‘Smellephants on Parade’ Search & Sniff Experience Coming to Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World has announced a new interactive experience called “Smellephants on Parade.” Coming to Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, “Smellephants on Parade” will be a family-friendly “search and sniff” adventure in Storybook Circus. (Updated April 22, 2024.)
No need to check the calendar, it’s not April 1st. Yes, this is real. As you can see from the concept art above, a new statue inspired by the “Pink Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo will be added outside that attraction.
However, it’s not much of an adventure if all of the searching and all of the sniffing is done around one ride–so we’re guessing there will be other statues throughout Storybook Circus. Who really knows, though. Smellephants is shrouded in secrecy. That is, until now…dun dun dun!
We’ve seen some comments lamenting that this won’t be a fully-fledged ride (which is true) and instead that it’ll “only” be like Moana’s Journey of Water or Batuu Bounty Hunters. That’s still too optimistic. Whatever your expectations, consider lowering them. This is going to be like one of those seasonal Easter Egg hunts at EPCOT, but in a smaller area. It could be a cute little plussing and a briefly enjoyable diversion for kids, but that’s about it.
Honestly, I fully expected to only ever write one post about the attraction (this one), then stumble on the smellephants statues at some point this year, say “oh yeah, that’s a thing I guess” to myself and forget about it forever 5 minutes later. This isn’t a big swing–or even a bunt–by Imagineers dreaming about endless possibilities or whatever. The reason it exists is because of a corporate alliance–an MLM paying to do some good ole fashioned reputation laundering.
The latest update about Smellephants on Parade is that Walt Disney Imagineering has started the installation of show sets in Storybook Circus. As of late April 2024, the first Smellephant has arrived in Storybook Circus! While Walt Disney World has provided no timeline for the remaining Smellephants beyond sometime “next month,” we’d imagine that installation will be done by early May 2024.
When entering this area of Magic Kingdom, guests will stumble upon a casting call posted by Timothy Q. Mouse, seeking out a “Whiff-sistant” to join Dumbo’s newest act. At the ticket booth in front of Big Top Souvenirs, a cast member will provide guests with an illustrated map of the land and a sticker sheet to guide them in their first task as a Whiff-sistant. The task is simple: find all eight Smellephant statues scattered around Storybook Circus, using the stickers and map to track their progress.
The first of these colorful pachyderms has made its debut and appears to be sporting a popcorn disguise. Neato. As others arrive, guests will encounter additional circus-themed Smellephants, featuring fragrances like Churro, Cotton Candy and more.
According to Walt Disney World, this complimentary and voluntary experience will be available to guests of all ages starting in May 2024. (Hilarious that the word “voluntary” is in the description–as if they were getting questions from concerned guests worried they’d be forced to do this. Someone should also add “voluntary” to the description for the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along.)
Smellephants was trending (not sure if that’s the right word) on Twitter following the installation of the popcorn Smellephant. As a result, the ever-helpful AI assistant offered the above summary of the fan community’s reaction to this new “parade” (it’s not a parade). This was too hilarious not to share, and also indirectly answers questions about whether we’re worried about AI.
Although it is annoying that AI plagiarizes from this site, it also is clearly unable to detect sarcasm (see above) and isn’t particularly great at identifying what information is accurate and what’s outdated. So if you want Walt Disney World advice about using FastPass+ and Extra Magic Hours, have at it. But until AI has the ability to actually visit the parks and report on its findings, it’s only a threat to those dealing in misinformation (which does seem to be its own cottage industry).
While the Smellephants will be scattered throughout the Storybook Circus area, guests with sensitive sniffers are still welcome and able to enjoy this fun-filled land. What follows is the original announcement about Smellephants on Parade and our commentary. You can look forward to it arriving in May 2024…
At the ticket booth in front of Big Top Souvenirs, Cast Members will provide guests with a free map and sticker sheet to guide guests in the game of Smellephants on Parade. Whiff-sistants will explore Storybook Circus to find a number of smelly elephant statues, each with a unique and circus-inspired fragrance. (Popcorn is an example of one of the scents. Hopefully Disney didn’t get inspiration from Babylon for any of the other scents.)
Again, Smellephants on Parade is nothing to plan a trip around. At best, it’ll be a cute little diversion for kids, but it’s not going to be the highlight of anyone’s vacation. If you think Disney’s answer to Epic Universe is right under our noses with Smellephants, you are sadly (thankfully) mistaken. This exists for the sake of a corporate alliance with a MLM company, which is the sponsor of “Smellephants on Parade.”
