This is the Kind of Theme Park I Want to Visit!

Hayao Miyazaki is not only a master of animation, but apparently he is a master of museums as well. I've never had the opportunity to visit it myself, but in pictures the Ghibli Museum is beautiful. No wonder tickets must be purchased well in advance.

On the museum's official web site Miyazaki himself outlines the principles on which he expects the facility to adhere to. It's not surprising that with a few words changed around, this list could easily be a kind of blueprint of ideals that all Disney theme parks must strive for. Some already do in many ways, most notably the non-Disney owned Tokyo DisneySea.

Imagine, if you will, what a Disney theme park should stand for.

A theme park that is interesting and which relaxes the soul
A theme park where much can be discovered
A theme park based on a clear and consistent philosophy
A theme park where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy, those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel
A theme park that makes you feel more enriched when you leave than when you entered!

To make such a place, the park must be...
Put together as if it were a film
Not arrogant, flamboyant, or suffocating
Quality space where people can feel at home, especially when it's not crowded

The theme park must be run in such a way so that...
Small children are treated as if they were grown-ups
The handicapped are accommodated as much as possible
The cast members can be confident and proud of their work
Visitors are not controlled with predetermined courses and fixed directions
It is suffused with ideas and new challenges so that the attractions do not get dusty or old, and that investments are made to realize that goal

The attractions will be...
Not only for the benefit of people who are already fans of Disney
A place where visitors can enjoy by just looking, can understand the artists' spirits, and can gain new insights into Imagineering
Original works
Past attractions will be probed for understanding at a deeper level

The restaurants will be...
Important places for relaxation and enjoyment
Good restaurants with a style all their own where running a restaurant is taken seriously and done right

The shops will be...
Well-prepared and well-presented for the sake of the guests
Not bargain shops that attach importance only to the amount of sales
A shop that continues to strive to be a better shop
Where original items made only for the theme park are found

This is what we expect a theme park to be, and therefore we will find a way to do it

This is the kind of theme park we don't want to make!
A pretentious theme park
An arrogant theme park
A theme park that treats its contents as if they were more important than people
A theme park that builds uninteresting attractions as if they were significant

Imagine if the Walt Disney Company were man enough, or Disney enough, to release such a document.

Be Ghibli

John Lasseter can't shut up about Hayao Miyazaki. He appears on every Disney DVD release of Studio Ghibli films and introduces them as if he must plead with American audiences to actually watch the movie once they purchase it. He has also hosted a series of broadcasts of Ghibli films on Turner Classic Movies. His passionate efforts to bring Ghibli films to America have resulted in faithful releases, above average dubs and an opportunity for millions of Americans to experience the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Lasseter can't shut up about Ghibli, and I can't stop listening.

Some Pixar employees have looked to Ghibli for guidance. I've read that when they feel stuck on a particular movie, they'll pop in a Ghibli film for inspiration. Pixar has benefited greatly from the wisdom of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Disney, too, can learn from Ghibli.

Studio Ghibli is an organization with principles, and they actually stick to them. Disney received much applause for killing the practice of releasing awful direct-to-video sequels. Miyazaki never did sequels in the first place.

While there have certainly been great sequels, most are rehashes, suggesting a dearth of creativity. What does Cars 2 have to offer the world besides profits to shareholders? Is Pixar selling its soul to do great films that don't lend themselves well to merchandising, such as Wall-E and Ratatouille?

Disney is receiving much praise for bringing back 2D-animated features. Some animation fans are hoping that The Princess and the Frog may usher in a new era of Disney animation. 2D animation never died. Studio Ghibli was doing 2D all this time. Where were you?

But this update is not about movies. It's about theme parks.

The Walt Disney Company once boasted that they replace all of the light bulbs on Disneyland's Main Street when they reach 80 percent of their lifespan. Today they shine until they burn out. Is it too much to ask Disney to live up to their own principles?

