Main Street, U.S.A.

(Redirected from World Bazaar)

Categories: Disney parks and attractions

Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the entrance of the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Based on Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri, Main Street, U.S.A. is designed to resemble the center of a turn-of-the-century (early 1900s) American town. At Tokyo Disneyland, this area is named World Bazaar.

Each Main Street, U.S.A. features tracks for a horse-drawn trolley which runs along its length, used primarily in shows throughout the day. The shops are laid out in a fashion to take advantage of the fact that people tend to walk on the right side of the street: along the right of the street (as a guest enters the park) are shops selling camera film, hats, and other items more likely to be purchased by someone starting his day at the park; along the other side of the street are shops selling toys and souvenirs and other items more likely to be purchased upon leaving. Main Street, U.S.A. is also home to Town Hall, in which Guest Relations is located.

The buildings along Main Street, U.S.A. use forced perspective to appear taller than they really are. The (fake) second stories of all the buildings are shorter than the first stories, and the third stories are even shorter than the second. The second-story windows are painted with the names of fictional businesses and their proprietors; the people named are all Imagineers and others who were instrumental in the creation of the original Disneyland. For Disneyland's 50th anniversary, on July 17, 2005, a first-story window on each Main Street was unveiled with a dedication to all the cast members (employees) who had worked for Disney throughout the years.

There is a Main Street, U.S.A. at:

• Disneyland at Disneyland Resort. This is the only park Main Street that Walt Disney himself strolled down. It is listed as a real street in the Orange County Thomas Guide.

• The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.

• Disneyland at Disneyland Resort Paris. This land is themed slightly differently than the others; the decor is more 1920s than turn-of-the-century, with influences from the flapper and ragtime eras.

• Hong Kong Disneyland at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort has a World Bazaar which is analogous to Main Street, U.S.A. but promotes a more international theme. It is covered by a glass Victorian-style conservatory roof to shield guests from the erratic Japanese weather.

Each Main Street, U.S.A. has a train station above the entrance. At Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty Castle stands in the distance beyond the end of the street. At the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, Cinderella Castle stands beyond the end.