Disney doing this type of thing bothers me, as the company lends its credibility to the MLM and, in so doing, provides a bit of brand awareness and legitimacy to the MLM. This might end up as aging as well as all of crypto sports and stadium sponsorships, which wouldn’t be the first time a Disney-MLM partnership ended badly. But I’ve been critical of this practice in the past, so I won’t continue to belabor the point.
In terms of other commentary…I dunno, it’s kind of tough to take this seriously?
On the one hand, I very much think that Magic Kingdom could use a permanent scavenger hunt, interactive adventure, or whatever you want to call it. Something to fill the void left by Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, which has now been gone for a couple of years.
One the other hand, it’s hard to imagine that “Smellephants on Parade” is that thing. At best, I suspect we’re looking at a few cute statues of colorful elephants that maybe smell nice or something. Basically, a pleasant excuse to fulfill a partnership deal. Win-win for Disney and the company; non-factor for most guests.
The worst case is that “Smellephants on Parade” actually becomes a thing, and hundreds of guests are walking around Storybook Circus, aggressively sniffing statues that are just out of reach. Like the arm-flailing that happens as guests try to activate the MagicBand+ scavenger hunt with those 50th Anniversary statues, but with noses.
So really, the better outcome here is “Smellephants on Parade” being a nothingburger that’s never spoken of again and quickly forgotten until elephant statues randomly pop-up in Storybook Circus a decade from now. At which point, fans will question “why are these here?” To which the response will be, “who cares, they smell and look nice.” That is, before historians dig up ancient blog posts like this and discover their true purpose. But still, they’ll smell nice.
On a slightly less cynical (but still somewhat cynical) note, let’s all be thankful that this wasn’t announced at D23. After all of the hype about the $17 billion investment at Walt Disney World and DisneylandForward in California from CEO Bob Iger and Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro, it feels like we’re standing on the precipice of another “Disney Decade” for the theme parks, with major announcements coming soon.
Can you imagine if, instead of Animal Kingdom expansion or news about nighttime spectaculars, the big reveal during Destination D23 were “Smellephants on Parade”? It would be like when Bob Chapek trotted the Target dog up on stage at the D23 Expo…but if that were the only thing he did, and nothing else were announced. (With that said, if Josh D’Amaro wants to bring a baby elephant on stage at D23, I have zero objections and/or criticism.)
With that said, we’re not out of the woods yet. Those “relephant” details are coming soon, and D23 is soon.
Ultimately, all snark aside, I really do strongly believe that Magic Kingdom and every other park could use more interactive experiences that do not require technology. Imagineering testing out new types of scavenger hunts is perfectly fine by me. Engaging guests–especially kids–with active and sensory experiences sounds great, and could be a good antidote to all of the screen time the parks now encourage. (I’d suggest a Disney Lorcana card game tie-in to the parks, but I’m concerned that’ll have a super-obsessive fanbase that might make it a poor candidate for a theme park game.)
I just don’t think “Smellephants on Parade” is likely to be that thing. My guess is that it’ll be superficial; a good way to get the sponsor’s name into guests’ heads, but not much else. Here’s hoping I’m wrong, and “Smellephants on Parade” will be a delightful diversion that’s fleshed out and a fun way for families to spend an hour or so in Magic Kingdom. Looking forward to playing it with Megatron when they’re a teenager!
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of “Smellephants on Parade” coming to Storybook Circus? Are you somewhat excited or very excited for this search and sniff adventure? Would you like to see more interactive experiences in Magic Kingdom and the other parks at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
For the smelluvit??? Bwa ha ha ha!!! That was seriously the best laugh I had all day! Loved it! My family would actually really enjoy the Smellophants on Parade! It seems like such a fun diversion to further add to the magic.
I’m not sure how this whole thing will turn out, and I’m curious to see. But I do think you need to look more closely at the differences between MLM’s, pyramid schemes and direct sales companies before you start lumping them all together.
Now all I want is Josh D’Amaro and Baby Elephant on stage to happen.
Santa, if you’re reading this, I’ve been really good this year!
It sounds fun. Like the old “Sorcerers of the Kingdom” but more inclusive and fun for younger kids. Often they love the little things more than the rides or major attractions. and – Disney Magic for everyone. . .