When Lasseter became the Principal Creative Adviser at Imagineering and an overall head honcho at Disney, I hoped that he would bring some of these principles and ideals he learned from Ghibli to Disney theme parks. Instead, valuable real estate has been gobbled up by all manner of Pixar franchises, from Cars to Toy Story. There was even a concept in the works for a Wall-E attraction according to the usual rumor mills, which leads me to ask if anyone at Disney actually watched the movie.

Were movie tie-ins what made Lasseter fall in love with Disneyland in the first place? While Disneyland has always had rides based on Disney films, I'd wager that his affinity for the park would have more to do with the great original works of WED like Pirates and Mansion that made Disneyland what it is today. Who knows, he would never talk to a fan like me. If I could I would ask him, can Disneyland not be a launching ground for original works instead of a dumping ground for every movie tie-in ride Disney wants to infest the parks with?

In this 1991 interview Hayao Miyzaki speaks about creativity.

We live in an age when it is cheaper to buy the rights to movies than to make them. Rather than suffer all the problems of making movies, it often seems more expedient to buy them from abroad. In fact, movie producers in Japan have the impression they can buy what they want as easily as if from a vending machine. People often come to me and say point-blank: "Make a film for us as you can see fit. We'll pay whatever you ask." I think Japan today is in an age unsuited to creativity.

It is much easier and cheaper to take an established world, such as Toy Story, and fit it into a themed environment, than to make one entirely from scratch. It's also cheaper to transplant that attraction (especially if you don't care where it goes or if its location even makes sense) into other Disney theme parks than to create a new one entirely from scratch.

The result is that there are fewer opportunities for artists to create. Walt's famous quote, "Disneyland will never be complete as long as there is imagination left in the world." is used to defend awful projects such as the addition of characters and a USA scene to It's a Small World.

Why not use that quote to combat the proliferation of cloned attractions at Disney theme parks? While cloned attractions may be good for Disney's bottom line, it's not good for the artistry of its theme parks. This one-size-fits-all mentality to attractions is the result of a drought of creativity and imagination.

Rattling around in some young artist's brain is the next Pirates of the Caribbean, Tiki Room or Horizons. If Imagineering's only job is to figure out how to plop Woody, Stitch or Nemo into Disney theme parks and then copy-paste them all over the world, then what business does it have calling itself a creative organization? Money can't buy creativity. The power structure at Imagineering and Disney itself must be adjusted so that original ideas may come to fruition, even if they come from the most unlikely of sources.

Another blog will suggest that Imagineers be Disney. I've got another suggestion. Be Ghibli. Be like Ghibli and be proud. After all, this is an organization that respects its works enough to maintain a museum celebrating them. They don't go back and insert Totoros into Nausicaa. Disney is an organization that is only now figuring out where to put The Disney Gallery, a collection of works that showcase Disneyland art, past and present, when it should have never been displaced in the first place, especially for a soulless marketing campaign.

Be Ghibli. It worked for Pixar. It can work for Disney theme parks.

To watch Lasseter freak out over Miyazaki's visit to Pixar watch this video.

Great Attractions: The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is the complete package from the pre-show to the post-show. It's the real deal. The crème de la crème. It's the pinnacle of the kind of theme park showmanship that WED strove for.

In an era of computer animation The Haunted Mansion takes us back to a time when special effects were accomplished with smoke and mirrors. In one scene ghosts materialize in the mansion's ballroom, taking an old magic trick and executing it on a grand scale. Relatively simple illusions delight and amaze even today, owing to the attraction's incredible longevity. Everybody knows how it's done by now, but no one cares. We not only admire the end result, but the technique that got us there.

This is an experience that begins the moment you enter the mansion's gates. Because of the attraction's monster capacity there is hardly ever a long wait time, negating the need for silly reservation systems that only serve to confound the typical guest's day.

While The Haunted Mansion didn't invent the pre-show, it sure as hell perfected it. In the foyer a short narration sets up the experience to come. Here, guests are not hit on the head with needless plot details or a setup for a derivative adventure. The narration doesn't tell you what you're experiencing, but encourages you to simply absorb all that the show has to offer.

