The Backstories and Magical Secrets of Walt Disney World

by Christopher E Smith

Queue. The term used to describe the general area where guests wait in line to experience a particular attraction.

  Walt Disney World. The overarching term used to describe Disney’s collection of theme parks, resort hotels, and other guest offerings in central Florida that opened to guests on October 1, 1971. Walt Disney World covers approximately twenty-seven thousand acres and today includes Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

  PART ONE

  Main Street, U.S.A.

  chapter one

  Main Street, U.S.A.

  Main Street, U.S.A., takes you back to a turn-of-the-century small town from Walt’s boyhood. It’s a time and a place of boundless possibilities. It’s a world at the dawn of the age of electricity, but still firmly rooted in a simpler time. Anything can be accomplished, and soon will be. The glass is always half full on Main Street.

  —The Imagineers, The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, An Imagineer’s-Eye Tour (2005).

  Disney Imagineers knew that every great story needed a great beginning, and they made sure that the Magic Kingdom’s story was no exception. All visitors to the Most Magical Place on Earth enter through the same picturesque boulevard—Main Street, U.S.A.—and that is where the story of the Magic Kingdom begins.

  Main Street, U.S.A. symbolizes the perfect ideal of hometown America. It exudes innocence, hope, joy, and excitement for guests of all ages. For many visitors, it represents the picturesque vision of small-town life that they remember from their childhoods (even if that memory never existed in reality) and now long for as adults. In Around the World with Disney (2005), author Kevin Markey described Main Street as follows:

  It’s been called a step back in time, a trip down memory lane to a place where life moves at the leisurely clip of a horse-drawn trolley. Inspired in part by Marceline, Missouri, the hamlet where Walt grew up, Main Street, U.S.A., evokes an old-time America of general stores, ice cream parlors, and corner barbershops where candy-striped quartets never hit a sour note.

  The overall theme and corresponding thematic details of Main Street all combine to remind guests of a simpler, more innocent era…at least for those who take the time to notice. While the sheer architectural beauty of Main Street is enough to grab the attention of most guests when they first enter the Magic Kingdom, the compelling urge to race toward the magnificent sight of Cinderella Castle, the captivating park icon that stands at the end of Main Street, is almost irresistible.

  The unfortunate result is that many guests speed past this charming and nostalgic street without taking the time to discover the many details and storytelling elements that line the walkways and fill the shops. They don’t notice that Main Street is set in a specific time period and in a specific geographic region, and tells the story of a small town growing in response to the industrial and technological breakthroughs occurring in the world around it.

  Backstory

  Like most of the “lands” represented in the Magic Kingdom, Main Street, U.S.A. does not have an “official” backstory crafted by Imagineers and displayed publicly for Disney guests. Instead, the backstory of Main Street grows naturally out of the numerous storytelling elements found throughout the area, and by virtue of backstories crafted for individual components of Main Street, all of which combine to tell the story of a romantic and burgeoning small town from the late 1800s through the early 1900s.

  Notwithstanding the lack of an official published backstory, an early marketing booklet for Walt Disney World provided a detailed outline of the time period and setting for Main Street:

  MAIN STREET U.S.A. will depict 1890-1910 America…our nation at the crossroads of change when gas lamps were giving way to electric lights and horse-drawn vehicles were making room for the new-fangled “horseless carriage.” Old-fashioned shops and restaurants will be similar, architecturally, to elegant turn-of-the-century Eastern resorts such as New York’s popular Saratoga Springs. Steam-powered trains will depart from a grand Victorian station in Town Square for a journey completely around the theme park.

  [“Preview Edition, Walt Disney World, The Vacation Kingdom of the World” (1971), p. 3-4.]

  As this description makes clear, Main Street, U.S.A. is set in a specific time period, the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. This time period is supported through the signage of various shops and buildings on Main Street that indicate the year when they were established:

  Harmony Barber Shop: “1886.”

