The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (67 page)

The
Main Street
vehicles weren’t to have the sleek, somewhat futuristic look of the
Autopia
cars, but rather the traditional elegance and heft of authentic old-time transports. 
Walt
wanted
Main Street
to offer a blend of horse-drawn and gasoline-powered means of transportation to signify that quintessential “wonder moment” in which
Main Street
was set.  The designs were to be appropriately nostalgic, but with the sense of being clean and new at that moment, cutting edge for that time.

C
ombustion vehicles weren’t on hand for
Opening Day
in 1955, but the horse-drawn variety were ready.  The two streetcars survive to this day.  The red, horse-drawn fire wagon (
Chemical Wagon
) from
Opening Day
was put out to pasture in 1960, but though Guests can no longer ride in it, they can still see it; it’s on display in the
Fire Station
.  By 1956, the
Horseless Carriages
and
Omnibuses
had joined the team, and the horseless
Fire Engine
appeared in 1958.

Walt
’s vision was right on target.  The period-correct vehicles continue to bring an additional level of excitement, motion, and veracity to
Main Street
, and also offer the practical benefit of providing transportation for Guests.  Guests who are very young, elderly, or mobility-impaired welcome the opportunity for a lift along
Main Street
, as do Guests who simply want to observe
Main Street
from a different perspective.

Your journey will begin at a clearly marked stop
(different stops for different vehicle types) on the southern end of
Town Square
, and proceed to a clearly marked stop on the northern end of the
Central Plaza
, aka the
Hub
(or vice-versa if you’re traveling north to south).  Trips are one-way.

As you roll along the 998.5 feet
of your ride, at a pace never exceeding five miles per hour, your driver, a knowledgeable, reliable Cast Member who is likely to be a font of information, will comment on
Main Street
’s landmark shops and restaurants as you pass.  Smile and wave to the Guests and Cast Members treading the pavement as you glide by; they’re likely to wave back!

The
Main Street Vehicles
enter
Town Square
from the west in the early morning via the
Firehouse Gate
between the
Fire Station
and the
Emporium
.  This gate is kept closed except in the early morning or evening, when vehicles are entering or leaving the
onstage
area, or when post-fireworks crowds are so heavy that Cast Members divert some Guests through the
backstage
corridor between the
Plaza Pavillion
and
Firehouse Gate
.

Appropriately enough, the colorful
sign on the gate exhorts Guests to “Discover the Joy of Motoring in Comfort in Style/National Horseless Carriages for Hire”.  Paintings of early automobiles and drivers in then
au courant
driving goggles, gloves, coats, head gear, and scarves complete the mural.  “National Horseless Carriages for Hire” is old-time speak for the
Main Street Vehicles
’ sponsor,
National Car Rental
.

Whether you’re weary, footsore
, or just ready for adventure, have fun discovering the joy of motoring on
Main Street
!


                     
Fire Engine

o
                    
Although tagged as an
Opening Day
attraction on the
Disneyland
website, this
Fire Engine
was introduced in 1958 according to
Chris Strodder
’s
The Disneyland Encyclopedia
.  (The
Opening Day
fire engine was the horse-drawn
Chemical Wagon
, now on permanent display at the
Disneyland Fire Station
.)  This motorized vehicle carries six to ten Guests up and down
Main Street
.  It’s generally agreed that its design is based on fire engines of the early years of the 20
th
century.  The motorized
Fire Engine
is stored backstage, in the vehicle area behind
Firehouse Gate
, not, as one might expect, in the
Fire Station
.


                     
Horse-Drawn Streetcars 
(
Opening Day
Attraction)

o
                    
An
Opening Day
attraction, each of
Main Street
’s two streetcars carries up to 30 Guests and is pulled by a draft horse–a powerful Belgian or Percheron–up and down
Main Street
.  The well-cared for horses are only allowed to work four days per week, four hours per day.  Sharp-eyed Guests like my niece notice the small wheels below each streetcar’s chassis; these roll along the steel rails set in the
Main Street
pavement, keeping the streetcars quite literally on track.


                     
Horseless Carriages

o
                    
In 1956 two horseless carriages joined
Main Street
.  The first one was painted a blazing red, followed months later by another painted a blinding yellow.  Both were fitted with early 20
th
-century “ah-oo-gah” horns and can accommodate about six Guests, in addition to the driver.  Note the authentic details like the spoked wheels.  The jalopies are still going strong today.


                     
Omnibuses

o
                    
Painted a stately dark green (in contrast to the more flamboyant fire engine and horseless carriages), both of the double-level
Main Street
omnibuses are smaller in scale and more reassuring than the famed red London double-deckers to which some might compare them.  Per the
Disneyland
website, they were modeled after New York City omnibuses of 1920.  One debuted on Main Street in 1956, joined by a twin in 1957.  According to a Cast Member who drives the
Disneyland
Omnibuses
, each bus can accommodate about twenty Guests on the upper level, and twenty on the lower, and two Guests can sit next to the driver on the front seat (just ask before boarding).  A narrow staircase winds to the upper deck; watch your step!  This is a popular
Main Street Vehicle
, so queue early, especially if you want to ride on the top level.

Did You Know?
 
