Americana 1900- The Complete Presentation

[James G.]

The Gulf Coast & Santa Fe Railroad Station- The Pike

Stretching from the southeast corner of The Pike to the passenger platform of the Gulf Coast & Santa Fe Railroad, this is the most elegant of all the train stations in Americana 1900.

A steel-and-stained glass barrel-vaulted ceiling soars three stories above the elegantly-tiled floor, with clerestory windows along the entire south side and a massive mural depicting the rail routes across America in 1900 filling the north wall.

Proudly displayed in the center of this wide, beautiful passageway is an authentic, fully-restored steam locomotive of 1897, with its coal car, a first-class passenger car and caboose, open for visitors to inspect.

 

[James G.]

The Coca-Cola Experience

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"The Pause That Refreshes". "Around the Corner From Anywhere". "It's the Real Thing". Coca-Cola slogans and Coca-Cola itself have been part of American life and culture since it was first served in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia on May 8, 1886. Americana 1900, in cooperation with the Coca-Cola Company, brings to The Pike "The Coca-Cola Experience", a multimedia adventure through the history of one of America's most well-known and beloved soft drinks. This combination walk-through and ride attraction combines the best of the popular "World of Coca-Cola" in Atlanta with the historic charm and modern technology of Americana 1900 in an "experience" sure to be a highlight of any visit to The Pike.​

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Guests who have visited the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta will notice that the Americana version is not a sleek, glossy, high-tech visitors center like the Atlanta facility, but one that stays true to the proud history of one of America's premier companies while keeping guests both informed and entertained. The facade, of white limestone and red granite, is based on the United States pavilion at the 1930 Liege International Exposition, and is ornamented with the multiple designs of the Coca-Cola emblem as it evolved through the decades. Note: This building was chosen after the above drawing was created. The towers on the drawing do not appear on the Coca-Cola Experience Pavilion, which is a masterpiece of early art deco design.​

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The interior contains a variety of attractions, some that are unique to the Americana complex, while others can be found in both visitor centers but with designs unique to their location. "The Coca-Cola Experience" at Americana 1900 features the best of both.​

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The entrance lobby leads visitors to several exhibit halls and "experiences". To the left visitors enter the Coca-Cola Theater, a whimsical movie experience where "The Search for the Secret Formula" is shown. Presented as a "recently discovered film documentary showing the actual creation of the Coca-Cola secret formula", this humorous ten-minute silent film shows viewers how the world's most popular soft drink started as a patent medicine intended for pain relief, was forced by early prohibition laws to change its formula from one using wine to one using carbonated water, and through aggressive advertising came to mean "refreshment" to millions of people around the world. This theater not only entertains its moviegoers, it actually rises during the film to the second floor of the Coca-Cola Experience, where they exit the theater and find themselves entering the first of two exhibit halls, the "Milestones of Refreshment" and "The Bottle Works".​

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"Milestones of Refreshment" is a fascinating walk-through exhibit hall presenting the history of the Coca-Cola Company through displays such as early soda fountain counters, delivery trucks, advertising slogans and signs, and even the evolution of the distinctive shape of the Coca-Cola bottle. The end of the "Milestones of Refreshment" displays takes visitors into "The Bottle Works", a recreation of one of the first Coca-Cola Bottling Plants. Video screens show a modern facility, while the physical recreation of the early plant shows how times might have changed but the final goal of a quality product has always been the most important thing in the production and distribution of Coca-Cola.

A gently-descending ramp leads visitors back to the first floor through "Coke and Creativity", a gallery of art inspired by Coca-Cola.​

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Early Coca-Cola advertising posters, the famous Santa Claus portraits and even modern pop-culture artwork (out of the historic theme of Americana 1900 but appropriate in this comprehensive presentation of Coke-inspired creativity) are presented here. Many corporations have influenced modern culture through its marketing efforts, but few have done so as thoroughly or as creatively as Coca-Cola.

Visitors returning to the first floor enter "Taste It", where visitors can taste some of the more than one hundred flavors and products produced by the Coca-Cola Company around the world. Also found here is the Coca-Cola Store, where a vast array of themed merchandise such as apparel, accessories, decorative items and one-of-a-kind artwork is available for purchase.​

The Coca-Cola Experience at Americana 1900- a fun and informative celebration of one of America's most important and influential companies.

 

[James G.]

The Great Horsepower Race

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Between the Coca-Cola Experience and the Harvey House Restaurant on The Pike stands the Santa Fe Theater, the facade of which is inspired by the 1912 Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre in New York. This ostentatious limestone and terra-cotta structure has a massive arched front window over a steel-and-glass marquee. It sports almost whimsical terra-cotta plaques flanking and bordering this arch, which supports a classic dentilled cornice. This rather bizarre mixture of architectural details is a dramatic counterpoint to the early art deco of the Coca Cola Experience, the soaring crystal palace of the GC&SF Railroad Station or the exposition beaux-arts design of the Niagara Tower of Power complex buildings that flank it on each side.​

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Housed in this building is both an actual nickelodeon-style silent movie theater and an attraction where visitors can experience first-hand The Great Horsepower Race, a racing derby carousel based on a “long-lost but recently rediscovered and restored” 1904 silent film of the same name. Movie-goers first enter the lobby of the Santa Fe Theater, where the interior ornamentation is inspired by the rugged scenery of the American frontier. Beautiful murals depict the orange-red sandstone mountains of the Southwest, chandeliers are crafted from white-tailed deer antlers, and authentically-designed tilework in such traditional Native American shades as turquoise-blue, chili red and marigold orange ornament the lobby floor.​

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Up to one hundred sixty people are admitted into this room, where an “usher” standing on a small, elevated podium briefly explains the murals, the chandeliers and the meaning of the colors in the tiles. This is to both set the mood for the experience to be presented inside and to keep the audience entertained until they can enter the movie theater itself.

When the doors to the movie theater open, movie-goers are guided to take a seat in one of sixteen rows of ten seats each (which will also assign them to matching numerical rows in the ride itself). The doors from the lobby will close, the lights will dim, and the audience will be shown the film, “The Great Horsepower Race,” presented in a relatively small, narrow theater, much like the original storefront nickelodeons from the early days of movie-going would have appeared.​

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[James G.]

The silent movie (with appropriate piano music in the background) begins with a steam locomotive pulling into a traditional Wild West town’s train station, and the engineer getting off the train and heading into a nearby saloon while his crew gets the train’s water tank and coal car refilled at the station.

The engineer goes up to the bar and says to the bartender:

The bartender puts what looks like a beer bottle on the bar, and on the label we can read the word, “BEER,” but the engineer turns the bottle and we can then see the complete label- “ROOT BEER.” The engineer takes a swig from the bottle, and using the overacting style of the era shows how good that cold root beer tastes.

The scene switches back outside on the street in front of the saloon, and four cowboys come riding up, jump off of their horses and tie them to the hitching posts outside, then enter the saloon. They’re not a rough, dangerous bunch, just young and full of energy. They head down to the other end of the bar from the railroad engineer and the bartender serves them beer- real beer as we see on the bottles.

