In the Shadowlands expansion, the guards in Oribos use giant, mustached human models underneath their armor.

Samwise Didier, the senior art director for Blizzard Entertainment, drew a paladin for a friend's card game, which was left unused and instead ended up being used for World of Warcraft to create Uther. Didier carried over the paladin's mask to another character he drew, which was the inspiration for Ilidan, who he made concept art for back in 2000. The character Ilidan originally carved his eyes out to allow Demonics to sense demons which allowed him to use demonic energy against them back when he was a protagonist at one point during development.

In the Battle for Azeroth expansion there is a Kingdom Hearts reference. Specifically, if the player goes to the Thresher's Wharf area of Stormsong valley and climb a tall structure they can find three Beleaguered Watchmen looking out dramatically at the water. The way they are positioned, dressed, and how the scene is choreographed, make them look like the three original human characters from Kingdom Hearts: Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

The Chinese version of World of Warcraft is censored to hide instances of blood, gore, and death, and replaced instances of bone or gore with other objects such as sandbags and bread. Undead creatures have also been edited to remove any graphic or gory details.

Added in the expansion World of WarCraft: Legion, you can find in Bradenbrook within the area Val'sharah the NPCs Arin Hanson, Jon Jafari and Ross O'Donovan who're named after the hosts of the let's play series Game Grumps.

The baby murloc dance is a reference to the chuck Jones character, Michigan J. Frog, most well known for using a top hat and cane while singing and dancing in the style of a vaudeville performer.

During Wrath of the Lich King, until July 7th 2009, it was possible to tame a worgen character named "Garwal" by using tame pet as he assumed his humanoid form. The captured worgen were later changed to winterskorn worgs.

Through the use of glitch exploitation, it is possible to find sections of Elwynn forest, Stormwind and Westfall in The Everbloom dungeon.

The Crypts of Karazhan, though incomplete, are very developed and detailed with multiple locations. It is unclear why they were made inaccessible through normal means, but it may have been due to the gruesome nature of the area.

The Jaina's Locket teleportation item from Icecrown Citadel bears a strong resemblance to the collar worn by Scooby Doo.

There is a happy face hidden under Karazhan.

The Broken Draenai share their animations and laugh with the Tauren, along with the skeleton from the Tauren model.

The character Boss Mida in Orgimmar's Goblin Slums is a tribute character based off the Trade Princess Movement, where players nominated a fan-made character named Mida Silvertongue as Trade Prince of the Bilgewater Cartel.

The icons for the Red-Speckled Mushroom, Essence Infused Mushroom, Power Infused Mushroom, and Mushroom of Destiny items appear similar to the "Super Mushroom" power-up from the Mario series by Nintendo.

During the release day of the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, guards in the cities of Orgrimmar and Stormwind had swords resembling lightsabers equipped in celebration. Stormwind guards had blue sabers whilst Orgrimmar guards had orange ones.

In Grizzly Hills, you can find a deer named Bambina following his mother, alongside a skunk named Flora and a rabbit named Thudder. Following them, you'll come across a scripted event where a hunter shoots and kills Bambina's mother and Bambina will go into a murderous rage, gaining the "Bambina's Vengeance" buff. This is a reference to the children's classic Bambi.

There is a plaque with the letters WKM hidden in a rock spire in Orgrimmar. The area is not usually accessible but can be reached by using glitches.

There is an unfinished instance that lays just north of Stratholme. It can be seen on the world map but is otherwise inaccessible without the use of glitches or exploits. It contains segments of Stratholme that are inaccessible through normal play including an untextured model of Naxxramus.

Through the use of glitches in 5.4.2, it was possible to fall out of the Naxxramas dungeon in Northrend, walk to a glitched instance of Stratholme, past the unused portal in Stratholme to find the unfinished model of Naxxramas.

In Netherstorm, you can find a High Elf named Nova Terra near a tomb dedicated to her. This tomb and character act as a memorial to the canceled game "Starcraft: Ghost".

