate posts that you find scattered throughout the Bayou in Dixie Landings here and there.

This time, I was told where to find Pluto’s Bone and Aladdin’s lamp among other items in the Main Street Station’s lost and found. Also the sign post indicating the way to "Ghastly Mansion" with Ghastly crossed out, and haunted painted in above it. Did you ever noticed that every chess piece is represented on the roof of Haunted Mansion? All except the Knight, because it’s always Night inside?

They’re little things like the departure announcements inside of Star Tours which every now and then occur in some Alien tongue.

They can be found in the incredible mosaic inside Cinderella Castle, which now bears a plaque in tribute to the artist. Or the nonsensical historical
plaques showing how they relate to Merriweather Pleasure, on all the buildings on Pleasure Island. Read them sometime, they’re a hoot.

They’re the show tunes sung by the bugs, while waiting in the roots of the Tree of Life for It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Or it's the themed garbage cans for each and every area of the park.

The mirror in Test Track that makes it appear as if you’re heading into an oncoming car.

Little things aren’t always things either. They can be simply bypassed performances. Sometimes it could be stopping to listen to the barbershop
quartet singing on a sunny afternoon.

Or enjoying the alien dancers in EPCOT. Or the tremendous new swing band in MGM. Perhaps just enjoying a hot dog at Casey’s and listening to piano rags.

And the little things can be different to everyone.

To a carpenter, it can be the amount of screws in the boardwalk. To a facilities manager, the marvel of how trash is removed.

To a dancer, the forward motion choreography of the parades. To a painter, the fact that nothing seems painted over. To a woodworker, the interior of Wilderness Lodge. To a gardener, the incredible landscaping. To the handicapped, it’s the accessibility that Disney is striving for.

To an Englishman, a good pint of Guinness Stout. To a child, that there are so many things their height. To a musician, it’s that fact that every performance is memorized.

To a meteorologist, the vast amount of small weather stations you can spot around the park.

There is some small thing for everyone to marvel at in every corner of the world.

Little winks from Imagineers that are not meant for all to see and hear. Hundreds of Hidden Mickeys. Wonderful delights and sounds tucked
just out of plain view for someone to marvel at.

For me personally, the little things have and always will be, the biggest E-ticket attraction that Walt Disney World has to offer.

May they always continue to grow.

That’s My2Cnts... What’s Yours?

John
The Zamgwar Institute
Office of My2Cts
www.zamgwar.com