They notice the root beer the engineer is drinking and make some sarcastic comments in his direction, such as:

The cowboys laugh at the engineer, who hears this and says back to them:

They react to the challenge. One of the cowboys tells the engineer:

The engineer responds:

The cowboys laugh and agree. They think it’s a sure bet. They shake hands with the engineer.

The next scene shows the locomotive getting ready to pull out of the station, with the engineer in the cab and the cowboys on their horses on either side of the train, ready to race to the next town. A crowd has formed to watch the race start.

A rather officious-looking older man, wearing a sash that says, “Mayor,” stands at the starting line. He says:

He holds up a revolver, pointing it straight up, and says:

We see him fire the gun, a big poof of smoke comes out of the gun, and the race is on! The cowboys take off, taking a commanding lead while the locomotive starts up, slowly at first, but gaining speed. At first, we see the cowboys looking over their shoulders at the train and laughing at it as they gallop towards the next town. The engineer and coalman are firing the train up to full speed, and we see it gaining on the cowboys. Soon, the train is passing the cowboys, who are urging their horses to go faster! The passengers in the train hang out of the windows, waving derisively at the cowboys.

An old woman hollers out to them:

The train has taken the lead, and the cowboys are falling behind, both because of the train’s speed and because they’ve run their horses too hard. We suddenly see the side of the steam locomotive, and a pipe breaks, releasing the steam and causing the engine to rapidly lose speed. The cowboys once again take the lead, and as the train slows down to a stop the cowboys look back at it, see that the train has stopped, and they stop.

Their leader says:

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[James G.]

They turn around and come back to the train. The engineer shows them what happened to the broken pipe, and says:

The cowboys look at each other, and one of them says:

The cowboys pull their lariats out. We see them dramatically twirling them, then throwing the loops towards the train. They have lassoed the train, and with their horses and some help from the passengers (who have climbed down out of the train and have tied other ropes to the train) begin to pull it forward towards the town. We see the old lady standing behind the train, pushing it mightily!

The train is pulled and pushed into the next town, with the local townsfolk cheering them into town and the passengers all collapsing from exhaustion, all except the old lady. She just brushes off her hands, straightens her bonnet and takes a heroic pose.
The engineer jumps down from the train and comes over to the four cowboys, who have untied their lariats and are standing beside their horses. The horses are enjoying a well-earned drink from a large watering trough.

The engineer says:

The leader of the cowboys says:

The engineer says:

The cowboys act all shocked at what the engineer just said. Their leader says:

The Engineer reminds them:

The cowboys look shocked, then realize that they’d been tricked- and start laughing with the engineer and clapping each other on the back.

The final scene shows the engineer standing at a bar in the local saloon, flanked by two cowboys on each side. They each have a bottle in front of them that says, “BEER,” then at the same time they all turn their bottles to show the entire label. The four cowboys are now drinking “ROOT BEER” and the label on the engineer’s bottle shows that this time he’s drinking “REAL BEER!” They lift their bottles, raise a toast towards the camera, and take a drink as the scene ends.

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As the lights come up, an usher stands at the front of the movie screen and informs the audience that they are now going to be given a chance to experience The Great Horsepower Race from the viewpoint of the actors. The audience will be asked to stay in the same numbered row of horses and locomotives as the number of the row they’re seated in, but not to worry- unless you’re the lead horse, the view is going to be the same, and there are no lead horses on this ride! Doors on the audience’s left open, one at a time to help the ushers keep the rows entering in order, and the movie-goers (now actors in the movie) will be directed by other ushers to their respective rows in the ride itself.

The Great Horsepower Race is a next-generation racing derby, a rare style of amusement attraction which is sometimes called an “inverted carousel.” The ride mechanics and poles that support the horses, or in this case the four horses and the locomotive in between them, are located beneath the doughnut-shaped, one-hundred-twenty-four feet in diameter riding platform.

As in all racing derbies, the entire platform revolves in a counterclockwise direction, with each horse and locomotive moving forward and backward in relation to their partners. The horses also make galloping movements, gently surging up-and-down to mimic the physical sensation of riding one of the cowboys’ horses. The locomotives simply move forward-and-backward. The locomotive would roughly correlate to the “chariots” on a traditional carousel, where less-adventurous riders can enjoy the movement of the ride without the added up-and-down action. Most racing derbies had four horses, side-by-side, but The Great Horsepower Race adds the locomotive in the middle of two flanking horses for a total of five ride vehicles per racing unit. Each horse and locomotive can carry two riders, one behind the other. There are sixteen units of horse and locomotive, thus allowing up to one hundred sixty riders on every ride cycle.​

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The attraction is located inside a round chamber, two stories high, open above to a large movie screen dome. The walls of the chamber, which line both the inside and outside of the ride’s rotating platform, are actually film screens where scenes of the terrain along the train tracks are projected during the ride. When riders enter the chamber through doors in the outer screen walls and mount their horse or locomotive, the walls and dome above are a blank, cream color. As the ride begins and the horses and locomotives start to move, the lights dim (not to total darkness to avoid causing concern about younger riders) then change to a sepia tone, soft at first, then to the brighter color of the western prairie wilderness, all the while keeping the colors surrounding the riders the same as in the movie. Soon the riders are racing across this prairie, occasionally passing through a grove of scruffy trees or a field of brush, with the sun overhead in a cloudless sky and the distant Rocky Mountains are seen far across the flat terrain of the prairie. Who will win? Will the cowboys once again defeat the locomotive, or will the steam engine, famously nicknamed the “Iron Horse,” win the victory drink at the bar? With the random forward and backward motions of a racing derby, nobody knows until it’s over.

This YouTube video of the Cedar Downs Derby Racer at Cedar Point will give you an idea of the motions involved in The Great Horsepower Race. Imagine a locomotive racing with two horses on either side. It would not move up and down but would move forward and backward as the horse riders catch up and fall behind during the race.​

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After two minutes and thirty seconds of racing action, of horsepower challenging horsepower, of iron horse battling horse-and-rider for the win, the ride begins to slow down, and the outdoor scenes that had been rushing past the riders suddenly disappear as the film ends, and as the racing derby comes to a gradual stop the walls are now the inside of a film studio, with the film crew walking around, some of the extras from the movie sitting in studio chairs, and the four cowboys playing a hand of poker on a table- all projected onto the screen.

A voice is heard from overhead. It’s the voice of the director:

“Stay seated until the ride comes to a complete stop! We don’t want a repeat of that little incident from yesterday.”

When the ride does indeed come to a stop, the ushers re-enter from doors that, in the film being projected, are actually doors in the film studio. The voice of the director is then heard.

“Ok, NOW you can get off of your horses...huh? What’s that?” he says to someone who is whispering something to him. “Yea, yea, you can get off the trains also. Ok, team, that was a wrap. Stop by Payroll and get your paycheck, and those of you who are in my next movie be sure to get here on time tomorrow! OK, everybody, great job!...now get outta here!”​

As the ushers are directing the riders to the exit doors, the “cast” in the movie that surrounds the riders are hurriedly heading to get their paychecks and go home for the evening. A few might even wave goodbye to the riders. The riders exit, not directly back onto The Pike, but into a small gift shop and Family Album counter located inside the Niagara Tower of Power building next door to the Santa Fe Theater.​

 

[James G.]

