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One of Walt Disney's favorite attractions was the Disneyland Railroad, and he would often drive a train around the park. In fact, for many years the Disneyland Railroad and the Disneyland Monorail were owned by the Disney family's private company, Retlaw. In looking at aerial photographs and maps from throughout Disneyland's history, one can see that the railroad tracks have been moved several times to accommodate the addition of new attractions.
City Hall and the Main Street Fire Station are found on the west side of Town Square. City Hall provides guest information; Guest Service representatives can answer most any question guests may have on any subject. Several plaques and citations presented to Disneyland hanging on the wall of City Hall provide interesting reading material. Walt Disney kept a private apartment on the second floor of the Fire Station to use during his visits to the park. Like all fire stations, this station has a pole for the fire fighters to slide down; however, the hole in the ceiling of the ground floor was plugged for fear of guests trying to climb up the pole into the apartment. The apartment is still decorated in Victorian antique furniture, but is mainly only used for VIP tours and meetings. On the east side of Town Square can be found the Opera House. This building houses the Walt Disney Story, Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The Walt Disney Story features a display of items related to Walt Disney, such as letters to and from him, awards he received, and artifacts from Disney films and television shows. One special artifact found in this area is Jose the Macaw, who originally sat outside the Enchanted Tiki Room to give guests a taste of what was inside; the huge crowds he created at the Adventureland entrance forced his removal. Also found in the Walt Disney Story is a recreation of one of Walt's personal offices; several photographs were taken of his original offices at the Disney Studios in Burbank so that everything would be in the right place at Disneyland. Originally, two offices were found here; one of them was moved to Walt Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios for their celebration of Walt's 100th birthday in 2001. Walt Disney was always fond of Abraham Lincoln; in elementary school, he even dressed up as Lincoln and gave a speech. Those memories were probably the inspiration for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which features a short film about Lincoln's life followed by a speech by an Audio-Animatronic Abraham Lincoln. This show was originally created for the 1964 New York World's Fair and moved to Disneyland in 1965 as part of the tenth anniversary celebration, or "Tencennial." Although the show has been scheduled for removal on a few occasions, guest letters have kept it open. The show received an update in 1984, featuring a new, more lifelike Lincoln figure, and a new film with excerpts from the American Adventure at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center. The show received another major update in 2001, incorporating 3D audio technology to create new guest interest. A plaque containing Walt Disney's dedication of the park is found at the base of the flagpole in Town Square. This flagpole base was bought for five dollars when Emile Kuri, an original designer of Disneyland, witnessed a wreck involving a car that knocked a light pole off its base; he offered to remove it from the scene and brought it to Disneyland. The cannons around this park-like area were built in France and used by the French Army in the 19th Century; these cannons were originally found on Captain Hook's Pirate Ship which stood in Fantasyland. Some planters with benches around them actually conceal subwoofers for the parade audio system.
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The Main Street Railroad Station is a guest's first image when
entering Disneyland. This station, along with the entire Disneyland
Railroad, sits on a berm that surrounds the park; Walt Disney wanted
Disneyland guests to be isolated from the outside world, and the entire
park was originally contained by this berm. However, in recent years
space constraints have forced some attractions to be built outside this
berm, as will be seen in later sections. A handcar sits on the spur
track in front of the Main Street Station; this handcar was a gift to Walt
Disney from the Santa Fe Railroad at the opening of Disneyland.
Inside the
station, guests can see the Lilly Belle II engine. Walt started building this engine for the railroad that
circled the back yard of the Disney home on Carolwood Drive. Walt's
railroad line, known as the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, even took
passengers through a dark, winding tunnel. The original engine, the Lilly
Belle - which was on display here for several years, served as the model for the Disneyland Railroad's Engine #1, the C.K.
Holliday. Walt never did complete his second engine; he instead focused all his
efforts on creating a new park. The engine was finally completed 40 years after its
beginning, and it was originally displayed at Tokyo Disneyland's Disney Gallery. Also found in the station is an aerial map of the park with red
and green lights showing the current locations of the different trains.
Originally, the trains pulled enclosed cars much like those on older
passenger trains, but these were later replaced with open air cars which
gave guests better visibility of the park; one enclosed car remains as the
Lilly Belle, a VIP coach used for special occasions. The trains pull different
types of cars; some are open-air passenger cars, while some resemble boxcars
from the left side. These types of cars give guests coming in the park the
illusion that both passenger trains and cargo trains circle the park. The
seats in the passenger cars face forward, while the seats in the boxcars
face into the park, or to the right of the train's forward direction. The
four engines, the C.K. Holliday, E.P. Ripley, Fred P. Gurley, and the Ernest
S. Marsh, were all named after executives of the Santa Fe Railroad. Santa
Fe originally sponsored this attraction, which was known at that time as the
Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad. These engines actually run on steam, but
diesel fuel is burned instead of coal or wood.
The Disneyland Railroad stops at Main Street, New Orleans Square, Mickey's
Toontown, and Tomorrowland. Between the Tomorrowland and Main Street stations,
the trains pass through the Grand Canyon Diorama and the Primeval World Diorama.
The Grand Canyon Diorama features a scene from the Grand Canyon, complete with
stuffed animals one would find in the area. The background is painted on one
extremely long seamless piece of canvas. The Grand Canyon Diorama is actually
located on the bottom floor of an office building that houses some of the
park's administrative offices. The Primeval World Diorama was originally
part of the Ford Magic Skyway, one of four attractions designed by
Disney for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Guests can see several species of
dinosaurs, from hatching triceratops to a fight between a stegosaurus and a
tyrannosaurus rex. Walt Disney had originally hoped that he could move the
entire Ford pavilion to Disneyland; however, Ford declined,
so Walt installed the dinosaurs on the railroad route.
Upon entering Disneyland through the tunnels under the railroad station,
guests find themselves in Town Square on Main Street, USA. This area of the
park represents an ideal small town main street of the American Midwest around
the turn of the century; many people say it was inspired by Walt Disney's
hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Although Walt was born in Chicago, his family
moved to Marceline when he was very young, and he often spoke fondly of growing
up in the small Missouri town.
The second story windows along Main Street contain the names of several key
people in the history of Disneyland; this was Walt Disney's way of paying tribute
to people. One window reads, "Elias Disney, Contractor," which is in recognition
of Walt's father. At Center Street, which runs perpendicular to Main Street, are
found some other amusing windows; when standing under these windows, guests can
overhear conversations of the "residents", such as a dentist and a piano teacher.
The windows of the Emporium feature animated displays, usually of Walt Disney
Pictures' latest animated film; these are often highly detailed. The Main Street Cinema shows six classic Disney cartoons
simultaneously.
At the end of Main Street is found Central Plaza. This area is also known as
the Hub, because from here roads like spokes of a wheel lead to the other sections
of the park: Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country,
Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown, and Tomorrowland. It is easy to see why Walt
Disney chose these different settings for his park; one can easily imagine a
young boy in the early 20th Century fascinated with the overgrown jungles of
Africa, the dusty streets of the American West, the fantasy world of fairy tales,
and the exciting promise of the future. Disneyland's design of having one entrance
and a circular design with access to all other areas of the park was revolutionary,
not to mention quite successful. In the center of the Central Plaza is found a
statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse looking back toward Main Street, as if
Walt is showing the park to Mickey. This statue, titled "Partners", was added
in 1993 and was sculpted by Blaine Gibson, who was the chief sculptor at Walt
Disney Imagineering until his retirement.