Note: This post is part of a 15 Day challenge with questions referring to Disneyland or Walt Disney World. For more information, or to see all 15 questions, please refer to the introductory post, The 15 Day Disneyland Challenge. As stated in that post, I am not the creator of the challenge – just a willing participant!
Day 3: Your Favorite Land.
I love Disneyland as a whole. There are details in every land that appeal to me. From the Jungles of Adventureland to the Rivers of America that encompass Frontierland, Critter Country and New Orleans Square; from the whimsy of Fantasyland to the thrills of Tomorrowland, there’s just so much to take in and appreciate. However, this time around, there’s one that stands out more than any other for me.
That land is Main Street, USA.
Am I the only one who can’t help but be inexplicably drawn to the Emporium? It sends out a subliminal message – “You need to buy….You NEED to buy…”
Upon entering under the tunnel from the entrance gate, there’s nothing more welcoming to me then the strains of “Fortuosity” as old-time vehicles and horse trolleys make there way up and down a piece of turn-of-the-century Americana. To me, nothing says “home” more than Main Street. It’s one of those places that, if I had endless time, I could sit for hours, people watch, and take it all in.
How many of us can’t go to Disneyland without saying “hi” to Walt when his light is on in the apartment above the fire station? Or take a picture of the view toward the castle? Stop for Ice Cream in the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor or a Raspberry (or other flavor) Coke at Coke Corner? Grab a morning coffee from the Market House? Make a mental wish list of collectables and art in the Disneyana shop?
And is there any spot more beautiful at Christmas time?
Even more amazing at night!
It’s a great spot for watching parades during the day and fireworks at night. It’s a place where you can visit a president, watch a silent movie, or take a ride up the street and back again (my daughter could ride those vehicle for hours on end!). My wife and I, on rare occurrences of nights out in the park, will often find a bench near the train station, smell the popcorn popping, watch the people pass by and listen to the music and train announcements seemingly flow together. Even as I type about it, I’m feeling a peace… wishing I was there now.
It’s definitely Disney, but it’s so much more. It’s small town America the way we WISH it could be. If not for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the end, as well as entrances to other lands, it tends to represent just that. Just for giggles a couple years back, I attempted to take the castle out of the background of an old picture of Main Street, just to see how much it would look like Main Street of Anywhere, USA:
Yep, works for me!
As I walk past Walt’s apartment when I leave past the park, I always say thank you. While I’m thankful for the park and all he did, I’m truly grateful that he started it with such a wonderful feeling as Main Street, USA.
So now it’s your turn, dear readers: Surely you have a favorite land as well! Please feel free to share your comments below, and tell your friends! I truly do love hearing all you have to say!
Confessions Of A DisNerd 
While I love MSUSA too, I’m going to go with NOS. I just love it there. Walking through the streets makes me feel like I really am in New Orleans. The music, the attractions, the train station. LOVE it! Beautiful views of ROA and of course the Court of Angels. If I could live in the park, that is the land I would live in =) Even when you can hardly walk through the streets because of the crowds, I enjoy it the most!
My favorite area is the Rivers of America waterfront- the parts of Frontierland, New Orleans Square, and Critter Country that all sort of blend together into one land tied together by the river. I love walking the cobblestones, sitting at the dock, just everything about that area. I suppose technically the things I love most are in New Orleans Square, so if I had to narrow it down to a land I’d pick there. Plus, my favorite ride is there. I love the atmosphere over by the Mansion, with the fountain and the train station. And the different shops such as the parfumerie are a nice change from the stuffed animals and tshirts of the rest of the park. And my favorite Disneyland foods are in New Orleans- bread bowls and beingets and monte cristos and mint juleps…. Definitely New Orleans for me.
I love this article. Just a fun bit about the parks many people never get cause they are too wrapped up in their own mentality of adult life or that the place is only for kids and shows when the place is one giant show with smaller scenes and interludes. The details in each land bring forth different emotions and thoughts as to the time and place Disney is essentially capturing and displaying like a modern museum that has rides, shows and experiences.
I for one love MSUSA as well as Frontierland to NOS. I think it’s that those time periods pretty much ran together in history and still leave more to the imagination for me. It brings on a feeling of simpler times and easier days where you could relax or gently meander down the river on a raft. Go into town afterwards for some rambunctious good times at the theater and ride a new fandangled horseless carriage or see a movie with sound! They closely tie in together for me and even as a kid I spent more time in these areas then I did in any other section of the park.
This is a toughy for me…
If we were judging it by ride percentage, it might very well be Adventureland. I love each of those attractions in their own way.
But Fantasyland is the heart of Disneyland and definitely my girlfriend’s favourite. It’s hard not to be charmed by that fairytale village that ensconse one in so many classic films.
But sentimentally I want to say the Greater Frontierland Area. It’s been blown apart in the last few years by this and that, and I can only cite two attractions I LOVE (being the Mark Twain and the Haunted Mansion) yet I still adore the flavour of that vast expanse between the Mississippi and Rocky Mountains, and would probably cite it under duress. If they went ahead and built Discovery Bay it would skyrocket to top spot for sure.
Then again, I treat Main Street like its own land. I take time to ride the vehicles, play in what’s left of the Penny Arcade, watch the films in the Main St. Cinema, and eat at the Plaza Inn when I can. I love the Gay Nineties atmosphere and does very much define the Disneyland experience as much as Fantasyland defines the heart of Disney itself.
I dunno’, it’s a toughy. We’ll say it’s a tie between GFA and Main St.
But if we’re allowed to expand out, then Mysterious Island in Tokyo Disneysea, hand’s down. Come on, it’s Captain Nemo’s secret base!! ^_^
I can’t decide between Fantasyland and Main Street. I agree with all of your comments about Main Street. I could just hang out and take it all in. With Fantasyland, there’s just something about going through the castle hearing Jiminy sing, and I love the land at night. The carousel is beautiful all lit up, and Dumbo’s lights and fountains as well. Both Main Street and Fantasyland are magical in there own way, so I’m going with a tie.
Wow, near impossible. My favorite spot is definitely around the Rivers of America but favorite land, I think I have to go with you Craig. Main Street is it. And I simply love being one of the last out of the park with a quiet Main Street. …and one of my favorite Disney memories was laying on the ground with some friends on Main Street at Disneyworld with no one else in site as a cast member in 95. Amazing!!!
I agree. Main Street. (At DCA it’s been Bug’s Land, but the new Buena Vista may overtake that one.) I’d say I spend at least half of any visit there on Main Street.
I love New Orleans Square and Main Street. NOS for its authenticity. It really pulls you into the culture of the French Quarter. Especially when your traveling well back into the streets of NOS. And if your lucky enough once in awhile you can enter the Court of Angels and be all alone. Main Street brings really great moments with my Dad. He and I love to just sit and people watch. We especially love the kids. I love when my Dad excitedly points out kids and their excitement. He literally lights up. As he gets older I want more of these moments. Thanks Main Street for being a happy haven for my Pop!!