 

[spacemt354]

I don't think I've ever seen a complete silent movie done before in imagineering - top notch job!!

 

[James G.]

Due to unforeseen circumstances, tomorrow's episode will be posted later today. I will resume the regular schedule Friday morning.

 

[James G.]

The Niagara Tower of Power

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The center of the northeast side of The Pike is dominated by the Niagara Tower of Power, a 389-foot tall recreation of the Electric Tower, the centerpiece of the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 held in Buffalo, New York and the tallest structure in Americana 1900.​

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A magnificent waterfall, inspired by the world-famous Niagara Falls, gushes from an arch near the Tower’s base into a churning pool at the base of the tower. This waterfall is flanked by entranceways leading visitors into the Niagara Visitors Center, a collection of thrill rides, family attractions, shops and dining that gives them just a taste of the fun and excitement to be found in the Niagara region of New York and Ontario. Niagara U.S.A., Niagara Falls Canada and Americana 1900 have come together to bring a taste of one of North America's first tourist destinations to The Pike in this comprehensive complex of attractions.

This is a short YouTube video that shows the original Electric Tower and the waterfall at the Pan-American Exposition. It is mislabeled since it was not taken from a balloon, but it shows what the Niagara Tower of Power and the waterfall that pours from the front of the tower actually looks like.​

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The Niagara Tower of Power contains two attractions in the tower itself: the Observation deck at the 252-foot level, and The Niagara Electric L&P Tower, a 310ft interior combination “Space Shot” and “Turbo Drop” towers. ​

The Tower of Power Observation Deck

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The observation deck is reached by two elevators, each capable of carrying thirty people. Visitors can stroll around this open-air observation deck and observe all of Americana 1900 and the surrounding countryside for miles. Signage explains to visitors what they are seeing, especially landmarks miles away from the park, but the view of Americana 1900 itself reveals sights that only guests who ride the tallest attractions in the park can witness and enjoy- the gigantic image of a Hershey Chocolate Bar on the roof of the Hershey's World of Chocolate building, the decorative floral patterns in the Sunken Gardens at the base of the Niagara Tower of Power, the recreation of the first box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes painted on the roof of the Kellogg's of Battle Creek complex, and most impressively, the entire beauty of the Americana 1900 landscape.​

The Niagara Electric L&P Tower (AAP)
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The Niagara Electric L&P Tower (the L&P “officially” stands for “Light and Power,” but actually refers to “launch” and “plummet”) is a four-towered combination of an S&S Space Shot and Turbo Drop, totally enclosed inside the Tower of Power. Each of the four ride towers has a freefall carriage that can accommodate sixteen riders, four on each side of the ride tower. Two of the towers launch their riders up 310 feet, while the other two start their ride by carrying the riders to the same 310 feet height, then propelling them downwards. Riders choose which tower to ride, then take their seats at the bottom of the tower. The Light and Power Towers pass through the center of the observation deck at the 252ft level, but are partitioned off from view. Each tower carries its riders on a random combination of launches and plummets, and all are done in complete darkness. The Light Tower (the Space Shot, or “launch” side) and the Power Tower (the Turbo Drop, or “plummet” side) each have a unique storyline.
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For clarity, imagine this (the Power Tower at Cedar Point) inside the Tower of Power:

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Riders choosing the Light Tower (after being secured in their seats by “employees of Niagara Electric L&P”,) are raised up thirty feet into the darkness of the Tower of Power- and there they wait.

“Hey, Sam!” a voice in the darkness says, suddenly enough to hopefully startle riders not expecting it.

“Yea, what is it, Ralph?” another voice says.

“We got a repair crew here to fix that broken fuse box up on top of the Tower. They’re already in the man lift. Go ahead and send them up.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Push the button.”

“What button?”

“The button on the control panel, stupid!”

“Hey, it’s dark in here. I can’t see the control panel anywhere.”

“Of course it’s dark in here. The fuse box is broken. That’s what they’re gonna fix.”

“So how am I supposed to see the button on the control panel?”

“It’s right in front of you. What? Are you new here?

“Yea, as a matter of fact, I am! I usually work over in the Crypt of Fire. They sent me over here because the guy who usually runs this thing called off sick today.”

“You work in the Crypt of Fire? I hear that place is really scary!”

“Yeah, but at least they got lights. Not like this place. I can’t see anything! How am I supposed to know which button to push?”

“Just reach out and feel for the control panel.”

“Ok, I think I found it.”

“Did you find the button to push?

“Yea, I think so.”

“So push the button. These people are getting impatient!”
(He apparently pushes the button, and the riders suddenly drop about ten feet straight down)

“Not that button!” Sam hollers. “The other one! The one next to it!”

“Oops. Sorry. OK, I think I found it.” The riders hear a “click, click, click. “It’s stuck.”

“Whadayamean, it’s stuck?”

“I mean, it’s stuck! All it does is go click, click…”
...and the tower launches the riders straight up, launching them into the darkness at fifty m.p.h. They shoot upward past the observation deck, finally stopping at the height of 300ft above the base of the tower, then immediately begin to free-fall back down. After a few controlled bounces in the pitch blackness of the inside of the tower, they slowly settle back towards the bottom. As they near the ground, they hear Ralph saying to them,
“Sorry about that, folks! Sam told me to push the wrong button.”

“I DID NOT!” they hear Sam loudly protest.

“Anyway, when I get done here I’m headin’ over to the Crypt of Fire. When you get over there, tell ‘em Ralph sent you!”​

After being released from their ride restraints, riders have three choices- get back in line and ride the Light Tower again, decide to explore the rest of the Tower of Power complex, or ride the Power Tower.

The Power Tower, the plummet/Turbo Drop side of the Tower of Power, is a much darker ride experience in tone than its launch counterpart. The ride seating is identical to the Light Tower, and the loading process is the same, but there the similarity ends. When loaded and secured, the seats carrying the riders begin to slowly but steadily ascend. After climbing about thirty feet up into the inky blackness of the Tower’s unlit interior, a voice is heard, a voice coming from speakers near the riders’ heads. It is somber, serious, almost a warning to the riders.
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“Some say that the Tower of Power is haunted by the ghost of a worker who plummeted down the elevator shaft when a cable broke. Some say it was simply too complicated a structure for the technology of the era. Most people who worked here never noticed anything out of the ordinary as they rode the elevators during their busy day, up and down over three hundred feet to their offices in the Tower, or to enjoy the observation deck far above the town. But today, be it a problem with the technology of the time or a ghost trapped in his world between the Here and the Hereafter just longing for some company, something will go wrong.”​

The riders continue their ascent into the Tower’s thick, almost oppressive darkness - and then, when they reach the 300-foot level, they stop. There is silence, a silence that seems to drag on for hours. Then a sound is heard, a sound that resembles a hacksaw cutting through something metallic. A different voice is heard, a voice that speaks in a heartbreakingly sad tone.​

