Why Laffite's Landing?

Think back to your childhood. Are you there? Excellent. If you're anything like I was, you were young and ready to take on the world. You believed you'd head out someday on fantastical adventures, bold and exciting journeys into the unknown. You readied yourself, practicing for that far off day by hosting expeditions deep into the realms of your imagination, where you'd go to outer space and discover ancient temples. Or perhaps you'd fight pirates, monsters, dragons  - anything that might stand between you and your fabled, fictional treasure. What glory, what excitement that was! And then...

You'd come back. 

          Your parents would call you for supper, and you'd be pulled back into reality. You might feel disappointed your adventure was over (for now), or perhaps you'd spend your meal thinking over all the adventures you'd just experienced in your own head and enacted with your toys. But soon, the ideas would start to fade, and would invariably be replaced with the cozy feeling of safety that can only come from being home. And of course, that was the key to it all. In the adventures of your imagination, no matter where you went, twas always the comforts of home you had to leave behind, and, at the end of the day, twas always the comforts of home to which you'd return. The home was a harbor, a place to relax and feel safe between adventures. Even growing older, as we embarked on the very real adventures of school, university, and a career, the home remained our refuge, a place of safety. A place of belonging. 

          In theme parks, there are a plethora of places to which we return constantly. Most of the time, however, we are simply passing through. For example, people don't actively linger in the Magic Kingdom's hub area, not when there's mountains to conquer and characters to meet. Sure, they might stop for a churro and a few photos, but not much else. Even if they did stay, with all the hustle and bustle they probably wouldn't feel like they were having a particularly magical experience.

          Of course, there are other places we return to besides The Hub. Shops, restaurants, and other walkways are all areas we spend a huge amount of time walking through in our way to attractions, characters, shows, and yet more shops and restaurants. Yet for as much time as we spend in these areas, there's something missing - intimacy. This is a shame, as at their core theme parks are an intimate experience. If only there was somewhere in the park that had this intimacy, was a place of beginnings and ends, a place that's very name hints at adventure around the corner...

Wait a second...there is! And hey, it's the name of the blog you're reading!

           Laffite's Landing is more than just the name of the loading area for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a place of tranquility, calm, and oddly - familiarity. Drifting through the bayou sees to that. Something about these emotions and the way they strike us here, for me, get to something at the heart of the best theme park experiences. And, like the home you left from during your childhood expeditions, it's a place to which you'll return after completing your dreamlike adventures.

Laffite's Landing is where we begin, and Laffite's Landing is where we end.

From our little harbor, we'll adventure together into the depths of theme park design, critique, and imagineering. Welcome aboard! I hope you'll enjoy the journey.

And if you have to go, remember: our light is always on.