Are there really secret tunnels under the Disney theme parks?

September 21, 2016, 11:10 AM · Are there really secret tunnels under the Disney theme parks?

Theme Park Insiders already know the answer, but we're sharing that "secret" with everyone else today in the first episode of our new weekly video show. Join me and my co-host, Natalie Niles, for a fun discussion about Walt Disney World's tunnel system — that also includes talk about Central Florida's scariest natural disasters, the Death Star, and Stranger Things.

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We've got some really fun shows coming up in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned... and, as always, thank you for being part of the Theme Park Insider community.

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Replies (9)

September 21, 2016 at 12:03 PM · Very interesting and informative. Thanks! I have to say though that while Walt Disney may have not liked characters from one land walking through another, I think it's one the more, dare I say, charming aspects of Disneyland and makes for more spontaneous interactions.
September 21, 2016 at 1:08 PM · Disneyland has a completely different approach to character interactions, one that still supports the type of spontaneity that WDW lost when it made almost all of its encounters into timed meet and greets or character meals.
September 21, 2016 at 3:44 PM · Aren't there also some tunnels under DCA? If I'm not mistaken I saw a picture of it being dug up on some website the other day but now I can't find it.
September 21, 2016 at 6:48 PM · I think this was the first time I heard your voice Robert (and I've been reading TPI on and off since 2009 I think) - I felt like I was listening to one of the more entertaining segments of NPR. That's a good thing!
I'm looking forward to more video pieces!
September 21, 2016 at 8:39 PM · Thanks!
September 22, 2016 at 7:08 AM · Other tunnel type areas include:
*A short tunnel in Future World, near Guest Services and Electric Umbrella
*Under the lobbies of Boardwalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. All three feature driveways that slope upwards so you are entering the lobbies on the second floor.
*under the main walkway of Pleasure Island/The Landing in Disney Springs. Roughly under the area between the old Adventures Club and the Comedy Warehouse.
*Not really a tunnel, but a secure underground room in the TTC that was once a ticket vault.
September 22, 2016 at 7:48 AM · I heard that there is a tunnel that runs under part of Disneyland's Tomorrowland. Do you know if that's true? Sounds like the tunnels at MK were a kind of fun backstage for Cast Members and other employees. I'd love to take a tour of them. When my Dad worked at Disneyland in the early 70s I got to go through the back areas but nothing as cool as tunnels.

Too bad about the Magic Kingdom's character program. Do you know why they went with that approach? And how do other Disneylands/Magic Kingdoms deal with it?

September 22, 2016 at 10:52 AM · The character issue at WDW is simply one of volume. It needs a more structured system to deal with the huge number of once-in-a-lifetime, out-of-town visitors it services, versus the relatively larger number of jaded, we-see-Mickey-all-the-time locals at Disneyland.
September 22, 2016 at 7:47 PM · I have done the Keys to the Kingdom tour at MK, and been in the tunnels down there. It was a great experience!

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