Smells Like Disney: How The World’s Biggest Theme Park Scents Its Rides

Human beings can distinguish several thousand smells. Memory of a unique or meaningful smell can last a lifetime as smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. Smell can conjure up images of past experiences, or help transport our imagination to distant lands:

Maybe that’s why many of the indoor rides at Disney parks seem to have a distinct scent or two related to the worlds created within.

How they do it…

In the 1980s, Disney publically announced a newly-designed Smellitzer system that’s still in use today. The system, featured in dozens of Disney rides across the world, blasts smells up to 200 feet across a room in a ride using air-canon technology. The smells exit via exhaust systems and are computer-controlled to go off when a new set of riders approach.

If you’ve never been or never noticed when you were there, pay close attention to the smells of some of these rides on your next visit to Disneyworld or Disneyland…

See how many of the following your sniffer can spot:

The ride: The Haunted Mansion
Location: Disneyland and Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom
The smell[s]: A cold, musty scent persists inside the house – meant to conjure images of an abandoned old house – with hints of dirt in the graveyard.

The ride: Pirates of the Caribbean
Location: Disneyland and Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom
The smell: Many people say they can smell a faint hint of sea salt in the air – especially in the full-scale pirate ship battle (of course, it could just be the 2,000 tones a-minute of stale chlorinated water rushing by.)

The ride: It’s A Small World, Christmas edition
Location: Disneyland
The smell[s]: Cinnamon, to create a generic holiday smell that’s festive for all.

The ride: Journey Into Imagination
Location: Tommorrowland at Disneyland and Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom
The smell[s]: The stink of a skunk (among other smells.)

The ride: Spaceship Earth
Location: Disneyworld Epcot Center
The smell[s]: Burning wood and stone (in a diorama of burning Rome.)

The ride: Soarin’ and Soarin’ Over California
Location: Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom and Disney’s California Adventure
The smell[s]: Citrus orange, pine, and some riders also notice a hint of vanilla in this motion-simulator ride flying over a variety of terrains.

The ride: Stitch’s Great Escape
Location: Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom
The smell[s]: Chili-breath from Stitch…ew!

The ride: It’s Tough To Be A Bug
Location: Disneyworld’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s California Adventure
The smell[s]: The stinkbug…You have to smell it to appreciate it…

More smells: Think you can smell a distinct scent on a Disney ride we haven’t mentioned here? Tell us who we missed!

4 Responses to “Smells Like Disney: How The World’s Biggest Theme Park Scents Its Rides”

1. John Says:
   September 5th, 2010 at 12:40 am

   On Mickeys Philharmagic, apple pie fills the room during the Beauty and Beast scene, and also Jasmine’s perfume in the Aladdin scene of the attraction

2. Ryan Says:
   November 19th, 2010 at 5:31 pm

   Just got off the Nightmare before Christmas and there is clearly the smell of gingerbread in the large room where the ghosts are seen dancing and dining.

3. Janey Red Brick Says:
   March 13th, 2011 at 8:03 pm

   The Winnie the Pooh ride distinctly smells like honey, most noticeable when you exit the ride into the gift shop.

   As well, downtown, particularly close to the bakery, smells like freshly backed chocolate chip cookies, even if they arent baking at the time.

4. Craig Lewis Says:
   May 19th, 2011 at 4:27 pm

   My wife and I both noticed a distinctive skunk odor while waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion (DL). It came and went @ every 3 minutes as we waited near a small memorial statue of a skunk.

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