Disneyland in real life: The gorgeous town that inspired the theme park

I may be all grown up, but tell me about a place that inspired creative-force Walt Disney, and I will turn into a wide-eyed kid.

His larger-than-life ideas had to have come from somewhere, and I’m always interested to find out where.

Disney’s Main Street, USA, takes cues from a historic precinct in Denver, Colorado.Credit: Getty Images

Cinderella Castle, at the centre of two Disney theme parks, took cues from Germany’s Neuschwanstein, alongside other European palaces. Apart from the lavish residence of a former Bavarian king, Disney also sought inspiration on home soil from a place far more pedestrian: Colorado’s Fort Collins.

Just an hour’s drive north of Denver, the Old Town of Fort Collins captures the imagination. The charming precinct’s historic buildings are the poster child for Disneyland’s Main Street, USA, which first opened at Anaheim, California, in 1955.

Historic Linden Hotel in Old Town Fort Collins.Credit: Getty Images

Musician and actor Harper Goff assisted Disney in creating the theme park, reimagining his own hometown for the nostalgic thoroughfare. His muse, too, is a place of magic.

Walking through the beautifully preserved historic district feels like a cosmopolitan fairytale well-suited to princess cosplay. As in Disneyland, everything appears orderly and bright.

The town’s old firehouse now contains the Firehouse Book Store and a teahouse.

Lights are festooned above Old Town square’s paved brick roads and planter boxes in flower add to its perfectly manicured landscape – all is impeccable. It surprises me that there are no street actors dressed as Mickey Mouse, goofing around trying to make a quick buck in the real-life version of the theme park.

I see the Firehouse Book Store, the bank building, and the Linden Hotel – all in an array of architectural styles that are mirrored along Disneyland’s Main Street, USA.

Fort Collins also attracted the gaze of another American visionary: artist Andy Warhol.

In 1981 three giant Campbell’s Tomato Soup can sculptures were created by the Colorado State University Department of Art and erected on the uni’s grounds to commemorate an exhibition in honour of the artist.

Andy Warhol collaborated with Colarado State University on a giant Campbell’s soup can.

They followed specifications provided by Warhol which included purchasing a soup can from a store and copying it exactly, barcode included. Today, one colossal can, signed by Warhol, still sits in situ.

Metres away from the pop art tribute are plenty more bold hues at the university’s Annual Flower Trial Garden, consisting of more than 1000 plants.

I enjoy more flashes of colour exploring the city on an e-bike. Fort Collins is a flat city that has more than 321 kilometres of dedicated bike lanes and 80 kilometres of bike routes. I blitz through blooms as I pass the university’s heritage buildings and Canvas Stadium, the home field of the Colorado State Rams college football team, en route to one of the city’s more than 20 brew houses.

In Fort Collins visit the Annual Flower Trial Garden or jump on a e-bike to visit other gadens.

New Belgium Brewing Company, the country’s fourth-largest craft brewer, is a wonderland for beer enthusiasts, selling Belgian-style beers with a sizeable half-moon-shaped beer garden with sun lounges, umbrellas and food trucks bordering the green. In short, it’s a vibe.

Another garden full of good fun is The Gardens on Spring Creek. Multiple botanical gardens are spread across seven hectares. Here, my whimsical Disney Princess dream lives on with 300-plus butterflies fluttering about in a Butterfly House. In summer, the estate goes into overdrive with its Live at the Gardens Summer Concert Series. Blooms, beats and bites – why not?

The town’s Butterfly House is quite magical.

My trip to Fort Collins ends on a wholesome note with a visit to Ginger and Baker. Housed in what was, in the early 1900s, a store, a grain elevator and a hay warehouse, the heritage-listed venue continues to be a one-stop shop, albeit more pleasurable. It features a market and bakery, cafe, steakhouse, teaching kitchen, wine cellar, rooftop restaurant and patio.

The venue is renowned for its pies and I’m a big fan of a pie on the road. Preferring savoury to sweet, I opt for a pot pie filled with slow-roasted chicken chunks and vegetables encased in a flaky, buttery crust.

With just one bite, I feel like a kid again, having an ethereal moment gobbling it all up. Fort Collins has that effect.

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Room at The Armstrong Hotel are from $US125 ($196). See thearmstronghotel.com

The writer was a guest of the Colorado Tourism Office and Visit Fort Collins.