  Main Street Chamber of Commerce: “1871.”

  Crystal Arts: “Est. 1875.”

  A door for the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor is inscribed with “Est. 1857.”

  A sign above the door for an expansion area of the Emporium indicates that the addition took place in 1901, the year that Walt Disney was born.

  This time period represents the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, a time when technological innovation was drastically changing the way that people lived, worked, and travelled. Main Street also represents a progression in time, with Town Square representing the late 1800s. As guests travel farther down Main Street, they will notice changes in technology and storytelling props that indicate the passage of time toward the early 1900s.

  Walt Disney World’s Main Street evolved from the original in Disneyland. In describing the Disneyland version, Walt provided the following overview, which almost perfectly summarizes the ideals and emotions represented in both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of Main Street:

  Here is the America of 1890 to 1910, at the crossroads of an era. Where the gas lamp is gradually being replaced by the electric lamp; the plodding horse-drawn street car is giving way to the chugging horseless carriage. America was in transition; the discoveries of the late 19th century were beginning to affect our way of life. Main Street represents the typical small town in the early 1900s—the optimism of America.

  The “Preview Edition,” quoted from above, also makes it clear that Main Street draws architectural inspiration from the East Coast of the United States, as opposed to the Midwest influence on Disneyland’s Main Street. The 1969 Annual Report for Walt Disney Productions confirms this setting:

  The decor of Main Street will feature extensive use of glass and wrought iron, reminiscent of an Eastern Seashore Victorian resort.

  As you will see below, both the time period and the geographic setting of Main Street, U.S.A. are incorporated into everything that guests see, hear, and smell on this practically perfect boulevard.

  Storytelling Elements

  A Theatrical Experience

  Before the construction of Disneyland, the Disney company was first and foremost an animation studio creating television programs and classic animated films. Although Disney had no experience in developing theme parks, the company did have extensive experience in telling beloved stories. In creating Disneyland, Walt insisted upon continuing this storytelling emphasis and, as a result, wanted to replicate the experience of going to a theatre for guests who entered the park. Imagineers and Disney executives continued this design emphasis when creating Walt Disney World’s version of Main Street, U.S.A.

  When standing outside of the Magic Kingdom, you see the majestic façade of the Main Street train station. This grand structure serves as a barrier to block your view of the attractions, restaurants, shops, characters, and other experiences within the park itself. As such, the train station serves as a large curtain to block the feature film that guests anxiously await to see. After the proverbial curtain rises, you enter the Magic Kingdom by walking through tunnels underneath the train station.

  Once you step inside these tunnels, the light dims, replicating the theatre going dark prior to the film starting. You will see posters for many of the iconic attractions in the Magic Kingdom, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise, decorating the walls of the entrance tunnel. These attraction posters play the role of the “coming soon” previews vi
ewed by theatre-goers before the feature film begins.

  No trip to the movies would be complete without a bag of buttery popcorn, and the Magic Kingdom’s show is no exception. Immediately upon exiting the tunnels and stepping onto Main Street, you see (and smell) a bright red popcorn cart to the far left of Town Square. The smell of freshly popped popcorn radiates through the air, creating a delightful, delicious atmosphere.

  On Main Street, the feature presentation finally begins. Be sure to look down: the pavement is red, serving as the red carpet for the entrance to the theatre. You will also notice that Cinderella Castle is not immediately visible upon first entering Main Street. Instead, you have to travel around a slight bend before you are rewarded with the grand reveal of the Magic Kingdom’s park icon.

  In addition, as we will soon see, many of the windows on the Main Street buildings pay homage to numerous contributors to the Disney company generally and to Walt Disney World specifically. These windows serve as the “credits” in this theatrical experience.

