Guest Column - Beyond the Berm
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Beyond the Berm

Various observations about Disneyland and its relationship to the world outside the gates.

As I look back upon more than forty years of living in San Diego and visiting Disneyland, one observation stands out. While the rest of Southern California has changed dramatically, the Happiest Place on Earth has remained relatively unchanged. I say “relatively” because, as anybody would expect, the park has changed. It’s just that the changes the park has experienced are analogous to ripples on a river in which the current remains constant. In contrast, the changes the area has seen are more like what would happen from the flash flood that would occur if the Hoover Dam split down the middle.

I’m sure that many readers have childhood memories of Disneyland. I certainly do, and I think a good example of the park remaining true to the ideals that made the park special for this child is Tom Sawyer Island. Here is a place in Disneyland that allows me to relive very distinct memories and share them with my son. To this day, whenever I enter Injun Joe’s cave, I vividly remember how my uncle held me over the bottomless pit, threatening to drop his only nephew into the dark unknown and scaring the bejeezus out of a six year old. And I cannot help but laugh as I duck my head and climb up the ladder to the treehouse that overlooks the Rivers of America, or as I bounce along the pontoon bridge, or as I scrape my knees as I follow Justin as he scrambles over rocks and through narrow passages. Tom Sawyer Island embodies the belief that children love the simple, earthy pleasures of exploration.

While Fantasyland isn’t the same exact arrangement as when I was little, the fantasy is every bit as strong. My favorite attraction in the entire park is right there in Fantasyland and has only gotten better with age. Storybook Land Canal Boats was one of Walt Disney’s best attraction ideas, even though it started out as little more than dirt and water. In fact, when considering the river analogy I used previously, Storybook can be thought of as a miniature Disneyland, for while the concept took time to establish itself, the result is spectacular. Plants have been grown and manicured meticulously, being allowed to mature with grace and yet constrained in size. Yes, some of the houses have been changed or moved, but what has not changed is the detail of the architecture and construction. And of course, who could deny that the very premise of the attraction, that guests are travelling past the homes of characters found within the stories of Disney’s animated classics, is a part of the conceptual foundation of the park itself. Storybook is the synergy between park, movie, and guest.

But go beyond the berm and you find change aplenty. As a child, I visited Disneyland regularly. Our family, with grandparents in tow, would make the two-hour drive every few months. We would inevitably stop in San Juan Capistrano for breakfast, usually at the restaurant next to off ramp (I think it was called the Copper Kettle). There wasn’t much in that area at the time other than the wonderful old mission and a few shops and restaurants and a couple of gas stations. From there, the drive into Anaheim passed by orange groves, the dragstrip and raceway, and more orange groves. All are gone now, replaced with office buildings, shopping centers, car lots, and thousands upon thousands of homes.

We knew we were getting close when the car passed by the Orange County Drive-In. Remember that one? Right next to the freeway stood a large theatre screen with a huge picture of fruit on the backside. As the highway rose above the land and turned slightly west, my grandfather and I would always compete to see who would spot the Matterhorn first. It wasn’t too difficult back then because there wasn’t much between the drive-in and the park that was tall enough to get in the way. I still find myself straining to pick out that white-topped peak today, although it’s a bit more difficult thanks to the clutter of buildings, signs, and antennas. Of course, the drive itself has changed, with 5 lane freeways, commuter lanes, a 65 mph speed limit, and what I consider to be an insult to each and every citizen of this country: the INS roadblock at San Onofre.

Driving along Katella Ave, we passed a myriad of small motels. Our favorite to stay in, when we could afford to spend the night, was the Heidi Motel. The Heidi was a little courtyard-style motel with a small pool and, of all things, a gated entrance to the Disneyland parking lot. It was clean, comfortable, and privately owned. But besides the Heidi, there were dozens of other motels of every theme and shape. Stovall was a common name, with at least a half dozen of his motels surrounding the park parking lot. Driving the area now, we pass by palm trees, welcome signs, and big name motels, the latter being mostly clustered around the new park pedestrian entrance or the convention center. In another couple of years, a huge new entertainment complex will compete for Disney dollars.