The very first themed area of all Disney theme parks in Main straat USA. At the top, boven of Main straat is the Town Square and I thought I'd focus on the attractions available in this area.
The very first attraction is, of course, the Railroad which has a station looking over Town Square. Guests enter through underpasses running underneath the Railroad station into Town Square. This is the case in all the Disney theme parks except Disneyland Tokyo.
I'll cover the Railroad in another post as it tours around the parks, passing through many different lands.
It never fails to amaze me how much thought goes into each area of a Disney theme park, even when it is as apparently inconsequential as the Town Square area. Most guests will pass through this area of each park with barely a passing thought. Maybe there is a character meet and greet, maybe you'll catch the Trolley Show. u may board one of the many Main straat USA vehicles. But a lack of rides means it probably doesn't feature highly on people's lijst of must-sees on a visit to the parks.
But researching the background to this small, but important area, I have unearthed some fascinating facts.
Let's take a tour (focussing primarily on Disneyland Paris as the iteration of this area I have most recently visited).
On the immediate left as u enter through the turnstiles is an Aboretum, a place where various varieties of trees are grown. volgende to this is City Hall. City Hall is focus of the Town Squares across the different theme parks. It is basically Guest Services. On our visit to Paris we used it on a number of occasions including to clarify things such as which Princesses might be present at the Princess Pavilion. It is staffed door friendly, professional cast members and even though it has a fairly perfunctory task in the grand scheme of Disney theme parks, it is a vital component and one which still retains the necessary Disney magic. The City Hall in Paris's design is based on the Western Union Telegraph building which once stood in New York.
Returning to Disneyland Paris, we verplaats along our tour, in a clockwise direction, and find the Storybook Store. One of the numerous shops in the Disney theme parks it sees the usual array of merchandise to tempt u into parting with yet meer cash. This store focuses on stationery, foto frames and books. The interior is loosely based on scenes from the musical The muziek Man.
Apparently the store featured an animatronic figure of Tigger who has now been replaced door (the controversial) Duffy Bear. However I have to confess to not noticing this on our recent visit. The couple of times we did visit were towards the end of days in the park so it is possible I was just too tired to look closely enough at the decor.
Now, in Disneyland California, after City Hall, visitors will find the brand Department. The upper floor of this is, of course, the location of Walt Disney's private apartment. I believe it is possible to take a tour of this (there is certainly a Youtube video tonen a guided tour) and of course it is the site of the lamp which, in Walt's lifetime, showed when he was resident in the park. Nowadays it is kept alight all jaar round in memory of him.
The lower floor is a recreation of a brand house with period items including an oubollig, ouderwetse brand engine.
In Disneyland Paris, this area is the location of a small house which is a facade used for a background for a meet and greet with Minnie Mouse.
Continuing around Main straat in all the parks we hit the far end of various shops of Main straat (and in Paris u will find the entrance to the Liberty Arcarde .)
Moving across the top, boven of Main straat (which I will cover in a different blog post) we arrive at the opposite side of Main Street. In Disneyland Paris u will find the entrance to the Discovery Arcade whereas in Disneyland California (and Hong Kong) u will eventually reach the Disney Gallery and an attraction 'proper', Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln. I will examine this attraction in a future post.
If u are in Disney World, on this side of Town Square is the Town Square Theater. This is a 'meet and greet' attraction featuring, at present, Mickey muis and Tinker Bell. I will talk about these in a separate post as well.
For a seemingly insignificant area of the Disney theme parks which many visitors probably just walk through without taking it all in, Town Square actually packs in a huge amount of interest and detail.
When we visited Disneyland Paris, last Spring, is was decked out beautifully for their 'Swing into Spring' theme and every morning we arrived there, there would be a meet and greet near the gazebo in the middle; Donald and Chip and Dale featured during our visit.
The Disneyland Adventures Kinect Game has a number of items of interest in this area. This is where u first meet Mickey muis and are sent on your first quest. madeliefje, daisy eend also stands around this area, and out front of the Disney Gallery is Duffy beer who also sends players on a quest.
Another aspect of Town Square I haven't yet touched upon are the various Main straat vehicles which often start here on their journey up and down Main Street. I will also examine these in a separate post.