Ben Brode, member of Team 5 and Senior Game Designer for Hearthstone, appears in players' Draenor garrison for both factions.
He sells two Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft themed Toys.

The irradiated workers in Area 52 originally used the gnome model, but used the goblin voice. As of patch 2.3.0, they use the goblin body. It is speculated that they used the gnome model because goblins couldn't wear helmets at the time of implementation. Lead Sapper Blastfizzle still uses a gnome model, however.

In the lower area of Shattrath City, there are two NPCs which are references to He-Man and Skeletor from the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoon. These are Adam Eternum (Alliance), who can be seen with his mount which bears a striking resemblance to He-Man's Battle Cat, and Keldor the Lost (Horde), who claims Adam Eternum has stolen his "grey skull", a further reference to the series' Castle Greyskull.

The two also made appearances in the WoW Trading Card Game.

Despite the males having a unique facial model, female Taunka share the same model as female Tauren.

A creature called "Nessy" can be found in The Deeprun Tram. This is a reference to The Loch Ness Monster.

Like the goblin shredders which depict Sarah Kerrigan from Starcraft Brood War, the Sky Golem mount depicts Kerrigan as seen in Starcraft 2.

All the dances for each race and gender are dances from musical artists or films:
• Draenei Female - Shakira's belly dancing
• Draenei Male - "Tunak Tunak Tun" by Daler Mehndi
• Dwarf Female - Riverdance
• Dwarf Male - Ukrainian Cossack dancing
• Gnome Female - "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls
• Gnome Male - "The Bad Touch" by Bloodhound Gang
• Human Female - The Macarena
• Human Male - "You Should Be Dancing" by Bee Gees
• Night Elf Female - "J'en ai marre" by Alizée
• Night Elf Male - "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
• Worgen Female - "Pokerface" by Lady Gaga
• Worgen Male - "My Love" by Justin Timberlake
• Blood Elf Female - "Toxic" by Brittney Spears
• Blood Elf Male - Napoleon Dynamite dance
• Goblin Female - "Single Ladies" by Beyonce Knowles
• Goblin Male - "Crank That" by Soulja Boy
• Orc Female - "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile
• Orc Male - "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer
• Troll Female - "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira
• Troll Male - Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts)
• Tauren Female - The Electric Slide
• Tauren Male - Noodle dance / Raise the Roof / Peanut Butter Jelly Time
• Undead Female - The "weeping willow" / Liquid dancing
• Undead Male - Heavy Metal Headbanging
• Pandaren Female - "Caramelldansen" by Caramell
• Pandaren Male - "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
• Druid Bear Form - Bear Dance from Dr. Dolittle 2
• Druid Moonkin Form - Chippendale dancer parody by Chris Farley
• Druid Cat and Travel Form - "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" from The Lion King
• Druid Tree of Life Form - The Twist
• Shaman Ghost Wolf Form - Snoopy dance

The sounds orcas make in the game are actually calls of their real-life cousins, the humpback whale. The orca makes a higher pitched and distinctly different call.

In the Eastern Kingdoms before the Cataclysm expansion, there was a hidden away area known as 'Newman's Landing,' where it was possible to see Alliance character models quickly appear and disappear. This is because when a new Alliance character was created, this was the place they were first spawned in before quickly being teleported to their race's starting zone.

Outside of the past Shattrath City (Warlords of Draenor), you can find an orc named "Goh'kuu" hunched over another one named "Napp'agosh" near an orcish pod-like weapon. This is a reference to the characters Goku and Nappa from Dragon Ball Z.