“Lonely...I’m so lonely...I need company...so lonely…”
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The seat holding the riders suddenly begins to jerk, first downwards just a few inches, then back up, then down further, then upward again. The jerking stops, and the voice speaks again, but this time it isn’t sad or mourningful, but vicious and angry!​

“YOU WILL JOIN ME FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!!”​

The ride carriage is forced downwards at 1.5G, plunging through the pitch blackness with nothing but tiny tracer lights racing upwards at a speed faster than the riders to give those riders any concept of their velocity. As they approach the bottom, brakes suddenly slow the riders, and as in the Light Tower a series of controlled bounces soon bring them to a gradual landing. ​

Niagara Visitors Center

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The building at the base of the Niagara Tower of Power, inspired by the architecture of the Pan American Exposition of 1901, contains several gift shops, guest services including restrooms, a tourist information center for the Niagara region, a restaurant (to be discussed later), and an attraction that brings visitors to the very creation of Niagara Falls- Niagara's Fury, a combination introductory film and 4-D multimedia experience.​

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The eight minute preshow film features Chip the Beaver and his friends in an animated short film that explains the formation of the Falls during the Ice Age. After viewing this film, visitors wearing protective rain gear enter a circular theater, and while standing on a huge circular platform they will experience the actual creation of Niagara Falls, the power of the glaciers that formed the region and the continuing effect that the power of the Niagara River has on the ongoing evolution of the Falls. This multimedia event uses motion, sound, water and cutting-edge cinematic effects to carry visitors into the center of "Niagara's Fury". Rewritten and refilmed for the Niagara Visitors Center at Americana 1900, it is an attraction not to be missed.​

Niagara-on-the-Lake Juice Bar
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The Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce sponsors this juice and snack bar to introduce the world to the amazing bounty of fruits and other healthy foodstuffs grown on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, just a short drive from the famous falls. Eighty percent of Canada’s peach harvest comes from this region, but cherries, apples, plums, nectarines and grapes also are abundant, and this Juice Bar offers for sale pure, cold juices “on tap” to thirsty visitors, along with specially-blended fruit drinks and freshly-baked pastries featuring the products grown in the rich soil and temperate climate on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Buffalo Wild Wings, a full-service restaurant known throughout the world for its wings, sandwiches and more, is located on the second floor. It will be discussed in the “Dining” section of The Pike’s presentation.​

 

[James G.]

Hershey’s World of Chocolate

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Since 1900, say the word “Hershey” and America’s mouth begins to water. That was the year that Milton Hershey sold his first chocolate bar, and since then the Hershey Company has grown into the largest chocolate producer and distributor in North America, and fills humanity’s seemingly insatiable desire for Hershey Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s Kisses, and dozens of other candy treats. It’s products are known throughout the world, and for well over a century the Hershey name has represented America at its sweetest.​

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Hersheypark, located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1906 as a recreational center for the enjoyment of the Hershey Company’s employees and their families. Since that time, it has expanded into a major regional theme park, with award-winning rides and attractions, a popular visitor center, and ZooAmerica, an AZA-accredited zoo and wildlife sanctuary specializing in the wildlife of North America. The original Hershey’s World of Chocolate, located as part of the Hersheypark entrance complex, has locations not only in Hersheypark itself, but also in such world-wide locations as Las Vegas, Niagara Falls and Singapore. The Hershey World of Chocolate in Americana 1900 is the first location in a theme park other than the original site in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and is operated as a joint venture between the Hershey Company and Americana 1900. Season Passes for each theme park are honored in either park, and Hershey is the official provider of chocolate products for all of Americana 1900 (except in Miss Emma’s Sweet Shop in Maple Grove).​

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Hershey’s World of Chocolate, located on the northeast side of The Pike, is a complex of three separate attractions and a restaurant/bar, all located in a building whose facade is derived from the central section of the United States Pavilion at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, held in Portland, Oregon in 1905 (but with the towers restored, probably much to A.M. Bunting’s consternation). Hershey's "Time For Some Chocolate!”, “The Hershey Store,” the "Hershey's Chocolate Factory,” the “Create Your Own Candy Bar” experience, and Hershey's Chocolate Restaurant and Chocolate Bar complex fill this part of The Pike with the enticing aroma of chocolate. ​

Time for Some Chocolate!
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The first part of the complex is a ten-minute Omnimover-type dark ride titled "Time for Some Chocolate!," and is inspired by a popular ride found at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and several other tourist locations throughout North America. This ride is unique, though, in that it introduces two new audioanimated guides, Quetzal, a feathered serpent, and Coatl, a jaguar, both creatures that were important to the early Mesoamerican cultures that first created chocolate.​

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Quetzal and Coatl act as tour guides as visitors are carried past scenes showing the early cultivation of cacao trees and their seed-bearing pods. The gradual development of cacao into a chocolate beverage used both as a tribute to their gods and eventually as a beverage for all, and the spread of its popularity from Central America northward into parts of North America inhabited by the Pueblo people, is portrayed in a series of informative yet humorous animatronic and animated scenes. These scenes then trace the history of chocolate from its discovery by the invading Europeans, its introduction and popularity in Europe, its eventual reintroduction into North America, and finally finishes with the founding of The Hershey Company and its impact on American culture and American sweet tooths. "Time for Some Chocolate'' is a fun, entertaining and informative ride through the history of America's favorite treat- chocolate!​

The Hershey Store
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The Hershey Store, similar to the popular Hershey Stores found in several cities around the nation, can be entered either from the Hershey Chocolate Factory tour, after riding "Time for Some Chocolate" or directly from The Pike. Every imaginable type of Hershey product is available here, many wrapped in their original package designs. Candies, collectibles and decorative items can all be found in this irresistible store.​

The Hershey Chocolate Factory
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After riding “Time for Some Chocolate,” or from a separate entrance directly from The Pike, guests can enter the neighboring Hershey Chocolate Factory where they can watch an operating Hershey Chocolate Factory create real Hershey Kisses, including different seasonal flavors for various holidays.​

Create Your Own Candy Bar

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Guests can also observe and even participate ($14.95/person with advance reservations strongly recommended due to limited space) in the Create Your Own Candy Bar experience. Wanna-be chocolatiers, dressed in hairnets and aprons, enter an actual manufacturing line and choose what ingredients to add to their own personalized chocolate bar, and can even name their candy bar and design their own personalized wrapper. This 45-minute long experience lets visitors take home both a delicious Hershey Chocolate Bar of their own creation and lots of sweet memories.​

The Hershey Restaurant and Chocolate Bar
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The final part of the Hershey Chocolate Complex is the Hershey Restaurant and Chocolate Bar. This restaurant will be described in the Dining section of this guidebook.​

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[Suchomimus]

The Niagara Tower of Power

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The center of the northeast side of The Pike is dominated by the Niagara Tower of Power, a 389-foot tall recreation of the Electric Tower, the centerpiece of the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 held in Buffalo, New York and the tallest structure in Americana 1900.​

Is the power unlimited?

