The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (57 page)

Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree
also hosts Halloween and winter holiday carnivals with crafts, special food treats (like
Merry Monte Cristo Bites
!), and character meet-and-greets with
Disney Villains
(for Halloween) and
Santa
and
Mrs. Claus
(for Christmas).

As part of
Disneyland
’s 2013
Limited Time Magic
program, during the week of April 8 – 14, 2013,
Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree
welcomed back
Long-Lost Disney Friends
such as
Robin Hood
,
Prince John
, and
Friar Tuck
(
Disney
’s
Robin Hood
);
Scrooge McDuck
;
Esmeralda
(
Disney
’s
Hunchback of Notre Dame
); and
Pocahontas
(
Disney
’s
Pocahontas
).  It was a fun opportunity for Guests to meet and pose with characters they rarely get to see at
Disneyland
, and a chance for
Disneyland
to gauge how much these characters are missed, and whether any of them should be reintroduced.  [It baffles the author why
Pocahontas
, a princess-by-blood as daughter of the great Algonquian chief Powhatan, should be considered a
Long-Lost Disney Friend
rather than a regular princess.]

The Laughingstock Company
puts on a hilarious variety of sketches outside the
Golden Horseshoe
, and sometimes on the
Horseshoe
’s stage.  Like
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies
, the
Laughingstock
gang enlists Guest participation that sometimes involves poking gentle fun at the Guests.  Refer to the
Entertainment Times Guide
to see if and when the
Laughingstock Company
will be performing.  You might encounter them by accident; as you chomp your popcorn or turkey leg near the
Golden Horseshoe
, you might suddenly see and hear their skits unfold on the walkway in front of the music hall.

If you’re on or near
Tom Sawyer Island
, you might hear the piratical shanties of
The Bilge Rats
or
The Bootstrappers
, musical, silver-throated rogues who sometimes gather to croon in
New Orleans Square
, sometimes on the southern tip of the island.

Visitors to
Tom Sawyer Island
who make their way to the
Pirate’s Den
at the northernmost point accessible to Guests might find
Captain Jack Sparrow
himself waiting to greet them, sign autographs and pose for photos.  (Even if
Jack
’s not there, Guests will find evidence of a pirate presence in the jaw-dropping drifts of golden coins and treasure.)

Look for the
Lone Ranger
and
Tonto
in the wake of
Disney
’s cinematic reboot of
The Lone Ranger
in summer 2013. 
Johnny Depp
, of
Captain Jack
fame, delivers a unique and powerful re-interpretation of
Tonto
in the summer blockbuster.

If you’re at
Big Thunder Ranch
or
Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue
, you just might see
Woody
and
Jesse
of
Disney
/
Pixar’s Toy Story
!  And if it’s the holiday season, you’ll most assuredly see
Santa Claus
and
Mrs. Claus
there, and maybe their sometime-helpers
Chip ‘n Dale
in holiday regalia–either at
Big Thunder Ranch
or just north at
Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree
.

One of the
most welcome announcements about
Frontierland
’s 2013 entertainment was that for a limited time, beginning in January 2013, the
Golden Horseshoe
presented a tribute to its long-running hit, the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
.  Guests were thrilled–older Guests who fondly recalled the original revue, and younger Guests who always wished they’d had a chance to see it. 
Disney
enlisted their best talent to once more bring the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
to life, including talented tenor
Nathan Shrake
.  Perhaps the park will reprise the
Golden Horseshoe Revue
tribute in 2014.

Main Street, U.S.A.
  (Includes Town Square and the Central Plaza (the Hub))

Main Street At-a-Glance

Amenities: 
Annual Passport Processing Center
(Closed)
, Baby Care Station, Center Street,
Disney Rewards Visa
(Closed)
, Disneyland City Hall, Disneyland Guided Tours, First Aid, Lost Children

Attractions: 
Disney Gallery
,
Disneyland Fire Station, Disneyland:  The First 50 Magical Years (Opera House), Disneyland Railroad, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln (Opera House), Main Street Cinema, Main Street Vehicles (
Fire Engine, Horse-Drawn Street Cars, Horseless Carriages, and Omnibuses),
Main Street Windows
,
Partners Statue
,
Penny Arcade

Gear: 
Candy Palace, Celebration Custom Printers, China Closet, Crystal Arts, Disneyana, Disney Clothiers LTD, Disney Showcase, Emporium, Fortuosity Shop, Guide I and Guide II, The Mad Hatter Shop, Main Street Magic Shop, Main Street Photo Supply Co., New Century Jewelry, Newsstand, Silhouette Studio, 20
th
Century Music Company

Grub: 
Blue Ribbon Bakery
(Closed) (B, L, D, S)
,
Carnation Café
(B, L, D),
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
(S), Jolly Holiday Bakery Café (B, L, D, S),
Little Red Wagon
(L, D, S),
Main Street Cone Shop
(Closed)
(S)
,
Main Street Fruit Cart
(S),
Market House
(S)
, Plaza Inn
(B, L, D),
Refreshment Corner
(L, D, S)

Main Street Introduction

There was always going to be a
Main Street
.  A glance at the famous 1953
Herb Ryman
illustration that sold
Walt
’s idea to financial backers clearly shows a
Main Street
, and the
Main Street
that was actually built bears a striking resemblance to the one depicted in the
Ryman
map.

