I went to Disneyland last year with my family, and I’m not sure if my shock was due to the fact that I’m from British Columbia and we seem so much more “into” reusing, recycling, and reducing our waste or if there truly was a lack of environmental awareness at the Magic Kingdom.  Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE Disneyland, but even a mainstream gal like me was a little put off by the eco-unfriendliness.

Even my 4 year old asked “Where’s the recycling bin, mom?” when she went to get rid of a juice box we had smuggled in.  It took me 4 hours into Day 1 to find a disposal bin where cans could be separated from other garbage.  And then ½ way through our rest break, a worker (super chipper, of course), emptied both the cans and the garbage into the same larger container…sigh…

Of course this led to me day dreaming of things that the Big Mouse could do to “go green” – some pragmatic, and some pie-in-the-sky:

• Install more water fountains so people don’t need to buy water in plastic bottles that go straight to the landfill when disposed of.  Set up a stainless steel bottle kiosk right next to the fountain, so customers will not only be hydrated, they’ll buy another Disney souvenir.
• Create a Wall-E themed attraction where people can see what happens when they don’t make conservation efforts and then plant a tree when they leave the attraction.  They get to plant 2 trees if they happen to be named EVA.
• How about some Eco-Ears?  They’ve got those mouse ears for everything from princesses to pirates.  Surely the plastic could be changed at the very least to recycled plastic, or corn or hemp based.
• Offer discounts for those who arrive at the park via foot, bike or public transit.
• Switch those Autotopia cars from gas-based to solar powered (and just don’t let Big Oil know.)
• Provide an opportunity to purchase carbon offsets after riding Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
• Just like in Monsters Inc, when they harnessed the scream power of kids, surely Mickey and the gang could tap into the reservoir of wails from over-tired kids at 3pm who need to go back to their hotel for a nap, but instead are being hauled around by mom & dad telling them to behave.
• At the 2010 Winter Olympics, BC Hydro had a sustainable dance floor that was lit up by the power of people’s movement.  Surely, just installing one section of that type of flooring on Main Street (probably in front of that delicious ice cream parlour) would generate enough traffic to power a ride.
• Ensure the Main Street Electric Light parade is fully powered by LED’s.
• Have the characters ride bikes around the park
• Emphasize the eco-messaging in “It’s a Small World”…”There is just one moon and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship for everyone, it’s a small, small world after all…”
• Dinner at Ariel’s Grotto could be complete with a mini-lecture on what happens to fish-life if we don’t stop using plastic bags.

Surely, with some common sense planning, as well as some leading edge innovation, the happiest place on earth can work on becoming a greener place as well.