  Forced Perspective

  Forced perspective is a design technique used in theatrical performances whereby the real scale of objects is altered to create an artificial visual appearance. In designing and constructing Main Street, U.S.A., Imagineers employed this technique. They built the first floors of the Main Street building façades to full scale. The second floors, however, are only approximately 7/8th full size. The third floors are a corresponding 7/8th size of the second floors. The end result is that your visual and sensory reflexes are “tricked” into thinking that these buildings are larger than they really are. The size of windows, pots, and other items on the building façades are also correspondingly scaled down on the second and third floors. Forced perspective is used throughout the Disney parks, most notably on Cinderella Castle, which appears to be three hundred feet tall when it is really only one hundred and eighty-three feet tall.

  Not all buildings on Main Street use forced perspective. For example, the Town Square Theater was built to full scale because the Contemporary Resort sits just outside the Magic Kingdom, and the sight of an ultra-futuristic hotel would completely ruin the thematic integrity of a Victorian small town at the turn of the last century. In order to block the unmistakable sight of the Contemporary, the Town Square Theater could not rely on an illusion; it had to provide a needed visual barrier. The same can be said for the Main Street train station which provides a visual barrier for guests prior to entering the park.

  The forced perspective technique used on Main Street produces a dramatic result. When guests round the bend at Town Square, the sudden and exhilarating view of Cinderella Castle is heightened through the use of forced perspective, creating an almost emotional experience. At the end of the day, when guests are heading back toward the turnstiles, the full-size buildings at the end of Main Street make it appear as though a shorter journey lies ahead, a much needed relief for guests after a long day at the park.

  Architectural Style and Influence

  The architectural influence for Main Street, U.S.A. is from the Eastern seaboard that morphs and evolves from the late 1800s time period represented in Town Square to the early 1900s represented in the storefronts at the end of Main Street. The building façades are decorated with Cape Cod gingerbread trim, elaborate cornices, etched glass, wrought iron, and ornate woodwork that create the feel of a Victorian-era town. Mansard roofs and classic columns combine with these other architectural elements to produce a series of majestic yet charming structures, all of which make guests think of a simpler, easier pace of life. Although many of these storefronts actually cover massive interconnected buildings, they each have their own unique colors and architectural and thematic details.

  Main Street, U.S.A. Train Station

  Upon passing through the turnstiles and crossing underneath the Main Street train station, guests find themselves in a bustling town square. The buildings surrounding this town square represent the types of commercial establishments that one would expect to see in the perfect small town: a city hall, barbershop, fire station, and exhibition hall. It even includes a municipal park complete with a small green space and flagpole.

  The train station is a majestic site, and is home to four authentic steam trains: the Walter E. Disney, the Roy O. Disney, the Lilly Belle, and the Roger E. Broggie.

  The Walt and Roy reference are obvious tributes to the two men most responsible for creating the Disney company: Walt and his older brother Roy O. Disney. The Lilly Belle is a tribute to Walt’s wife, Lillian Disney. Roger E. Broggie was Walt’s very first Imagineer. Like Walt, Broggie was an avid lover of railroads. His work at Disney World included the Walt Disney World Railroad, the monorail, and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (formerly known as the WEDway PeopleMover).

  The trains were originally built between 1915 and 1928, and hauled crops such as jute, sugar, and hemp in Mexico. The Disney company purchased the trains from United Railways of the Yucatan and renovated the engines to make them suitable for use in the Magic Kingdom.

  Four plaques that provide background for each train hang on the ground floor of the train station.

  The Main Street train station is one of the most beautiful and overlooked hidden treasures in the Magic Kingdom. If you pay close attention when walking through this two-story structure, you will discover many magical secrets.

  In the first-floor hallway, a train bulletin sets forth numerous hidden tributes:

  Trains arriving from Grizzly Bear Flats and departing for Kimball Canyon pay tribute to Ward Kimball, a famous Disney animator and one of Walt’s famed “Nine Old Men” (Walt’s core group of animators in the early days of the Disney company). Kimball worked on classic Disney films such as Pinocchio (1940) and Dumbo (1941). He also shared Walt’s love and enthusiasm for railroads. Like Walt, Kimball built a miniature railroad at his home known as the Grizzly Flats Railroad.

