Wednesday, September 3, 2008

GREETINGS FROM MAIN STREET U.S.A, part 1

To start with this blog, let's pay a visit to my "almost" home town, Main Street U.S.A at Disneyland Resort Paris.

As in the other Magic Kingdoms, Main Street U.S.A is inspired by Marceline, Missouri, where Walt Disney spent part of his childhood. This is America at the turn of the past century, when electricity was slowly replacing gaslight, steam trains where the best way to travel and the auto car was the modern marvel. This is my favorite land of all and it was graced by an amazing team of Disney Imagineers led by the great Eddie Sotto. I am so glad that so much of their work and storylines are still there today.

On this first part, we'll start with Town Square. As you pass the Main Street Train Station or come out of it, this is the first place you will come across. Here you'll find main services such as the City Hall, the public library or the transportation company.


Our City Hall was inspired by the Western Union Telegraph Building in New York, yet the shape of it also reminds me of the old Federal Hall from the same city. Here are two representations of these buildings.


The inside of it is quite nice as well, with decorations reminding us of the federal aspect of the place and various pictures and artworks of Disneyland Resort Paris, once named Euro Disney Resort, then Euro Disneyland and, until 2002, Disneyland Paris, anyway, here are some nighttime pictures.


Right next door to the City Hall is the Storybook Store, the public library.

While inside this store, if you look up you'll see familiar characters who are visiting the library.


Across from these buildings you will find the Main Street Transportation Company. This is where the horsedrawn streetcar comes out every morning. The outline of this building was inspired by the original Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, Anaheim, of course everything here has a Victorian flair.

Next door to this business is Doctor Bitz's Dental School, from the windows upstairs you can hear the Doctor at work on some of his patients. Everyone can relate to these extreme experiences and it was one of Walt Disney's favorite running gags when it played in Rainbow Ridge, this fictive town of Frontierland from which departed the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland.


On one of the windows upstairs, you will find the names of the Show Producers for the five different lands of the Disneyland Park in Paris: Jeff Burke (Frontierland), Tim Delaney (Discoveryland), Tom Morris (Fantasyland), Eddie Sotto (Main Street U.S.A) and Chris Tietz (Adventureland). Of course the Show Producer for the entire park was none other than Tony Baxter.

Around the corner of this building is a small "decorative" business that people don't usually pay attention to, the Kitty Hawk Bicycle Shop, this is a tribute to the Wright brothers, who first flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and owned a bicycle company (the Wright Cycle Co. in Dayton, Ohio).


Of course, Town Square has many other details and stories, but on our next visit, we'll try to move along the Main Street of my little town. Till then, take good care of you.