Magic Shop on Main Street

[Lauriebar]

Can anyone help me with some memories or photos or websites regarding the Magic Shop that used to be on Main Street?

My first visit to WDW was in 1979 when I was nine and one of the clearest memories I have is being in the Magic Shop. I would love to hear if anyone else remembers this shop!!

Also, I have a picture of myself and my best friend from this same time period in which she and I are dressed as turn of the century children and we are in front of the end of a caboose. On the railing that we are leaning on it says Walt Disney World Railroad. The picture is in black and white and was taken in a store on Main Street where they apparently had a photo shop. Anyone know where this was?

Any help will be so appreciated.:wave:

 

[waltdisny]

I don't have any pictures, but I remember the Magic Shops, there were 2 as I recall, Main Street, and Merlin's in Fantasyland. Funny, I remember them having a distinct smell, like old books...hmm

Anyway, the train set (which is actually a DL style parlor car with a drum-head, not a caboose) was in the Kodak Camera shop, first store on the right, opposite the Emporium and connecting to the General Store with the party-line telephones. I recall them having a such a set, and renting those marvelous 2 piece video rigs, with the recorder the size and weight of a suitcase. It was featured in the Kodak ad on the back of the guidebooks for years in the late 70's.

Does a recording exist of those party-line phones? they were a riot.:lol:

Does anyone else miss the unique shops that WDW used to have?

 

[barnum42]

The magic shop was brilliant. It was not big, but provided much needed variety to that side of Mainstreet. I recall it had a dark interior and a bunch of unique bits and bobs with a magician demonstrating the tricks they sold.

Bring back the magic shop and the proper location for the Barber Shop!

 

[Lauriebar]

Yes!!It did have a certain smell!!! And it seems like it was dark inside(darker than the other shops)

The old shops had much more character didn't they? More reflective of a true Main Street.

 

[waltdisny]

The old shops had much more character didn't they? More reflective of a true Main Street.

I think so, it was always fun to poke around and see what fun things they had. And it wasn't just Main Street; Liberty Square had an antique shop, Adventureland had lots of cool stuff. And FantasyLand had my fave, Tinkerbell's Toy Shop with really cool imported toys. Now it's all the same.

I remember the Magic Shop being dark as well. Very-cool. When I read the Diagon Alley description, for some reason I pictured it like the Main Street Magic Shop.

 

[Since1976]

I still have the Magic Trick Kit I bought from there in 1986!

I was quite disappointed to return there in 2002 to discover that most of Main Street was one big Disney Store.

 

[Lee]

Man, I used to love the magic shop.
The only two things I remember buying there:
-A Darth Vader mask just after Star Wars came out. Recently sold it on Ebay for a tidy profit.
-A Haunted Mansion puzzle box. You had to solve the puzzle to get into the box's secret compartment. Very cool. Wish I still had that one.

 

[mrtoad]

I do not remember the Magic Shop on Main Street USA but I do remember the one in Fantasyland. It was small dark and creepy.

As for the shops on Main Street, I really wish they would put it back to the way it was. I miss the individual shops and the Penny Archade. There is plenty of the stuff on Main Street all over and in DTD, they should go back to the way it was.

Other shops that are gone from around the world are missed as well. Like the antique store in Liberty Square that was mentioned. I think it is the Xmas shop now. My wife bought me an old Tom Sawyer Island discovery map from Disneyland there. They sold not just Disney antiques (though they were the coolest) but others as well.

Also I am upset to hear the Frontierland Trading Post is now a pin shop. It was closed in Jan/Feb when we went and I guess they were destroying another memory.

It is a shame...

 

[rosebud's mom]

I distinctly remember both the "old-time" photo set and the MainStreet Magic Shop. I always liked that the Magic Shop sold Halloween items year round. I'm also really upset to hear that the Frontier Trading Post has changed. Is it a sign of my age that I disagree with so many of the changes now being made in the name of "progress" ? I really hate to hear someone say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but I think maybe that applies here !

 

[hbrady77]

Marketing geniuses who have one motive (profit) often ruin the things that created some of our favorite memories. Unfortunately Disney's biggest motive is profit and that often means you go with what "sells" not what is "fun".

