Walt Disney World: Overlooked Treasures and Stories (Volume I - Main Street, USA)

A thought struck me today: I know a lot about Walt Disney World.

Another thought struck me today: What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t share this knowledge with you? I mean, most of these facts are quite interesting. So I now proudly present to you the first in a series of blogs about the hidden treasures and stories of WDW. I thought a good place to start would be in the Magic Kingdom (MK), and there’s no better place in MK to start than Main Street, USA, “gateway to the seven themed lands of the Magic Kingdom.”

A small note: I’ll be using some common Disney abbreviations. You’ll get used to them, I promise.

The first structure that you notice when arriving on Main Street is the train station. There are several points of interest about Main Street Station. Most notably, it serves as a departure point for the WDW Railroad, which guests may board at the platform on the second floor. The first floor of the station formerly housed the MK’s locker rental, but now rents out strollers and wheelchairs. There’s also an Arrival and Departure board, full of references to Disney ventures. Can anyone name any of them?

This schedule board is located in Main Street Station.

Main Street Station is also one of two buildings on MSUSA to be built at full scale. There are two reasons for this: firstly, since Guests have direct access to the upper floors, it was necessary to build it at full scale. And I’m thankful they did – could you imagine walking around a building that’s only 5/8 the size it should be?

The second reason is much more interesting. The size of the train station serves to block out the view of Cinderella Castle at the far end of Main Street. The Imagineers did this on purpose. You see, Imagineering has its roots in the movie business, and there is a big movie theme throughout Main Street. But I’ll talk about that later….

As I said, the train station one of two buildings on Main Street to be full size. The other is right next to the train station in Town Square: Main Street Exposition Hall. If this building were constructed using forced perspective (like the other MSUSA buildings), the Contemporary would be fully visible from Town Square and the show would be completely ruined. To prevent this from happening, the Imagineers built Exposition Hall at full scale to screen the Contemporary.

The windows on Main Street are also very significant. The names on the windows are all those of important people who played a major part in WDW history. The business names are made up to suit the hobbies or occupations of those honored. For example, Seven Summits Expeditions is run by a man named Frank Wells. In real life, Frank Wells was a former Disney executive who happened to enjoy mountain climbing. Another favorite of mine is one in honor of Joyce Carlson that reads “Dolls by Miss Joyce, Dollmaker for the World: New York, California, Florida, Tokyo,& Paris.” Does anyone know what this window means?

Joyce Carlson's Main Street window. Can anyone guess what she did and what these locations mean?

Each end of Main Street is anchored by a statue sculpted by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson. The more famous of the two is the Partners statue in the Hub, depicting Walt Disney and his most famous creation and best friend, Mickey Mouse. The other is located in Town Square and depicts Walt’s brother and business partner, Roy Disney sitting hand in hand with Minnie Mouse. These two statues are very indicative of both Disney brothers. Walt, the visionary, is taking a prominent position, pointing the way to the future, while the moneymaker Roy is sitting down in a more behind-the scenes role, just the way it was in through the mid 60s.

You may also notice that Main Street is on an incline. This also is done for two reasons. Firstly, the Magic Kingdom is 14 feet above sea level in order to provide room for the Utilidors (service tunnels beneath MK) at ground level. The Main Street incline serves part of this purpose. The other reason is more practical: going into the park, when you’re full of energy and excitement, you’re walking uphill. Leaving the park, when you’re tired and drained, your trek back is made easier when you walk downhill towards the exit. Clever, isn’t it?

As I mentioned earlier, Main Street is tied together by the movie theme. That’s really not a surprise, as you’ll find show business references throughout everything Disney: Cast Members wearing costumes playing roles, onstage, backstage, the whole drift. But Main Street is the perfect example of the Imagineers putting you, the Guest, right into the middle of a traditional movie without you knowing. It’s really pretty cool how it’s done.

It all starts when you arrive at the Transportation and Ticket Center. You can just see the very top of Cinderella Castle, and you get the little pang of excitement, just like seeing a movie poster outside the theater.

You then board the monorail, and as the castle grows closer and closer, you see more and more of it without seeing the whole thing. Consider this the movie trailer.

You finally arrive at the Magic Kingdom. You may notice that the pavement outside the gates and on the sidewalks of Main Street is red, just as movie premieres lay out the red carpet. In order to enter the park, you must go through one of the two entrance tunnels. The view before you begins to darken, just like a movie theater before the show begins. Then all of a sudden, you begin to be slowly immersed in the world of Main Street, just as a movie would fade into view.

Because of the way Town Square is built, the castle is still screened from view. You have to walk through the square, thus becoming more immersed in the story, before you round that final corner and see the magnificent view of Cinderella Castle, the movie’s title card.

But before the movie can really get started, there must be the credits, stating the names of the people who worked on the movie. And before you can start your day of fun in the Magic Kingdom, the windows above Main Street proudly display the names of some of the most influential people in WDW’s history. There are two windows for Walt Disney: one is on the train station, and the other is above the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor at the far end of the street. Thus, Walt’s name is both the first and last name you see, just as the director’s name is listed both first and last in the movie credits. These very same windows perform the exact same function at the end of the day in the form of the closing credits. Pretty cool, huh?

These are just a few of the interesting facts about Main Street, USA. Main Street is a land that is full of theming, inside jokes, tributes, and fun. I sincerely hope that you’ve not only learned something reading this, but have had a little fun while doing so.

I’ll be seeing you soon. I’m off to go meet Chief Nami in Adventureland. He said something about a two-for-one special….