There are so many fun facts to learn about Disney World it is hard to pick just one place to start.  So I’m going to start with one of my favorite places,  Liberty Square.  This is a wonderful and exciting place to learn about some of our American History.  This location, in my opinion, is one of the areas that the Disney Imagineers really outdid themselves.  I’m going to share with you some of the fun facts that I mentioned in the previous “Sleepy Hollow” blog, a few more historical facts and the 4 eras that are represented in Liberty Square.

The 4 eras are; Dutch New Amsterdam, Colonial Williamsburg, New England and New York’s Hudson River Valley.  As you cross out of the center hub of main street into Liberty Square, you are entering Dutch New Amsterdam.  You can see how the buildings change and surrounding trees and bushes represent this era.  Not far from there is Colonial Williamsburg where you will find Ye Old Christmas Shoppe.  Not a store you just want to walk past, especially if you love Christmas.  Next is New England where you would find the Columbia Harbour House.  This is a spectacular restaurant that offers an array of dining options along with an atmosphere that truly makes you feel dropped into a New England ship yard.  There are many artifacts about ships, their history, and of their disappearances located throughout the restaurant.   You might even find a particular room named Flying Dutchman.  I’ll let you see if you can find why it might be named that.  As you enter New York’s Hudson River Valley, The Haunted Mansion will be looming in front of you.

As you stroll through this amazing land look at the numbers above the doors, they are all 2-digit numbers.  However, if you were to put “18” in front of all of them, this would be the year that style of house would have been popular.  If you look over the entry door to the Hall of Presidents, it is actually the year the United States Constitution was ratified.  History is all around you here.

So here is where it gets a little weird.  In keeping with Walt’s desire for authenticity, you won’t find any bathrooms in Liberty Square.  (There are some inside the full service restaurants as required by law, but there wouldn’t have been any indoor toilets during colonial times)  So instead you will find restrooms around the corner from Columbia Harbour House, which on that side is technically in Fantasyland, which would be Europe and not the New World.  Seems like a great deal to think through but the Imagineers pay strict attention to even the smallest details.  So being as there weren’t any indoor restrooms, is where it gets a little weird.  Have you ever looked down and notice the “brown gravel” running through the center of the payment in Liberty Square?  Well once you learn this fact you might not want to walk on the “brown gavel” any longer.  This dark colored gravel represents the open sewer where waste would have been collected in the middle of the road.  Not such a pleasant thought but remarkable to think of the detail that Walt insisted be put into every land.  I guess this explains why there were always the wooden walkways near store fronts and why ladies always lifted up their dresses to walk across the street.

The centerpiece of Liberty Square is the large Liberty Square Tree and bell.  If you look into the tree you will find 13 lanterns hanging in the tree, each represents one of the original thirteen colonies.  Take time to look at how they are all different, just as each of the 13 colonies were different.  If you look for the building with the number 26 on it you will see 2 lanterns sitting in the window.  This is to represent the 2 lanterns hung in Boston’s Church steeple to warn Paul Revere that the British were coming by sea.  (If you remember from school history lessons, “1 if by land, 2 if by sea”)    You will also see a rifle in a window,  which indicated to passersby that this home was ready to fight and defend its country.  These are a few of the fun, historical ways to get guests in Disney World to learn and remember our great nations history.

There are many other fun facts about Liberty Square that you can look up and wander around to find while visiting.  Take some time to relax and learn about America in this remarkable location. Remember there is a great snack location, “Sleepy Hollow” near by so that you can eat and take a few moments to enjoy the attention to detail, and American History that the Imagineers really wanted you to appreciate.

To Infinity and Beyond Travel – Traci