The language itself hearkens back to a time when Americans were thought to have listened to and understood words. One has to wonder if The Haunted Mansion were written today, how juvenile and unimaginative the script would be, as many corporations underestimate their customers.

The exposition is genuinely creepy and foreboding. A hallway leading to the loading area features changing portraits and busts that seem to track your movements, a trick that may cause guests to tell themselves to remember to look up how they did that when they get home.

As guests snake their way through the mansion creepiness turns to silliness. The ghosts display no malice toward their guests or each other (well, most of them anyway). As ghosts attempt to communicate with the living we sometimes mistake their intentions as violent. Ghosts are not haunting, they are celebrating with song and dance.

Walt Disney did not live to see what were probably the two most signature attractions during this era in Disneyland history, the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean. As the woefully synergistic character and movie tie-in rides, projection screens and 3D glasses invade the parks, he and his proteges have not been outdone, not by any stretch of the imagination.

This type of attraction has been forgotten by the powers that be. No longer is Disneyland thought of as a stage to launch original content. It's a clearinghouse for every Woody, Buzz and Nemo and their overhyped technology.

The Haunted Mansion has seen changes as recently as 2006. Here the Walt Disney Co. showed remarkable restraint and taste. Upgrades were commissioned for the aging attraction that respected the show's original vision. This is the right way to do a refurbishment.

The attic's admittedly corny pop-up ghosts and mannequin bride have been replaced with more details of a black widow's ghastly deeds. Other changes such as audio improvements and a floating Leota ball have also been installed at Disneyland as well as The Magic Kingdom.

The Haunted Mansion has been cloned at Tokyo Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom with subtle differences and a different exterior. The most recent version, in Disneyland Paris, is the right way to clone an attraction. This time the bride is the main focus of the experience. These types of clones allow Imagineering to experiment with new interpretations of old favorites without desecrating the originals, as opposed to McPark style exact clones that turn Disney theme parks into soulless commodities, not works of art.

The Haunted Mansion Holiday has seen mixed reviews from purists. I like it. It's not only temporary, but detailed and extravagant. Those who don't like it need only to wait for February to come. Now if only Jack Sparrow's inclusion in Pirates was temporary...

On the Haunted Mansion we are not told what to experience, only encouraged to experience. We are free to develop our own interpretations about what it all means. Who was the mansion's owner? Who is the "ghost host"? Who is the guy who hung himself in the attic? What made the bride go crazy? Some answers are out there for those who need an absolute, or you can make up your own, as others have over the years.

As we wonder about these things, we try to pretend that the Eddie Murphy version doesn't exist.

Great Moments in Disneyland Drama: The KFC Caper

When I got an annual pass to Disneyland I got one because I enjoyed going to Disneyland. I enjoyed riding the rides. I enjoyed watching the shows. I enjoyed strolling the grounds and enjoying myself.

What I didn't get an annual pass for was to do surveillance on other guests.

It's one of my favorite threads of all time. A family brought in a rather large meal from KFC to California Adventure and annual passholders had to witness this horrible Disney crime, and one lucky poster got it all on film. You're breaking my f'ing heart, here.

The 2fer is when "those" people show up to Disneyland. You know the ones I'm talking about...

First, some talking points. This family did indeed break the rules. They didn't break the rule of law, but Disney's own rule that they are responsible for enforcing. This family may have snuck the food through the gates in a backpack. They may have made a fuss and a frustrated cast member simply let them in.

What I don't understand is why a Disney theme park enthusiast would feel the need to take a picture of this family so fellow posters can insult them on the Internet. Is there nothing more creepy?

This is the same forum where if you insult anyone the slightest bit you are gone, but that doesn't stop posters from insulting this anonymous family with their lame quips.

I guess they mistook DCA for a theme park worth going to, even if it were free.

Maybe that family couldn't afford to eat awful, overpriced Disneyland food. Maybe they didn't know about the picnic area. Maybe they didn't realize how close McDonald's was. Maybe they were embarrassed about what they did.

