There’s a lot of attention to detail that has gone into the Disney Parks and continues to go into new attractions at Disneyland and new attractions at sister property Disney World. Not only do the parks have on-point theming, but even the more minor details like smell (Yes, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure smells like beignets) or paint color have been discussed thoroughly before the walls go up and fans start getting excited about a new attraction. I actually just learned the theme park has even figured out how to hide things in plain sight, and they use a specific paint color to do so: Go Away Green.
You’ve probably seen the color before. It may not have even registered. In Disneyland – and Walt Disney World – everything from trash cans to the entrance of Club 33 that the theme park doesn’t want you to notice is painted in this palette. In fact, longtime parks designer John Hench revealed in his book Designing Disney the importance of this color palette for training eyes to not notice things.
If the Disney parks want to hide a metal box containing wiring in a flower bed, they paint it Go Away Green. If they want a building to fade into a lush background, it’s Go Away Green. Because Club 33 is so exclusive, it too, got its own shade of Go Away Green, so most parkgoers (at least those not in the know) walk right past without realizing there’s something on the other side of the door.
Separately there’s also a less-catchy sounding Go Away Blue color used to blend buildings and other structures in with the sky in California. The color is actually different at Walt Disney World (via SF Gate) as the sky in Florida is very different than the sky in California. It’s an extraordinary detail the average parkgoer might not notice, but Walt Disney, John Hench and co did.
Other neutral colors are periodically used to blend railings and other fixtures in that might not be period specific in certain areas of the parks. Hench said spaces like colonial buildings become “particular challenges” when a safety regulation comes into place, as back in the day things like stair railings would never have existed in certain places and ruin the period authenticity. Enter a “go away” color.
Most importantly, trash cans and other less desirable (but necessary) items are generally painted the neutral Go Away Green color. (Theming exceptions are made in certain lands with more unique styles like Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land.) And while I’d argue it’s probably good if people know where the trash cans are in any given park, it’s probably better that your eyes aren’t attracted to them. This is particularly true given the gross shape most of the Disney bins seem to be in, if you were to ask someone who worked there.
I knew Disney had spent a lot of time working out details when I was able to translate alien messages while in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic rewind queue, but the more I learn about the parks, the more my mind is blown. All in all, now that I know about Go Away Green, I think I may spend a day perusing around and spotting the color wherever I can. I'll need to go soon as Tom Sawyer Island is apparently a prime spot to find it, and it’s going away at Walt Disney World.
