Hitting the Road

In 1981, Brandy Brown and her husband, Barry, returned to Orange County after a brief move to Texas and parked their 25-foot-long trailer at a campground in the shadows of Disneyland.

What they thought would be only a short interlude before finding an apartment turned into a new way of life.

“We just landed here and I said to my husband, ‘You know, I like it here,’ ” said Brown, 46. “Then we found out there were people who lived here by the month, so we stayed.”

But the inexpensive lifestyle the Browns and dozens of other families have fashioned for themselves within the sprawling, tree-lined grounds of Disney’s Vacationland and the KOA Kampground, both located across West Street from the Magic Kingdom, are about to come to an end.

The trailer parks are designed for tourists visiting Disneyland, but for many they have become permanent homes.

Both parks will close Dec. 31 and will be replaced by a multilevel parking structure and parking lot that are part of Walt Disney Co.’s proposal to build a second theme park in the parking lot of Disneyland.

In recent months, several of the trailer park families have packed up their rigs and moved away to other parks. But many of those who remain say they aren’t at all sure where they will go. Those who choose to remain until closing day will not have to pay their final month’s rent.

Combined, the parks can house more than 500 trailers and 74 tents. Renting a space at KOA costs $365 to $395 a month, depending on the size of the trailer. At Disney’s park, monthly rent starts at $480.

“I’m very depressed; I can’t believe it’s happening,” said 56-year-old Paulette Ruel, who has lived at KOA for 16 years, working in the trailer park’s front office as she raised four children. “I’ve been here for so long, and it would have been ideal to stay here until I retire.”

Ruel is not angry at her employer, which has offered her positions at KOA parks in Northern California and other states. But she’s sad and scared because she doesn’t want to be apart from her family--including a new grandchild--and doesn’t know if her 1979 Road Ranger will be accepted at another park in the area.

Mostly, she’s reluctant to leave what she called her “neighborhood.” The parks are gated, patrolled by security guards and have a Laundromat, swimming pool and general store. They also offer residents a close-up view of Disneyland’s nightly fireworks displays during the summer.

“It has just felt like a little village where everyone knew each other,” Ruel said. “I always knew that it was safe and secure.”

Brandy Brown expressed similar sentiments.

“This has been a stress-free lifestyle and right now we have a stress factor,” she said.

While Ruel and Brown are resigned to the impending closure, Wendy Pittman, 56, makes no attempt to hide her bitterness. She and her husband, James, moved to KOA three years ago and do not want to be uprooted, especially during the Christmas holidays.

“It feels like they are throwing us away,” she said. “People who are living on fixed incomes are going to be displaced. I think it’s wrong. But Disneyland is too damned powerful for peons like us to do anything about. It’s a damned shame that they are going to plow it all under. It breaks my heart.”

At the Disney-owned park next door, Richard Norton, 43, is also mad--fighting mad.

“When the bulldozers come in, I’ll still be sitting here because it’s not right,” said Norton, who moved to the park 23 years ago. “They are just throwing us out of the park and saying, ‘Have a nice day.’ ”

Disneyland spokesman Tom Brocato said that while no new trailer park is planned, the company is trying to ease the transition process for these longtime tenants.

“We’ve really been assessing everyone’s needs,” Brocato said. “We are being sensitive and trying to advise them of what the alternatives might be.”

Officials at both parks have tried to help residents relocate by providing them with a list of similar facilities in Orange County. But residents complain that they are not being offered any kind of relocation compensation to help with a move that will cost them hundreds of dollars.

The impending move has shattered the lives of the Browns and put a heavy strain on their 23-year marriage. As of now, they plan to part and go separate ways once the park closes.

Barry Brown, 54, suffered a stroke a few years ago, then had to endure quadruple bypass surgery. He is now confined to a wheelchair. Brandy Brown broke her leg in two places when she tripped while trying to rush him to the hospital last year. She is on disability leave from her job as a vocational counselor.

“Things were tough before, but this kind of put us under the edge,” Brandy Brown said.

Despite the uncertainty of their future, the Browns and other residents still waxed sentimental about their lives inside a trailer park.

The Browns said they will miss all the friendly European tourists who have camped at the park for weeks or months while vacationing in the area. The Browns befriended many of the Europeans, who would sometimes leave them gift baskets before leaving the park. There were also tenants from other parts of the world nicknamed “snowbirds” because they live at the park between the months of September and May to escape the cold at home.

“I never would have had the chance to meet so many interesting people,” Brandy Brown said. “During the Olympics in 1984, it seemed like the entire world was here all at the same time. That was a particularly fascinating time for us.”

Brown said she is having a hard time accepting that it is all coming to an end.

“I’m going to be clinging to the gate on the last day,” she said sadly. “We’re going to lose our little world.”

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Disney expansion dooms trailer parks.