There are some notable differences.  The
Opera House
was built on the east, not west, side of the street; no church was built; and there are fewer side streets and courts than projected in the 1953 illustration.  For the most part, however, right down to the
Main Street Train Station
perched on its hill, the two tunnels beneath it, the
Town Square
, the turn-of-the-century shops and restaurants lining
Main Street
, and
The Hub
(known even then as
The Hub
)–it was all there.

Just like a real small town,
Disneyland
’s
Main Street
was always going to have a heavy concentration of merchants and eateries, a place for Guests to dine and shop before or after their park experience.  For some Guests,
Main Street
is a quaint set piece that they hurry through on their way to the attractions of the other lands.

Some
Guests slow down and savor the classic architecture of the shops and civic buildings.  They get an old-fashioned ice-cream sundae at the
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
, and enjoy the
Disney
-themed displays in the
Emporium
windows.  They listen to the
Disneyland Band
playing
Disney
favorites like
You Can Fly
, and the
Dapper Dans
weaving the harmonic magic of their barbershop quartet.  If it’s the holiday season, Guests brave long lines at the
Market House
or
Jolly Holiday Bakery Café
for a bracing cocoa or mocha, gaze with the wonder of little kids at the twinkling holiday lights, and enjoy the carols of the Victorian-garbed
Charles Dickens Carolers
.

Main Street
has always been the civic and mercantile heart of
Disneyland
, and it has played host to a wide range of special events. 
Main Street
is one of the primary places that Guests gather to watch the nightly fireworks, of course, and it’s an important leg of the daily parade routes.  But it has served also as a charming backdrop for festivities ranging from carnivals and fairs to concerts and one-off novelties.

F
rom late September through early November,
Main Street
hosts a harvest festival.  A giant pumpkin shaped like
Mickey
’s head appears at the northern edge of
Town Square
; it’s a favorite spot for Guests to pose for snapshots in the autumn.  More than 300 jack-o-lanterns are displayed throughout
Main Street
in cozy little groups, some in shop windows, some on marquees and balconies.  Look up, down and all around to find them all.  Some are carved to look like
Disney
characters, some to look like mildly scary Halloween monsters.  Halloween costumes and wares appear in the
Emporium
and the
Disney Showcase
.  Tickets go on sale for
Mickey
’s annual Halloween trick-or-treat event.

In
November
Main Street
’s tasteful, traditional decorations appear–it’s Christmas time at
Disneyland
, when holiday lights mingle their glow with
Main Street
’s old-fashioned popcorn and gas lights.  A towering Christmas tree replaces the giant
Mickey
pumpkin in
Town Square
. 
Santa Claus
makes an appearance in
Disneyland
’s daily Christmas parades, and when the nightly fireworks conclude, simulated snowflakes sift down from the sky, enchanting Southern Californians who have never “been to the snow”.

Concerts are held
throughout the year in the
Central Plaza
or
Hub
.  One clear, crisp autumn morning my niece and I arrived to find a euphoric crowd swarming the
Hub
.  What was all the commotion?  Just a little band called the
Jonas Brothers
taping their segment for
Disney
’s 2008 Christmas special.

O
ne of the strangest and most mesmerizing events on
Main Street
was a friendly competition between Olympic and local swimmers in 2004.  In less than 48 hours, Cast Members built a massive above-ground pool (heated, of course) that covered
Main Street
.  Guests could gather on either side of the pool walls, which were about 3.5-feet tall, to watch the races.

Über-Olympian Michael Phelps
, still basking in the glow of his six gold and two bronze wins at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was one of the competitors.  And of course
Mickey Mouse
was there too, sporting an old-fashioned green-and-gold striped bathing suit.

B
eyond any of these delightful activities, the daily attractions and the special events,
Main Street
is one of the most important lands in the park.  It’s always been the gateway to every other land, and the gateway back to the real world when the visit ends.

There
’s something particularly
magical
about
Main Street
.  It was designed from the beginning to tap deeply into our sense of who we are, as a nation and as individuals.  Who we are, who we were, and who we want to be.  It invigorates us, and yet it soothes us too.