Yikes I didn’t know that Scentsy is an MLM! Come on Disney, I’m sure there are other fragrance companies you could partner with!
As a former consultant for the company that shall not be named I totally see your point and the points of those worrying about chemical sensitivity. I signed up when “they” did a deal with Disney and I was promised to have my house smelling like parks, rides, resorts… this only happened once. Only ONE fragrance was ever used on Disney property (for the 50th). I was all in thinking lobby scents were coming to my house. They did not and will not.
I used the dumb warmers all the time. Then I got sick. Really sick. And the only thing my Dr could point to was a possible chemical sensitivity from you know who….
My advice- Stay away to keep yourself heathy (and not broke). Paraffin wax and fake fragrance can be a really scary combo.
(And if/when you get sick “they” won’t care. Trust me. I was tossed to the side like trash.)
Amy, if you still have chemical sensitivities, try LDA or LDI treatments. This really works well for me, although it isn’t standard medical practice.
Unfortunately, the problem of chemically scented products, including detergents, fabric softeners, perfumes, candles, air fresheners, deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, after-shave, etc. is seldom mentioned and few people realize just how toxic these chemicals can be to your health. Hopefully someone at Disney will become informed on this issue before such as stupid project is implemented.
Luann,
Thanks for the advice! I’ll look into it! ❤️
Yes, I wish Disney would do a lot of things but they don’t seem to listen to me. 🙂
(I wrote the most sincere email about our last trip and it was met with a cut and paste response just so the employee could click “close ticket” or whatever they do to claim the issue was handled. Customer service is nonexistent once you are off property it seems). Oh well. Another story for another day. 😉
Have a great one Luann!
Wow…just wow. I would have paid money to be a fly on the wall in the brainstorming/concept development meetings and focus groups for this:
“Ok, what’s everyone’s thoughts on a Pachodorm experience requiring help from Asscentstants? No go? So we’re crossing those off the list? “
What about people who are chemically sensitive? Will Disney be smart enough to only use natural scents? (Somehow I doubt this.) With food allergies, you simply avoid eating the food. How can I avoid a smell? I hope this idea dies real soon.
Thank you for your comment….”with active and sensory experiences sounds great, and could be a good antidote to all of the screen time the parks now encourage”. I would love to see more non-tech things at the park. I go on vacation to go “off grid”, not to immerse myself in more tech. They don’t just ‘encourage’ it anymore, they demand it. I refuse to do Genie. My last visit was for the 50th and I never saw anyone’s face across three parks. It’s so sad. As funny as this ‘smell fest’ sounds I would probably be right there trying it out, and laughing my butt off while doing it. Thanks for a great read, Tom…….
Someone mentioned the Casey Jr Train for the Storybook area-bring it on…….can never have too many train rides.
Your bemoaning all the time guests spend looking at screens reminds me of an incident during my staycation in March. I was riding the bus from my hotel to a park, and the only other people on the bus were a family of 3–a mother, a father, and a young daughter. I would have liked someone to chat with, but all three were each looking at their phone. I wanted to scream at them, “Talk to each other! Look at the scenery!” I could imagine them being on a ride like TestTrack and looking at their phones the whole time they were on the ride, planning their next attraction.
My niece is excited about more Dumbo stuff, but smelling it…. Not sure about that…..
We just need a storybook circus hotel 😉
Now, I love snark as much as the next person, maybe more. And I do agree that Smellephants seems like an unlikely success story. But please remember, all MLMs are NOT pyramid schemes and many have become lucrative paydays for many people, not just the “ones who got in early.”
I imagine a great many of you are still using your Mother’s Tupperware or Pampered Chef ice cream scoop so thank the MLM model for that. That being said, why Disney is aligning with one for this “attraction” seems confusing. I am going to go with Bob Iger lost a bet.
You mentioned the “Target deal”. Whatever happened with that? I see Disney stuff in the Targets I visit but no store-like area.
What SHOULD they be doing with the back of Storybook Circus? Bringing over a clone of Disneyland’s Casey Jr Circus Train, seems to me. Nice and cheap, IP related, adds capacity, thematically appropriate, what’s not to love lol
Back when Storybook Circus was announced and only vague concept art and few details had been released, there were high hopes of this. If they did add Casey Jr., my guess is that it’d be more like the Disneyland Paris version than the Anaheim one–capacity on the latter is really low, and that could be a big problem.
