As a SoCal'er, you probably know the charm and whimsy of riding StorybookLand Canal Boats or Casey Jr. Circus Train at Disneyland. It's such a lovingly maintained and beautifully presented throwback to the 1950's era of Disneyland. So inately Walt, and so clearly from a different time. I save my trip on StorybookLand for Christmastime, when all the little houses are decorated with tiny garlands and wreaths.
Here's an excellent blog post that details all the intricacy of decorating StorybookLand for Christmas.
Look at those tiny wreaths and teensy garlands and small Christmas trees! Can you imagine any of that standing up to the Florida climate, let alone the well-document lack of regular maintenance and upkeep at WDW attractions??? I can't.
http://www.magicaldayswiththemouse.com/2010/12/storybook-land-canal-boats-decorated.html
That said, I'm afraid the concept of StorybookLand Canal Boats would not translate well to WDW. First of all, there's the climate and weather that is not hospitable enough to handle small outdoor boat rides. (I think that's why they don't do Disneyland's popular Davy Crockett Canoes at WDW). And there's also the lack of maintenace on the details at WDW, and StorybookLand is an attraction that only works because it is full of tiny details.
But there's also the fact that I don't think you can expect 21st century audiences to sit in a small boat for 10 minutes while a hostess coos into the PA system about little villages and tableaus and miniature houses from old fairy tales as you float by.
Without that living touchstone to the Walt-era past, and that long SoCal tradition of taking little children on StorybookLand for their first time, it's going to seem extremely hokey and boring to most East Coast audiences who have absolutely no point of reference for such a ride or experience at "Disney", as they so eloquently call the place. :lol:
