What Is Go Away Green At Disney?
Disney is chock-full of secrets and wonder, taking special care to keep guests immersed in the magic.
When designing new attractions or maintaining the parks, Disney is notorious for using any method available to cover up behind-the-scenes work or uninspiring features.
Disney’s Imagineers hide any architectural or design elements that don’t fit with the theme of an area, and one of their most mysterious and clever techniques is using Go Away Green.
Go Away Green (and Blending Blue) are special paint colors created by Disney that camouflage unattractive or visually-disruptive objects throughout the parks. Items painted with these colors blend into the surrounding environment, tricking the eye into looking past them. Disney Imagineers use Go Away Green and Blending Blue to conceal backlot buildings, construction sites, or any other features that reveal how Disney parks tick.
This article discusses what Go Away Green and Blending Blue are, how they work, where to find examples at Disney, and how to use Disney’s paint method at home.
What Is Go Away Green?
Go Away Green is a mix of brown, gray, and green paint designed by Disney to disguise functional or covert elements that need to exist throughout the parks.
Imagineers can’t decorate everything, especially temporary or large items like construction fencing or guard rails. Instead, they use Go Away Green to blend unsightly objects into the background.
Go Away Green isn’t just one color either – designers mix specific shades to best match an item to its environment.
Obscuring these features helps visitors forget they’re in the middle of a city and keeps them fully engrossed in their park experience.
But once parkgoers see Go Away Green for the first time, they’ll start to notice it everywhere!
From fence posts to street lights and building walls to trash cans, this paint is one of Disney’s best-known secrets.
How Does Go Away Green Work?
Unlike yellow caution tape, Go Away Green discourages the eye from fixating on objects painted this color.
Obviously, Go Away Green doesn’t render walls or trash cans invisible.
Its purpose is to camouflage items so guests maintain their focus on Disney’s elaborate attractions, buildings, and signs.
When mixing Go Away Green, Imagineers take hues from surrounding foliage to create a shade that blends into the background – that way, guests are more likely to ignore or overlook the painted object.
Where Can You Spot Go Away Green?
Go Away Green is used so much that guests looking for it will definitely find it.
This paint is used on backstage building walls, construction fencing, guard rails, light posts, trash cans – even outdoor roller coaster tracks!
Another notable use of this paint is on the doors to Club 33 – Disney’s private dining clubs.
Disney uses a lighter shade of Go Away Green to blend the door into the building, obscuring its entrance and keeping it hidden.
Some guests may not notice painted items while walking through the parks – this is the magic of Go Away Green – parkgoers can still see the features, but the paint forces them to look at the more fantastic elements around them.
However, a ride on the Skyliner gives a perfect aerial view of Disney World and makes it obvious how often Go Away Green is used.
Is Blending Blue the Same as Go Away Green?
Go Away Green obscures items found below the tree line, but since rides and attractions can be tall, Disney had to invent something to blend objects into the sky.
In comes Blending Blue.
Blending Blue (or Blend-in Blue) was invented around the same time Disney World was constructed.
The new park was going to be bigger and taller than its predecessor Disneyland, and fading objects into the trees was no longer the only issue.
Instead, Imagineers had to figure out how to match the Florida sky.
Using the same technique as Go Away Green, Blending Blue is a mix of blue and gray paint.
By incorporating gray into the formula, Blending Blue works on stormy or overcast days, and it can be used on its own or in tandem with Go Away Green.
A great two-toned example is EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind building – the ride’s building is so tall designers had to paint a full gradient on its side.
Do Disney World and Disneyland Use Both Go Away Green and Blending Blue?
Both Disney World and Disneyland use some form of Go Away Green and Blending Blue – although not all shades are the same.
Disney’s paint colors are based on their environment, and for objects to blend effectively, Imagineers mix each shade on a case-by-case basis.
There are even special Blending Blues for California and Florida!
(Originally, Imagineers at Disneyland designed a version of Blending Blue for Disney World, but the color was too dull for the bright blue Florida sky, and they had to go back to the drawing board.)
Ultimately, Disney understands the importance of details and takes special care to match their blending colors to its environment.
Go Away Green and Blending Blue Outside of Disney
Disney’s technique for hiding objects in plain sight has become popular outside the parks.
Since Go Away Green and Blending Blue were created by the Imagineers, Disney owns both shades.
That hasn’t stopped parkgoers from finding similar colors to use in their own homes.
Blending Blue is best used above the treeline, which might be tricky for some homeowners.
However, Go Away Green is perfect for backyards and exteriors.
Anyone can hide exterior walls, trash cans, or other unsightly objects using their own version of Go Away Green.
By isolating the most common colors in an object’s environment, homeowners can mix a paint shade that blends it into the background.
Conclusion
Go Away Green is a paint color specially designed to hide objects in plain sight.
By mixing naturally occurring hues, such as green, brown, and gray, Disney achieved a color that blends objects into their environment.
The goal of Go Away Green is not to erase anything – that’s impossible – instead, the color turns construction zones or unattractive features into neutral areas.
Guests’ eyes naturally glaze over these shades of green and focus on Disney’s main attractions.
The color was so successful that as Disney built taller buildings, they created Blending Blue.
Both Disney World and Disneyland use Go Away Green and Blending Blue to hide construction sites, building walls, and other elements throughout their parks.