COMICSANDS
percolately
georgetakei
secondnexus
george's picks
Most Read
imagineer
Disney World's Use Of Colored Paint To Hide Its 'Unmagical Parts' Is Actually Kind Of Brilliant
The engineering that goes into Disney parks, termed "Imagineering" by Disney, is astounding.
Everything about the park is planned in excruciating detail and it doesn't show; of course, that's the point.
Everything in the parks is planned around guest experience. A large part of that planning is making sure that guests only notice the magic of the parks, not the nitty-gritty behind-the-scenes features like dumpsters and administrative buildings.
There is a range of green shades that are used to paint park utilities and buildings that are supposed to just fade into the background. Termed "Go-Away Green" or "No-See-Um Green," it is usually a bland gray-green that doesn't draw much attention.
According to one Reddit user, u/red_pantz who documents paint colors for Disney:
"Disney uses a few different colors to get buildings to fade into the foliage surrounding it. It has a lot to do with what the building is blending into- ivy differs from oak, which differs from shrubs, etc."
That variation is a large part of why the paint choice works, a shade is chosen specifically so that it will blend in and people will be less likely to notice it. The contrast between the colorful, exciting scenery and the bland gray-green serve to direct your attention to the more interesting features.
People are still pretty determined to recreate Disney's special shade.
According to Mental Floss:
"One enthusiast collected paint chips from the park and took them to The Home Depot, where he supposedly found an exact match"
Colors aren't the only way that the parks work to subconsciously direct your attention or movement. They also use temperature, scent, forced perspective, and carefully planned paths to keep people moving in the desired direction.
Imagineers are adept at using psychology to direct guest movement and behavior.
From lowering temperatures in stores to encourage people to buy sweatshirts they would otherwise never consider during hot California summers, to using scent to encourage buying sweet treats.
Mental Floss also mentions also mentionsthe park's most adorable pest control method: a large colony of feral cats, numbering in the hundreds.
"Today, there are plenty of benefits to being a Disney-employed mouser. When they're not prowling the grounds, these corporate fat cats spend their days lounging at one of the park's five permanent feeding stations."
Park management does everything they can to make sure the cats are happy and healthy.
"Of course, Disney also goes to great lengths to manage its feline population. Wranglers at the park work to spay and neuter adult cats, and any time kittens are found, they're put up for adoption."
There are various social media pages dedicated to the cats, and they have quite a following.
Another example of concealed infrastructure at Disney World are the hidden tunnels that span the park, allowing cast members to navigate the vast space without looking out of place.
They seem to be fascinating the general public.
Disney parks are magical places, and they seem all the more so after learning about the lengths that are gone to make them that way. Instead of ruining the magic, the behind-the-scenes knowledge just reinforces it.