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!
