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.

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

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.