Disneyland’s Secret Red and White Lightbulb

August 31, 2023 Darren Wittko

When Walt Disney was working on Main Street in Disneyland with his Imagineers, he felt strongly that the Refreshment Corner restaurant should have red and white alternating lights above the doorway.

As the electricians set out to install the light fixtures, they noticed a major flaw in their work.

And it was Walt Disney himself who came up with the solution.

Here’s what happened.

When electricians were installing the lights, they forgot to count the number of bulbs needed in advance.

Once they finished, there was an odd number of bulbs.

This mattered because Walt Disney wanted alternating red and white bulbs but two bulbs somewhere in the lineup would be the same color. There was no way around it. There were going to be two red bulbs side-by-side, or two white bulbs side-by-side.

The electricians brought the mistake to Walt’s attention and asked if they should start over.

But the construction of Disneyland was running behind schedule and Walt was desperate to get other projects finished.

Suddenly Walt thought of the solution. You could say It was a bright idea!

He instructed the electricians to take one bulb and paint half of it red and the other half white. Can you spot this unique lightbulb in the picture?

Over the years the problem could have been fixed but Walt loved to point this out to his guests and make them laugh.

The red and white bulb is still there today.

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Darren is a Disney-focused travel agent with Magical Vacations Travel and has over 13 years of experience. Readers of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World rate him as a Best of the Best Disney Travel Agent. Darren is also an Orlando-based travel writer with topics ranging from theme parks to cruise lines.