Disney typically aims its theme park attractions at a mainstream audience, ensuring that millions of visitors experience them every year. But every now and then the company does something that is a little off-the-wall.
Over the years, a number of bizarre attractions have been installed at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and the company’s theme parks across the world. Sometimes, they are the result of a desperate need to “pad out” an area with more attractions. Sometimes they are the output of misguided collaborations with third party companies. Sometimes they are designed to attract attention as part of a marketing campaign. And sometimes the reasons behind their creation are simply impossible to fathom. Either way, the results can sometimes turn out to be great. Whatever the case, it’s fun to look back at these quirky Disney creations. Here are 7 of the strangest Disney theme park attractions of all time!
7. The Bathroom of Tomorrow
Image: Disney
Disneyland was built at a breakneck pace. Inevitably, not everything was ready for its 1955 opening day – and Tomorrowland was way behind schedule. In the end, it opened with a thin line-up of attractions and the promise of new additions coming soon. One of those additions was the Bathroom of Tomorrow, sponsored by the Crane Plumbing Company and accompanied by the boast: “This fabulous bathroom, designed for the future, is available for your home today!” All of the fixtures in the Bathroom of Tomorrow were in a vibrant citrus yellow color, with the bathtub and bidet being gold-plated. Dumbbells were attached to the wall, to allow home-owners to take a quick workout at any time. Hot water was available from a boiler of “advanced design”. Walt Disney, Crane president Frank F. Elliot and designer Henry Dreyfuss were on hand for the attraction’s unusual opening ceremony in 1956. Instead of cutting a ribbon, they turned valves – a fitting thing to do, given that the accompanying “Tear Drop” exhibit celebrated the “dramatic story of valves in industry”. The exhibit was removed after just four years in 1960.
6. The Hall of Aluminum Fame
Alongside the Bathroom of Tomorrow, several other “edutainment” attractions were installed in early Tomorrowland at Disneyland. One of these was the Hall of Aluminum Fame, sponsored by Kaiser, which was ready for the park’s opening day. The walkthrough exhibit took visitors through the process of making aluminum, and featured a 40-foot telescope and a pig mascot known as the “Kaiser Aluminum Pig” (KAP for short). The Hall of Aluminum was never likely to be a longlasting attraction, with Disney sure to remove it once it had the money to build a better replacement. In the end, Kaiser made the decision instead, terminating its contract after five years after Disney used competing sponsors for its Disneyland TV show.
5. The Intimate Apparel Store
One of the stores on Disneyland’s Main Street USA on its opening day, located right next door to Grandma’s Baby Shop, was the Intimate Apparel Store. Yes, in Disney’s family theme park female guests could stop in and buy a corset or a bra. While there, they could also watch the amazing Wonderful Wizard of Bras, who took to a rotating stage to deliver a recorded history of undergarments. On one side of the stage was a recreation of 1890s underwear, while the other side hosted “the fashions of today”. Elsewhere, a Singer Sewing Machine dating from the 1860s and 3-D boxes showing historic underwear added to the educational experience. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Wizard of Bras and the store that hosted him were evicted after just six months. The store was absorbed into the Glass and China Shop next door.
4. Monsanto Hall of Chemistry
To appreciate the wonders of the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry (one of Tomorrowland’s original attractions at Disneyland), we need only read these quotes from a 1955 advert in the LA Times (courtesy of Yesterland): Monsanto, in Tomorrowland, shows you the romance of chemistry, how chemically-made products benefit your life, how they can make a new and startling world tomorrow. Your food, clothing, housing, health, and transportation all depend on chemistry … and the future holds some exciting, wonderful things in store for you. Upon entering Monsanto’s Hall of Chemistry, you will see the CHEMATRON…huge shining tubes of the eight basic materials found in nature, from which countless chemicals and plastics can be made. One of these is salt, another coal; another water: but from those eight common substances come almost 500 different Monsanto chemicals and plastics. And you’ll see how these promise to build a new and easier way of life your you, your children, and generations to come. COAL! Did you know that from coal it is possible to make over a quarter of a million substances? From plastics to perfumes, from drugs to disinfectants—hundreds of things you use today … and will tomorrow … are derived—chemically—from coal.And thousands more will be found tomorrow. See what Chemistry in Tomorrowland has in store for you.Who could resist?
3. The Mickey Mouse Club Circus
Not long after Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney experimented with an on-site circus show. Tied into the new Mickey Mouse Club television show, it saw two huge circus tents being set up on the edge of Fantasyland. Two 75-minute performances took place every day, featuring acrobats, aerialists, wild animals and Mouseketeers from the show. Unfortunately, guests hadn’t come to Disneyland to see a circus show, and it proved to be unpopular compared to Disneyland’s other attractions. A series of mishaps – including an incident in which a black panther BIT THE PAW OFF A TIGERin front of a live audience – led to the circus being removed after just a few months.
2. Push the Talking Trash Can
Image: Lucky 6.9, Wikipedia
What’s that wandering around Tomorrowland? Why, it’s a TALKINGtrash can! For most of the last two decades, Push has been trundling his way around the futuristic area at Disney’s various resorts, chatting away to guests. Push’s Wikipedia page claims that the robot is operated by a plain-clothed operator via a remote control. Fans of Push, of course, will know that he is actually real. Unfortunately for Push, the Magic Kingdom no longer requires his services. Despite denials that the character was on his way out of the park, Disney removed the trash can from Tomorrowland, apparently due to a dispute with his (non-existent) operator.
1. The birthday cake castle
It’s the photo every first-time Walt Disney World visitor dreams of: one of them stood proudly in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately for visitors to the park in 1996, that photo opportunity wasn’t available. Instead, they could stand in front of a giant “castle cake” instead. The 185-foot-tall cake was the centerpiece of the resort’s 25th anniversary celebrations, and was estimated to weigh 40 million pounds. 55,040 tablespoons of pink paint in three different shades were employed to create it, and it featured 50 gumballs, 30 lollipops, 4 lifesavers, 16 red candy hearts and 16 green candy stars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Disney hasn’t repeated the stunt for subsequent anniversary celebrations.
