There's Nothing Like an Invisible Hearse Horse

This post's title works better if you remember the 80's Genesis song "Invisible Touch." H'yuck.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World each host a unique ghostly horse outside their Haunted Mansions. In both locations, the spirit beast stands harnessed to a carriage hearse. Disneyland's hearse is painted white to match the New Orleans Square mansion's exterior, while WDW's hearse goes for the traditional Gothic black.

Lighting the Path for Alice

Fantastic flower lampposts tower above the queue for the Alice in Wonderland dark ride. Originally, the entire exterior was given over to the giant leaves and flowers inspired by the film. The real trees and hedges were worked into the scene as part of the 1984 remodeling.

Ordinarily, the clash of scale between the living trees and the giant make-believe flowers could be jarring, but it works well here. The ride's exterior becomes a transition between the outside park and the loud, colorful scenes waiting inside the show building. Wonderland is a dream world, so it makes sense for the exterior to represent a state of mind halfway between awake and asleep...or am I reading too much into it?

After all, the Alice ride's design--like so much of Disneyland-- is the result of Imagineers making the best possible use of limited and awkward spaces. It's a two-story indoor-outdoor adventure because part of it has to squeeze above Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. When talented people are tasked with that kind of design puzzle, we wind up with wonderful landscapes that might never have been dreamed up otherwise.

Hooray for awkward spaces!

Small World Topiaries Standing Guard

The topiary garden of It's a Small World remains one of Disneyland's most perfect, unforgettable creations. This whimsical realm of living sculptures has been a park treasure since 1966.

Disney is apparently developing a movie about an alternate fantasy version of Disneyland. If some of these guys don't come to life in the film, I'll be ticked.

I've posted about this fellow before, and I can't help sneaking another shot in. He's one of my very favorite things in all of the resort. My family's unofficially dubbed him Small World's Security Moose.

Alice in Safety Land

The Alice in Wonderland ride's awful-looking safety railings and camouflage tarps have been uglifying the attraction's exterior since their unfortunate installment in 2010. The good -- very good -- news is that the fences are due to be replaced by a (hopefully) classier-looking alternative sometime in 2013.

This used to be a bright, open, whimsical fantasy garden with a graceful vine-path winding about overhead.

It's sad to realize most first-time visitors assume the fencing and tarps have always been there.

For 2010 reactions and a video of how gross the railings look on-ride, click Here.

To see how amazing this ride looked without the fencing, click Here.

Can't wait for remodel, which is also rumored to include several upgrades to the ride's interior! At least one of our crew is rooting for the Walrus and the Carpenter to get a scene this time.

Alice in Wonderland remains one of Disneyland's best rides. Fingers crossed that the exterior will soon look more like its wonderful, spectacular old self!

Waiting For Peter Pan

According to the classic film, flying to Neverland is easy; it just requires happy thoughts and pixie dust. Flying to Neverland at Disneyland, however, simply requires patience. Lots of Patience.

Peter Pan's Flight has been a favorite of Disneyland guests since 1955, and its popularity shows no sign of waning. Early morning arrival is the only reliable way to catch this classic ride without a hefty wait; guests flock to the flying pirate ships right up until park closing, no matter how late.

For many, including myself, no trip to Disneyland is complete without a flight through this masterpiece.