There’s one thing that any Disney Parks fan will tell you is a dream experience on their Disney Bucket List and that is paying a visit to The Utilidors. The Utilidors are an underground tunnel system that are in use at the Walt Disney World Resort, allowing cast members to traverse the streets of the Magic Kingdom, but all while being underground. The concept for these utilidors was conceived by Walt when he saw a cowboy walking through Tomorrowland in Disneyland. Since “show” is one of the four keys of the Walt Disney Company, it ruined the integrity of the show to see the cast members roaming so freely like that.

The Utilidors are very exclusive to only the cast members of Disney World (with the exclusion of a few tour groups) and frankly, I think it’s best for it to stay that way. Since “show” is one of the most important keys of the company, it should always be maintained. It provides a great service for the cast members to be able to create the magic even when they aren’t “onstage,” so to speak. Because of the utilidors, the Magic Kingdom is able to run as efficiently as it does, (which conveniently is also one of the keys of the company.) With all of the hustle and bustle that goes on in the utilidors, Magic Kingdom can easily remain functional and efficient onstage. If you’ve ever been in the utilidors, you’ll see all kinds of trash disposal areas, costuming areas, packages for merchandise and food for restocking materials, along with many other tasks that keep the Magic Kingdom running as functionally as it does.

I think the utilidors are a very efficient and handy feature for the Disney Parks, and I think they’re a technique that should follow through in all of the Disney parks around the world. There is undoubtedly magic that always happens onstage at Disney World, but the magic that happens in the utilidors is a completely different ball-game. In using that backstage magic, Disney World is able to more efficiently create their magic onstage as well! When the guest can’t see what’s going on to create all the magic in front of them, it helps the guest forget the limitations of the real world and actually allow them to believe the magic is real, even when you know it isn’t. I think the use of the utilidors helps this fact tremendously. And in the end, that’s what Walt would want most. For magic to be created at every turn, and for the guest to always be guessing how it was done. Thanks to the utilidors, this is possible.