The History Desk

The Flight That Decided Where Walt Disney World Would Be Built

Before Walt Disney World was public knowledge, it was a shortlist of cities and a plane circling Bay Lake. Here's how Central Florida won, and what happened that same afternoon.

Looking Back: Disney's 24-Hour Party at Disneyland, 2013

In May 2013, Disney kept three parks open around the clock for the first time. Here's what that day actually looked like, and how the story got told wrong.

Why Disney's Animal Kingdom Opened Its Gates on Earth Day

Animal Kingdom didn't land on Earth Day by accident. A look back at the park's 1998 opening, the anniversary tradition it built, and what still holds up.

The Davy Crockett Craze: How Three TV Episodes Started Disney's First Merchandise Stampede

Before Disneyland even opened, a three-part TV story about a frontiersman who died at the Alamo triggered a coonskin cap shortage and a licensing windfall Disney hadn't planned for.

The Show Disney Only Meant to Run for a Summer

Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue was supposed to be a three-month experiment at Fort Wilderness. Fifty-plus years later, it's still one of the longest-running dinner shows in the country.

The Pepsi Pavilion That Never Closed: How 'it's a small world' Outlasted the Fair It Was Built For

Disney built 'it's a small world' as a rushed favor for Pepsi and UNICEF at the 1964 World's Fair. Six decades later it's still running the same design, thanks to Joan Crawford.

The Disney Collectibles That Never Made It to a Store Shelf

From a Swan Boat tied up on a Florida river to a backyard teddy-bear roller coaster, the strangest Disney collectibles were never sold in a park gift shop.

The Fort Wilderness Railroad: Walt Disney World's Steam Train That Lasted Six Years

Before Fort Wilderness had buses, it had a 3.5-mile steam railroad looping through the campground. Here's why Disney quietly pulled up the tracks in 1980.

The Animation Rules Behind Mickey Mouse's Ears, Fingers, and First Words

Mickey's round ears, three-fingered hands, and nine-cartoon silence weren't accidents. They were animation shortcuts, and one of them became a souvenir empire.

Five Animal Kingdom Details Most Visitors Walk Right Past

A tiger in a boardroom, a land that never got built, and a highway sign whose hidden date disappeared along with the land it stood on. Five Animal Kingdom facts that hold up under scrutiny.

The Duck Dynasty, Middle Name, and College Mascot Deal Behind Donald Duck

Donald Duck has a hidden middle name, a genealogy Carl Barks spent decades charting, and a mascot contract with a Pac-12 football team. The full family tree.

Five Things About Walt Disney Himself, Not the Company He Built

A fired ad job, a hidden monogram on a bronze tie, and an asteroid named in 1980. Five checkable facts about the man behind Walt Disney World.

What Old WDW Vacation Brochures Reveal About a Resort That No Longer Exists

A look through archived 1970s and '80s Walt Disney World brochures, and the resorts, pools and one whole park they document that have since disappeared or changed names.