  Trains arriving from Hickory and departing for Siddons City are references to the 1966 Disney film Follow Me, Boys! (1966). That film featured a character named Lemuel Siddons, played by Fred MacMurray, from a town named Hickory.

  Trains arriving from Medfield and departing for Rutledge are references to Medfield College, depicted in numerous Disney films such as The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963), and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and its rival, Rutledge College.

  Trains arriving from Harrington Hills and departing for Pendergast Plains pay homage to the 1960 Disney live-action film Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills. Harrington was the town depicted in the film, and Mr. Pendergast was the mysterious recluse living there.

  The train bulletin also lists the towns of Bullwhip and Griffin Gulch in reference to the little-known 1967 Disney western-comedy The Adventure of Bullwhip Griffin.

  The first floor of the train station is also filled with vintage maps showing real railway lines across the United States.

  On the second floor of the train station, you will see a variety of authentic coin-operated games that previously resided in the long since closed Penny Arcade on Main Street, including vintage mutoscopes (motion-picture devices):

  “Burlesque Bouncer” features dancers.

  “Play Cowboy” and “Rodeo Time” are Western themed.

  “Rider Untrained” has a train theme.

  “Real Moving Pictures Car Train Gag” is humorous.

  All mutoscopes have the same price tag: one cent.

  A vintage wooden cabinet in the second-floor waiting area is labeled “Play Football Game” and notes that the experience is “A Real Game of Skill.” The Chester-Pollard Amusement Company, Inc. in New York City manufactured the football game. It cost one dime to play.

  Another large wooden case houses a massive music box. A plaque on its front reads: “Walt Disney World Music Box Collection.” The music box was manufactured by the J.P. Seeburg Company in 1927. It includes instrumentation by piano, mandolin, triangle, xylophone, and castanets.

  Two massive murals
bookend the left and right sides of the second-floor waiting area of the train station. One mural is labeled “SPANNING THE CONTINENT.” It depicts pioneer workers chopping down trees as a massive railroad track stands in the distance. A plaque at the bottom of the mural reads:

  From the laying of ties to construction of trestles, railroads could not have spanned the continent without the abundance of America’s forests.

  This artist’s interpretation shows the step-by-step process involved in railroad construction: from the felling of trees and hauling to a sawmill, to finished rail ties and sturdy trestles that spanned the mighty rivers and broad canyons.

  The second mural hangs on the opposite wall and is labeled “A GOLDEN SPIKE IS DRIVEN.” It depicts a famous scene from U.S. history in Promontory Summit, Utah. The plaque at the bottom of the mural explains the historical significance of this scene:

  With the driving of the last spike linking east and west, telegraph wires buzzed across the nation with the news of the great accomplishment. Among these messages was the following, to President Ulysses Grant:

  PROMONTORY SUMMIT, UTAH, MAY 10, 1869. THE LAST RAIL IS LAID. THE LAST SPIKE DRIVEN. THE PACIFIC RAILROAD IS COMPLETED. THE POINT OF JUNCTION IS 1,086 MILES WEST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. AND 690 MILES EAST OF SACRAMENTO CITY.

  Gas chandeliers add character to the train station and provide an accurate depiction of late 1800s America, before the widespread proliferation of electric lighting.

  Sharing the Magic

  In the center of Town Square, you can see one of the most noteworthy tributes in Disney World: a statue called Sharing the Magic.

  Sitting on a bench in the middle of Town Square is a gorgeous bronze statue featuring Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney’s brother and business partner, sitting alongside Minnie Mouse. Roy was instrumental in seeing the Walt Disney World project completed following Walt’s death in 1966. It was upon Roy’s insistence that the name of the park was changed from “Disney World” to “Walt Disney World” so that everyone would know that the park was Walt’s dream.