But dammit, they wanted to go to Disneyland and that was the only way they knew how without going hungry. Disney wants them to go to Disneyland. For these elitist AP types to take pictures of them and post them on the Internet exemplifies just how insane and hypocritical they are. Some of these people won't criticize Disney management for some of the crap they've done in the parks but they have no problem criticizing a fellow guest who didn't do anything to them.

Wait, your family brought in outside food too?! That is the most classless, most crass, white-trash thing you could ever do- oh wait, you're a MiceChat poster, an annual passholder and a moderator, so it's okay! We broke the rules, but not as much as this ghetto family!

Yeah, this family cheaped out on lunch, just like Disney cheaped out on California Adventure. Creepy AP assholes. You can bash this anonymous family all you want but God forbid you criticize these posters about anything.

I have to ask about how the guy took the picture. Was he eating his snack from BUR-R-R-BANK (LMAO) Ice Cream when he suddenly saw this awful family and their meal and thought to himself, "Gotcha! Oh man I'm going to be a forums superstar!"? I imagine that he preceded to slyly snap a photo of the offending act, his hands shivering at the excitement of what a scoop he had gotten. What a putz.

I agree with "sir clinksalot" here.



We should call out the idiots in society, and we should start with the idiot, elitist annual passholders on MiceChat.com.

The California Adventure Railroad

DCA feels empty whether the joint is crowded or not. When you enter its gates you can feel something missing. It's missing a soul. It's missing that signature Disney theme park transportation.

Disneyland has vehicles on Main Street, including a horse drawn carriage, turn of the century automobiles, a fire truck and an omnibus. Throughout the park there are riverboats, canoes, rafts, cars, submarines and monorails. There used to be a people mover, a skyway, and keel boats. Even ToonTown used to have a trolley system. Disney vehicles, whether they take you somewhere and leave you, or take you somewhere and bring you back, breathe life into Disneyland.

Circling it all, the second and last requirement Walt Disney demanded of Herbert Ryman when he commissioned the artist's skills to help visualize his magic kingdom, is a train.

California Adventure, on the other hand, has no transportation to speak of unless you count Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. A monorail may streak by, a figment from a better park, teasing DCA's inhabitants. The park's only locomotive, a replica of an EMD FP7, is bolted to the ground.

The locomotive is "pulling" the famous California Zephyr. It's a gift shop and a snack bar all rolled into one. It doesn't go anywhere. You can't ride it. You can, however, buy ice cream in it. Hooray?

Once upon a time many of these locomotives actually did roll around California depositing passengers to and fro on such routes as the Coast Daylight and the San Diegan. Now the old EMD locomotives evoke feelings of nostalgia, once a feature of Disney theme parks. How wonderful would it have been to see a scale replica of such a train circling DCA on narrow gauge tracks? DCA could have done for these old diesel locomotives what Disneyland did for the steam train.

What would a California Adventure Railroad have been like?

At the main entrance a recreation of a grand old passenger terminal in the Mission Revival style could have stood across the esplanade from Disneyland's vintage Main Street Station. Our next stop may have been Hollywood, its station modeled after the Pacific Electric building in Los Angeles, making for an easy "transfer" to the DCA Red Cars.

From Hollywood our next stop might have been the beach at Paradise Pier. After that, the California Adventure Railroad could have taken guests through the Grizzly Mountains, stopping at its famous peak where rushing rapids await and perhaps a smaller, scenic mine train ride. Our grand circle tour would continue through the desert flats before arriving at the entrance plaza.

If they had built it like that, I would have come. Alas, DCA was not designed for such a train. Today, a portion of Downtown Disney and a hotel would be insurmountable obstacles. Building a railroad around DCA would be like trying to run a bullet train through the Bay Area Peninsula. There are just too many jerkoffs in the way. Imagineers tasked with remaking the ailing theme park have to work with what was given to them.

A small but important role in California Adventure's 1.1 billion dollar makeover is a recreation of the Red Cars that once transported passengers to and from Los Angeles County over a half century ago. This A-Ticket is sure to reanimate this bloated corpse of a theme park, though not everyone likes the idea. One correspondent of mine suggested they use vintage buses to transport guests around the park.

