For David Sheegog, Disneyland did not end at the park gates. The architect took the idea home, first to his dining room table and eventually across almost every corner of his Anaheim Hills backyard.
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What began as a garden railway project in the late 1990s has grown over 27 years into a miniature Disney world, complete with castles, trains, themed buildings and an aerial skyway. Its latest addition is Pixie Hollow, a water and light show featuring 350 LED pixel lights that can be programmed individually.
Sheegog, now 70, began the project while he and his wife Frances were homeschooling their children at their Anaheim, California, home. He wanted the backyard to become a “living laboratory” where the children could explore science and nature.
Garden railroading soon became part of that plan
Before construction began, Sheegog spent about two years developing a miniature version of the backyard on the family’s dining room table. He built the model from clay and used the architectural computer programme he worked with to design the railway track layout.
“For about two years, between ‘97 and ‘99, we had a model of our backyard on our dining room table,” Sheegog told PEOPLE.
The model helped persuade Frances to go along with the idea. But Sheegog still needed a theme for the railway and landscape.
A family trip to Disney World eventually supplied it.
