 
The concept for this ride dates back to the early days of Walt's
plans for a small park across the street from his Burbank Studio.
When plans for Disneyland were being made, there was going to be a "Lilliputianland",
where everything was in miniature. Again, this never made it to the
final plans for the park, and this attraction opened under the name
"Canal Boats of the World". A year after it's initial opening, and
after some changes to the attraction, a new theme was born;
Storybookland, and the name was changed to Storybook Land Canal
Boats. Buildings from various stories and Disney films in miniature
are here, and the ride is constantly being upgraded for new
features. (Aladdin is the most recent addition). Casey's Jr's Train
also travels through Storybook Land, but the view is much better
(and you tend to miss less) on the Canal Boats. You begin the
attraction by boarding a small boat, and then you enter the mouth of
Monstro, the whale from Pinocchio. You pass by several locales
featured in classic Disney flims and stories, with beautiful
landscaping and attention to detail. The tiny trees and shrubs were
specially collected for their dwarfed size, and they are specially
pruned and maintained to keep their size. Next to the homes of the
Three Little Pigs, there are 2-foot "oaks", and the evergreens
surrounding Snow White's house were found in Northern California.
|
|