 

[James G.]

Kellogg’s of Battle Creek

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Note: The above drawing was made before the final facade of the Kellogg's of Battle Creek pavilion was selected. The final appearance is presented further down in this presentation.​

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The year was 1906. Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg founded The Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company to manufacture and market a new breakfast cereal he developed as part of his Battle Creek Sanitarium. This Sanitarium, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, was a health resort that espoused the principles taught by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, including a healthy vegetarian diet, and the corn flakes that Kellogg created were an immediate hit. This new company, renamed The Kellogg Company in 1922, was hugely successful and over the years evolved into one of the largest food companies in the world.​

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Tours of the company factory in Battle Creek, Michigan were first offered in 1912 and continued until 1986. 1998 saw the opening of Cereal City U.S.A., a $22 million visitor center featuring a variety of exhibits about The Kellogg Company, its history and products. It never attracted the crowds needed to support it financially, and in 2007 it closed

The Kellogg Company still believed that there was a need for a place where people could come and discover the history of this famous and successful American company. Working with Americana 1900, The Kellogg Company has opened "Kellogg's of Battle Creek", a mixture of historic exhibits, a simulated factory tour, gift shop and restaurant exploring and celebrating the impact that this company had on American culture.

Kellogg’s of Battle Creek is housed in one of the most unique buildings on The Pike, if not in all of Americana 1900. Inspired by “Creation,’ a popular concession on the original Pike at the St. Louis Fair of 1904 that theatrically presented the seven Biblical days of Creation (along with a cyclorama painting of Venice and Rome, and which (for some unknown reason) also featured a living woman cut in half), the facade of Kellogg’s of Battle Creek consists of a gigantic terracotta arch three stories high, supported by a massive statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of cereals. ​

​

The rest of the ornate facade is ornamented with more terracotta sculptures of enormous sheaves of corn, bundles of grains and other natural ingredients used in the creation of Kellogg’s products, and sculpted images of Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, and Cornelius Rooster, among others from Kellogg’s rich history.

When guests first enter this 80,000+ square foot complex, located on the northwest corner of The Pike, they find themselves in the Cereal Bowl Rotunda, where they can choose which exhibit or attraction in this two level structure to visit first.
​

“Breakfast is Ready”​

Escalators directly ahead carry guests to the second-floor balcony, where they enter "Breakfast is Ready", a ten-minute ride through the history of the company. Moving grandstands, each seating twenty guests in five rows of four seats, carry them through a multimedia experience using moving video screens, dioramas, special sound and lighting effects, and even aromas to tell how two brothers from Battle Creek, Michigan turned a small health spa and their belief in healthy eating into one of the world's largest producers and marketers of food products. ​

​

This is one of the few attractions at Americana 1900 that breaks the "date limits" and carries the story of the company to the present day, but does so in a unified style that compliments the historic atmosphere of the park. From the creation of the first toasted corn flakes in 1894 to the present multinational corporation with dozens of products manufactured and sold around the world, the history of The Kellogg Company is presented in an informative, interesting and entertaining way.

After experiencing "Breakfast is Ready,'' guests descend a curved ramp lined with examples of the innovative marketing strategies, advertising promotions and "gimmicks" used to promote the products of the company, making the name Kellogg's almost synonymous with breakfast. The 1910 "Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Book" with short rhymes and flip photos of animals (free with the purchase of two boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes), the introduction of Tony the Tiger and the evolution of his appearance, and the 1939 two-minute cartoon "Breakfast Pals" where "Snap!, Crackle! and Pop!" fight against their rivals "Soggy, Mushy and Toughy" for control of a child's breakfast bowl are just some of the historic marketing tools used to promote the ever-growing line of Kellogg's cereal products.​

"Breakfast Pals"




The Kellogg's Factory Tour

​

American favorites like Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and All Bran, products from the past no longer available anywhere else but here such as Kellogg's Toasted Wheat Biscuits and Pep Flakes (the first vitamin-fortified cereal), and even Kellogg's products from other countries such as Kellogg's Country Store (Great Britain), Heart to Heart Oats (India), Vector (Canada) and Strawberry Pops (South Africa) can be sampled here.​

The Kellogg’s Country Store
​

This gift shop offers a wide variety of souvenirs, clothing and decorative items featuring the Kellogg's logo. One popular item is a selection of reproduction vintage cereal boxes for many of the earliest Kellogg's cereals. These air-tight resealable and reusable boxes allow families to store their Kellogg's cereals in the same style of box that their grandparents used when they were kids- but with modern storage benefits. Also found here is a selection of reproduction toys based on the many mascots that Kellogg's introduced through the years- Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, Cornelius Rooster and many others.​

Kellogg's at Americana 1900- the best to you from Battle Creek!

The Red Onion Restaurant

The Red Onion Restaurant is named after the restaurant found in the Battle Creek Sanitarium operated by the Kellogg family. It is described in the Dining Section of this presentation.

 

[James G.]

The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 (AAP)

​

Many visitors will approach The Pike from State Fair Township, following Main Street eastward. On their right they will see the rustically-majestic redwood structure of the Great Lumberjack War Arena, but opposite this, on their left, they will notice a row of elegant, magnificently-painted Victorian-era homes- the famous “painted ladies'' of San Francisco. Three stories high, with gable-on-gable roofs, corner towers and bay windows, elegantly-carved wooden embellishments in every peak and painted with more colors than most artists have ever even seen, this obviously prosperous neighborhood in the “City by the Bay,” or as it was known in 1906, the “Paris of the West,” makes it clear that we are seeing San Francisco at its finest and most prosperous. ​

It is April 17th, the day before it happened.​

Turning left and proceeding down the west side of The Pike, an elegant three-story Second Empire-style stone structure with ornate decorative details fronts onto West Pike. With a facade (inspired by) and a magnificent dome, a replica of the 1897 San Francisco City Hall, this magnificent structure is a beautiful example of late 19th-century civic architecture.​

​

But as visitors proceed north they will see that something has happened. Cracks start to show in the walls, a portion of the elaborate cornice has broken off and fallen to the sidewalk below, and soon the facade of the building is a mass of broken masonry and exposed metal framework. ​

​

The interior iron framework of this once-elegant municipal building now stands exposed to the elements, with the stone and masonry that once covered it shattered into rubble. Somehow, though, its elegant dome surmounted by a beautiful statue seems to almost float high above, balanced precariously on twisted metal columns, undamaged by the tremors that had shattered the building beneath it. Several tall stone columns, slightly crooked but still upright, support a cracked archway overhead and flank a meandering path dug through the wreckage into the building. Over the damaged archway is a sign, cracked in two, announcing what this attraction is-​

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The exterior of the building housing this intense coaster/dark ride hybrid appears to have been severely damaged by a major earth tremor. Riders enter the building through the rubble, and as they pass through the entrance queue they are transported back to the morning just before the quake struck. After entering a room inspired by the original inner courtyard of San Francisco’s historic Palace Hotel, where they are now guests of the hotel, they board Model T-styled vehicles to begin a pleasant sightseeing trip through the streets of San Francisco on the morning of April 18th, 1906.​

​

They climb up one of the many hills that San Francisco is so famous for, passing cable cars and more of the city’s elegant “painted ladies”, then begin to descend down the famous Lombard Street, "the crookedest street in the world”...​

...and then it hits- one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States- a tremendous earthquake estimated to be from 7.7 to 8.2 on today's Richter Scale.

