Unsurprisingly, Disney parks hide some of the park’s special features in plain sight, like the hidden suite in Cinderella Castle, Walt Disney’s apartment in the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland Park, and the private members-only Club 33, also located at Disneyland Park.
However, the Disneyland Resort in California focuses much of its attention on a “secret attraction” in the 24/7 Disney park, and they manage to hide it in plain sight.
To be more exact, about 200 of these “secret attractions”. Yes, you read that right – There are around 200 wild cats in Disneyland! The adorable wild cat Cologne live in the happiest place in the land. And now, I bet you agree with the Song of the aristocrat “Everyone wants to be a cat”:
“Everyone wants to be a cat, because a cat is the only cat that knows where it is. Everyone is getting this feline beat, because everything else is obsolete.”
These Disney furballs know where it is!
The story behind the cats
There have been sightings since 1955, shortly after Disneyland opened.
The story continues: When Walt Disney decided there should be an attraction inside Sleeping Beauty Castle – what we now know as the Castle Walkthrough attraction – he brought engineers to the castle to begin planning. But to his surprise, he was greeted by a colony of wild cats who made the court their home.
But the cats brought a huge problem – a flea infestation. Walt Disney knew he couldn’t just get rid of the cats without causing a public uproar, so he adopted every cat and made them all cast members. By doing this, the problem seemed to have been resolved in the best possible way.
Unfortunately, things were not that simple. Due to the theme park’s rustic design, Disneyland ironically brought unwanted visitors to the park – rodents.
Luckily for Walt, not all of the wild cats lived in the castle, but in other places around the park property. These cats found their wonderland within the park with a good food source – the rodent population – plus the park was a place free from the typical dangers a stray cat faces. They would go out at night and hunt in peace within the park.
Someone at the Disney company had a brilliant idea; allow cats to live in the park. By nature, wild cats are afraid of humans. Therefore, they would not bother park visitors and were apparently doing a better job of pest control than human exterminators.
The idea worked so well that the cat population at Disneyland still exists at over 200 felines! The kitties have been given a forever home in the happiest place on earth, and theme park visitors are always surprised and happy to spot one of the felines scattered throughout the park. So next time you’re at Disneyland, keep an eye out for some mustaches, bushy fur tails, and lots of cuteness.
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Disneyland and the cat relationship
After deciding to keep the cats, the Disney Company established protocols and ways to keep the cats and guests safe. Disney has placed feeding stations around the property, the cats have all been spayed/neutered, they have vaccinated the entire wild population, and Circle D Ranch cast members have been assigned to care for the furry group of Disneyland cast members. Cats are very well looked after at Disneyland!
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Mostly, cats hide during the day and roam at night. But not all cats follow this rule. Park visitors often spot wild cats sleeping in the park or roaming park property during the day. For this reason, and as a general rule, Disney does not encourage guests to try to get too close to or even pet the cats. It is better for them to remain solitary and admired from a distance. But of course, take some photos!
If, by chance, a Disneyland cat starts to get too comfortable around park guests, Disney adopts the feline to a Disney cast member. The same applies to any new litter of kittens accidentally born on any Disney property. So please don’t encourage cats to lose their forever home in the happiest place on earth.
If any of the cats at Disneyland start to get too friendly with park guests, or a new litter of cats is born, Disney decides to put them up for adoption by a Disney employee – so they will always be part of the Disney family.
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Where to see Disneyland cats online?
And, as if it wasn’t enough that these cuties are roaming around the park, they also have their own Instagram, Twitterand official page where people can follow the feline world of Disney.
And if you venture over to The Cats of Disneyland page, you can find the profile [profile] of some cats like Ned, Lucian, Buford, Francisco and many others.
Related: VIDEO: The 10 best Disney cats
Who is Francisco and what is #FranciscoFriday?
Francisco is probably the most famous and easiest to spot cat in the park! Francisco is a long-haired tortoiseshell, likely found near Grizzly Peak, across from Taste Pilot’s Grill in DCA.
Due to his favorite not-so-hidden spots in the park, Francisco is the Disneyland cat with the most photos online! The Disneyland Cats Instagram began receiving a large influx of photos of Francisco from park visitors. In 2014, the Disneyland Cats Instagram page started with #FranciscoFridaywhere they post a photo of Francisco every Friday around the park.
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Photos of Francisco easily dominate the Disneyland Cats Instagram page! And his photos are incredible! Francisco seems to really enjoy photo shoots and posing for the camera.
Disney’s most famous tortie cat is a star and, like all celebrities around, Francisco is not exempt from controversy. In December 2019, the Disneyland Cats website made a blog post addressing the biggest dilemma surrounding Francisco: after all, is Francisco a woman or a man?
That’s a good question, since most torturers are women, but about 1 in 3,000 are men. But the post didn’t answer the question. Instead, it explains why Francis’s gender matters. All wild cats at Disneyland are spayed and neutered, so it doesn’t matter, and as stated in the blog post:
“You may notice that we avoid gender-specific pronouns whenever we write about Francis in our Instagram posts, but that’s the best you can get. #FranciscoFriday will live unaltered and I know Francisco would appreciate it if you would stop commenting on his gender. You’re going to give him a complex.”
Related: Real-life ‘aristocats’: kittens named after Disney characters
Related: VIDEO: Stray cats spotted at EPCOT
How to Find a Cat
If you’re planning on trying to spot a Disneyland cat on your next visit to the park, there are a few specific places you might want to visit. Locations near the cat feeding station such as Hungry Bear Restaurant at Disneyland, Taste Pilot’s Grill at Disney California Adventureland, White Water Snacks at Great Californian, Rose Court Garden at Disneyland Hotel, and the ditch that runs parallel to Mickey’s path and Friends Tram are great places to start looking.
If you’re looking for some of the more famous cats like Francisco, Ned and Lucian, there are specific areas around the park where they tend to hang out.
- Francisco – Grizzly Peak in front of Taste Pilot’s Grill at Disney California Adventureland
- Ned – Disneyland Hotel grounds
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- Lucian – Indiana Jones adventure queue
- Buford – Land of Creatures
- Berenice – White Water Snacks
- Giovanni – Golden Vine Winery
- Heitor – The Esplanade
- Peter – Hungry Bear Restaurant
- Jane – Main Street Station
- Horace – Mine in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland’s Frontierland
The more times you visit the park, the greater your chances of spotting one of Disneyland’s hidden attractions. This is one of the many times that having an annual pass can come in handy.
So, what do you think of Disney’s furry friends? Have you seen any of the cats at Disneyland? And which Disney cat is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
