You've Seen This Word in Disney World, But Do You Know What It Means?

No matter how many times you’ve been to Disney World, you can still be totally surprised by some of the tiny (but awesome) details there that are hidden, sometimes in plain sight.

Tree of Life

You’ve probably walked past lots of these things TONS of times and never noticed them or even stopped to think about them. Today we spotted something in Disney World that you’ve probably walked past and maybe even stopped at for a significant period of time, but you probably have NO idea what one of the words on it means.

As we were walking around the Africa area of the park, we spotted this colorful ice cream cart. You’ve probably walked past it too while walking around the park.

Ice Cream Cart

You may have even stopped here on once (or QUITE a few times) to get something cool to eat to beat the Florida heat, or to grab a quick snack. The cart sells some ice cream snacks, popcorn, chips, and more. Our focus here is on the ice cream cart itself though.

Ice Cream Cart

Have you taken the time to actually look at the design on the front of the ice cream cart? We’ll start with some smaller details before we hit the big one. First, have you noticed that the animals are actually saying things? The lion is saying “overcome the hot temperature.”

Ice Cream Cart

And the elephant says “numerous delightful flavors.” What a delightful little elephant with such a wonderful vocabulary.

Ice Cream Cart

But, the real secret here is not in those small details (as you might expect). It’s actually in those BIG words right in front — “Baridi Baridi.” As you quickly walked past this cart to your next ride, or worked to unwrap the sweet treat you got from this spot, you might have been so busy you didn’t stop to ask yourself, “what does ‘baridi’ mean?”

Ice Cream Cart

Well, “baridi” is actually Swahili for “cold!” So, the cart is telling you that it’s selling “cold cold ice creams.” That’s so cool (literally)!

Ice Cream Cart

It’s a tiny detail that was by no means strictly necessary, but absolutely adds to the story. It adds a sense of authenticity in a way to the cart to have Swahili words on it, and it adds to the overall story of where you are in the park. It’s just one more detail that is meant to really show you you’ve “left” the real world and entered a whole other world of adventure in Animal Kingdom that lets you explore new places.

There are so many other things like this throughout Animal Kingdom. For example, there’s a quick service spot in the park called Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Did you know that “Tamu” means “sweet” in Swahili?

Tamu Tamu Refreshments at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

You can find lots of other details just like this sprinkled throughout all the Disney parks. We’ll definitely keep our eyes open for more of them and share them with you, so you can find them the next time you’re there.

We’d be SHOCKED if you knew all 25 of these hidden secrets in EPCOT.

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