​

The automobiles begin to swerve as the street begins to shake, rise and fall as the tremors hit and the earth beneath the street shifts back and forth. The buildings on either side start to rock, leaning as though they were ready to crush the cars, and their helpless riders begin their desperate race to escape from the city. Deep chasms open up in the streets before them, forcing the cars to make sharp turns down even more dangerous thoroughfares. ​

​

The car gets tangled in a runaway cable from a now-destroyed cable car, and is dragged backwards uphill to the top of another hill, finally being released but now being forced to begin another hair-raising descent down another rapidly-disintegrating street. The street heaves and cracks, and a roar is heard as hundreds of buildings collapse around them. Finally the shaking stops, but the car is surrounded by flames as the great fire that destroyed much of the city that wasn't destroyed by the earthquake breaks out. ​

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The car races through Chinatown, narrowly escaping destruction from the collapse of a decorative Chinese archway now in flames. The car finally leaves the flames behind and enters an area of desolation surrounded by the charred ruins of homes and businesses, piles of brick and stone rubble, and the smell of smoke. As they make one final turn around a pile of debris, they see a huge chasm that has opened in the street before them- but it’s too late to stop! The car plunges head-first into the pitch blackness.
​

And silence.​

​

They had not escaped. They were among the thousands who perished in the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.​

As the car moves forward toward the unloading area, the riders hear a somber voice telling them:
​

"400,000 people lived in the San Francisco area at the time of the earthquake. Over 3000 were killed by the quake, and 225,000 were left homeless. Fires burned for three days, destroying five square miles, and 28,000 buildings were leveled. But San Francisco would rebuild itself and reclaim its place as one of the most beautiful cities in the world...until the next big earthquake."​

Still in darkness, and just before the car turns to enter the unloading area, the car begins to shake again, slightly, and the sound of rumbling is heard all around them.

The riders exit their automobiles in a room that could be a basement beneath any city structure, but the walls are cracked, water is dripping from fractured pipes, and the light bulbs are flickering slightly. They leave through a hallway lined with photos of San Francisco before and after the earthquake. A small room just off of the exit hallway is open, showing a film loop of San Francisco taken four days before the earthquake, side-by-side with one showing the still-smoldering ruins of San Francisco made just after the 1906 quake.​

​

Before leaving San Francisco through one of the “painted ladies” along the Main Street side, guests pass through a gift shop operated by Gumps, one of San Francisco’s oldest and most respected retail merchants. Here visitors can find the Family Album photo counter, attraction-based souvenirs and San Francisco-themed merchandise featuring the city both pre-and-post earthquake.​

 

[James G.]

 

[spacemt354]

Kellogg’s of Battle Creek

​

Note: The above drawing was made before the final facade of the Kellogg's of Battle Creek pavilion was selected. The final appearance is presented further down in this presentation.​

​

The year was 1906. Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg founded The Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company to manufacture and market a new breakfast cereal he developed as part of his Battle Creek Sanitarium. This Sanitarium, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, was a health resort that espoused the principles taught by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, including a healthy vegetarian diet, and the corn flakes that Kellogg created were an immediate hit. This new company, renamed The Kellogg Company in 1922, was hugely successful and over the years evolved into one of the largest food companies in the world.​

​

Tours of the company factory in Battle Creek, Michigan were first offered in 1912 and continued until 1986. 1998 saw the opening of Cereal City U.S.A., a $22 million visitor center featuring a variety of exhibits about The Kellogg Company, its history and products. It never attracted the crowds needed to support it financially, and in 2007 it closed

The Kellogg Company still believed that there was a need for a place where people could come and discover the history of this famous and successful American company. Working with Americana 1900, The Kellogg Company has opened "Kellogg's of Battle Creek", a mixture of historic exhibits, a simulated factory tour, gift shop and restaurant exploring and celebrating the impact that this company had on American culture.

Kellogg’s of Battle Creek is housed in one of the most unique buildings on The Pike, if not in all of Americana 1900. Inspired by “Creation,’ a popular concession on the original Pike at the St. Louis Fair of 1904 that theatrically presented the seven Biblical days of Creation (along with a cyclorama painting of Venice and Rome, and which (for some unknown reason) also featured a living woman cut in half), the facade of Kellogg’s of Battle Creek consists of a gigantic terracotta arch three stories high, supported by a massive statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of cereals. ​

​

The rest of the ornate facade is ornamented with more terracotta sculptures of enormous sheaves of corn, bundles of grains and other natural ingredients used in the creation of Kellogg’s products, and sculpted images of Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, and Cornelius Rooster, among others from Kellogg’s rich history.

When guests first enter this 80,000+ square foot complex, located on the northwest corner of The Pike, they find themselves in the Cereal Bowl Rotunda, where they can choose which exhibit or attraction in this two level structure to visit first.
​

“Breakfast is Ready”​

Escalators directly ahead carry guests to the second-floor balcony, where they enter "Breakfast is Ready", a ten-minute ride through the history of the company. Moving grandstands, each seating twenty guests in five rows of four seats, carry them through a multimedia experience using moving video screens, dioramas, special sound and lighting effects, and even aromas to tell how two brothers from Battle Creek, Michigan turned a small health spa and their belief in healthy eating into one of the world's largest producers and marketers of food products. ​

​

This is one of the few attractions at Americana 1900 that breaks the "date limits" and carries the story of the company to the present day, but does so in a unified style that compliments the historic atmosphere of the park. From the creation of the first toasted corn flakes in 1894 to the present multinational corporation with dozens of products manufactured and sold around the world, the history of The Kellogg Company is presented in an informative, interesting and entertaining way.

After experiencing "Breakfast is Ready,'' guests descend a curved ramp lined with examples of the innovative marketing strategies, advertising promotions and "gimmicks" used to promote the products of the company, making the name Kellogg's almost synonymous with breakfast. The 1910 "Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Book" with short rhymes and flip photos of animals (free with the purchase of two boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes), the introduction of Tony the Tiger and the evolution of his appearance, and the 1939 two-minute cartoon "Breakfast Pals" where "Snap!, Crackle! and Pop!" fight against their rivals "Soggy, Mushy and Toughy" for control of a child's breakfast bowl are just some of the historic marketing tools used to promote the ever-growing line of Kellogg's cereal products.​

"Breakfast Pals"




The Kellogg's Factory Tour

​

American favorites like Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and All Bran, products from the past no longer available anywhere else but here such as Kellogg's Toasted Wheat Biscuits and Pep Flakes (the first vitamin-fortified cereal), and even Kellogg's products from other countries such as Kellogg's Country Store (Great Britain), Heart to Heart Oats (India), Vector (Canada) and Strawberry Pops (South Africa) can be sampled here.​

The Kellogg’s Country Store
​

This gift shop offers a wide variety of souvenirs, clothing and decorative items featuring the Kellogg's logo. One popular item is a selection of reproduction vintage cereal boxes for many of the earliest Kellogg's cereals. These air-tight resealable and reusable boxes allow families to store their Kellogg's cereals in the same style of box that their grandparents used when they were kids- but with modern storage benefits. Also found here is a selection of reproduction toys based on the many mascots that Kellogg's introduced through the years- Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, Cornelius Rooster and many others.​

Kellogg's at Americana 1900- the best to you from Battle Creek!