Come to think of it, do you think he works for Cloverleaf Industries?

Great Moments in Disneyland Drama: Ebola Man & The Fry Cart

It was 1998. The Pressler era was in full swing and Disney fans were beginning to realize what a mistake putting this guy in charge was, as if they had a choice in the matter.

The New Tomorrowland drama had come and gone. It was John Hench who said of the first Tomorrowland makeover that "movement depicts life" and that movement "was an essential element in establishing the overall character of Tomorrowland". After it was apparent that the '98 makeover of Tomorrowland all but snuffed out that life, the next Disneyland controversy presented itself.

In those days most Disneyland discussion took place on Usenet on groups like rec.arts.disney.parks and alt.disney.disneyland (A.D.D.). Usenet was unmoderated and the only recourse against trolls (i.e. people who disagreed with you) was to edit your "killfile", a file that blocked your client from downloading messages from unwanted authors.

It was never that effective because those posters you wanted to hear from would invariably quote posters you didn't want to hear from as arguments and flame wars erupted. Also, as much as Internet folk like to say, "Don't feed the trolls" they continue to do so because, let's face it, we love drama. The Pressler era was all about drama.

Sponsorship has always been a part of Disneyland. Companies would fund attractions, shows or exhibits in exchange for top billing as the attraction's sponsor. Walt never liked the hard sell and once had the post-show of the Bank of America-sponsored It's A Small World changed so it felt less like an advertisement and more like a farewell to riders.

So it was quite the surprise when plans for the McDonald's corporation to install a McDonald's branded snack stall selling french fries descended on the online Disneyland community. While a Disneyland spokesperson attempted to reassure fans that there were no plans for any other sales of McDonald's products at Disneyland, the sponsorship would eventually expand to a second location within Disneyland and another location at California Adventure.

The news divided the Disney Usenet groups, with some crying foul over the french fry folly and others wondering what the big deal was. The infamous Al Lutz was on Usenet back then and offered his view on why the fry cart was wrong for Disneyland.

Lutz would later become fed up with Usenet and swear it off forever.

But there was one young man, who went by the name of "Ebola Man", who expressed his discontent with the direction of the park in a very different way.

Ebola Man maintained a web site called the "Disneyland Underground Intelligence", or DUI for short. On his web site he would detail his exploitation of Disneyland, which included breaking into Club 33 and causing various types of mischief at the magic kingdom. He boasted about it all on Usenet.

Mere trinkets such as a script to the new Bug's Life 3D movie and other stolen items didn't satisfy Ebola Man. No, he had his eyes set on a bigger prize, the destruction of the McDonald's Fry Cart.

Who knew what actually went through his mind as he handed his annual pass to a Main Gate Employee, entered through the gates, and proceeded to unleash his master plan to stop McDonald's from selling fries in the park. I wonder if he thought he would be heralded as a hero. I wonder if he knew that capture was inevitable. How does Disneyland attract a person capable of theft and vandalism?

We may never know the answers to those questions, but on November 18th, 1998, Ebola Man announced that the deed was done.

If the lack of blueprints wasn't going to stop Disney, then the spilled paint surely would. I wish I could get hold of this guy and ask him just what the heck he was thinking. Fortunately for Ebola Man, he was a minor and his identity was not released after he was arrested in early '99 for a range of charges, including the fry cart incident.

The cart, unpopular with some park aficionados, was vandalized in a late-night attack in December. The damage, caused by someone slinging brown paint, was described in an Ebola Man posting on an Internet chat site the next morning.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said the youth, whom The Times is not naming because he is a minor, was booked and released last month on felony charges of grand theft and receiving stolen property. He also is under investigation in connection with the vandalism, Vargas said Thursday.

It was a textbook example of a passion misdirected. Few will condone the youth's actions, but after all these years I understand his frustration. All he had to do was wait a decade. The presence of McDonald's in the parks has come and gone, recently removed amid a stream of celebration from longtime opponents.

