You know those moments when you smell a familiar scent and are instantly transported to a memory? Or when you smell freshly baked cookies or buttery popcorn, and your brain automatically starts craving that item? Smell is a powerful sense that can trigger strong, nostalgic emotions. Disney knows this all too well, and Imagineers often incorporate scents into experiences. 

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

You can probably imagine smelling the burning scent from Spaceship Earth, the distinct smells on Avatar Flight of Passage, or the dirt scent on Soarin’ Around the World. Or even the recognizable smells you encounter when walking into your Disney World hotel. And we have definitely been guilty of buying popcorn after smelling it the moment we walk into Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Live Entertainment have incorporated aromas into their creations for many years. A recent episode of Imagineer That! gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the scents incorporated into Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade at Magic Kingdom. Yep, even the Christmas parade utilizes scents to give viewers an even better experience!

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

Tom Morrow 2.0 stopped by Magic Kingdom to talk with Kaley from Disney Live Entertainment. She explained how scents are incorporated into the parade. There are special scent machines hidden in some of the parade floats. Each canister is made of a wax material with a specific scented oil. When the canister is warmed, the oil evaporates, and the fragrant air is pushed out with a fan.

Scent Canister ©Disney

You can smell a variety of scents during the parade! Clarbelle’s Bake Shop float pushes out a gingerbread scent, the Christmas tree float with Mickey and Minnie smells like pine trees, and Goofy’s Candy Factory float smells like peppermint.

You can smell gingerbread from this float!

Want some more good news? If you are headed to Magic Kingdom this week, you can catch Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade during regular park hours WITHOUT needing a ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. From December 22nd until December 31st, you can watch the parade (and smell the scents!) at 12 PM and 3 PM daily in Magic Kingdom. This is a popular parade, so you will want to arrive early for a spot if you want prime viewing.

You can smell peppermint from this float!

We can’t get enough of Disney here at Disney Food Blog, and we are always on the lookout for fun tidbits of information to share with you! We are in the parks every single day and are always keeping an eye on the latest Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB for more!

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What is your favorite scent in the Disney parks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!