The Red Onion Restaurant

The Red Onion Restaurant is named after the restaurant found in the Battle Creek Sanitarium operated by the Kellogg family. It is described in the Dining Section of this presentation.

As always I love the historical elements to your project. This one I know a little bit about!

A fun fact about Kellogg's is they invented the phrase "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" as a marketing slogan that was so convincing that it became mainstream health advice. In reality it probably isn't true especially if the meal is their cereal.

However on a vacation to Americana 1900 there's nothing more American than scarfing down a bowl of sugary cereal

 

[James G.]

Lucy and the Sunken Gardens

Though neither a ride nor a corporate pavilion, the Sunken Gardens of The Pike and their centerpiece, Lucy, must be considered one of the most beautiful and unusual attractions in both The Pike and all of Americana 1900.

​

The Sunken Gardens are inspired by gardens of the same name found at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, held in Portland, Oregon, the same fair that inspired the building now used as the Hershey World of Chocolate Pavilion. At the 1905 fair, they filled the center of Columbia Court, the visually splendid plaza between the Palace of Agriculture and Horticulture on one side and the European exhibits on the other. The south end of the plaza was overlooked by a statuary group showing Lewis and Clark reaching the Pacific Ocean, while the north end of the Sunken Gardens and plaza opened onto the magnificent Lakeview Terrace and the massive United States Government pavilion across Guild’s Lake. ​

Please notice the Sunken Gardens in the center of the highlighted area on the above map of the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and compare it to the photograph above.​

In Americana 1900, these elegantly terraced gardens run the length of The Pike, displaying elaborate floral designs that feature flora native to America. Borders of boxwood and elegantly-crafted wrought iron railings line the hundreds of feet of walkways that allow visitors to casually stroll through this riot of floral colors and scents. Signage explains what many of the plants are, especially the ones that are less well known or that might be rare heirloom varieties of flowers and plants. Interspersed throughout the gardens are bronze statues, reproductions of those originally displayed at one of the multitudes of late 19th and early 20th century expositions. Numerous park benches invite guests to sit, relax and enjoy this oasis of beautiful colors and floral aromas.​

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Standing in the center of the Sunken Gardens, on a round lawn lined with boxwood and ornamented with beds of flowers and decorative grasses, guests are drawn to a strange sight- an elephant. Not just any elephant, but a very large elephant named Lucy, a recreation of the National Historic Landmark that stands in Margate City, New Jersey. ​

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The original Lucy, built in 1881 as an advertising gimmick by a real estate salesman, stands six stories high- the Americana 1900 version is a three-quarter-size version of the original, with staircases and a small elevator in its legs to allow guests to climb into Lucy, view the small display hall inside her body outlining the history of the original Lucy, and climb up to the small observation deck located in her Howdah, the carriage located on her back. ​

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The roof of the Howdah is also used as a projection platform for the nighttime spectacular "One Nation" projected on the facades of The Pike buildings.​

The Great Lumberjack War

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Directly adjacent to the Quinault Longhouse is the outdoor arena where The Great Lumberjack War show is presented several times a day. This demonstration of lumberjack skills such as birling (log rolling), chopping, sawing and speed climbing is a fun, fast-paced show for the entire family. The major difference between this lumberjack show and other, more modern lumberjack demonstrations is that no power tools are used, befitting the era of the park. It's all done by human muscle and years of training, skill and experience.​

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The grandstand of this arena (nicknamed the “Redwood Stadium” from its appearance, even though it is completely constructed from renewable wood products and composites) seats approximately five hundred people on shaded bench seating. It is entered from under the closed end of the arena on Main Street, and from The Pike, near the Quinault Longhouse. Passages under the grandstands lead to several sets of stairs and ramps to allow easy access and exit from all seating areas. The open-air competition area fills the space between the arms of the arena and extends past them to a large area to the south with tall tree trunks used in the competition. Fir and pine trees provide a fitting backdrop to this fun and fast-paced lumberjack competition. A large pool of water in the middle of the arena is used for the birling contests. The Great Lumberjack War is presented four times a day, with two different casts alternating with each other due to the strenuous nature of the physical skills required.​

 

[James G.]

​

There is as much variety in the dining choices to be found on The Pike as there are varieties of attractions to be enjoyed. Fine dining with magnificent views, health-conscious options, fun family restaurants and quick-service food stands can all be found in the majestic buildings that make The Pike one of, if not the most beautiful Township or land to be found in any theme park in the nation, if not the world. It is not surprising that four of the top ten rated theme park restaurants as voted on by Theme Park Insider are located on The Pike.​

Buffalo Wild Wings

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Located on the second floor of the Niagara Tower of Power Visitors Center, this branch of the extremely popular nationally-known restaurant is reached by ramp, staircase or elevator from the first-floor lobby. Located at the back of the building, this two-story-high dining room features soaring windows facing east, giving it a magnificent view of the Great Pacific Northwest Scenic Railroad. Its menu features all the classic selections of wings, salads and sandwiches that has made BW3 such a popular dining location throughout the nation. Along with its regular selection of beers and other beverages, it offers a special menu of imported beers, wines and ciders from Canada, with special emphasis on the Niagara region of Ontario. First-time diners at the Niagara “B-Dubs” come for the view- they come back for the food and drinks!​

The Harvey House Restaurant on The Pike* (HDP)

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Located between "The Great Horsepower Race" and “The Coca Cola Experience” is the Harvey House Restaurant on The Pike. There are actually two different restaurants in this building, both located on the ground floor of what appears to be the corporate offices of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The facade, inspired by the 1875 Hayden Building in Boston, Mass., has the railroad’s name emblazoned on the parapet, which is crowned with a statue of a steam locomotive.​

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The doorway to the left welcomes diners to the Harvey House Lunch Counter, a counter service restaurant with a nearly one hundred foot long lunch counter complete with swiveling diner stools where hungry guests can watch their meals being prepared by the cook right in front of them. Several ADA-compliant booths are also available. Reservations are not taken in this location, and the Heritage Dining Plan is not accepted here. This is strictly a first come first serve lunch counter, with a traditional Harvey House lunch counter menu of freshly grilled burgers, fries hot from the deep fryer, fresh salads from the glass-fronted refrigerated case, and desert cases loaded with home-made pies, all cut in the traditional Harvey House-sized servings. ​

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Menu boards are strategically placed where the diners can see them, on the wall behind the Harvey Girls and cooks (traditional menus are also available). This is a traditional lunch counter, similar to those found in many Harvey House Restaurants during the Golden Age of Railroads, and is guaranteed to be a fun, memorable and filling dining experience.​

 

[James G.]

