This is the beginning of an occasional series of photo tours around the Walt Disney World parks and resorts. What better place to start than with Main Street, USA, the entrance to the Magic Kingdom?

Despite having no thrilling attractions, Main Street is often my favorite area of the Magic Kingdom. I love the atmosphere of this area, leisurely wandering up and down the street, listening to the background music. This idealized depiction of small town America serves as the gateway for the other exciting lands of the Magic Kingdom. I'm sure you can imagine how Walt Disney, who as a boy grew up in a small Midwestern town similar to Main Street, dreamed of adventures in the jungle or the old west, of fairy tale fantasies, and of the exciting and challenging future. So perhaps it is fitting that we as his guests are transported back to this same era, before venturing off to his worlds of fantasy. Wandering down Main Street, you can sense the anticipation guests have of the thrills that await them deeper in the Magic Kingdom. And that anticipation may just be what makes Main Street so exciting to me.

The Main Street Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad is the first building you see when entering the Magic Kingdom, so it approrpiately sets the stage for Main Street. I enjoy being anywhere around the station, listening to the trains arrive and depart.

Once you enter through the tunnels under the train station, you arrive in Town Square. On the left side of Town Square are City Hall and the Fire Station. City Hall is the home of Guest Relations, where you can get all kinds of information about the park. The Fire Station was once home to a fire engine, but now it is another souvenir shop. You can still wander back to see some of the fire equipment. If you are curious, this picture was taken from the rear platform of the train station.

I would suppose that most guests have no idea where this fountain and garden are located. I must admit that I hadn't realized it was there until I finally discovered it. This small garden is located to the right of what was once the entrance to the Walt Disney Story; that area now serves as the exit for the Main Street Exhibition Hall. Although this garden is just inside the park, immediately to the right after you come through the right hand tunnel under the train station, I visited the park for years before I noticed it. Not really much to do here, but I do think it looks quite nice. And the birds do seem to enjoy bathing in the fountain.

Here is another picture taken from the train station platform, showing a general view down Main Street toward the rest of the park. If you look closely in the picture, it would appear that several people are staring back at me, and one is even taking a picture. However, I believe they are actually looking at the trolley down below.

A relatively new addition to Town Square is a statue in honor of Roy Disney, Walt's brother and the man who oversaw construction of the first phase of Walt Disney World. To the left in the picture you can see the plaque containing Roy's dedication speech. I don't know how many people I have overheard saying, "Oh look, that must be Walt with Minnie!" Which makes me always wonder to myself, "Then who's the guy with Mickey at the other end of the street?" This statue was added in 1999, and helps bring some recognition to the lesser known of the two founders of the Disney Brothers Studio back in 1923.

Nothing really special about this area, I just like the architecture. The Car Barn on the left of the picture is where the Main Street Trolleys enter and leave. You can see a construction wall to the right of the Car Barn; this is where the barber shop is now located, being displaced from its old location by the current expansion of the Emporium. The door on the right of the picture is one of the entrances to the Emporium.

Continued

We Were Started By A Mouse Too!  •  When In Cyberspace ... Disney Link Directory  •  

  •  Purchase Walt Disney World Tickets here - DISNEY TICKETS via DWTickets.com  •  

  •  Receive discounts on ORLANDO VACATION HOMES near Disney World from OrlandoVacation.com  •