Namesake

Originally built in the 13th-century, this medieval castle and fortress in the Norwegian capital of Oslo was designed to protect the city and provide a royal residence for the family of the King of Norway. The castle tower and part of the cathedral are replicated in Epcot’s Noway Pavilion as the exterior for Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, which also takes its name from the real-life location meaning “the (fortified) house of (the district) Aker”. The buildings and design of these grounds served as part of the inspiration for the design of Arendelle’s Castle in Frozen (2013). You can see the similarities on the brick fortress walls, the sloped roofs, and the round, green towers. Today, this fort is open to the public as a park and contains a series of museums detailing the history of the grounds as well as Noway’s military history. Address: 0150 Oslo, Norway Visitor Information: Akershus Festning

Atwater Village is a district of Los Angeles, which was frequented by Walt and his animators in the early days of the Disney Studio. This hip area is located just across the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge from the studio. This area is referenced on a building on Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure called the Atwater Ink & Paint shop (really a facade entrance to the Julius Katz & Sons shop). Address: Atwater Village, Los Angeles, CA Visitor Information: Discover Los Angeles

In 1974 an artist collective named Ant Farm installed Cadillac Ranch: an art installation along the historic Route 66 (this stretch in Texas is now known as Route 40) which inspired the Bruce Springsteen song of the same name. The roadside attraction features 10 brightly colored classic Cadillacs buried face-first in a row. Fans of Pixar’s Cars franchise may recognize a similar sight as the filmmakers paid very appropriate homage to the Ranch in the mountains surrounding Radiator Springs, named Cadillac Range. Parks buffs will notice that this same mountain range is also incorporated into the theming of the high-speed Radiator Springs Racers attraction. Address: 13651 I-40 Frontage Rd, Amarillo, TX 79124 Visitor Information: Atlas Obscura

Crossroads of the World is an outdoor shopping area on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Built in 1936, The building’s iconic art deco tower and spinning globe have been replicated as a small shopping kiosk (topped with a 5’3” tall Mickey Mouse statue) at the entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The shop even shares the same name, Crossroads of the World. Address: 6671 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 Visitor Information: Crossroads Hollywood

In 1950, Walt and the Disney family moved from their home on Woking Way to a new estate here on Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of LA. With all the land here, Walt was able to build his Carolwood Pacific Railway, a half-mile long, 1/8th scale live-steam railroad which was inspired by his 1948 visit to the Chicago Railroad Fair with animator Ward Kimball. This new project of Walt’s re-ignited the passion he gained for trains while living in Kansas City and solidified his desire to have a train encircle his new magic kingdom of Disneyland, still in development. Walt’s Carolwood Pacific Railway included a locomotive named Lilly Belle, an homage to his wife Lillian. Today, an original set of trains and tracks including a replica of the Lilly Belle now live on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Additional original parts of the railroad are on display in the lobby of Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (where an entire room is dedicated to the Carolwood Pacific) and at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum. A number of photos on display underneath the Walt Disney World Railroad’s Main Street Station show Walt playing and working on his trains. Landscaping for the […]

The Five Hundred Acre Wood is a section of Ashdown Forest in southern England, 40 miles outside of London. It was here that author A. A. Milne was inspired to write his Winnie-the-Pooh stories, naming the area the Hundred Acre Wood in his books. Within this public park, you can find a number of Pooh-related sites including Gill’s Lap (called Galleon’s Lap in the Poohniverse), Pooh Bridge, and a teashop devoted to our favorite pantless bear. It was on the nearby Cotchford Farm that Milne wrote all of the Winnie-the-Pooh books. A pamphlet and detailed map of these and more Pooh sites can be downloaded from the Ashdown Forest’s website for a small donation. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Meeting the Original Winnie-the-Pooh (and Tigger, too) Address: Ashdown Forest, Uckfield, UK Visitor Information: Conservators of Ashdown Forest