Personally, I don’t dislike Storybook Circus. It’s a cute area and has a lot of nice attention to detail–there just isn’t enough substance to it. Wish they would’ve retained the best elements from Mickey’s Toontown Fair.
(Though, to be fair, sometimes that shaded seating area in the tent with the water cooler is my favorite part of MK)
I’ll have to look up the Paris train… didn’t realize it was different!
I was so confused and underwhelmed by this announcement that I’ve avoided reading anything about it to find out exactly what it is (until now because I knew I would enjoy your snark). My only “maybe I’ll give it a chance” inclination here is that the Flower and Garden Festival had that (very short, not at all an advertised attraction) display with the different plant scents, and that was rather enjoyable. Not something I would book tickets for, but an “ok, if they have this again next year and I notice it while I’m walking by, I’ll take the 3 minutes to walk through this.” It’s hard to see how they’ll replicate that onto elephants with smells (I’m not repeating their ridiculous portmanteau), but that’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
“I’m not repeating their ridiculous portmanteau”
I’ve gone back and forth on whether the name is awful or awesome, and I think just by virtue of how much I’ve internally debated, it’s gotta be awesome.
Sure, it’s utterly ridiculous, but that’s part of the charm. It feels like a return to the ‘golden era’ of DCA 1.0 caliber puns.
If smelling is actually part of the scavenger hunt, I find that to be a bit gross.
Disney does no always think some of these thing through.
I’m reminded of Zuni’s Sweet Shop in Animal Kingdom selling confections that were purposefully intended to look like animal poop.
How was a parent supposed to educate a child if ‘some poop’ is considered edible.
Children actively engaged by walking up to things to smell just seems gross.
This is only one-step removed from edible wallpaper.
Agree to disagree on the animal poop treats. Those were awesome.
Granted, we don’t have a child yet, but I’d imagine that the education process is as simple as saying, “this is fake, don’t eat real crap.” Do parents who purchase the Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake worry that it’ll cause their kids to start eating monkeys? 😉
It seems smells are very important to the younger generations. There is a Vlogger who always mentions, when they enter a lobby, ride, just about anywhere how it smells. Good, bad, or indifferent ( though usually it’s wonderful or ‘nasty’). Same with tastes. Maybe the next scavenger hunt will be a taste one. Nummy or nasty.
I’ll respect your lead and not name the brand but I Googled them and there are lots of your typical MLM horror stories. There’s no way of getting around the fact that this amounts to Disney literally pointing some number of their fans toward losing quite a bit of money if they get sucked in. Really disappointing. Anything for a buck I guess…
Yep–that’s precisely the problem. “I trust Disney and they wouldn’t partner with them unless they were legit.”
Haha, the first thing I did when I saw this announced was to check the calendar as it sounded like some sort of joke.
Is the Pirates of the Caribbean game still a thing? We have had fun with that. We enjoyed Sorcerers for what it was, too. Though it was sad that it never got any updates or tech upgrades.
Same question from me. The Pirates game was small but really fun. Is it still a thing? (My memory is that it is…sometimes…)
Like the World Showcase Kim Possible/Phinease and Ferb/DuckTales hunt…these things that actually activate things happening in the space around you were more rewarding for me than Sorcerers, which just activated screens. (Which isn’t really to say that I disliked Sorcerers, I just like the WS and Pirates stuff more.)
Yes, it is!
IIRC, it returned around the start of the 50th. I think they brought back some of the props late last year; not 100% sure. I often forget it’s even there.
Yes, it still exists and we spend 2-3 hours playing it on Thanksgiving in 2021. Really was a delight to do something as a family on a day that was pretty packed at Magic Kingdom!
This post is a great example of why I read this blog despite a) having no upcoming plans to visit the Disney theme parks and b) having no interest in a scent based scavenger hunt even if I did. A+ for the snark and pure hilarity.
Story Book Circus is a major disappointment to me in general. We go that direction to meet rare characters, Dumbo now & again, or to head to the train. Dumbo is iconic but it doesn’t need a whole themed corner of the park to make it make sense. They have removed far cooler things only to replace it with a big souvenir tent.
My take on this is they are trying to move crowds to an underutilized space in the park. I don’t see it being a long term fix.