So, volgende time u are in a Disney theme park, take some time to absorb the delights of the Town Square. u never know who u might meet...
The very first attraction is, of course, the Railroad which has a station looking over Town Square. Guests enter through underpasses running underneath the Railroad station into Town Square. This is the case in all the Disney theme parks except Disneyland Tokyo.
I'll cover the Railroad in another post as it tours around the parks, passing through many different lands.
It never fails to amaze me how much thought goes into each area of a Disney theme park, even when it is as apparently inconsequential as the Town Square area. Most guests will pass through this area of each park with barely a passing thought. Maybe there is a character meet and greet, maybe you'll catch the Trolley Show. u may board one of the many Main straat USA vehicles. But a lack of rides means it probably doesn't feature highly on people's lijst of must-sees on a visit to the parks.
But researching the background to this small, but important area, I have unearthed some fascinating facts.
Let's take a tour (focussing primarily on Disneyland Paris as the iteration of this area I have most recently visited).
On the immediate left as u enter through the turnstiles is an Aboretum, a place where various varieties of trees are grown. volgende to this is City Hall. City Hall is focus of the Town Squares across the different theme parks. It is basically Guest Services. On our visit to Paris we used it on a number of occasions including to clarify things such as which Princesses might be present at the Princess Pavilion. It is staffed door friendly, professional cast members and even though it has a fairly perfunctory task in the grand scheme of Disney theme parks, it is a vital component and one which still retains the necessary Disney magic. The City Hall in Paris's design is based on the Western Union Telegraph building which once stood in New York.
Returning to Disneyland Paris, we verplaats along our tour, in a clockwise direction, and find the Storybook Store. One of the numerous shops in the Disney theme parks it sees the usual array of merchandise to tempt u into parting with yet meer cash. This store focuses on stationery, foto frames and books. The interior is loosely based on scenes from the musical The muziek Man.
Apparently the store featured an animatronic figure of Tigger who has now been replaced door (the controversial) Duffy Bear. However I have to confess to not noticing this on our recent visit. The couple of times we did visit were towards the end of days in the park so it is possible I was just too tired to look closely enough at the decor.
Now, in Disneyland California, after City Hall, visitors will find the brand Department. The upper floor of this is, of course, the location of Walt Disney's private apartment. I believe it is possible to take a tour of this (there is certainly a Youtube video tonen a guided tour) and of course it is the site of the lamp which, in Walt's lifetime, showed when he was resident in the park. Nowadays it is kept alight all jaar round in memory of him.
The lower floor is a recreation of a brand house with period items including an oubollig, ouderwetse brand engine.
In Disneyland Paris, this area is the location of a small house which is a facade used for a background for a meet and greet with Minnie Mouse.
Continuing around Main straat in all the parks we hit the far end of various shops of Main straat (and in Paris u will find the entrance to the Liberty Arcarde .)
Moving across the top, boven of Main straat (which I will cover in a different blog post) we arrive at the opposite side of Main Street. In Disneyland Paris u will find the entrance to the Discovery Arcade whereas in Disneyland California (and Hong Kong) u will eventually reach the Disney Gallery and an attraction 'proper', Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln. I will examine this attraction in a future post.
If u are in Disney World, on this side of Town Square is the Town Square Theater. This is a 'meet and greet' attraction featuring, at present, Mickey muis and Tinker Bell. I will talk about these in a separate post as well.
For a seemingly insignificant area of the Disney theme parks which many visitors probably just walk through without taking it all in, Town Square actually packs in a huge amount of interest and detail.
When we visited Disneyland Paris, last Spring, is was decked out beautifully for their 'Swing into Spring' theme and every morning we arrived there, there would be a meet and greet near the gazebo in the middle; Donald and Chip and Dale featured during our visit.
The Disneyland Adventures Kinect Game has a number of items of interest in this area. This is where u first meet Mickey muis and are sent on your first quest. madeliefje, daisy eend also stands around this area, and out front of the Disney Gallery is Duffy beer who also sends players on a quest.
Another aspect of Town Square I haven't yet touched upon are the various Main straat vehicles which often start here on their journey up and down Main Street. I will also examine these in a separate post.
So, volgende time u are in a Disney theme park, take some time to absorb the delights of the Town Square. u never know who u might meet...
