PHOTOS: The Spot Where a Flag, Richard Nixon, and Disney World's Opening All Collide

There are all kinds of hidden Mickeys, secret details, and more to discover in the Disney theme parks.

Magic Kingdom

And it seems no matter how many times you visit, there are constantly new things to see. Today we learned about and got the chance to see a VERY special item that recently got added to one part of a very underrated spot in Magic Kingdom!

The next time you’re in Magic Kingdom, you’ll want to head to one underrated spot to see something very special. Over at The Hall of Presidents, you’ll actually find a unique piece of Disney history that was recently added to the displays there. We learned about it today at Destination D23 through a member of the Disney Archives.

Hall of Presidents

The piece you’ll be looking for is an American flag. What’s so special about this flag? Well, this flag played a special role in the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971. On October 1st, 1971, then-President Richard Nixon flew an American flag outside of the White House. He then packaged that flag and sent it to Roy O. Disney. It was used on Walt Disney World’s dedication day on October 25th, 1971.

American Flag

So, when you look at old photos of the dedication of Walt Disney World in 1971, the big American flag that’s flying in Main Street, U.S.A. is actually the one that flew over the White House!

The Story of the Flag

This is actually the first time a president has ever done that. When the dedication was over, Roy Disney had the flag folded up and it was sent to Dave Smith, who founded the Walt Disney Archives. Smith had the flag and the memos sent to and from Roy Disney and President Nixon stored away and there they sat for many years.

Nixon Memo

Later, these pieces were discovered and pulled out for the press event held for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. After the press event, the items were walked over to The Hall of Presidents where they now sit on display.

Roy Disney Letter

If you’re looking for them, search for the cabinet that has a saddle in it.

This is Where You’ll Find It

There, you’ll find the flag, the letters, and a description of what they’re all about. Pretty amazing!

The Display

Just goes to show, there are Disney details and pieces of history EVERYWHERE! You’ve just got to know where to look. We’ll keep an eye out for more awesome details in the parks and let you know what we find.

Click here to see why everyone was staring at a wall one day this week in Magic Kingdom!

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Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney to attend their media event for Destination D23. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