Disney parks are full of hidden gems and secret Easter eggs. They can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look though. These are all of the best hidden gems in Disneyland and California Adventure park and where to find them.
Rapunzel’s Tower
Rapunzel’s Tower is hidden in plain sight in Fantasyland. It’s to the left of the castle by the Royal Hall and the Royal Theatre. It has Rapunzel popping her head out of the top and her hair wraps around the tower. At night her hair lights up every 15 minutes and the Healing Incantation song from the movie plays.
Petrified Tree
The Petrified Tree is in Frontierland. Walt Disney gave this to his wife Lillian as an anniversary gift, but she didn’t like it, so she gave it to Disneyland.
Toy Story Characters In Cars Land
There’s a scene in Toy Story 2 where the characters cross the road under traffic cones. There’s a nod to this in the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land. You can see Buzz Lightyear under a traffic cone on one side and Rex and Hamm under cones on the other side.
Evil Queen In The Window
The Evil Queen can be seen from a window on the outside of the Snow White ride in Fantasyland. She slowly opens and closes the drapes.
Characters On The Pixar Pier Bridge
When you’re crossing the Pixar Pier bridge in California Adventure look up and you’ll see tons of silhouettes of Pixar characters including Mater from Cars, Disgust from Inside Out, Randall from Monsters Inc, Mr. Incredible, Rex from Toy Story, and more.
Monstro Blinks
Monstro is the big whale from Pinocchio. He is on the ride Storybook Land Canal Boats and you go through him. His eye blinks every so often.
Walt’s Lamp
Walt Disney had an apartment above the Fire Station in Disneyland on Main Street, USA. The lamp is in the window and it was lit to let people know when Walt was there. It now always stays lit to show that Walt’s presence will always be in Disneyland.
Disney Characters Throughout It’s A Small World
The attraction it’s a small world has tons of Disney characters throughout it including Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, Aladdin and Jasmine, Lilo & Stitch, Ariel, Donald Duck, and more.
Real Skull On The Pirates Ride
Pirates of the Caribbean is full of skulls and skeletons, but there is one skull that is a real human skull that Disneyland got from UCLA Medical School. It is on the headboard of the bed.
A Pirate Changes From Dead To Alive
On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride there is a pirate that is a skeleton when you first see him, then he changes to being an alive person instead of a skeleton.
Hidden Donald In Galaxy’s Edge
Look for this crazy hidden Donald Duck in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It’s a little out there, but if you have the right angle, it looks like Donald’s head. The top of the building looks like his hat and has a blue banner coming off of it, the circle looks like an eye, and the doorway looks like his beak.
Seashells On The Ground
The ride queue for The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure you can see seashells in the cement that you walk on. They are easy to miss if you aren’t looking closely.
Mickey And Minnie’s Names On Beams
When you board the ride Mickey And Minnie’s Runaway Railway, look up at the wooden beans above you. They all have light brown wooden designs painted onto them, but look closely and you’ll see that one spells Minnie and one spells Mickey.
Hairy Leg On The Pirates Ride
On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride you go under a little bridge and there’s a pirate above you with his leg hanging over. Look at the hair on the leg because it’s real human hair!
The Traffic Light In Cars Land
There’s a traffic light in the road in Cars Land that blinks a yellow light. Every 3rd blink is slower than the other blinks. This is a nod to a scene in the Cars movie where the VW bus, Fillmore, says to Sarge “I’m telling you man, every third blink is slower”.
You Can Smell Ginger
One the ride Monster’s, Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue there is part where you go into Harryhausen’s, the sushi restaurant. When you get to the part you can very quickly smell ginger.
Cadillac Mountain Peaks
In Cars Land go to where you can watch the cars race by on Radiator Springs Racers. You’ll see the mountain peaks and notice that they each look like Cadillac tail fins from different models of Cadillacs.
Red From Cars Easter Egg
If you love the Cars movie, then go to the Emporium, a gift shop at the beginning of Main Street, USA in Disneyland. Go to the back room that has a train set going around the top. In one of the corners you can see a small Red the firetruck from Cars. Also, the water tower behind him has a Mickey that lights up every 3 trips the train takes.