Disneyland’s Main Street USA Refurbishment Complete!
Walking down the Main Street of a turn of the century, small American town would look something like this: sidewalks full of foot traffic dressed in the latest fashions- hats for men and dresses for women. Two men stand on the town’s main intersection, sharing a cigarette, candy bar, and a newspaper while horse drawn carriages take turns making the turn onto Main St. Three young girls gleefully prance into the local bookkeeper in the hopes of finding a juicy new read while a young couple heads to the town’s only soda shop for a quick bite.
Walt Disney aimed to capture the essence of small town America and hoped to see re creations of these very moments he witnessed growing up out west when he opened Main Street USA at Disneyland park. If you look around, you’ll spot a firehouse, a candy shop, a store, a bakery, and even a small apartment that Walt once lived in himself! Up and down Main Street USA, you’ll find the 2018 equivalent of that picturesque small town- guests bustle up and down Main Street USA all day and night, hopping from storefront to storefront just like they did back when Walt was growing up. I’d venture to guess that the amount of foot traffic Main Street USA sees is quite a bit more than Walt was used to seeing at home, so it’s no wonder that the opening-day land needed some refurbishing! Here’s a look at the all-new Main Street USA!
Recently, The Walt Disney Company announced a lengthy refurbishment at Disneyland theme park that would ultimately see the re-laying of the horse drawn carriage track and the surrounding brickwork. Since the parks’ opening, the tracks that guide the trolleys pulled by the parks’ 4-legged cast members have been the original pieces laid way back in the 1950’s. Over time, pieces of the track have been replaced, but never in full.
Crews have worked tirelessly over the past several months to pull up old track pieces, preserve as much as they could of the originals, recycle the replacements, and ultimately lay brand new tracks along the length of Main Street USA. Whew! Sounds like a big job! Here is a look at the track before the refurbishment began.
If you thought the track was a lot to take on, think again! The brick work- designed by original Imagineers and Walt Disney himself- needed some sprucing up. Disney knows what to update and what is better left unchanged, and that know-how is on full display here! Without changing any of the original design, the entirety of the brickwork was meticulously re-laid to match the original…talk about attention to detail!
Main Street Performers, vehicle operators, and the horses that pull the trolleys can all rejoice, because as of this week, the lengthy refurbishment was finally completed! Disney released images of the brand new update, are you excited to see the Main Street USA refurbishment when you visit? Let us know!
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Special thanks to Maria Salerno for writing this article: Hiya pal! I am a NYC-based writer/musician thrilled to be bringing you all things Disney! I’m a WDW Annual Passholder, so you can find me in the parks regularly throughout the year. In addition to being a Disney Parks loving girl, I’m also a Disney toy and merchandise collector, a runDisney enthusiast, and Disney music and movie aficionado. You can follow me on Instagram: NYCtoAP and find me on YouTube: NYCtoAP. Thanks for reading, hope to see ya real soon!