10 Secret Disneyland Areas You Probably Didn’t Know About
Walt’s original park has so many magical hidden areas!
Disney is a truly magical place, filled to the brim with wanderlust and extraordinary experiences. The very first park Walt Disney dreamt up to start his theme park monopoly was the original California-based Disneyland. The Disneyland resort is made up of two distinct parks; Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.
The Disneyland resort became so successful they branched out, expanding across the globe over the last 30 years with sites in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Disneyland Resorts are not to be confused with it’s more extravagant brother Walt Disney World, over in the sunshine state.
The original Anaheim-based park oozes with extraordinary detail, hidden-in-plain-sight easter eggs, and secret details. These secrets add just another level to the amazing detail within Walt’s ‘baby’.
This article will dive into 10 of the best kept secret areas the Disney parks have tried to hide. Only visitors in the know will be able to experience these hidden gems at first hand, including secret hotel suites, exclusive member-only clubs and the private apartment that Walt had installed to ensure Disney was as magical as truly possible.
10. Micky’s Favourite Sport
The long standing rumours are true, there actually is a basketball court hidden within the bowels of Disneyland California’s Matterhorn bobsleigh.
Full disclosure, this is not a fully-sized regulation court due to it being sandwiched within the attic-esque top floor of the huge mountain structure. In reality, when the facades are removed, the ‘court’ is a much more modest hoop, backboard and floor markings.
Originally a myth detailed that the court’s purpose was to allow Walt to avoid building regulation and make the Matterhorn as large as he wanted - this was nothing more than an old wives tale. The real reason for the install was that the tiny box-room was, and still is used as a staging area for climbers and cast members to congregate and unwind during their breaks and during excessive bad weather.
One day, an unnamed worker had the idea of installing the rim to pass time with his colleagues and the rest is history.