Comparing Main Streets Around the World

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Main Street, U.S.A is the opening Land that serves as an entrance to the other Lands in four of the six Magic Kingdom style Parks around the world. The other two Parks, Tokyo and Shanghai, have similar layouts but, their Lands are known as World Bazaar and Mickey Avenue respectively. All four Main Streets and World Bazaar have a small town, turn of the century, Victorian era theme. Mickey Avenue is themed around classic Disney animated characters. Main Street was heavily influenced by Walt’s home town of Marceline, Missouri and Marceline also served as the inspiration for the town in Lady and the Tramp. The layout of Main Street is generally the same throughout the Parks where guests enter under the railroad station and into town square. Town square leads into a long, single street with shops and restaurants along either side. The end of the street turns into the central plaza, or hub, with walkways leading in all directions to the other Lands. Main Street, U.S.A. is filled with many guest services such as guest relations, lockers, first aid, baby care centres, and stroller and wheelchair rentals.

The Magic Kingdom style Parks are set up like a show, with many elements of Main Street reflecting this. The front Mickey floral arrangement represents the Mickey face that starts off every classic Mickey Mouse cartoon and the attraction posters in the entrance tunnels serve as the previews that happen before a show. Have you ever noticed the significance of the colour of brick at the entrance? It is red as if to roll out the red carpet. And guests pass underneath the railroad in order to have a grand reveal of the Park, similar to the raising of the curtain. All along Main Street are windows showcasing the names of the people who helped design, build, and bring magic to the Parks. These are the opening credits. And then guests walk through the central hub and on to the rest of the show!

Disneyland:

The original Main Street, U.S.A. is filled with details that really immerse guests back in time. Not only was this Main Street based off of Marceline, but it was also influenced by Fort Collins, Colorado which was the hometown of Disney artist Harper Goff. The buildings of Main Street have three floors but only the first one is of actual height. The second one is much shorter with the third floor being even smaller. This is to make Main Street seem like an actual sized town without feeling overpowering, which is known as forced perspective. There are a few attractions along Main Street such as the famous Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and the Main Street Cinema, where Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts play throughout the entire day. Main Street is home to The Dapper Dans; this popular barbershop quartet began in 1959 and still performs daily. There are many delicious dining locations along Main Street such as Carnation Café, Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor, Jolly Holiday Bakery Café, Market House, and Refreshment Corner. There is also the Plaza Inn which is a character dining buffet. Shops include: Candy Palace and Candy Kitchen, Crystal Arts, Disneyana, The Mad Hatter, Silhouette Studio, and the Emporium. In the early days of Disneyland, Main Street was home to many stores that sold everyday items instead of Park merchandise. This was to keep with the small town feel and some of the shops were: Flower Mart, Candle Shop, Grandma’s Baby Shop, Wurlitzer Music Hall, Yale and Towne Lock Shop, Watches and Clocks, and Wizard of Bras. And my favourite part of Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A is its beautiful tribute to Walt Disney in the form of a simple lamp. Walt had his own private apartment above the firehouse on Main Street and when he was visiting his beloved Disneyland, Walt would keep a lamp in the window lit to let Cast Members know he was there. Since he has passed away, the lamp has always remained lit as a symbol that Walt’s spirit will always be alive in Disneyland. And I literally just teared up writing that, so moving on…

Magic Kingdom:

Magic Kingdom’s Main Street, U.S.A. has a much larger and grander feel to it than the quaint small town look of Disneyland’s Main Street. This is mostly due to the simple fact that Walt Disney World was built on the East coast. Instead of being reminiscence of a small town west of the Mississippi River, Magic Kingdom needed to reflect the history and people of New England. At the turn of the century, Victorian style architecture was much larger and more elaborate on the East coast than the West coast, simply due to the larger population. There is plenty of entertainment around this Main Street! There is the Main Street Trolley Show, The Dapper Dans, and the Main Street Citizens. A highlight of Main Street is in the Town Square area where guests can meet Tinker Bell and Mickey Mouse at the Town Square Theatre. Town Square also features a statue of Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse to complement the Partners Statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse found in front of the Castle. Some of the dining locations here include Casey’s Corner, Main Street Bakery, Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, and The Plaza Restaurant. Winnie the Pooh and friends join guests at the character dining location The Crystal Palace and there is also Tony’s Town Square Restaurant which is themed to Lady and the Tramp. Some of the shops are The Chapeau, Crystal Arts, Main Street Confectionery, and the Emporium. At Walt Disney World, each Park has a package pickup location for guests who do not wish to carry around their purchases all day. In the Magic Kingdom, the pickup location is located at the Main Street Chamber of Commerce. Another difference is that Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Railroad Station is so big that there is a bottom level where guests can rent strollers. And a fun detail about the Main Street Firehouse is that it is home to the Engine Co. 71, a nod to the year Walt Disney World opened.

Tokyo Disneyland:

Guests enter Tokyo Disneyland through World Bazaar. This is Tokyo’s version of Main Street, U.S.A. with the similar “turn of the century America” theming as Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. However, World Bazaar has some major differences. The most obvious difference is that there is a beautiful glass roof covering all of World Bazaar. It is in the style of a Victorian conservatory so it still fits the theme but with the useful purpose of battling stormy weather. The next major difference is that there is no train station at the entrance to the Park. Guests only pass through a portico after the turnstiles. World Bazaar is also made up of two streets instead of just one. A Center Street crosses through the Main Street halfway up World Bazaar and leads to both Adventureland and Tomorrowland on either side. World Bazaar has many dining locations scattered throughout Main Street and Center Street including: Center Street Coffeehouse, Eastside Café, Great American Waffle Company, Sweetheart Café, and Refreshment Corner. There are 14 different shops around World Bazaar! Some of them being: Toy Station, House of Greetings, World Bazaar Confectionery, the Magic Shop, and the Grand Emporium. Instead of a City Hall for Guest information, World Bazaar has Main Street House. World Bazaar is also home to Tokyo Disneyland’s Club 33.

