Walt Disney World Resort

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is a character dining location inside Epcot’s Norway Pavilion. Its name and design come from Akershus Fortress, a 13th-century medieval castle and fortress in the Norwegian capital city of Oslo. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

The Bab Boujouloud (or Blue Gate) can be found in Epcot separating the Morocco Pavilion’s old city from the new city. This city gate is a replica of the real Bab Boujouloud found in the city of Fez, Morocco. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is a Disney Vacation Club property modeled after railroad hotels of the American West in the 1860’s. This is evident in the lobby area of this section which features paintings and decorations devoted to trains of the period. Off to one side of the lobby is the Carolwood Room, an elegant area dedicated to Walt’s love of trains, from his first exposure to them growing up in Marceline, to his elaborate 1/8 scale, half-mile long Carolwood Pacific Railroad which lived at his Holmby Hills estate. The centerpiece of this collection, no doubt, is an original caboose and cargo car from Walt’s Carolwood Railroad set. The caboose on display is numbered 0-7734 – if you head over to the ground floor of Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Railroad Station, you can see a photo of this car in Walt’s backyard as he works on a nearby train. Bookshelves in the area are stocked with antique railroad memorabilia and equipment, including a copy of Walt Disney’s Railroad Story and The Lonesome Trail. The lobby is open to visitors of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, just follow signs from the main lobby area. Don’t forget to ask the main front desk for a Hidden […]

This minaret (a mosque’s tower used to announce the call to prayer) near the back of Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion is a replica of the one found in the Chellah Necropolis in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Magic Kingdom‘s impressive castle was designed by Imagineer Herb Ryman, the same person who designed the original Disney castle: Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Park. Ryman based the new design on the one seen in the 1950 animated classic film with additional influences from Neuschwanstein Castle and other real European castles. A representation of the Disney family coat of arms can be found on the center balcony on the castle’s Fantasyland facing side. The official Coat of Arms consists of three gold fleur-de-lis on a red fess (representing purity), a crest with a red lion passant-guardant (representing bravery or courage), and the motto Vincit qui patitur meaning: He conquers who endures. The emblem used on the castle is a custom design featuring the lion symbol. Similar emblems can be found on its clone castle in Tokyo Disneyland and on Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. Inside you can find forty additional coats of arms displayed around Cinderella’s Royal Table, a restaurant on the second floor. These flags represent key people involved with the development and design of Walt Disney World including Imagineer Marc Davis, John Hench, and Marty Sklar among others. This castle also makes a brief easter-egg style cameo in Lilo & Stitch […]

Epcot’s Clock of the Abu Inania Medersa is a replica of what remains of the real clock hanging above the marketplace in Fez, Morocco. Found just to the left of the entrance to Restaurant Marrakesh, Epcot’s version is an idealized one: what the clock may have looked like when it was in working order, back in the heyday of water clocks. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Treasures of Morocco: Finding Epcot’s Real-Life Landmarks Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Just like the real ones in Italy, Epcot’s scale replicas of The Columns of San Marco (Saint Mark) and San Todaro (Saint Theodore) stand guard in front of it’s own version of Doge’s Palace. Also like the real ones, these two statues overlook a lagoon. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

This shop at the entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios was inspired by the art deco design of Hollywood’s iconic Crossroads of the World shopping center. The Disney version is a near replica, complete with neon lighting and a spinning globe. The main difference between the two is that this one is topped with a 5’3” tall Mickey Mouse sculpture. Mickey’s right ear is made of copper, acting as a lightning rod in inclement weather. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

The lobby of Disney’s BoardWalk Resort contains a number of homages and references to the Atlantic City and Coney Island boardwalks that it was based on. Walking into the main entrance from the parking lot, we find a Hippocampus Electrolier and carousel model under it. The electrolier (fancy word for chandelier) depicts four, 22-karat gold leaf Hippocampi: mythical creatures that are part horse and part fish. Early carousels of the seaside boardwalks would feature sculpts of beasts like these in addition to typical horses. Below the chandelier is a scale model of a carousel created by MC Illions, one of the most well-known carousel designers, as a way to sell his full-sized attractions to potential buyers. The model was purchased in 1995 and restored by Disney for inclusion in the BoardWalk lobby. Walking towards the main lobby area, we see six carousel rounding boards, evenly spaced around the room. Each one depicts a different Disney Park castle! See closeup photos of each and read more in our blog post: A Photo Tour Of The BoardWalk’s Hidden Disney Castles. About halfway down the lobby, we find a model of a roller coaster. This is the Flip Flap Railway, America’s first looping coaster. It was […]

Earl of Sandwich is a chain of sandwich shops founded in 2004 by John Montagu, the (11th Earl of Sandwich), his son Orlando (both are direct descendants of the 4th Earl of Sandwich, inventor of the namesake food item), and Robert Earl (founder of Planet Hollywood). The company operates two other Disney locations besides this one: one in Downtown Disney and one in Disney Village. Visitor Information: Earl of Sandwich

Epcot’s version of the Eiffel Tower is a 1/10th scale replica of the real one in Paris, France. The forced-perspective-structure sits atop the Impressions de France show building, giving the impression that the tower is off in the distance. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Fantasyland station is one of three stations along the Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom, along with Frontierland Station and Main Street station. It’s located in Storybook Circus, an extension of Fantasyland which is themed to Dumbo’s circus based on the animated classic Dumbo (1941). The Fantasyland Station building mentions the name of the area as Carolwood Park numerous times. This is meant as a tribute to the house Walt lived in on Carolwood Drive where he started his infamous Carolwood Pacific Railroad. The clock on the building even mimics the miniature train’s original logo and slogan. If you’re interested in seeing the original logo and one of the original Carolwood trains, grab a boat over to the Carolwood Room in the lobby of Wilderness Lodge’s Boulder Ridge Villas. A number of luggage and suitcase props line the outer walls and nearby areas of Carolwood Park as if a circus train had just unloaded its cargo. These are marked and labeled with designs which make reference to a variety of Disney related things: Red’s Amazing Juggling Unicycles: Red’s Dream, a 1987 Pixar short film about a unicycle who dreams of being in the circus. Manufactured by Eben’s Bikes: The bike […]