Alright, Disney fans. Let’s learn something new today!
You may know a lot about the Disney Parks, but did you know that they have a secret paint shade designed to trick your brain?
It’s called “go away green,” and it’s absolutely everywhere in the parks. Let’s learn more about it!
So, what’s “go away green,” anyway?
It’s a very specific (and secret) shade of green that Disney uses to trick your eyes. Designed to be mimic camouflage, the green shade is so bland and unobtrusive that your eyes “skip” right over it.
The exact color formulation is unknown, but the closest would be an olive green.
The green is just green enough to mimic the color of trees and foliage, but not too green to draw attention. You can thank the color’s grey undertone for that one.
Here’s a pretty famous example.
This is the unobtrusive entrance to Disneyland’s Club 33. Created by Walt to wine and dine his investors, family, and friends, the club is exclusive to those with money, access, or both.
Disney trains your eyes to skip over doors you can’t enter.
Club 33 isn’t open to the public, but it is smack dab in the middle of the park — right next to Blue Bayou restaurant, in fact. Disney hid the entrance in plain sight with go away green!
They use it to hide a LOT of things.
When Disney is renovating, they’ll paint the walls and fences go away green. You’ll still notice the construction, of course, but your brain will register it as a more natural part of the environment.
They also use it to hide permanent installations in the parks, too.
Everything from their hidden speakers to iron fences feature that iconic shade. Hiding those little details helps preserve the magic and totally immerse you in the Disney Parks experience. (Peep the trash can next to the fence!)
The shade of it changes depending on the area.
All of the shades will be green with a grey undertone, but the grey will be more or less prevalent, depending on the park area. Less foliage, more grey.
Even the scaffolding is go away green.
See how the green just blends against the sky and trees? This is the refurbishment of “The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.” While it’s not hard to miss, it’s easy to ignore, too.
A recent update in Epcot’s Morocco pavilion used the shade!
Believe it or not, this door is brand new! It was washed out and painted in Disney’s distinctive, “Nothing to see here, continue on your way” style. I definitely wouldn’t think twice about that door.
Even the gates sport the shade.
Disney is very strategic about where they employ this trick, including the front gates. Using it on the gates is genius: It tells you to stay away, but in a more gentle way than if they were painted the standard black.
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Disney employs the shade liberally in the “Star Wars” areas of the parks.
The shade is very organic looking, and thus the perfect color to use to make “Galaxy’s Edge” look lived-in and natural. It also neatly hides Disney’s little kiosks!
However, Disney can’t hide EVERYTHING.
It’s hard to miss that a good chunk of Epcot has been totally demolished. Disney has managed to hide some of it, but it’s pretty hard to miss entire buildings missing.
In fact, a lot of Disney World is under construction right now.
The park is currently preparing for its 50th anniversary, and the race up to October 1st is heating up with a lot of construction. Even the castle is getting a makeover (by a green crane, of course).
Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.
Now that you’re in the know, you won’t be able to miss it!
And hey, may I suggest all us introverts paint our front doors go away green? I know. I’m a genius.