As soon as you enter Disneyland Park and leave the entrance area behind you, you are on the park's Main Street, which leads you directly to the magical fairy tale castle in the center of the park. At both ends of the Main Street, U.S.A. are the Town Square and the Central Plaza - two large squares that are used for various shows and events.
In this part of the park you will be transported to the 19th and 20th century of the United States. You are on the main street of a small town in the heart of the United States, to be a bit more exact, you are in the home town of Walt Disney, Marceline in Missouri, or as he remembered.
Shops, restaurants and small boutiques surround the street.
Even if this part of the park does not really need any rides, you can immerse yourself in the typical atmosphere of Disneyland. You are in a phase in which the world is changing, new developments and progress are unstoppable, motorized vehicles are replacing horse-drawn carriages, electric light will soon be available in every household and the easy wold wide communication will be possible soon with the invention of the phone. This fascinating feeling of progress spreads across the Main Street U.S.A. and sweeps everyone away.
The bouncy music which can be heard everywhere, takes you directly on a journey into a long gone era.
The history of Main Street U.S.A.
The Plaza Gardens was built on the edge of a small town in 1861 and surrounded by a small park. Over the next ten years, raillroad was extended into the city and with it the population grew.
The increasing wealth of the small town is shown especially at Plaza Gardens, which is decorated with lots of marble and golden wallpaper.
You can see this development in the large murals in the Plaza Gardens Restaurant.
In addition, the walk through the two arcades (left and right of the street) helps you immerse yourself in the great history. On the one side (Liberty Arcade) the story is about the Statue of Liberty and its journey from France to the USA. On the other side of the street (Discovery Arcade) everything revolves around the visions of the future, about technical developments and the unstoppable progress from the time as it was back then.
You can also use the arcades if the during inclimate weather if you do not want to get your feet wet while walking through this part of this park.
Main Street U.S.A. through the seasons
In tspring, Town Square and Central Plaza transforms into a sea of flowers, during Halloween season ghosts are up for mischief, and during christmas Main Street U.S.A. is absolutely magical. When the streets are lit up for Christmas and all the shop windows are beautifully decorated, when the Christmas Carolers sing Christmas carols, the large Christmas tree is lit in an magical ceremony, then you can experience a feeling of Christmas from an era gone by, a feeling that is hardly known today!
