In 1993 Walt Disney was revealed to have been a secret informant to the FBI throughout the latter part of his life. Author Marc Eliot found through Freedom of Information Act requests of FBI documents that Disney was an informer from 1940 until 1966, the year of his death. Another secret about Walt Disney can be found on his statue at Disneyland -- he is wearing a Mickey Mouse ring on his right ring finger
Among the best secrets of Disney's documentaries and live-action films came in 1958, when the Disney-produced nature documentary "White Wilderness" captured rare footage of lemmings committing mass suicide by diving off a cliff. But did it? Photographer James Simon actually used only a few lemmings and faked the footage of them going over a cliff. Another live-action film (at least a portion of it) that involves a Disney secret is "The Song of the South," which debuted in 1946. The movie has been "retired" according to Disney and won't be released on home video. That's because the film retells the Southern folktales of Uncle Remus in a combination of live-action and animation. The stories of Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox could be considered offensive because of their racial content, a controversy Disney hopes to avoid.
Many of Disney's animated film rumors concern the amount of adult content that has gotten into children's cartoon movies. Two confirmed secrets of sexual content include a frame of a nude woman in the movie "The Rescuers" and a phallic-looking tower on the video cover for "The Little Mermaid." There are many character cameos in animated Disney films, a secret to all but the most intent watcher of the movies. Belle, from "The Beauty and the Beast," can be seen in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," while Mickey, Donald and Goofy show up in "The Little Mermaid." Another interesting secret is in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," when Disney chairman Michael Eisner's phone number was animated into a scene.
There are many secrets that visitors don't see in the Waly Disney theme parks because of all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on. Among the best-kept secrets concern how the park works. Tunnels crisscross underneath the park and allow costumed performers to get where they need to go quickly. Also underground are tubes that empty trash cans and keep the park clean. The Disney parks were also designed so that no one land could be seen from any of the others. Walt Disney was able to oversee the early days of Disneyland because of another secret, his apartment. Disney had a secret apartment built above the Fire House at Disneyland so he would be able to visit the park and watch how guests interacted with its characters and attractions. His wife decorated the apartment with antiques. Disney had another apartment built near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but died before it was completed.