Superfans of Disney Parks aren’t letting a shutdown of their favorite places stop them from enjoying the magic they have to offer. For example, many Disney diehards have been creating virtual versions of classic Disney attractions, such as It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Then there’s John Daugherty of The Colony, Texas, who started construction on his own version of his favorite Disney park about three years ago as a way to capture that magical pixie-dust feel at home.
Walt Disney once said his entertainment empire “was all started by a mouse.” The start of Daugherty’s Disney Lego empire began in 2017 when he picked up the Cinderella Castle Lego set. With 4,080 pieces, this replica of the iconic Magic Kingdom castle was probably no easy task. But he found the challenge to be relaxing.
“It’s kind of like my therapy, just a fun thing to do,” he told “Good Morning America.” “It’s very zen.”
Since building Cinderella’s castle, Daugherty has picked up various Disney Lego sets and put them together. He figures he’s spent about 300 hours assembling 25 different Lego sets.
But it wasn’t until the coronavirus-related lockdowns that this creative Disney fan decided to put all of the sets together and display them as a replica park.
He shared his creation on Facebook for everyone to enjoy.
In addition to Cinderella Castle, Daugherty has re-created Main Street USA, Marvel Land, a carousel, a merry-go-round, a treehouse, a pirate ship and even the Disney Train Station, complete with Disney characters.
Before the stay-at-home orders began, the sets had been placed out of the way, in cabinets, or in the bedroom. This was mostly out of respect for his wife, Bonnie, who doesn’t seem to mind his hobby, but still. There’s only so much clutter someone can handle in their home. And indeed, she needed some convincing to put it all out in the family’s dining room.
“She tolerates my hobby,” he told “GMA.” “Though if there was a time to bring it all out, it was during a quarantine.”
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