Death at Disneyland, California

Disneyland has often been called “the happiest place on earth.” Since its opening in 1955, hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life have flocked to this American Mecca and been swept up in the fantasy world envisioned by Walt Disney. From the park entrance on “Main Street USA”, recreating turn of the century small town America at 5/8 scale, to the top of the faux Matterhorn, complete with imitiation bobsled runs, Disneyland evokes images and fantasies of life in happier, more pleasant, and more exciting worlds.

But, beneath this glittering facade lurks something malevolent, something lethal. In the Magic Kingdom, life is not all pixie dust and happy, fairy tale endings. Behind the mouse’s perpetually forced grin, there is more than a trace of the death head’s grimace. For not all of the millions of “guests” (never visitors, patrons or suckers) entering the park in search of fantasy and pleasure survive to see the Electric Parade. They will leave the park in body bags, struck down by fantasy “attractions” run amok.

—words taken from Jeff Cooper, found at this site.  This is a great read, especially for all you Angelenos out there who grew up in that park.