tourist trap

In many ways, he accomplished a lot: He managed Lake George’s transformation from a gaudy, neon-lit midcentury tourist trap to a modern family destination whose natural beauty draws 6 million visitors each summer.

Now, there are hipster hangouts, beer gardens and high-priced apartments, because Anaheim leaders took Disney’s lead and transformed my hometown into one giant tourist trap, with longtime residents little better than an afterthought.

Where a cynic might scoff at the image of a tourist trap, we know he saw these oft-visited sites as just as important in the city’s tapestry as its most hidden secrets.

So the filmmakers left behind 44 Hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn and dozens of other props, turning the farm into a proper tourist trap.

“I call it a tourist trap because it’s really overcrowded,” said Gertrude Smith, Yavapai culture director for the Yavapai-Apache Nation.