3. Pavements and walkways

Once upon a time, pavements and walkways were simply a way of getting from A to B. Amusement parks paid little attention to them, and they were usually made of bland concrete. That wouldn't do for Walt Disney, who ensured that the ground under our feet would be themed along with everything else at Disneyland. He even designed the pavements to change gradually as you left one land and entered another, like a transition from scene-to-scene in a movie. There are numerous examples of Disney theming its pavements. In Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom, for example, notice the brown "stream" flowing down the middle of the streets - in frontier times, this acted as a urine trough to catch waste from horses! At Epcot, As you walk from Morocco to France in the World Showcase, notice that the walkway becomes darker. This is intended to represent the Strait of Gibraltar (it's not geographically correct, however, as the Strait actually lies between Spain and Morocco). Elsewhere at Epcot, the pathways in Future World are pretty to look at after the sun sets - tiny lights in the ground light up.

2. Restaurant chairs and tables

Tables and chairs, again, are essential items - but not ones that we often pay much attention to. Of course, Disney's Imagineers pay a lot of attention to them. The Flame Tree Barbecueat Disney's Animal Kingdom features a host of pagodas to provide shade for diners. Each is themed around a different combination of predator and prey, such as anteaters and ants and owls and rabbits. Paintings on the ceilings of each pagoda match the theme. Appropriately, the tables are decorated by the prey, with the chairs showing the predators.

1. Popcorn turners

Image: Joe Penniston, Flickr (license)

Popcorn is an essential part of the diet of many theme park visitors - and Disney's theme parks sell a ton of it. It would be easy to procure a bunch of generic popcorn turners for the various carts around the park. But, naturally, Disney has instead made them much more fun to look at. Next time you are at Disneyland, take a look at the various popcorn turners, each of which features a different character. Over the near the Matterhorn, the character is a yeti. In Tomorrowland, it's the Rocketeer. Seasonal favorites come out in time for the holidays, such as Oogie Boogie (near the Haunted Mansion Holiday) and Santa Claus on Main Street USA.