Tribute to Disneyland's "secret restroom"

Disneyland's "secret restroom" is an isolated, disabled-accessible bathroom tucked away to one side of the castle in the Carnation Plaza. Very easy to miss, it is a refuge when all around the park is chaos. This site is a loving (and somewhat tongue-in-cheek) tribute to the toilet that Walt forgot.

The moment you open its door (assume it's unlocked), you will be overwhelmed by just how enormous the Secret Restroom is. As a point of fact, the Secret Restroom is not only larger than the average American home restroom, it's larger than the typical Anaheim apartment that can be afforded on a Disneyland castmember's starting salary.

Because the Secret Restroom is cleaned ever half hour, it is always in a state of perfection and readiness, and even a glance shows the luxuriance of its copious amenities and artistic touches (each of which is detailed elsewhere on this site).

Welcome to the Secret Restroom! (Thanks, dcwaterboy!)

• [RaisedByCulture]

  No don’t give up the secret bathroom!  

• [markjamesmurphy]

  SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

• [Freddie Freelance]

  Carnation Plaza is gone, so it might be, too.

• [John Harrison]

  There are secret underground restrooms on the main quad at Stanford. They are magical.

• [bcsizemo]

  Cleaned every half hour…so odds are pretty high that it’ll be out of service when I visit it.

• [Marc Mielke]

  “it’s larger than the typical Anaheim apartment that can be afforded on a Disneyland castmember’s starting salary.”
  Is there any such thing? I think not. 

• [Ashen Victor]

  I´m going to be an asshole here (no restroom pun intended), but seeing the photographs, that restroom has nothing special. It is just a normal restroom for the disabled following the usual ISO directives.

  • [Petzl]

    Well, it’s a parody of a tribute site, or a parody of a Disney tribute site. With humour so dry, I needed to hydrate after just skimming it.

    The current towel dispenser is a marvel of technology, motion activated and computer controlled to deliver the precise amount of towel needed by a given guest.

    • [Ben Etherington]

      THANK YOU. It’s a total farce of a website. It’s hilarious, but I wonder how many people actually buy into it.

      • [Ashen Victor]

         Danm! I didn’t realized it was a parody… that explains the “Art” section at hat web.

        • [princeminski]

          Full marks for being a mensch about it.

  • [Freddie Freelance]

    The Something Special it had was being scrupulously clean, being just for one (or a couple family members), being very large for a public restroom, and the extra added enjoyment of having to find it from general clues without being told specifically where it is on a major, internationally read blog.

    I’d say the bathroom was Boing-Boinged if it hadn’t been shut down already for a major overhaul of the area, possibly going through major changes, or maybe going away for good.

• [Ernest Valdemar]

  It’s a triumph of Imagilumbing™!

• [IndexMe]

  Well, it looks like a nice restroom but it is not quite up to Japanese standards.. not a hater just responding to the hyperbole. The air conditioner/heater is what you can buy in any department store in Japan.
  I do like the artistic touches especially the smoky light and fleur de lis type diamond shaped tile. But the asymmetric floor tiling and loud clown colored walls intended to match the nearby attraction are wrong, you want something that will calm you down, cool colors. Imagine going in there nauseated. Clown colors is not what you want to see.Changing the scent by the season is interesting but not really as important as perhaps adding a UV light hand dryer.. the superior technology shown is IIRC a nice brand but I’ve seen it in highway rest stops. The mystery box on the wall is probably a programmed deodorizer dispenser, that or a hidden camera/mic for emergencies. I would prefer to see a button for emergencies, since this is probably one of the most monitored places in the world and it would be easy.The mirror seems too high for wheelchairs.. and they should get TOTO to provide a top of the line Japanese toilet that can provide heated toilet seat in winter, bidet for European guests and backside washer for handicapped who have trouble with toilet paper. The rails are not to hang things up they are to help you get up. There are in fact motorized units available that can help you do so which would be nice if Disney investigated the real needs of handicapped and tried using some of them. Aside from that, I am scared to ask what the handicapped toilets that are out in the open look like. This one seems to be for VIPs?

  Anyway certainly seems nice and don’t mean to hate but if I was Disney, I’d be putting more work into it. Think the Jack and Jill toilets (that are really part of Oz) in Heinlein’s Number of the Beast. IIRC there were separate male and female bathrooms and the shared anteroom had a magically refilling cornucopia (maybe just Bananas I forget). 

  Perhaps a low blood sugar person would feel safe if some candy or something was available like that. Perhaps an ottoman or small sofa in such a room would be welcome for people who need to catch their breath but don’t want to sit on the toilet all the time.

  Perhaps someone would like to wash their feet or if they spill something on themselves step into a shower? etc. I would have more love for Disney if they did cool things, as it is I am constantly reminded of the bad Disney.

  • [mark zero (Jason)]

    I am scared to ask what the [..] toilets that are out in the open look like.

    Bushes.

• [giantasterisk]

  On more than one occasion I have dreamt of secret restrooms, but they are always pristine and white with high ceilings and filled with sunlight. Usually, there’s a secret door somewhere inside the restroom that leads to a giant indoor pool, equally sunlit, clean, and mine all mine. Not just secret – impossible, but fun to dream about.

• [jwkrk]

  At the exit, you can turn Left, turn Right, or Stay There. 
  “Truly, the options are endless.”

  That, and the sink drain cover, which has seven holes, “one for each of Snow White’s dwarves.”

  Love it!

• [GlyphJockey]

  Restroom + tounge-in-cheek = ew.

• [Mister44]

  Very underwhelmed. I expected something much cooler. :o/

  • [Donald Petersen]

    Whip out your Google and check out the restrooms in the Shoji Tabuchi Theater in Branson, MO.  Then you’ll feel better.

    The foyer to the Gents’ has a pool table.

• [kentkb]

  I get all flushed, when using it….

• [Ensane Jefferson]

  This is a secret only to people who visit Disneyland one time. Like most So Cal visitors that have been over the years the Carnation restroom isn’t a major secret, in part because we don’t feel the urge to always be in line for a ride, and can people watch a bit instead! 

• [Doug Lucchetti]

  If you’ve ever been travelling with someone for whom a special needs bathroom is required you would realize that rather than criticize the room and quality of the amenities, we should be encouraging it. Most modern bathrooms, even at their nicest, are nightmares for those who need what these assisted restrooms at Disney and other places offer.