There are a number of references to the Star Trek series in the game;

• A Goblin Doctor known as "Doc" found in Area 52 will say "Damnit Boots, I'm a doctor not a priest!" after turning in the quest "That Little Extra Kick." This is in reference to Dr. McCoy from Star Trek :The Original Series.
• Also in Area 52 are several Goblin NPCs working on a rocket, all wearing Gold Shirts and Black pants, in reference to the Engineering crews of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Chief Engineer "Trep" is in reference to Chief Engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker from Star Trek: Enterprise. "Trep" also has a quest named "Report to Engineering" in which the player must deliver Etherlithium Matrix Crystals to him, referencing the Dilithium Matrix Crystals which regulates the anti-matter flow for the ships in the Star Trek series.
• In the Exodar Holographic Emitters, there are five NPCs by the names of Curzon, Tobin, Torias, Emony, and Audrid. All five of these are in reference to Dax's previous hosts from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• The camp "Bash'ir Landing" may be another reference to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, namely to Julian Bashir the Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine.
• Warden Treelos, a lone-surviving Druid near Cenarion Thicket will randomly yell "There are four lights!" This is a reference to Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically from the two-part episode Chain of Command.
• In Gadgetzan, there is a Gnome Engineer wearing a gold shirt and black pants with the name "Jhordy Lapforge", in reference to Geordi La Forge from Star Trek:The Next Generation.
• Another gold-and-black Gnome Engineer can be found in Blade's Edge Mountains by the name of Smiles O'Byron, in reference to Chief Miles "Smiley" O'Brien from both Star Trek:The Next Generation and Star Trek:Deep Space Nine. The NPC even specializes in Transporters, much like the Star Trek equivalent did.
• In Stormwind City, there is an NPC by the name of Lenny "Fingers" McCoy, in reference to Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy from Star Trek:The Original Series.
• Nogg's Machine Shop found in Orgrimmar is named after the Engineer-savant Ferengi called Nogg, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• Two Goblins named Scooty and Sprock are in reference to Montgomery "Scotty" Scott and Spock both from Star Trek: The Original Series. Scooty in particular wears a white shirt and black vest, much like what Scotty wore in his later years.

Uwe Boll once tried, and failed, to get permission to make a film based on the World of Warcraft Series. Upon contacting Blizzard CEO Paul Sams, Boll was told:

Gnomeregan has hidden binary messages hidden in it such as "play more WoW", "Help, I'm trapped in a binary punch card factory", "The Gnome King wears night elf underwear", and "Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree k.i.s.s.i.n.g."

The Wretched are the only elf species without a female model.

There are two ogres in-game named "Jorb" and "Chort". This is a reference to Homestar Runner character Coach Z, which are his pronounciation of job and cheat, respectively.

The Adominable Greench is a reference to The Grinch from How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

In 2006, prior to the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, Blizzard announced the Wisp race as an April Fool's joke. The announcement page satirically recounted their role in the death of Archimonde at the end of Warcraft 3.

The race also featured permanent death, and a "Detonate" ability, which would kill the character. The announcement, made a day late, caused an uproar within the World of Warcraft community until it was revealed to be an April Fools' joke, and the Draenei were revealed to be the new Alliance race for the expansion.

The Grunty and Zergling pets are references to the Starcraft series. The Zergling is a Zerg unit and Grunty is a Murloc in a Terran Marine's suit.

There is a picture of Infested Kerrigan from the Starcraft series on the screen of Goblin Shredder cockpits.

Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer, is a staff dropped by Illidan Stormrage. The staff is modeled after a Felhunter, which greatly resembles a Starcraft Zergling, and the "hero" Zergling unit is called "The Devouring One".

There are a number of items that are references to the Diablo series:

• A mace called "Wirt's Third Leg" is a reference to the peg-legged boy "Wirt" from Tristram.
• The Cow King's Hide Chest armor is a reference to the secret cow level in Diablo 2.
• It's possible to obtain a Mini Tyrael and a mini Diablo as pets.

The two robots "Big Papa" and "Large Daddy" in the Stonetalon Mountains are references to the Big Daddy mini-bosses of the Bioshock series.

As an April Fools joke in 2008, Blizzard unveiled a second hero class for Wrath of The Lich King, the Bard.

Players would use two-handed axes as guitars, with the interface resembling that used in music games such as Guitar Hero.

There is an item in the game called MOLL-E, which references the Disney film "WALL-E".

