Disney Utilidor System
Image of the utilidor system taken byThe Walt Disney Company along the tunnel underneathCinderella Castle
Interactive map of the Disney Utilidor System area
Alternative names	Utilidors
Etymology	Utility Corridors
General information
Status	Operating
Type	Utility tunnel system
Location	Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom Drive,Bay Lake, Florida, United States
Coordinates	28°25′15″N81°34′53″W / 28.420965°N 81.581347°W /28.420965; -81.581347
Construction started	1967
Opened	1971
Client	WED Enterprises
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Affiliation	Disney Experiences
Height
Roof	Magic Kingdom
Top floor	107 feet (33 m)
Grounds	9 acres (3.6 ha)
Design and construction
Architect	WED Enterprises
Developer	WED Enterprises
Known for	Management and operations of Magic Kingdom
Other information
Parking	West Clock
Public transit access	56  300  303  at West Clock

InDisney theme parks, theutilidor system is a system of some of the world's largestutility tunnels, mainly forWalt Disney World'sMagic Kingdom inFlorida. The utilidors, short forutility 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 forcostumed characters to quickly reach their destinations on the surface out of the sight of guests to avoid ruiningthe illusion that is being created.

These tunnels were first built for Magic Kingdom. Smaller utilidor systems are built under the central section ofEpcot's Future World, primarily beneathSpaceship Earth andInnoventions, and formerly atPleasure Island (nowThe Landing section ofDisney Springs).^[1][2]Disneyland, in California, also has a small utilidor system running throughoutTomorrowland.

According to modern legend,Walt Disney was bothered by the sight of acowboy walking throughDisneyland'sTomorrowland en route to his post inFrontierland. 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'sMagic Kingdom, but they are not abasement, contrary to popular belief. Because of an elevatedwater 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 ofFantasyland, including theCinderella 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 nowSeven Seas Lagoon.^[4]

The utilidors are built on 9 acres (3.6 ha), 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 1 mile (1.6 km) away, at West Clock parking lot, nearbyDisney University, and are transported from the parking lot to the tunnel entrance viaDisney Transport buses. Some shops, restaurants and attractions have direct access to the utilidors.^[5]

Cast members navigate the tunnels on foot or inbattery-powered vehicles that resemblegolf carts. Gasoline-powered vehicles are not allowed in the utilidors, with the exception ofarmored cash pickup trucks and, in extreme emergencies,ambulances.^[6]

Guests are not allowed in the utilidors, unless they purchase the "Keys to the Kingdom" tour.^[6]

The utilidors have been referred to as an "underground city", the functions of which include:^[5]

• Waste removal: The Magic Kingdom uses anautomated vacuum collection (AVAC) system for waste removal. Custodians remove trash from the park twenty-four hours a day, then dump it into AVAC system processors throughout the park. The trash then travels throughpneumatic tubes to a central location where it is processed and compressed for transfer to a landfill or recycling plant.^[5][7]
• Electrical operations: The park's computer system, the Digital Animation Control Systems (DACS), is operated and monitored from control rooms in the utilidors. This system monitors everything in the park, from sound systems to attractions,Audio-Animatronic figures to parades, fire prevention and security systems to cash registers.^[5]
• Deliveries and storage warehouses: Deliveries are received, processed, and stored at the utilidors until use. This ensures that guests do not see delivery trucks, nor do they see cast members carting merchandise through the park.^[5]
• Food service: The park's cooking and prep kitchens are housed in the utilidors.^[5]
• Costuming: For years, the park's costuming department (for cast members and Audio-Animatronic figures) was located in the utilidors. Over 1.2 million costumes were housed here, making it the largest operating wardrobe department in the world. In 2005, Disney replaced this facility with a larger location in the cast members' parking lot, West Clock. The only costuming operations that remain in the utilidors today are for costumed characters.^[5]
• Cast member services: Separate locker rooms for men and women are located in the utilidors, as well as cast member cafeterias. There is also a branch ofPartners Federal Credit Union, rehearsal rooms, and administrative offices.^[5]
• Emergency services: Two medical carts used byReedy Creek EMS are housed in the utilidors and are deployed to respond to medical emergencies in Magic Kingdom.^[5]

• Dartford Cable Tunnel
• Underground city
• Utility vault

• Disneys Magic Kingdom Utilidors Map
• Fun Facts About the Utilidors

• Disneyland
• Disneyland Resort
• Epcot
• Magic Kingdom
• Subterranea (geography)
• Tunnels in Florida
• Walt Disney World

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