Smellitizers

I don’t know about you, but for me, the smells of different places in Disneyland are as familiar as the buildings. Places like Pirates of the Caribbean or Main Street USA have a distinct smell, somehow reaching your nose through hordes of people, churro carts, and popcorn buckets. Smell is an important component of Disneyland. The sense of smell is closely linked with memories, and Disneyland is built on memories and nostalgia.

Everything in Disneyland operates under close Imagineer control, and smell is no different. So how does Disney control such a tricky detail? Meet the Smellitizers.

Smellitizers come in all shapes and sizes. On Main Street, they look like little vents beneath the windows. In Pirates of the Caribbean, they’re hidden in the walls and ceiling. The Smellitizer acts as a powerful fan, with a scent placed in front of the blowing air. They don’t cover every inch of airspace in the park, but you’ll be able to detect deliberate smells in quite a few places, most notably:

• Haunted Mansion
• Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train (RIP)
• Main Street USA
• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Soarin’ Around the World

You might never have noticed how smells affect your Disneyland experience. But the scents of certain attractions or lands generate an instant feeling of familiarity and nostalgia, welcoming visitors back to their happy place. Disney knows the value of this sensory experience, and also use smells in their storytelling.

In Monsters, Inc., you smell ginger when you arrive in the sushi restaurant. Aboard Soarin’ Around the World, you smell grasses and oceans as you fly overhead. And in the Haunted Mansion, you smell musty breezes, reminding you that you’re traveling through a long-abandoned house.

That’s the Disney difference. When Disney fans say the parks leave no detail imperfect, we’re not being dramatic. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell all work together to tell the Disneyland story. So the next time you walk through Disneyland, pay attention to what you’re smelling. Odds are, the scent in the air was crafted by Imagineers to fully immerse you in the magic.