Somewhere out there, Ebola Man must be smiling.

Untapped Synergy

In just a couple weeks it's a small world re-opens with a brand new cast of characters to help celebrate the peace and unity this iconic attraction has stood for since its unveiling at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Now Mickey, Mulan, Cinderella and all your favorites join the happiest voyage that ever sailed.

The upgrades will make small world more relevant to today's audiences. Where the failing small world pulled in only 35,000 riders on a typical day, the new additions are expected to increase the aging attraction's daily ridership to about 40 billion.

The success of the small world character additions have prompted the Imagineering wizards in Burbank to be chained together and enslaved in a dank room by upper management to come up with character concepts to spruce up other Disneyland classics, or their families will be killed.

My Disney spies have come back with a look at just some of the character additions that Imagineering is throwing around.

The Haunted Mansion: Animation connoisseurs fondly remember the classic Mickey Mouse cartoon "Haunted House". What people don't know is that the original plans for the Haunted Mansion called for guests to explore the famous ghost home alongside Mickey and his pals, just like in the cartoons. Unfortunately, primitive technology at the time prompted the early Imagineers to go with a more serious haunted house theme not unlike the ones you see at most amusement parks, a setback that disappointed Walt Disney himself.

Now Walt Disney's original vision for Haunted Mansion can finally be realized with 21st century technology. New painted flats are to be installed in some of the Haunted Mansion's most memorable scenes featuring the comic antics of Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they explore this spooky abode.

A psychic Goofy attempts to communicate with ghosts with his magic crystal ball but things suddenly go wrong! In the mansion's ballroom Donald sits down for dinner and so do a few uninvited guests! Mickey Mouse can't escape the Mansion's graveyard, which has suddenly come to life in an all-new musical revue featuring the Jonas Brothers and their hit song "Ghoul, I Just Wanna Make Love To You (But, Baby, My Ring Says No)!

This time it's not hitchhiking ghosts who wish to follow you home, but Mickey, Donald and Goofy! Help them escape this all-new retelling of an old favorite!

The Matterhorn: 1978 saw the addition of an abominable snowman to Disneyland's famous Matterhorn mountain. However, recent surveys have revealed that some riders find the creature too fearful to children while older kids scoff at the corniness of the aging figure. In order to keep a dying classic from hitting rock bottom, the Imagineers have come up with a dazzling addition sure to keep guests coming back for more.

This Summer, keep cool with the Matterhorn's newest inhabitant, the Abominable Snowman from Disney/Pixar's animated hit Monsters, Inc.! Instead of frightening growls the Abominable Snowman now offers bobsledders delicious snow cones. Just don't eat the yellow ones!

Keep at last one eye open because Abominable Snowman's best friends Mike and Sully might just pop in to wish him luck. It's an upgrade that's sure to please on Disney/Pixar's Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Space Mountain: What's gotten into Space Mountain? That's what guests will be talking about after they experience the all new Space Mountain: Experiment 626.

The lovable rascal Stitch from Disney's hit animated feature Lilo & Stitch breathes new life into Space Mountain with all-new thrills. Stitch has broken free of his confinement and is wreaking havoc (and laughs!) all over the space station. It's up to you to board a rocket ship, find Stitch and bring him home.

It's the Space Mountain you love with an all new rockin' soundtrack sung by Miley Cyrus.

What will you celebrate this year at the Disneyland Resort? I know what I'm celebrating. Relevancy! Get an annual pass today (just 12 easy payments of $29.95) and experience the relevancy all year long!

Disneyland Can Be Beautiful

The key word here is "can".

I once remarked to a friend how intricately detailed Tokyo DisneySea was, especially the Mediterranean Harbor section. He asked why I didn't go to the real Mediterranean and criticized Disney theme parks for being fake and said that everybody who visits them is obese or a jerk.

I said to him that we're not all obese and that visiting the Mediterranean would be fun, except that there isn't a huge man-made mountain with two kick ass rides within in Italy.

