3 Land Building

A few months ago, I wrote about Disneyland’s rooftop tricks and how buildings manipulate perception across the park. One of these buildings, what I call the “3 Land Building”, is one of the best examples of simple details transforming guests’ sense of space. Let’s take a closer look at just how Disneyland can create a building that’s in 3 places at once.

Here’s the building from above. On the top half of the picture, you’re looking at a bird’s-eye view of Frontierland. To the left, you see the path leading to New Orleans Square. And the bottom of the picture marks the end of Adventureland’s main walkway.

On the Adventureland side, the building needs to look like it perfectly fits in an overgrown jungle village. Notice the low roofline and tropical pink paint. The windows on the upper level match the building next door, and the balcony has the same simple design as the other storefronts on the street. The giant leaves block much of the windows, especially when you’re sitting inside, so diners still feel like they’re deep in the jungle.

Now we move over to the New Orleans Square side. The first thing you’ll notice is how dramatically different the balcony looks compared to the Adventureland side. The iron detailing matches several facades in New Orleans Square, and the color scheme bears a striking resemblance to the Haunted Mansion. Look closely at the ceiling of the porch and you’ll notice it’s blue; it’s traditional for New Orleans porches to have light blue ceilings (and sometimes door frames).

And finally, here’s a look at the Frontierland side. This side does borrow some elements from the New Orleans Square side, for the sake of a little cohesiveness (the color and blue ceiling). But you’ll see no ornamental detailing on the columns. Instead, there’s an old-fashioned lamp hanging above the doorway and a curtain in the window matching others on the block.

The 3 Land Building isn’t the only building that pulls off this trick; the Enchanted Tiki Room and Jolly Holiday Bakery Café are also part of the same structure. But what makes this building distinctive is that it has no walls or major foliage to aid in its transition. Instead, Imagineers had to construct a building that seamlessly flowed from one space into another, while properly fitting into each respective land.