From Wes Nakama's Aug. 23 blog entry

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Forget Disneyland; I think I've just found the Happiest Place on Earth.

I'm sitting up here about 15 rows behind home plate at the Little League World Series' rustic Lamade Stadium, basically a miniature version of Wrigley Field. The stadium's design is classic 1910s, 1920s style, like something out of "The Natural." Even more so with the red, white and blue bunting that drapes from the steel support beams.

It sits at the base of a tall green mountain lush with trees.

It's a beautiful, sunny day for baseball so far, with temperatures around high 70s/low 80s and a cool light breeze blowing in.

The stadium has about 10,000 theater seats behind home plate and along the base/foul lines, but there are at least 4,000 more people sitting on the grassy hill behind the outfield fence and hedge. This place is packed, and we all just stood and sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" as the organ played the melody.

If there is a Little League Heaven, this is it.

It reminds me of Disneyland because there are kids everywhere, and they're all having the time of their life. Outside the stadium, the decorative pins definitely are the hot item, but they already ran out of the "West" ones that represent Waipi'o. They're also out of the Carolina blue West T-shirts and caps.

Call it the "omiyage" factor, I guess. (Same thing happened in New Orleans with all the Hawai'i memorabilia)

The stadium reminds me of Wrigley Field also because the foul territory is so small, so no matter where you sit, you're close to the action and have a great view. But even with its intimate confines, my first impression was this place is a lot bigger than it looks on TV.

Like Wrigley, the atmosphere here is electric. Even the adults seem to turn into little kids. The Mexican fans are on their feet, stomping and chanting as one of their kids just hit a two-run jack over the center field fence to give them a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third.

These two teams are good, but

talentwise I don't see a big disparity with Waipi'o. I definitely think Waipi'o can hang with either one (there's a third-place game, so Waipi'o plays again no matter what happens against Lake Charles, La.). Waipi'o definitely plays better defense, especially in the outfield.

The complex, which includes Volunteer Stadium just below Lamade Stadium, is tucked away in the back of an old residential neighborhood in an old 1950s-era small town. If it weren't for the GoodYear blimp hovering overhead, you might never know there were two big stadiums and thousands of people just down the road.

Oh, another thing that reminds me of Disneyland is the huge hedge that is cut out with the lettering "Little League World Series" as you walk up the hill to Lamade Stadium. It reminds me of the cut-out hedge of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.

But this place is better, because there are no long lines (I got my hot dog and coke in less than two minutes). There is a small gift shop, yes, but only one, and the items are reasonably priced.

And, instead of fantasy characters and commercialized themes, the main attraction here is as real as it gets: kids playing baseball.

It's awesome.

Thousands of parents dream of their kids playing in this event, and of course only a very select view get that opportunity.

But you know what? Now that I have seen what this place is like, if I had a 12-year-old I would bring him/her here anyway. It's a hard place to get to, especially from Hawai'i, but I would make a vacation out of it and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. before or afterward.

Can't be much more expensive than a week at Disneyland, especially since there's no admission charge at the LLWS and the parking is free.

And, you don't spend most of the day standing in line.