The Disney Aroma?

[rafiki fan]

I know being from the Midwest things do smell different in Florida but on our last trip our daughter got out of the vehicle at Downtown Disney and here first words were
" Now this smells like Disney." Are we the only Midwesterners who find the aroma of Florida unique or is there really a WDW smell. We thought maybe it was the vegetation or just the humidity. Maybe it's something in the air that entices you to keep coming back. Is there really something there? What is the aroma of Disney for you?

[McLiberal8]

I am from Nebraska and I completely know what you mean.
The Disney smell to me used to be the humidity, the plants, and all that..
but my last trip the smell that lingered in my nostrils for days was that Stitch's G Escape chili dog smell. Yuck!

[mickeyd]

For me it's definatly the humidity. Although there are various smells that I smell from time to time that I associate with WDW, like the cinnemon apple smell from the Christmas shop

[cheergurl265]

I am from the Midwest too! and whenever i step off the plan and take a deep breath i know i am at disney. its a mixture of the humidity and the adrenaline and the magical i already feel for the fun i am about to have! Its the greatest smell in the world.

ps that chili dog smell from stitchs great escape definately does linger a little too long.

[AndrewJackson]

Originally Posted by cheergurl265

its a mixture of the humidity and the adrenaline and the magical...

...and diesel fumes.

I am from the midwest as well. There is definitely a unique smell at Disney. I also think it is a combination of the lake, and the cyprus mulch that they use at the resorts.

There are also other smells that will take me back..

... the burning smell of Spaceship Earth
... the orange groves of horizon, now Soarin'

I could go on and on.

[LibertyTreeGal]

WDW has a diversity of plant life that is going to strike just about anyone's nostrils. You just don't get that combination anywhere else in the world. And yes, humidity has a definite odor..... so does living in the desert, but I am used to that so I don't notice it anymore.

[WDWhuny]

The Disney scent was discussed about a year and a half or two years ago. I think if we went back we could find it.

Disney does buy scents. As I recall they buy several different scents. The only ones that I can specifically recall are the two from the Main Street Bakery. They purchase the scent of cinnamon and chocolate chip cookies. While what they bake naturally smells good, the smell would not go out to the middle of Main Street. To help this they pipe it out to the street. In the previous discussion the name of the company was discussed and it was amazing the number of companies that pump in scents to make their products more popular.

I'm not certain if this is what you are referring to in your post. But, Disney does make sure that every sense is part of Disney experience.

[SBETigg]

There is definitely an overall Disney smell that seems different than anywhere else. And there is a whole range of sub-smells, too. Like the steamy tropical air at the Polynesian. I love walking in there just to sniff that welcome back Poly smell.

[sneezyone]

I wouldn't doubt the "pumping in a scent". Scents can help to control and alter mood, which is often done as aromatherapy.

Funny side story...I used to work at Hershey Park, an amusement park RIGHT NEXT TO the famous Hershey chocolate plant. I mean from any of the higher rides you can see the plant, the silos where the cocoa beans are stored...anyway, you can almost always smell the chocolate being made. People would walk up to me and ask if they pumped the smell in! Cool thing is that if the smell of chocolate was very strong, it was a sign that it was going to rain.

I wouldn't doubt Disney's use of aromatherapy. It would only make "scents" (

[DizNee143]

Disney def does have its own scent..im from the northeast though..i think its just Disney/Florida smell..
i dont know what it is exactly...i love the smell of the water in disney..we have talked about that a few times on these boards..but thats a smell in Disney that stands out...
but does anyone notice when they come home and unpack that..you catch a little of that "disney smell" lol..everyone thinks me and my sister are weird when we say that..but the stuff in your suitcase really does smell like disney!!

[handmaidenofprincesses]

you know its funny, the other day i was in a store, and i'm not sure what i smelled but disney world immediately popped into my head! the olfactory system sure makes some weird connections... haha i was left craving a spin on "it's a small world"!

[Figgyluv03]

The smell of the freshly made ice cream cones from the ice cream shop on Main Street. Nothing in or around Philly has that type of smell and feel!

[mttafire]

Disney "Florida" does have a certain smell. Im from Ohio and we do notice it also. Smell is a VERY sensative sense and it usully is the most powefull "memory" sense.

[Mikey Piano 23]

I think its the swamp smell. I'm from Connecticut and we have 'wetlands' however it dosent have the same type of odor that Disney does.

Also I think the park has all the different smells of the goodies that you can buy...you can almost smell the magic!

[Off to Never Land]

The first time I run water in the Disney hotels, I feel like I'm riding Pirates....it is a weird Flordia water thing. But in a strange way it is nice because it means I'm there!

[mainstreet1997]

I totally know what you mean. I was in Yankee Candle once and almost bought a candle because it smelled like "The burning of Rome" from SSE. At Bath and Body Works my sister shoved a make up brush in my face and said "What does this smell like?" It was kind of a vanilla-y smell and for some reason we both associated it with Boardwalk. Oh man im having serious withdrawl symptoms....

[jkj1224]

I used to live in Seattle and everytime we came to florida and got off the plane my whole family would say "smells like florida"...it was that humid swamp odor, which isn't as strong as it used to be. Now that I live down here I only notice it once in a while right before it rains.

For me though the MK will always smell like popcorn

[DNS]

We always notice the Disney smell, but I really don't recall the smell anywhere else in Florida, just Disney. We thought it was a combination of Disney foods and other things unique to Disney.

[Jasper]

While there are certain smells in specific locations I think the place as a whole smells like other semi-tropical locations I have visited. I think the plant life, atmosphere, air blowing in from the gulf, etc. combine to give places like Florida their own special smell.

[lil jon 69]

i'm from St.Louis and it smells different like smells really good different plus my allergies have never acted up down there