WHY HE'S AWESOME: Patrick Begorra, The Little Man of Disneyland
Did you know that there is a little man that lives in Adventureland at Disneyland? Well, its true.
In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I thought we'd celebrate by getting to know Disneyland's most famous leprechaun - Patrick Begorra - and WHY HE'S AWESOME!
In 1955, when Walt Disney constructed the fabled Disneyland, the popular children books imprint Little Golden Books published The Little Man of Disneyland in which we discover our hero Patrick Begorra, the leprechaun. Patrick lived within the orange grove on which Disneyland was built. One day, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto turned up and explained to Patrick that they wanted to build Disneyland on his land. They brought him back to Walt Disney Studios where he saw all the plans, blueprints and all.
Patrick agreed to let Disney build his wonderful world in his orange grove, but made them promise to build him a home on the land. "I like a place out of sight, hidden away, so to speak," he told Mickey Mouse.
And, so, they built him a little house in a palm tree in the middle of Adventureland.
Originally, his house was located in the Dominguez palm near the Jungle Book, but was later moved to a palm just outside the Indiana Jones Adventure where he still remains today.
If it weren't for dear Patrick, we might not have Disneyland today!
The original book was written by Little Golden Book author and editor Jane Werner with art by legendary Disney animator Dick Kelsey.
More recently, Patrick has made an appearance in the book series Tales from Adventureland. In the book The Doomsday Device, Jungle Explorers Society seeks out Patrick and the magics of his Enchanted Tree to stop the evil Collective from using the Doomsday Device.
Again, Patrick shows his awesomeness by saving the world.
So, when you're at Disneyland, go find Patrick and thank him for everything!