3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets Former Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde Spilled Online

Disney fans, if you love knowing hidden secrets about Disney World, you’ll want to take a seat.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is full of small details that the Imagineers took time to place. Disney fans might know a few of these, like The Tree of Life has 320 animals sculpted all around the trunk, branches, and surrounding roots. But did you know these 3 secrets a Disney Legend has shared?

Famous retired Imagineer and Disney Legend, Joe Rohde has shared some secrets about making Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a series of posts on Instagram!

Joe Rohde (Creative Portfolio Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering) posing for a photo. (Charlene Guilliams/Disney)

In Restaurantosaurus over in DinoLand, you can find a Rohde original painting.  Inside this quick service restaurant, you will still find a painting of dinosaurs above you on the wall that was crafted by the Disney Legend himself.

He shared that he painted this large painting of hadrosaurs, because they were pretty tight on budget. He said, “I made big things to save $ per square foot.” We hope this piece of art will either be returned to Rohde or find a new home in Disney World when DinoLand closes.

Restaurantosaurus

The Tree of Life was inspired by Rohde’s trip to Bali in 1987. There was a tradition of carving creatures into a rootball of a fallen tree. This tradition has since fallen away, the Disney legend shared in his Instagram post.

He shared that “It was this tradition that became the inspiration for the Tree of Life…“. We appreciate that he used beautiful animals instead of some of the spooky creatures pictured above!

Tree of Life

If you have ever stopped by Drinkwallah in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you might have missed the boats located behind the building. Next to a peaceful sitting area, you can see the river below. The story behind these boats is incredible.

The boat was built for the park in Java and was actually shipped to Animal Kingdom! The next time you are at the park, you’ll have to take a look at this boat.

Drinkwallah

We loved learning about these secrets thanks to the man who helped create the most beautiful Disney park. For more Disney World secrets, be sure to follow AllEars.net.

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What is your favorite part of Animal Kingdom? Tell us in the comments below. 

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