Old man in the tree (or something to that effect)

[Tagger]

Has anyone heard this? I remember reading somewhere that the tree in front of the Bengal BBQ, used to house a tiny old man. Something that was taken from an old "little golden book".

I know my question is vague, but I think this is a cool little DL secret if true.

[DaddyB]

Let's move this on over to the "Rumor Mill", shall we? I seem to recall something about this, but it was at the Swiss Family treehouse base... something to do with "The Gnome Mobile" or "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" or some such thing? ...but let's move it on over there to be safe.

[Tagger]

ack sorry bout that..did find the info though and it seems not to be a rumor.

from the book Magic Quizdom by Kevin Yee and Jason Schultz

Where did the “Little Man of Disneyland” live?
In a tree near the Jungle Cruise. The Little Man of Disneyland, a leprechaun named Patrick Begorra, was an invention in 1955 by The Walt Disney Company to advertise the new Park via the popular book series Little Golden Books, which continue to delight children today. Supposedly this leprechaun lived on the land before Disneyland was even built. A tree trunk in Adventureland was hollowed out partly, and Guests could peer into it to see his home, complete with miniaturized furnishings. Because the public’s memory is short, the hollowed trunk soon lost its meaning and the hole was filled up — but the tree stayed in Disneyland until September 2001! If you looked closely at the tree nearest the Jungle Cruise entrance, you found the cement-filled knot — maybe six inches across — that was once the home of the Little Man of Disneyland.

[RU42]

I guess this looks pretty well answered but it is true. If you are facing the Jungle Cruise entrance it was in the tree to the left.

RU

[Executioner]

Now comes the question. Does anyone have a picture we could see? Interesting story. Never knew that about DL. Thanks for sharing.

[kates4u]

It would be awesome if they did something like that again. I love little hidden stuff like that! I'll be sure to look for the tree this friday when I go.

[Chatterbug]

Nice story thanks for looking in to it. I think it is fun. Helps the imagination with so many little details throughout the park. I love the sight, sound and smells, so many that it makes not only the rides but the whole park a place to bring smiles.

Hope someone can find a pict of this. If so a recreation of something like that would be cool.

[barfownz]

Wow. I never knew this. You rock "Tagger". Thanks for the secret.

[RU42]

I heard about this a year or 2 ago and researched and found out it was true. However, I have no pictures of it. I cannot recall seeing pictures while I was digging into the story.

kates - there is not much to see. You cannot tell from looking at the tree that it once had this little man.

RU

[dctrdez]

This makes me wonder what else we don't know about Disneyland...

[Tagger]

I searched for hrs last night trying to find a pic with no luck. I have not taken the "Walk in Walt's footsteps tour", but I sure would like to see this little piece of trivia included in the tour.

Glad I could provide the info though. This is the kind of stuff I love about the park. The attention to detail is what keeps me going back again and again.

[Executioner]

Thanks for searching. I'm sure someone somewhere has a pic. Maybe Disney has one we can get a copy of from their vault.