The Magic Behind How Disney World Keeps Pesky Mosquitoes Out Of Its Parks

With Disney magic comes plenty of Disney secrets, and the entertainment powerhouse sure does have plenty of behind-the-scenes tricks up their sleeves to maintain the incredible illusion of a magical, happy world. For example, the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World features a series of secret underground tunnels which allow characters and other staff members to travel around the park, sight unseen, to keep the magic of Disney favorites intact. That's just one of the many, many measures Disney takes to make your visit to the parks as pleasant — and magical — as possible. In all this magical wonder, though, it's easy to overlook one glaring real world issue that isn't so much a thought at the Disney World parks: mosquitoes.

Disney takes some extensive measures to keep the peskiest of visitors out of the park in ways that you, as a Disney-loving guest, may not even think of as being a part of magic-making strategies. Nothing shatters the illusion of magic quite like the very real, very itchy, mosquito bites that crop up on your skin during outdoor activities. Given that Disney World is located in the very humid and mosquito mecca that is Orlando, Florida, avoiding mosquitoes feels like a fool's errand, but somehow, Disney does the hard work for you, and keeps the mosquitoes out of the parks. How does Disney do it, you may wonder? By expertly weaving mosquito-fighting strategies into various aspects of their magical world-building, utilizing real-world tools like clever landscaping, scent deterrents, and architectural tricks to keep mosquitoes away.

While Walt Disney is the headlining name at the Disney World parks, William E. "Joe" Potter is the name synonymous with the mosquito fighting strategies that the parks still use today to keep these bugs at bay. A semi-retired U.S. Army major general, Potter served as governor of the Panama Canal Zone in 1956. Here, Potter worked extensively in pest management, learning all he could about mosquitoes in a humid, tropical environment. Later, he was appointed executive vice president of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, where he met Walt Disney. Soon thereafter, Potter was recruited by Disney for his engineering and pest management expertise as the vice president of Florida planning. It was Potter that identified that the parks needed to avoid the presence of stagnant water, the perfect habitat for mosquitoes to spawn.

Potter developed a drainage canal system, affectionately called "Joe's Ditches," that eliminated standing water and transformed the soggy swampland into usable, solid ground. These canals are still in operation today, alongside fountains, encouraging water to move rather than collect. The parks still keep a close eye on spaces where stagnant water could pool, like the gutters, to dissuade mosquitos from laying larvae in the area. Mitigating mosquito procreation keeps the population low, a logical aha moment promulgated by Potter's expertise. Potter's engineering and planning management of Disney World is memorialized in the "General Joe Potter," one of the ferry ships that transports guests across the Seven Seas Lagoon to and from the Magic Kingdom.

While Disney's FAQs don't divulge much information about the magic by which they rid the park of mosquitoes — citing only an "extensive mosquito prevention and monitoring program across the property" — the parks are known to actually utilize other animals as both predators to mitigate mosquitoes as well as to provide surveillance on the presence of the bugs in the area. According to Business Insider, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (formerly known as the Reedy Creek District), the local administrative government body that oversees Disney parks, Disney uses sentinel chickens to monitor the virality of mosquito populations. 

Sentinel chickens can contract mosquito-borne diseases, like West Nile Virus (without the adverse health effects), and blood samples from the chickens can show that the disease is present in local mosquito populations. As such, this alerts Disney that any mosquitoes must be eradicated. This is a strategy also employed by other Floridian municipalities like Volusia County and South Walton County, among others. These chickens will consume mosquitoes too, an added benefit.

But the real mosquito hunter comes in the form of predatory wasps. Again while Disney's website doesn't specify this as a strategy behind the magic of mosquito prevention, Readers Digest details that parasitic wasps are introduced to the parks to consume the unwanted insects. These wasps don't find humans all that interesting, and their expected life spans are rather short, so guests shouldn't be bothered by them. This, in conjunction with a bevy of fish that live in Disney World's water features, ensure that any mosquitoes that find their way into the parks will serve as a tasty snack for these hunters. A mosquito's villain is a parkgoer's hero.

Harkening back to General Joe's methods of running water in the parks, Disney World's architecture is purposefully designed to discourage water from collecting. Waterways will always be dotted with some sort of water-moving facilitator, like a fountain, which makes for an aesthetically pleasing and pleasant solution. Just because the water is moving doesn't mean it's an invitation to interact with it. Guests shouldn't try to touch the water at Disney World since it's laden with all sorts of dyes and possibly bacteria that's not great for human health. Just let the water do its mosquito-repelling work!

The purposeful design and construction of the park also extends to the area's buildings; pointed rooftops, spires, steep angles, and curved eaves are all commonplace throughout Disney World, and while you may have thought that this was an artistic choice to enhance the fantastical nature of the parks, it's also incredibly practical. Water can easily slough off these buildings, preventing unseemly puddles, thus discouraging mosquito repopulation. Take Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, for example, the famous rounded ball at the heart of the park. While the rounded design of the building is undoubtably futuristic, it also leans into the strategy of unique architectural design for mosquito prevention. 

This strategy extends to Disney World's landscaping and hardscaping too. You'll seldom find any plants, benches, or light fixtures in the parks that encourages stagnant water formation. Instead, every choice for landscaping encourages water flow. Trees and bushes are also trimmed and pruned regularly to discourage mosquito-attracting wood rot and decay.

It's common Disney lore that the company pumps attractive smells into the parks, among them the warm smell of cinnamon and sugar churros on Main Street USA, the scent of pine trees and orange groves in Soarin' at EPCOT, and the distinct aroma of sweet confections in the shops of Hollywood Studios. In fact, Disney holds the patent for the Smellitizer, a machine that gradually and routinely emits idealized fragrances around the parks, all in an effort to enhance the idyllic magic of Disney World. They are dotted all around the Disney properties, and they'll make you crave many of Disney's most famous snacks, with the distinct goal of making you feel warm inside (and encouraging you to purchase the tasty treats).

But in a unique twist, there's another scented substance used to fight against mosquitoes as well, one that's not as pleasant as brown sugar and vanilla. In an effort to limit the amount of chemicals used in the parks, Disney is believed to use liquid garlic sprays to stave off mosquitoes. Garlic is a natural mosquito repellent as the flying fiends don't enjoy the food's sharp smell nor the volatile sulfur-based compounds found in garlic. But not to worry, garlic won't be making its way into the Smellitizers any time soon. The parks use liquid garlic in moderation so that guests don't notice the recognizable tang. Rest assured, it's all part of a robust program to monitor mosquito activity in the parks so your magical vacation isn't affected by unpleasant bites!