| Disney Utilidor System | |
| Image Alt: | Disney Utilidor underneath the Magic Kingdom, with a cast member dressed as Mickey Mouse walking away from camera |
| Alternate Names: | Utilidors |
| Etymology: | Utility Corridors |
| Status: | Operating |
| Location: | Walt Disney World |
| Address: | Magic Kingdom Drive |
| Location City: | Bay Lake, Florida |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 28.421°N -81.5813°W |
| Start Date: | 1967 |
| Opened Date: | 1971 |
| Client: | WED Enterprises |
| Owner: | The Walt Disney Company |
| Affiliation: | Disney Experiences |
| Roof: | Magic Kingdom |
| Architect: | WED Enterprises |
| Developer: | WED Enterprises |
| Known For: | Management and operations of Magic Kingdom |
| Parking: | West Clock |
| Public Transit: | at West Clock |
In Disney theme parks, the utilidor system is a system of some of the world's largest utility tunnels, mainly for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida. The utilidors, short for utility corridors, are a part of Disney's "backstage" (behind-the-scenes) area. They allow Disney employees ("cast members") to perform park support operations, such as trash removal, and for costumed characters to quickly reach their destinations on the surface out of the sight of guests to avoid ruining the illusion that is being created.
These tunnels were first built for Magic Kingdom. Smaller utilidor systems are built under the central section of Epcot's Future World, primarily beneath Spaceship Earth and Innoventions, and formerly at Pleasure Island (now The Landing section of Disney Springs).[1] [2] Disneyland, in California, also has a small utilidor system running throughout Tomorrowland.
According to modern legend, Walt Disney was bothered by the sight of a cowboy walking through Disneyland's Tomorrowland en route to his post in Frontierland. He felt that such a sight was jarring and it detracted from the guest experience. Since Disneyland was small, such a tunnel system could not be feasibly implemented. When the new Florida Disney park was being planned, engineers designed utilidors to keep park operations out of guests' sight.[3]
The largest system of utilidors is beneath Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, but they are not a basement, contrary to popular belief. Because of an elevated water table, most of these tunnels were actually built at ground level, and the Magic Kingdom was built above that. All the guests of the park see streets that are elevated by one story. Parts of Fantasyland, including the Cinderella Castle, are at a third-story level. The ground's incline is so gradual that guests tend not to realize they are ascending to the second and third stories. The Magic Kingdom is built upon soil removed from what is now Seven Seas Lagoon.[4]
The utilidors are built on, and the floor plan is a circle with a path down the middle; the tunnel walls are color-coded to make it simple for cast members to determine their location. The utilidors can be accessed from a main tunnel entrance located behind Fantasyland, or through unmarked doors throughout the theme park. Magic Kingdom cast members park about 1miles away, at West Clock parking lot, nearby Disney University, and are transported from the parking lot to the tunnel entrance via Disney Transport buses. Some shops, restaurants and attractions have direct access to the utilidors.
Cast members navigate the tunnels on foot or in battery-powered vehicles that resemble golf carts. Gasoline-powered vehicles are not allowed in the utilidors, with the exception of armored cash pickup trucks and, in extreme emergencies, ambulances.[5]
Guests are not allowed in the utilidors, unless they purchase the "Keys to the Kingdom" tour.[5]
The utilidors have been referred to as an "underground city", the functions of which include:[6]