The doorway to the right leads guests into what appears to be a rather elegant railroad station ticket office, and the entrance to the most elegant dining area of all the Harvey House Restaurants in Americana 1900- the Fred Harvey Dining Cars (HDP). ​

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Guests check in at the ticket window, and those with advanced reservations are handed personalized “tickets'', while those without advanced reservations are informed of their approximate “boarding time” and are handed “stand-by” tickets. Harvey Girls escort the guests down a long hallway (which runs parallel to the Lunch Counter, but is separated by a wall). Those with “stand-by” tickets, or who have advanced reservations but are either early or their table isn’t ready yet, are invited to wait on one of the comfortable waiting room benches that line this hallway. Prints of steam locomotives, maps of the AT&SF Railroad lines, photographs of Harvey House Restaurants from across the nation and actual menus from these historic dining locations fill the walls behind the benches. The Fred Harvey Dining Cars are located behind the Coca-Cola Experience, Great Horsepower Race and Niagara Tower of Power buildings, parallel to the tracks of the GC&SF Railroad. This long hallway where diners wait leads them back to the conductor’s loading platform.
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Note: Please refer to the drawing of the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant above. The Fred Harvey Dining Cars are located beneath the red arrow in the drawing, between the buildings on the Pike's east side and the railroad tracks of the Gulf Coast & Santa Fe Railroad.

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When their table is ready, the conductor (the maitre de) has a Harvey Girl bring the diners to his check-in counter, where he greets them with the traditional, “Tickets, please?” He punches each ticket (which is a souvenir) with a “FH” punch (for Fred Harvey) and instructs the Harvey Girl to direct them to which dining car and table they have been assigned to. She then leads them to one of the six dining cars that comprise the restaurant (five general dining cars and Dining Car Number One, an especially-elegant dining car for small wedding rehearsals, anniversaries and birthdays, reserved in advance for those special occasions). The conductor’s stand is located in front of a central loading vestibule situated between Dining Car Three and Four, with Cars One, Two and Three to the left (north) and Four, Five and Six to the right (south), and as in a real train, passengers must pass through one dining car to reach the next.​

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These elegant dining cars are resplendent with polished walnut, oak and cherry, beautifully-crafted stained glass in the transom windows and have rows of windows on each side of the car. The windows on the west side, which actually would face the backside of the Pike buildings, are not actually windows and have heavy velvet curtains and blinds drawn to block this view. The “U''-shaped booths on the west side of the cars are slightly elevated and face towards the east to give all diners in the dining car a view from the eastward-facing windows, where they can watch the trains of the GC&SF Railroad passing by and can observe the majestic mountains of the “Great Pacific'' beyond. The tables and chairs on the east side of the dining car seat two to four diners, and are separated from the booths by a comfortably wide passage running the length of each row of dining cars. Comfortable deep red leather seats on the chairs and booths, along with the requisite white linen tablecloths and napkins, high-quality china with the “FH” monogram on the border and etched into the fine-quality crystal glasses, and solid cutlery complete the atmosphere of classic elegance in the Fred Harvey Dining cars. Each dining car can seat up to sixty diners at a time, meaning that, without counting the extra space of Dining Car One, which can be reset and used for more diners if needed and available, nearly three hundred “passengers” can enjoy the elegance and romantic ambiance of railroad dining during the “Golden Age of the Railroads” at one time.​

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These cars are wider than an actual dining car, offering more comfort for diners and convenience for the Harvey Girls serving them. Between each car is a small vestibule, offering access to restrooms (which are located inside the adjacent Pike buildings) and kitchen facilities (which are located in the basement under the Harvey House building and use underground passages, elevators and dumbwaiters to access the two sides of the restaurant without having to pass through public areas).

The Dining Cars, like all Harvey House Restaurants in Americana 1900, offer the basic menu and “favorites” found at each location, although the atmosphere and presentation might make those items taste a little bit fancier. It is the area of the Blue Plate Specials where the Fred Harvey Dining Cars stand out, and have earned its place as one of the top ten theme park restaurants according to readers of Theme Park Insider. Some of the delicacies offered on this special menu include:​

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Service, like in all the Harvey House locations, is attentive and professional, and a dinner at the Harvey House Restaurant on The Pike will compare favorably with any fine dining restaurant anywhere in the South.​

*The Harvey House Dining Cars are a AAA Three-Star Restaurant

 

[James G.]

The Hershey Restaurant* (HDP) and Chocolate Bar

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Chocolate is usually considered either a snack or part of a dessert, but cooks everywhere are starting to discover new uses for chocolate in all sorts of other dishes, from appetizers to entrees to adult beverages. The Hershey Restaurant and Chocolate Bar, with entrances from both inside the World of Chocolate and directly from The Pike, allows adventurous diners a chance to enjoy a surprising variety of foods using chocolate as an ingredient.​

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The Hershey Restaurant might seem to be a restaurant only for the most adventurous diner, and those who are willing to try new foods and flavors will not be disappointed, but there are many items on the menu that will both satisfy and surprise those who are more conservative in their epicurean tastes. Nearly every dish contains chocolate in some form, but often it is used as a flavor enhancer, not the "star of the show". Diners inclined to try new and unusual dishes containing chocolate can have soup such as Leek and Parsnip with coca brioche croutons, an arugula salad with smoked ham and cacao nibs, or entrees such as white chocolate Ghannouj (roast beef with a rosemary, chocolate and wine sauce), or enchiladas in a mole (chocolate chili) sauce. Diners wanting more familiar foods can order beef stew with chocolate in the gravy, triple chocolate beef and bean chili, cocoa-rubbed baby back ribs and burgers with a chocolate-coffee spice mix. Of course, there is a wide selection of chocolate desserts- cakes, pies, ice creams, etc, and a selection of chocolate milkshakes is available for those who still need more chocolate. Other beverages are also available, and there are some foods and side dishes that don't include chocolate, but this restaurant is dedicated to showing how chocolate is more than just a candy bar.

Speaking of candy bars, the Chocolate Bar offers a special menu of adult beverages such as chocolate martinis, chocolate white Russians and dark chocolate Irish coffee.​

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White chocolate, dark chocolate, semisweet, bittersweet- chocolate is one of the most popular flavors in the world, and the Hershey Restaurant and Chocolate Bar brings new tastes and culinary ideas to America and Americana 1900.​

*The Hershey Restaurant is a AAA Four Diamond Restaurant

 

[D Hulk]

I was very fortunate to enjoy a front row seat to James’ design process a great many years ago. I recall at the time being deeply impressed by the scope, creativity, and sheer scrumptiousness of the dining he’d created for the Pike. James had combined robustly delicious America foods with some truly unique restaurant experiences surrounding them. So far the final product lives up to my memories, and we’re only partway through!