No, Disneyland can't replace the real thing. It doesn't attempt to. Imagineering could never recreate a hike up to Mount Hollywood on a clear day so that the vastness of Los Angeles fills your peripheral from Santa Monica to the San Gabriels. In a decade I don't think nature could recreate a hike up to Mount Hollywood on a clear day at the rate we're going.

Disneyland is not the real thing. On the contrary, it is a theatrical experience.

To me, half the experience of Disneyland is discovering the mechanics of making the illusion possible. Ride systems, construction techniques and special effects methods (God bless you Yale Gracey) are just as fun to watch as they are to figure out. There is an art in making the unreal seem real.

The Walt Disney Company is an organization that is responsible for some of the most wonderful works of art ever created. It's also responsible for some of the most banal entertainment with few redeeming social qualities (Technically, hard-working people were employed during Beverly Hills Chihuahua!). No where is this more apparent than at Disney theme parks. The worst of the worst sit side by side with the classics of Imagineering past.

Space Mountain towers over Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. The Jungle Cruise is just a couple doors down from the cheap cartoon makeover Tarzan's Treehouse. The Pirates of the Caribbean's upstairs neighbor is an overhyped door prize for a select few, where once was a happening arthouse loft and everyone was invited.

There is value in not sticking a cart full of crappy Chinese Disney merchandise into every nook and cranny in this magic kingdom. There is beauty in a fountain, a floral arrangement or a flight of stairs. Such unique spots should not be obstructed by racks full of the same Christmas garbage sold in every other store in the park.

The following photos were taken by me (except for one) and represent what I consider beautiful about Disneyland from spectacular vistas to the not-so-obvious. Click on the image for a bigger, higher quality version.

I was surprised at how much the Disneyland fan community was divided over Toontown. For a cartoon world it's pretty damn detailed.

See all that stuff in the middle of the track? That's why my roller coaster didn't work. The whirs of the machinery, the hisses of the hydraulics and the clacks of steel complete the experience for me.

Waterfalls and streams are an integral part of the Disneyland formula.

No claim jumping, jerk.

A metal fence obscures the foliage at the base of the Matterhorn. Peek between the bars sometime and discover this little stream.

Some lament that Fantasmic! has intruded on the nighttime atmosphere of New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America. I love Fantasmic! but in this shot I took after a night ride on the Columbia, I can see their point. Even here evidence of the nighttime spectacular is visible.

Sometimes nature is the icing on the cake.

With the re-opening of the Submarine Voyage the lagoon feels more alive than it has in a decade. Of course, I pretend Captain Nemo is in there instead of Finding Nemo.

Even toons have somewhere to go and relax.

It may be dirty half the time and wrapped in the baffling "Rockin'" overlay in this shot and obscured by that spinning satellite dish thing that replaced the Rocket Jets, but it's still Space Mountian, damnitt.

Monorail purple soars over the Submarine Lagoon before it was wrapped up in Year of a Million Dreams garb like a common bus advertisement.

Disneyland may not be a museum, but that doesn't stop museums from being a part of Disneyland. Just try and tell me that looking at stuff like this doesn't make you miss the Disney Gallery.

Big Thunder's rock spires.

The balcony at Innoventions, the most popular part of Innoventions.

Disneyland security doesn't kick you out until midnight so you can shop. Pesky people like me use the opportunity to shoot FREE photos when fewer people are around.

Toad Hall, my favorite of the Fantasyland dark ride facades. Now here's a makeover that worked.

Enthusiasm for Disneyland and trains seem to go hand in hand.

These two weren't waiting to cross. They already did. However, they took the time to wave to riders and then they continued on their way to TDA (to the left of this photo).

Splash Mountain's lift hills are powered entirely by waterwheels.

This was shot from the old Fastpass distribution area for Splash Mountain.

And the photo that inspired this article.

This is the Courtyard of Angels taken by Andy Castro, the famous journalist that covers Disneyland. His photo proves that even the smallest parts of Disneyland can be beautiful, if they are allowed to be.