Golden Oak Ranch is a plot of land 30 miles outside of Los Angeles, used by Walt in the 1950s and later purchased by the company in 1959 for use as film and TV production facility. A number of classic Disney productions have been filmed here including Spin and Marty episodes, Old Yeller (1957), The Parent Trap (1961), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), and Pete’s Dragon (1977). The ranch is still used today and continues to host productions such as Pearl Harbor (2001), The Country Bears (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), The Muppets (2011). In television, ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Disney+ series WandaVision have shot here as well as an episode of the Disney+ series One Day at Disney (Shorts) featured Golden Oak while profiling their Operations Manager, Steven Sligh. The name Golden Oak is memorialized as the name of the Golden Oak community, a private residential area located on Walt Disney World property, where its clubhouse displays props and memorabilia from classic Disney TV shows and movies that were filmed here. Although no tours are given and it is not open to the public, industry professionals can gain access for scouting and filming purposes. Address: 19802 Placerita Canyon Rd, […]

A New York City landmark, Grand Central Terminal has been serving its visitors as a train station and shopping concourse since it opened in 1913. While many areas of the Big Apple were used in filming, Marvel fans will recognize the building’s south-facing facade, featuring its unmistakable Glory of Commerce statues, from the climax of The Avengers (2012) during a scene where the team assembles to form a strategy to kick some As…gardians. Later on in the MCU, the set of statues above the Tiffany clock is found to have been replaced with a unique Battle Of New York Memorial statue. Grand Central is also the inspiration for both the design and punny name for the fictional Game Central Station where video game characters from Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) gather at the end of the night. Address: 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017 Visitor Information: Grand Central Terminal

Luna Park is an amusement park along the Coney Island boardwalk in New York City. Though this incarnation opened in 2010, it harkens back to the original Luna Park, which existed from 1903 to 1944 on a nearby plot of land. Though today the moniker Luna Park is used as the name of amusement parks across the globe, Disney’s BoardWalk Resort’s Luna Park Pool pays tribute to this one in Coney Island. The pool’s bar is carousel themed and the water slide resembles the infamous Cyclone roller coaster, which is part of this park (minus the creepy clown face). Address: 1000 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224 Visitor Information: Luna Park NYC

The Matterhorn is a unique looking mountain in the Swiss Alps at the edge of a small town called Zermatt, Switzerland. Its jagged profile may look familiar if you’ve ever eaten a Toblerone – it’s featured on the logo of the Swiss chocolate. It may also look familiar if you’ve ever been to Disneyland… #MatterhornMonday Walt’s fascination with the mighty mountain first grew during a set visit to the production of the 1959 live-action feature film Third Man on the Mountain. According to author Jim Denny (via Disney Avenue), Walt had always wanted a mountainside attraction in Disneyland to remind him of his childhood days sledding down the snowy hillsides of Marceline. While on location in Zermatt, Walt became obsessed with the site of the Matterhorn mountain so much that he couldn’t take his eyes off of it – he knew it had to be a part of Disneyland. Legend has it that he mailed a souvenir postcard back to Imagineering with a hand-written note: Build This. In the summer of 1959, Walt’s vision came to life and the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction opened in Disneyland. The ride is still in operation today with only minor cosmetic and theming changes happening […]

The West and East Mitten Buttes (an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top) are rock formations in the Arizona portion of Monument Valley Park. From the south, these massive buttes look like two giant mittens. You may recognize one of these buttes if you’ve ever been on Soarin’ Around the World (Disney California Adventure), Soarin’ Around the World (Epcot), Soaring Over the Horizon or Soaring: Fantastic Flight as it is a featured location visited during the ride. In the Pixar Cars films (2006), the area near Radiator Springs is called Ornament Valley, an automobile spoof on the namesake of the Mitten Butte’s Park. If you’re into seeing more buttes, check out the Mexican Hat Rock Formation just ~25 miles down the road. Address: West and East Mitten Buttes, Arizona 86033 Visitor Information: Navajo Nation Parks & Rec

The plains of this UNESCO World Heritage Site near the city of Moshi, Tanzania is featured in Soarin’ Around the World (Disney California Adventure), Soarin’ Around the World (Epcot), Soaring Over the Horizon and Soaring: Fantastic Flight as it is a featured location visited during the ride. The name Kilimanjaro is believed to mean The Mountain of Caravans in Swahili, referring to Africa’s highest peak. The name might sound familiar if you’ve ever been on Disney Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris – here you actually do ride through the park in a caravan of off-road vehicles. In film, the park is the setting of both the 1994 and 2019 versions of The Lion King. Address: Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Visitor Information: Tanzania Tourist Board