The Magic Kingdom is for the birds

"Feed the birds," that's what she cries,
While overhead, her birds fill the skies.
All around the cathedral the saints and apostles
Look down as she sells her wares.
Although you can't see it, you know they are smiling
Each time someone shows that he cares.
Though her words are simple and few,
Listen, listen, she's calling to you:
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag."

        -- Mary Poppins, 1964

Walt Disney sought to control every aspect of visitors’ experiences at his amusement parks. Few of the millions of people who visit Disneyland and Disney World notice that the buildings along Main Street are actually scaled-down versions of edifices one might have found in turn-of-the-century American towns.

That’s not actually an accurate statement. Replicas that are “built to scale” use a ratio that’s applied equally to each dimension. Buildings that are 2/3 as wide as the original are also 2/3 as tall.

But Disney used an artist’s technique to create an optical illusion that makes Main Street appear more realistic. “Forced perspective” fools the eye and makes fantasy seem like reality. The second stories of Main Street buildings are not as high as the first; and third stories are shorter still.

The same effect is applied to the Sleeping Beauty Castle where grown-ups stroll through spacious ground-floor gates but you’d have to be one of the seven dwarves to crawl through an upper-floor window. Even the Matterhorn was designed to appear far taller than it is by using forced perspective.

Disney managed to manipulate the environment so effectively that it’s easy to forget you’re still in the real world. A different set of rules – even rules of physics – applies in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney World was built in a Florida wilderness that almost provided a blank slate – a pristine lump of clay from which Disney could mold whatever creation he pleased.

He had complete control over the width, depth and height. No residential, commercial, industrial or other influences threatened his borders. He was god-like in his ability to create a kingdom in the Florida forest primeval…

But, as we learned in “Jurassic Park,” the 1993 film blockbuster, “Life will find a way.” Even the great and powerful Walt Disney couldn’t control flight patterns of migrating birds or the nesting habits of other fowl native to Florida.

Thousands of birds occupy Disney World. These are not official “cast members” and they do occasionally break the spell a bit. After a while, I stopped noticing their ubiquitous presence – except when they literally got in my way, which happened more often than one might think.

It’s possible that Disney has employed strategies for controlling the creatures. If so, the effort has not been completely successful. It seems just as likely that park officials have refused to engage in battle with the birds – but rather have learned to love them … and to live with them.


Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund has taken action to protect endangered species of birds, notably the Whooping Crane. Their efforts have spanned more than 10 years; the corporation has contributed more than $10 million to worldwide efforts to protect wildlife and the ecosystem.

It’s nice to know that Disney has not only built wonderful facilities for boys and girls of all ages, but that they’re also for the birds.

Now, if there was just a way to keep birds that perch on Main Street rooftops from appearing to be so much larger than they should…