Get a whiff of what's coming next at Walt Disney World

July 27, 2023, 10:07 PM · Something new is coming to Walt Disney World's Storybook Circus.

Walt Disney World tonight teased the arrival of "an all-new interactive experience" to the circus-themed section of the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland, called "Smellephants on Parade."

Smellephants on Parade
Smellephants on Parade. Concept art courtesy Disney

I don't know about you, but the lack of elephant smell was one of the things I took as a plus in Disney's idealistic recreation of a traveling circus around its Dumbo ride. Granted, I don't think that many Disney visitors under the age of 50 come to Storybook Circus with any real-world memory of an actual circus these days. But having not forgotten the stench of elephant dung, the only elephant part that I want to smell anymore would be a nice, crispy, cinnamon-y elephant ear - the flaky alternative to funnel cakes.

(For the record - since no major theme parks I have visited recently serve it - an "elephant ear" is not an actual fried elephant ear. It's just a big, flat piece of fried dough. And it's delicious.)

Disney is calling the new experience a "family-friendly 'search and sniff' adventure," which opens a whole category of jokes that I am certain some Theme Park Insider readers will not resist making in the comments. But perhaps Disney's decision to go with this "smelly" project makes more sense when you read that Smellephants on Parade will be "presented" by Scentsy, an Idaho-based multi-level-marketing scented products company that is the "Official Home Fragrance" of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney promised more details soon on the interactive experience, which does not yet have an opening date.

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Replies (7)

July 27, 2023 at 11:55 PM

Sounds like a fun time-waster. By the way, Epcot was momentarily serving Beaver Tails at Epcot a month or two which is pretty close to Elephant Ears.

July 28, 2023 at 8:36 AM

Is it 1990 again??

Sounds like just another ploy to get guests to buy a MagicBand+.

July 28, 2023 at 11:46 AM

Theme park water + person + sun = next Scentsy fragrance to recreate that magical Disney World experience.

July 28, 2023 at 12:28 PM

Dum Bo says it all

July 28, 2023 at 12:52 PM

Smelly pants? Seems inappropriate.

July 28, 2023 at 10:40 PM

Who nose why this is even a thing, just doesn’t make any scents!

July 29, 2023 at 9:53 AM

This announcement stinks.

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