Bob Gurr
’s
Main Street
tribute window
was revealed on March 7, 2008. 
Mickey
and
Minnie
had the honor of unveiling it, and
Marty Sklar
spoke.  You can see the second-story window on
East Center Street
.  As is typical, the honoree’s window tells a story via humorous but meaningful text describing a fictional business, in this case the
Meteor Cycle Company
:  “Riding the Road to the Future/Meteor Cycle Co./Our vehicles pass the test of time/Fast, Faultless and Fadless/Bob Gurr, Design Impressario”.  The tribute includes a striking red two-wheeler and bright red
Meteor Cycle Co.
sign. 
FastPass:
  No.  The vehicles are first-come, first-serve and rarely over-crowded, unless it’s an especially busy summer day or holiday. The top level of the
Omnibus
seems to be the most popular, so try to be in the front of the queue if you want that coveted perch.
Kid’s Eye View:
  The
Omnibus
is a wonderful ride.  It’s a classic, it’s classy, it’s a two-decker bus.  Everyone wants to ride on the top, but the bottom level is good too, and you can sit with the driver.

Main Street Windows

[
FastView:
  Walt
’s special way of thanking contributors to the
Disneyland magic
continues to this day.
]

Beyond the work-a-day vintage signs along
Main Street
, announcing real or fictional businesses, the sharp-eyed Guest will notice many windows that are elaborately decorated with gilt text and fancy or humorous designs.

Walt
started the tradition of tribute windows over
Main Street
, and it continues to this day.  In April 2009, for example,
Imagineer
Rolly Crump
received a colorful and ornate window and sign outside the
China Closet
, and in July 2009
Disney Legend
Marty Sklar
received a beautiful window above
City Hall
.  (In 2013
Sklar
released his book
Dream It!  Do It!
and appeared at the
Disney Gallery
on August 23, 2013 to promote the book and meet Guests.)

Disneyland
tribute windows
honor
Disney
Cast Members, be they
Imagineers
or
Executives
or
Planners
, etc., who have in some way gone above-and-beyond to make amazing and lasting contributions to the park.  At an organization like
Disney
, where outstanding work performance is the norm, and the best and brightest strive to
plus
everything, it’s not necessarily easy to stand out, but those honored with windows along
Main Street
(and in a few other locations throughout the park) have done just that.

Walt
was legendarily reserved when it came to praise.  Despite his childlike spirit and generosity, when it came to lauding his team, he was unusually restrained.  Perhaps this withholding was the residue of a hard-working Midwestern childhood with a serious father, or perhaps it was a brilliant technique to draw every last ounce of brilliance out of his talented staffers, who lived to please him.

Whatever the reason, by all accounts if
Walt
gave a staffer a smile, a thumbs-up or a single word of praise, that was high praise indeed and they went into the clouds.  When he wanted to pay a particularly heartfelt or elaborate compliment, he might use the fiction of quoting someone else (“I hear you’re doing excellent work,”) or pass the compliment through a third party, delivering praise indirectly.

The
tribute windows
were
Walt
’s idea for a visible, permanent, and creative way to honor team members who’d contributed well beyond the call of duty.

As you stroll
along
Main Street
, take a few moments to read some of these tribute windows.  True to the style of
Walt
and the
Imagineers
, these windows tell imaginative little stories, sometimes incorporating verbal and visual puns.  The honorees’ names are worked into the text somehow, and they’re given a fictional position at a business that somehow relates to their talent and to the attractions and projects to which they contributed.  Graphic elements also tell the story of what an individual gave to the park. 
Did You Know?
  The ground-level windows of
Main Street
are set low so that children can easily see inside them, without having to be lifted up or straining on their tippy-toes. 
Walt
was always careful to consider the kids’-eye-view of his park, and had architects and engineers plan accordingly. 
Night Vision:
  After darkness falls, look up at the second and third-story windows along
Main Street
.  Some will be lit, as if someone works or lives in that space, and in some cases you’ll even see movement behind the shades or curtains, or catch bits of music or dialogue.  This is all part of
Walt
’s mandate to make
Main Street
as much like a real, lived-in community as possible. 
Where’s Walt?  Oh!
  You’d think that the man who created
Disneyland
would warrant a
Disneyland
tribute window
and so he does, although the
Imagineers
crafted it and unveiled it well after he’d passed on. 
Walt
was too humble to have one made for himself while he lived, and his brother
Roy
honored him by naming an entire new theme park after his younger brother–you know, a little spot in Florida called
Walt Disney World
.  When
Mickey’s Toontown
opened at
Disneyland
in 1993, Guests finally saw a couple of small
tribute windows
for
Walt.
The
Imagineers
placed them side-by-side above the
Toontown Library
. In keeping with
Walt
’s modesty, not only are the windows small, so is the lettering, and they’re placed at an angle where they’re not immediately visible to passers-by. The windows honor
Walt
as the
Directing Animator
of
Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc.
, the name of the first studio
Walt
ever launched, back in 1922 in
Kansas City
,
Missouri
. 
FastPass:
  No.  Guests can view the
tribute windows
as they stroll
Main Street
, a self-guided activity. 
Kid’s Eye View:
I’ve never paid much attention [to them].