Fantasyland at Disneyland is a treasure of architecture and details. Its 1983 makeover gave it a vibrancy and excitement unfortunately not shared by its counterpart in Walt Disney World. As a Florida Disney veteran, it was a thrill to be able to revisit Mister Toad and his loyal companions. But as fun as it was to take that wild ride again, I was simply amazed at the architecture and exterior details of Disneyland's Toad Hall. Sculptures of Toad, the family crest and the parked motor car are among the elements that enhance the elaborate brick and stone design.Slightly off the radar is an exterior queue area to the left of the main entrance. There you will find these four reliefs depicting Toad and his loyal and steadfast friends--Moley, Rat and MacBadger.
And our often repeated mantra of "Look Up!" is here again good advice. The weather vane for Toad Hall is a visual treat as well.
One of the things I find most fascinating and enchanting about Fantasyland is how the architecture recalls the films from which the rides spring, in a charmingly compressed and quaintly Bavarian form... There's Peter Pan's clocktower recalling Big Ben, the Evil Queen in the window recalling the same from the movie, the White Rabbit's own house, and a replica of Toad Hall. Stepping into the fantasy world of these films doesn't just happen in the rides themselves, but even outside of them in some kind of self-contained, whatchamacallit, "Disney-land" ^_^
ReplyDeleteJust marvellous!
Whoo-hoo! A trip to see Toad and company. I felt much the same way when I visited DL last summer; the architecture makes the attraction so much more enjoyable. And, the vane takes the cake.
ReplyDeleteRichard
(photosfromtheparks.blogspot.com)
Jeff--
ReplyDeleteLove the powerlines visible in the last picture.
Ohh, George is throwing out jabs! I suppose you probably have a better picture then George, huh?
ReplyDeleteAs for Fnatasyland, you are all right, the architecture completes the immersion in the stories. I remember hearing Tony Baxter say that he remembers standing in Walt's favorite land during the update of the architecture and wondering "what have we done?" But I have to believe that the final product we have available to us today does not only Disneyland proud, while putting WDW's Fantasyland to shame, but would make Walt proud that his tradition of quality was being upheld.
But back to the weather vanes, what about the two atop Peter Pan's Flight, they are fabulous!
Ryan--not a job--just a comment.
ReplyDeleteIt was weird to see powerlines running throughout Disneyland. And hotel buildings...
They're not powerlines, it's the cables for Tinkerbell.
ReplyDeleteI know George, I just had to give you a hard time!
ReplyDeleteanynomous, they are actually power lines. While it is hard to tell from the angle of the picture, these lines actually run behind Sleeping Beauty Castle, while never actually touching the castle.
The lines appear to run from the top of the Matterhorn to a backstage area behind Snow Whites Adventures.
ReplyDelete