We just returned from a family trip to Disneyland. We timed the trip carefully. February is a slower month there, much less crowded than at the peak of vacations. I love the classic theme park, but I despise long lines. So in February (and my sons happened to have a week-long Presidents Day break – go figure), it may actually deserve the title “Happiest Place on Earth.”
 
Disneyland has to be on any list of must-see attractions, but I was looking at a map of the place, and it sparked an idea for this post. I’m going take a tour of the eight sections of the park – actually, nine if you count California Adventure – and offer the best American places that would fit under each category, or at least some of my favorites. You’ll see what I mean.
 
MAIN STREET, U.S.A.
 
This elicits thoughts of hamlets that ooze small-town charm, the kind of places that feel like something out of a storybook. Like these five:
 
1. Ouray, Colorado
2. DeFuniak Springs, Florida
3. Mendocino, California
4. Woodstock, Vermont
5. Booth Bay Harbor, Maine
 
FANTASYLAND
 
Sure, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is iconic. But try these:
 
1. CastlePost (Versailles, Kentucky)
2. Hearst Castle (San Simeon, California)
3. Smithsonian Castle (Washington, D.C.)
4. Scotty’s Castle (Death Valley, California)
5. Corn Palace (Mitchell, South Dakota)
 
TOMORROWLAND
 
Disney offers Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. But you can also visit these:
 
1. Kennedy Space Center (Florida)
2. Very Large Array (New Mexico)
3. Space Center Houston (Texas)
4. U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Alabama)
5. Seattle Space Needle (Washington)
 
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
 
It’s a bit of a hodgepodge at Disneyland, including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion (always and forever my favorite). But it’s supposed to approximate the French Quarter – in other words, a slice of an authentic American subculture. For that kind of thing, try these:
 
1. Shipshewana, Indiana (Amish)
2. Stone Mountain, Georgia (southern)
3. Mystic, Connecticut (maritime)
4. Durango, Colorado (western)
5. Santa Cruz, California (counterculture)
 
ADVENTURELAND
 
Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise… this is an adrenalin-fueled section of the Disney experience. And for the American experience, so are these:
 
1. Rafting the Snake River (Wyoming)
2. Driving the Million Dollar Highway (Colorado)
3. Hiking to the fumaroles of Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
4. Paragliding over Key West (Florida)
5. Running down Sleeping Bear Dunes (Michigan)
 
CRITTER COUNTRY
 
Disney positions it as a trip into the “deep backwoods,” mostly a Winnie-the-Pooh adventure. But it’s hard to beat these critter sightings:
 
1. Alligators during an airboat cruise in Florida’s Everglades
2. Bison strolling past smoking geysers in Yellowstone National Park
3. Dozens of miniature horses galloping around a farm in Dayton, Ohio
4. Sea lions crowding the beaches of San Simeon, California
5. Illuminated jellyfish swimming like animated art at the Monterey Bay Aquarium


MICKEY’S TOONTOWN
 
Cartoons? How about these possible places:
 
1. Cartoon Art Museum (San Francisco, California)
2. Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum (Cheshire, Connecticut)
3. Dennis the Menace Park (Monterey, California)
4. Chester, Illinois: Home of Popeye
5. Metropolis, Illinois: Superman’s hometown
 
FRONTIERLAND
 
The version in Anaheim is an homage to the settlers, pioneers and trailblazers of the Old West. But these places are the real deal:
 
1. Dodge City, Kansas
2. Tombstone, Arizona
3. Deadwood, South Dakota
4. Leadville, Colorado
5. Las Vegas, New Mexico
 
CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
 
Well, there’s Lake Tahoe and Redwood National Park and Napa Valley and Monterey Bay and Death Valley and Joshua Tree and the Golden Gate Bridge – most of which are celebrated in the park’s amazing Soarin’ Over California ride. But if I had to pick five must-see places in California, I think maybe I’d choose these:
 
1. Sequoia National Park
2. Yosemite National Park
3. Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County
4. Big Sur
5. What else? Disneyland.