Disneyland Paris:

The entrance to Disneyland Paris is very unique because guests walk underneath the Disneyland Hotel to enter through the turnstiles. This immediately turns into Main Street, U.S.A. but instead of only two side tunnels under the railroad, there is an additional central tunnel. Something else unique to Disneyland Paris is the Liberty Arcade and the Discovery Arcade. These arcades are long hallways that are along the backs of the shops and restaurants along either side of Main Street, U.S.A. These arcades are ingenious because they greatly help with the crowds during the mass exiting of the Park at the end of each night. The Discovery Arcade features exhibits dedicated to inventors of the early 20^th century and the Liberty Arcade features the history of the Statue of Liberty. There are also two stubs of side streets halfway down Main Street: Market Street and Flower Street. There are several dining locations along Main Street including the signature table service Walt’s – an American Restaurant at 1401 Flower Street (Walt Disney Imagineering is located at 1401 Flower Street, Glendale, California (another reference to this building is Star Tours Flight 1401.)) There are six different themed dining rooms inside the restaurant which are called: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Discoveryland, Frontierland, Disneyland Hotel, and Grand Canyon. Other quick service restaurants include Casey’s Corner, Cookie Kitchen, The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour, and Market House Deli. There is also a buffet restaurant called Plaza Gardens Restaurant. Some of the shops here are Boardwalk Candy Palace, Disneyana Collectables, Lilly’s Boutique, and the Emporium. Another unique aspect is that Disneyland Paris’s Main Street is set in the 1920s instead of the turn of the century.

Hong Kong Disneyland:

Main Street, U.S.A. in Hong Kong Disneyland is a very close copy to Disneyland’s Main Street, though there have been some recent changes to make Hong Kong Disneyland more its own. One of these changes is the recently opened Royal Princess Garden. The Royal Princess Garden is home to the Bibiddi Bobiddi Boutique, the Royal Princess Shoppe, and an area to meet the Princesses. The current rotating Princesses are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, and Sofia the First. Another aspect unique to Hong Kong Disneyland’s Main Street is that it is home to the Animation Academy and the Art of Animation. The backstory to this Main Street is also different than the American Parks. Instead of just being small town U.S.A., this Main Street is influenced by travellers returning home from Hong Kong. America tourists had fallen in love with the Chinese culture and wanted to include elements of their travels in their own hometown. This is especially evident in the Plaza Inn table service restaurant. The Plaza Inn also features some amazing murals of the concept art of Mulan. And keep an eye out for some hidden Mushus! Other dining locations include the Market House Bakery, and the Main Street Corner Café (where they serve delicious Afternoon Tea!). Some of the shops are the traditional Emporium, Center Street Boutique, and the Main Street Cinema – My Journeys with Duffy.

Shanghai Disneyland:

Shanghai Disneyland is not home to a Main Street, U.S.A. but features Mickey Avenue instead. Mickey Avenue serves the same purpose as Main Street as being an entrance into the rest of the Park with dining and shopping locations. It is themed towards classic animated characters, similar to Mickey’s Toontown but with a more cosmopolitan feel. Mickey Avenue is separated into three areas: the Market District, the Theatre District, and Celebration Square. There are three dining locations on Mickey Avenue: Il Paperino which serves ice cream, the bakery Remy’s Patisserie, and the quick service Mickey & Pals Market Café. This quick service has four unique dining rooms: Mickey’s Galley, Daisy’s Café, Tony’s, and The Three Caballeros and features caricatures of several Disney characters done by animator Eric Goldberg. The caricature look is based off of the styles of Disney artists Fred Moore, Mary Blair, and Ward Kimball and is also heavily influenced by the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. Each caricature has also been published in the book An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg Draws the Disney Characters, which I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in the artistic side of Disney. Another dining location, though not open to the public, is Club 33. There are also many shops along Mickey Avenue such as Shanghai Disneyland’s largest shop Avenue M Arcade. There is also Carefree Corner, Whistle Stop Shop, and Sweethearts Confectionery. Mickey Avenue features its own Carthay Circle Theatre, though it is only a building structure. Mickey Avenue was named after a street at the Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Below is a chart to break down all of the attractions that can be found on each Main Street, U.S.A. around the world.

Disneyland	Magic Kingdom	Tokyo Disneyland	Disneyland Paris	Hong Kong Disneyland	Shanghai Disneyland
Omnibus	Omnibus	Omnibus	Omnibus	Omnibus
Horseless Carriage	Jitney		Limousine	Taxi
Disneyland Railroad	Walt Disney World Railroad		Disneyland Railroad	Disneyland Railroad
Fire Engine	Fire Engine		Fire Engine
Horse-Drawn Streetcars	Horse-Drawn Streetcars		Horse-Drawn Streetcars
The Dapper Dans	The Dapper Dans
Main Street Cinema					Mickey’s Film Festival
	Harmony Barber Shop		Dapper Dan’s Haircuts
		Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique		Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
			Paddy Wagon	Paddy Wagon
The Disney Gallery
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
	Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
	Town Square Theater
	Citizens of Main Street
		Penny Arcade
			Mercer
				Animation Academy
				Royal Princess Garden

Walt Disney’s dedication of Main Street, U.S.A. on opening day, July 17, 1955.

“Main Street, U.S.A. is America at the Turn of the century – the crossroads of an era. The gas lamp and the electric lamp – the horse-drawn car and the auto car. Main Street is everyone’s hometown – the heart line of America.”