Entering Main Street USA in Disneyland is magical! The smells, the music, the Dapper Dans, the firetruck, the parades, and the fireworks are what I looked forward to when I was little.
It is like stepping into an early 20th-century small town in America. Based on Walt Disney’s childhood town, Marceline, Missouri, Main Street USA is brimming with colorful paint, striped awnings, and gingerbread trim. I wanted to ride the horse-drawn trolley or the fire truck, but we never seemed to get to those.
And at the end of the street, the Cinderella Castle!
I loved the quaint shops, eateries, and Disney merchandise shops. The Barber Shop, Crystal Arts, and the Candy Palace are among my earliest memories of Disneyland. The caramel apples and ice cream. Yum! For some reason, I remember Main Street USA more than the Disneyland rides when I was young. Specifically, I fixated on the Silhouette Studio.
(My first trip to Disneyland) Three or four years old on the Mark Twain Riverboat.
My mom finally gave in, and I do not remember how old I was, but I was enthralled. The man asked me to look across the street at Esmerelda, the Fortune Teller, who has been there since 1955.
Today, the cost is around $11, and you receive two hand-cut black silhouettes, one of the cheapest souvenirs you can buy in Disneyland. I read that two of the artists in Anaheim have been there for over 30 years!
Last week, Sirius Radio sparked these memories for me. Our son, Brett, who has Down Syndrome, was in the car, and we were listening to the Disney music channel as he loves everything Disney. In between songs, we listened to fans and their first Disney memories, and I enjoyed them. Some memories were of seeing their first Disney movie; for others, it was food at the park.
So, that is my first memory of Disney–Main Street USA and my experience at the Silhouette Studio.
More Disney memorabilia – Ticket stub from 1975.
$4.75 per person! My dad was not a dentist, so I don’t know how we got these!
We recently took our five-year-old grandson, Nakai, to Disneyland. His excitement was building before we arrived. He kept saying that he could not wait to see the castle. He thought that the whole park would just be the “castle” logo he saw in the Disney movies he watched. I loved watching him see Disneyland for the first time.
Even with all the crowds, Disney is still a magical and a nostalgic place for me. What is your earliest “Disney” memory?