Ironband's Excavation Site contains a half-buried statue, similar to the statue of liberty. This appears to be a reference to Planet of the Apes.

Goblins defending the town-in-a-box during the Goblin origin story will occasionally make references to other games or media. After killing a zombie, there is a chance Goblin Survivors will yell out "Smoker" in reference to the Left 4 Dead game series. They may also yell "What do you think, Zombie kill of the week?" in reference to the movie Zombieland.

Upon death, Gara'jal the Spiritbinder from The Mists of Pandaria will say "Death be a doorway, an' time a window; I'll be back! AH-HAHAHAHAHAH!" This is a reference to the last words of Vigo the Carpathian from the film Ghostbusters II, "Death is but a door. Time is but a window. I'll be back."

In the Borean Tundra, killing one of the mobs at the Fizzcrank Pumping Station will allow you to loot a quest item called 'the Ultrasonic Screwdriver' which will begin a quest with the same name. This is a possible reference to the 'sonic screwdriver' from the science fiction series "Doctor Who".

Baelog, Eric and Olaf, the main protagonists of Blizzard's Lost Vikings series, appear in the dungeon Uldaman. Two items which you have to retrieve for them are the "Staff of Tsol" and the "Medallion of Gni'kiv" which when read backwards say "Lost Viking". As of Cataclysm, you can find these characters in the Badlands.

In Mulgore, there is a character by the name of Ahab Wheathoof, who gives you a quest to find his lost dog, Kyle. This character was actually created by a child by the name of Ezra Chatterton, who had brain cancer as a child. Ezra was able to go to Blizzard's offices thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and help design the character, who was also voiced by Ezra. Ezra also received the first Ashes of Al'ar, a phoenix mount, phoenix being both Ezra's middle name as well as his in-game name (Ephoenix). Ezra also helped create the Merciless Gladiator's Crossbow of the Phoenix, a crossbow that has the inscription of "Finely crafted to Ephoenix's specification." Unfortunately, Ezra suffered a stroke in August, 2008, and died on October 20th. As one last tribute, the elder that appears in Thunder Bluff during the Lunar Festival was renamed to Ezra Wheathoof.

In the Ruins of Lordaeron, ghostly voices can be heard near the throne. The voices are supposed to be coming from King Terenas and Prince Arthas. If you go into the courtyard and use a spell to detect invisibility, you will see all the ghosts of the Lordaeron citizens. This is a reference to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, where the king is killed by a possessed Arthas and the town was destroyed by monsters.

Located southwest of the Crossroads in the Northern Barrens, the Shrine of the Fallen Warrior is a memorial to Michel Koiter, a Blizzard employee who died during the development of the classic game. The orc seen on the bier is a copy of his character from the WoW beta.

Azshara was originally meant to have hosted a 40-man battleground similar to Alterac Valley, the Azshara Crater. The entrance was located on the Forlorn Ridge. The files remain in the game, but the battleground will likely never be added.

Azeroth had two moons until the release of The Burning Crusade, at which point one of them mysteriously vanished. The moon removed was known as the Blue Child. The Blue Child was put back into the game in the 2012 Mists of Pandaria expansion.

In Un'Goro Crater there are two brothers called Larion and Muigin wearing plumbers' clothing, a reference to the Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi.

Various screen-shots you take in the game have a secret watermark that contains data for your account ID, the time the screenshot was taken, and the IP and data of the server you were playing on. It's speculated that this was mainly used to identify and punish internal leaking of images during development.

A 12 year old boy called Jørgen Olsen saved himself and his sister from a moose attack using skills he learned from World of Warcraft. Hans and his sister accidentally entered the moose's territory, and the moose attacked. Hans taunted the moose to take its attention away from his sister, and then proceeded to play dead, making the moose lose interest. In the game, 'Taunting' is used to get an enemy's attention, and 'Feign Death' tricks enemies into ignoring you.

Between 2004 and 2011, the human race collectively spent almost 6 million years playing World of Warcraft.