Disneyland: The Magic Birdbath Kingdom
Walt Disney loved birds. Deeply. Even when he was a young child on the farm in Marceline, MI he’d be known to spend hours birdwatching and cobbling together birdhouses out of stray odds and ends. And when nearing the end of his life he’d routinely ask the Sherman brothers to come into his office and play the song “Feed the Birds” every Friday evening.
So perhaps it’s little wonder that one summer day, while sitting on a park bench in Los Angeles’s MacArthur Park (a famous avian resting place near the site of the first Disney Studio) that the thought occurred to him that there should be a place where birds of all kinds could gather together and get away from the harsh concrete sprawl overtaking a young Los Angeles.
The sad concrete bird landing pad in MacArthur Park.
So it was in 1955, Walt opened Disneyland: a fantastic frivolity fabricated specifically for frolicking feathery fowl - ruffling the fabric of a frenetic city. The world’s largest birdbath - divided into small themed areas all for the comfort and convenience of the birds. He even invited humans in as a way to provide constant entertainment and target practice for them! Mandatory donations from tickets help maintain the ability of Disney to continue to offer this aviary for free to all birds forever. Below are some of the best examples of birdbath craftsmanship in the park.
In the early 90s, Splash Mountain was built as the tallest birdbath in the Park - complete with water slide! A new feature installed at that time was tummy ticklers - seen here.
Over in the far west of the park is a nice rocky stream
And here are is the largest birdbath in the park - the rivers of America.
Disney even thought to install butt warmers for the cold Anaheim nights!
Of interest to note: wing shapes are incorporated throughout the architecture all throughout Disneyland - universal symbols birds can recognize from afar.
Here is a spectacular INDOOR birdbath built in the 60s and still one of the most popular. Perhaps that’s because of the burlesque show that’s been running every 10 minutes since then. In recent years there has been some criticism from tropical fowl that the shows mocks their culture.
Which is sad because Disney thought it was extremely important to be as inclusive as possible to all kinds of flyers. Seen here for example is a red buoy some birds are hanging out on - with clever themed devices like this even birds that are afraid of water, such a seagulls, can still join in the fun.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this - recently a birdbath built specifically for the youngsters was refurbished and it looks like the babies are already enjoying its sparkling new waters.
Here’s to the most beautiful, luxurious, and expensive birdbath in the world: Disneyland!
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