I remember that Magic shop and I still have a fake rock (foam) that I got there back in the late 70's. Fun stuff... I think the CM's did a lot of tricks and magic while the guests shopped but my memory is getting worse daily :brick:

 

[MKCP 1985]

Yeah, I also remember the Magic Shop on Main Street. I, too purchased a mask there and remember the Darth Vader mask. Mine was a hooded skeleton mask that I used and people borrowed for years and years until it finally just wore out.

I hate that it is gone. I think it would be really cool if it returned and was fitted with eerie neon lights for night-time decor.

I bought other things there when I was a kid, but can't remember exactly what now. I remember buying a glass that looked like a brandy glass, half full, only when you went to take a drink, nothing came out because the liquid was between two layers of glass.

Yeah, long live memories of the Magic Shop!

 

[mrtoad]

The main problem is all shops sell the same stuff. Sure there are some unique items but mostly you can buy this shirt or that hat on Main Street, Toontown Fair or Tomorrowland. The only difference is the CM who rings you up on Main Street is sweating in their turn of the century get up and the CM in Toontown is picking straw out of their shoe and the CM in Tomorowland is just thankful they now wear cotton instead of polyester.

Other than that it is all the same...

 

[thewdwguru]

Lauriebar -

I am also the same vintage as you and can remember many trips to WDW in thew 70's when I lived in JAcksonville. My dad did alot of engineering work for Lake Buena Vista Co - the space mountian roof structure, the first tunnell in FL which is near the contemporary, and the sinking/sliding problem of the contemporary.

I do remember that photo shop where you could get a pucture of your family on the back of a caboose! Those were the days!

Does anyone remember a magic shop/kiosk near the HM at WDW? It was there many years ago but havent seen it since!

 

[Nicole]

I remember the magic shop too - which means it had to have been there when we went in 1997 (unless I am getting WDW confused with DL which is a distinct possibility).

However, the camera exhibit still exists. It's in the Emporium, and is very cool. There is also an animation exhibit that has photo ops with some classic movie scenes and a small theater showing classic Disney shorts. It's not listed on the park maps or in the Unofficial Guide, but there's a tiny blurb about it in the Birnbaum guide.

 

[bgraham34]

I was never aware that they even had one. that is pretty wild. Bring it back Bring it back.

 

[nicholas]

I remember going in the summer of 95 and reading about the Magic Shop in my Birnbaum's guide. At the time I was a huge magic fan and was so excited to see the store, but it was gone when we got there

 

[MissM]

I don't recall it personally, but my Love mentioned it one time. The magic shop, the penny arcade, and the Main Street Theater which actually used to play old cartoons he said. (Now they just sell Pal Mickeys and a few items there.) He said there used to be seats and such in the back.

I recall Main Street being different when I was a kid - like I don't remember them all being so connected - but, I don't recall it clearly enough to get into details. I first went to WDW in 1984 but he first went in 1972.
-m

 

[Timekeeper]

Questions:

Was the magic shop open when the Magic Kingdom first opened? In other words, was it one of the original shops?

The magic shop is still on Main Street at Disneyland - but it has a more contemporary gift-shop type environment versus the dark and mysterious.

Was the Disneyland magic one of the original shops? If not, what was there first?

Timekeeper

 

[mrtoad]

I don't recall it personally, but my Love mentioned it one time. The magic shop, the penny arcade, and the Main Street Theater which actually used to play old cartoons he said. (Now they just sell Pal Mickeys and a few items there.) He said there used to be seats and such in the back.

I recall Main Street being different when I was a kid - like I don't remember them all being so connected - but, I don't recall it clearly enough to get into details. I first went to WDW in 1984 but he first went in 1972.
-m

The penny arcade was awesome. They had the penny movie viewers as well as some early century games and some not as early ones. Very good way to spend an hour on main street.

I don't remember everything being connected either but it could have been and I just don't remember. But everything was seperate shops offering different types of items. It was so much more realistic.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I loved the Magic Shop...it was my favorite place on Main Street (hands down).

Now I ask you...why is it that they promote a place as being all about "Magic" and "Fantasy" but take out a place that allows you to take "Magic" home with you?

Hmmm...so you have to come back to see "Magic?" :lol: