10 Things You Never Knew about Disneyland

1) No Sleeping - With exception to the newly renovated (and ultra exclusive) "Walt's apartment" in New Orleans Square, sleeping is expressly prohibited in all areas of the park.

2) Evacuate! - Due to recent CAL-OSHA and DOSH regulations, any attraction that breaks down at Disneyland must have all guests manually evacuated, no matter how routine the breakdown may be.

3) Smoking? - Smoking is only permitted in a few secluded areas of the park. All photos found within Disneyland park depicting Walt Disney smoking have been doctored to have the cigarettes removed.

4) Disneyland Underground - Contrary to the popular myth, there are very few underground pathways beneath Disneyland. Many cast members can't even get to their destination points via backstage routes and have to cross on-stage (in public areas).

5) Ride Cameras - Some Disneyland attractions have only a few cameras throughout the ride, while other have several. However, in both cases, the cameras are to be watched by only one attractions cast member at a time that in the majority of cases is distracted or simply not paying attention.

6) Breakdowns - Despite the paranoia of many guests in fear of their own safety, attractions hardly ever break down to due any kind of mechanical failure. The vast majority of attraction breakdowns are caused by cast member incompetence or difficult guests that interfere with the efficient operation of the attraction.

7) Stealing is Okay - Plain clothes security cast members routinely patrol stores and common areas of the park. However, they are instructed to NOT intervene with shoplifters who are witnessed stealing less than 5 keychains. You can't make this stuff up.

8) Courtesy - Parkwide, the term "courtesy" is used as code to alert other attractions cast members of a particularly good looking guest that might be present. For example, a cast member might announce "courtesy row six" over the PA, and that would signal other members of the crew to casually take a look at and admire the person in question. I'd like to take this moment to apologize for desecrating what many cast members may consider to be the biggest and most valuable Disneyland secret of all.

9) Hold it Right There - As any teenager who has ever caused any trouble at Disneyland should know, security will attempt to scold you and intimidate you. However, legally, they can do no such thing. Disneyland cast members are not officers of the law, therefore detaining you against your will would be false imprisonment. Security will try to get you to voluntarily do as they say, but regular cast members will not attempt to detain you. BUT, in some cases they will use underhanded tactics to keep you stationary until security can arrive. For instance, if a vehicle filled with troublemakers returns to the station before security has a chance to arrive, they may be given the option to ride again, having no idea that the attractions cast members are simply buying time.

10) Ugly Cast Members - Back in the day, Walt Disney made it very clear that he wanted pleasant looking people interacting with guests at his world class theme park. The less visually appealing folks were given jobs in non-public areas, such as the kitchens or costuming, while the lookers were given jobs at the main gate, attractions, etc. However, today that has all but gone out the window, and you can spot some seriously disturbing looking folks in the most blatant locations.

I hope you enjoyed this top ten list. It is all based on fact, but it's also all in good fun. I hope no one is offended by this slightly different look at the quirks of the Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA.

Don't get me wrong, I love Disneyland. But after having spent perhaps a little too much time there...well...I'm sure you understand!