The photos used in this article are from DisneyFans.com, where the Most Handsome Man on Earth™ houses well over 16,000 photos of the Happiest Place on Earth™ as well as other theme and amusement parks. Check there soon for over 3,000 new photos just from this past trip we took!

ATF INVADES DISNEYLAND
by Willa, ATF Staff Writer

This past week (Feb. 17 - 23), John-Paul and I made our annual-but-we-wish-it-was-more pilgrimage to The Happiest Place on Earth™ with an ulterior motive...what we were really itching to do was see the newest park, Disney's California Adventure! And it was well worth the trek! However, since we do have annual passes to Disneyland and they had cut off our ability to get annual passes for DCA. So, we did get to see the new park twice, but we seriously utilized our passes to Disneyland!

We decided that since Disneyland has an entire section devoted to ATF's favourite time period that we would try to document a few spots to share with you.

Oddly enough, before we even got to Fantasyland we ran into a very distinctly medieval-looking area! Rancho del Zocalo is the newest restaurant at Disneyland and has a very definite "south of the border" feel to it, BUT this one room had the massive candle-filled chandeliers on chains and this huge hearth that just screamed "great hall". The food was Mexican and barbecue, so it definitely wasn't themed renaissance, but just these two little details in the place were impressive. I loved the lights, but then, I'm known for my love of Disney lanterns ;) Actually, I'm a fanatic about Disney's theming abilities in general...I long to be someone who gets to help decorate some aspect of a Disney park. But I digress...

Of course, it's hard to ignore THE renaissance icon of the park...Sleeping Beauty Castle (which, of course, is beautiful, although I don't think it even holds a candle to Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom...but then, the WDW version is full-scale).

According to Disneyland.com, "The architecture of Sleeping Beauty Castle is a composite of French and Bavarian castles from the Middle Ages. The Castle also features a real, working drawbridge, though it's only been lowered twice -- Disneyland¨ Park's opening day, July 17, 1955, and again in 1983 to unveil the newly remodeled Fantasyland." You can definitely see the different architectural styles...the little details are amazing. Even the doors that don't get publicly used (to what I assume to be either to storage areas or a separate way to the walk-through area for employees) are period-style!

You can walk through the castle to view the story of Sleeping Beauty via dioramas and storybooks, and on the opposite side is a Castle Heraldry Shoppe where you can see an all-too-familiar sign for rennies saying "Is Your Name Here?". Also inside the shoppe, which is literally covered with shields and banners, is a small knight in rather shiny armour as well as a few swords hanging on the walls.

All of Fantasyland has touches of the renaissance era. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has the outward appearance of an old stone castle-type-house complete with arches and shields and a greenery-covered trellis over the queue. Gepetto's Workshop and Pinnochio's Daring Journey resemble old medieval cottages. Snow White's Scary Adventure comes straight from a rennie's head! It's complete with a huge front window that has the Wicked Queen pulling back the drapes every once in a while to glare down at the passersby. And right in the middle of things is King Arthur's Carrousel which has the sword in the stone just waiting for the next would-be king to yank it out.

As if the medieval and renaissance buildings aren't enough, the park has people in garb wandering around! Okay, so they're really princesses and pirates, but hey! I felt quite at home. While we were taking a break on a rainy day at one of the pavilions in the park, we were greeted by royalty who were also trying to stay dry. I have to say that I really enjoyed seeing the little girls run up and hug Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), Belle and Snow White as if they had finally met the person they idolize (I can definitely relate to this feeling, having just met my rennie version of a Disney princess this past spring while working Wybreg). I remember thinking to myself that any of these girls could borrow their outfits and fit right in at a faire (except, of course, Snow White, who wouldn't fit in ANYWHERE with those blazingly bright colours...don't mind me...I just don't like the chick).

Of course, we can't forget the pirates (the Jolly Rogers won't allow it *sigh*), and we did happen across Captain Hook and Smee (I love that guy!) who were in rather rennie regalia. Add them in with anyone from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and you have a festival! I think the PotC are set a bit later in time, but you can't really ignore the "Buy a Wench for a Bride" section, can you? By the way, for anyone who has or will attend one of the Washer Well Wenches auctions, whenever I'm up for bid I tend to hear a, "We wants the redhead!" coming from the crowd, which invariably turns out to be John-Paul with whomever he could talk into yelling it with him. That line is from the "Buy a Wench for a Bride" part of Pirates of the Caribbean.

I could go on for days and days about Disneyland! I do love Fantasyland, but since I get to live that part for most of the year, I tend to lean more towards New Orleans Square, where Pirates of the Caribbean is housed. It also holds my VERY favourite ride of all times — Haunted Mansion (if you call it the Haunted House, I'll kick you in the shin). I think the appeal of this whole section of the park with its mouthwatering clam chowder and street bands has a lot to do with the fact that I've always wanted to go to New Orleans but haven't yet gotten the chance to. And the reason why Fantasyland gets rather old pretty quickly for me is because from April 'til October, it's not just a fantasy for me...and I'd rather be a wench than a princess any day!

Help keep us online. Book your travel here, or patronize some of these folke:

1. Des Moines Ren Faire (IA)
2. Iowa Ren Festival (IA)
3. Iowa-Minnesota Pirate Fest (IA)
4. Greater Quad Cities Ren Faire (IL)
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6. Nebraska Ren Faire (NE)
7. Ren Faire at Sleepy Hollow (IA)

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Permanent festivals in our area: Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bristol Renaissance Faire, Des Moines Renaissance Faire and Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Other ATF sites: DisneyFans.com DMHauntedHouses.com