Old Main St. vs New Main St.

[fngoofy]

I am lucky to have seen Main St. regularly over the last 25 yrs.

I can remember when there was a Penny Arcade, functioning theatre and a flower alley on the west side of the street. I have read other posts lamenting the loss of these features and ruing the day that shops came to dominate Main St.

Now on the current Main St., the magic shop is gone, the penny arcade is a memory, and if I am not mistaken, the theatre has faded away. There are several additional shops, some in places previously unused (like the firehouse), others converted from former shops (there is now a clothing store where the Hallmark Cards store once was, a sports memorabilia / collectables store where the magic shop once stood) and new shops where attractions like the Movie Theatre and Arcade once were.

Which is better, the old or new Main St.?

My opinion, the current one is better. I remember being a kid in 77’ (10yrs old) and checking out Main St. I never took the time to watch Steamboat Willie in the theatre. There’s a lot of action to be had in the MK, and to a kid B/W silent movies are not action packed. I tried playing the penny arcade games, but they weren’t really that fun (they were old and not as cool as Space Invaders.) I remember looking in the magic store, but all the stuff in there was nothing I hadn’t seen back home in the local magic shop.

I know that now as an adult, I like checking out all the merchandise, golf accessories, home furnishings, and sports collectables. I see kids enjoying this as well, from the little girl excited to get the princess outfit, to the little boy checking out the collectable baseball bat.

I put it to you that the changes are there, but that they really are just offering the same type of fare to guests, just updated to give them what they want. Back in the day magic stuff was popular, now it is sports memorabilia. Believe me, if tastes shift back toward magic, there would be a store there so fast your head would spin (they don’t mess around with merchandise.)

I am curious to hear from those that remember it the old way and have seen it today. Do you think people experiencing Main St. for the first time now are able to get an overall similar experience to what you did back in the day? Or, is it a completely different experience today due to the changes and addition of shops?

I look forward to your responses.

p.s.
I do miss the flower alley, it divided up the street nicely and looked cool.

 

[Main Street USA]

Well, I don't really have a WHOLE lot to say on this subject. I'm only 24. I do remeber it when I was little, though. Most of what I read on this site is people saying how the new one is terrible and aimed towards nothing but emptying guests pockets by shoving merchandise down our throats. However, I'm going to have to agree that this "new" Main Street is what the people want. If it weren't, it wouldn't be successful. I also enjoy the new better. I have fun walking up and down through the shops.

 

[Buzzforprez]

Got to disagree here. Miss the arcade badly. The games were great! Very old, well maintained and great. They were the real games of chance and skill. Haven't bought a single item in the sports store and I highly doubt that I will. The theatre had great Mickey cartoons that at the time were hard to find elsewhere. There are already enough shops in the park to allow for merchandise display. What's next? Take away the ice cream pallor cause we can get better profits selling trinkets themed about ice cream?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Originally posted by fngoofy

p.s.
I do miss the flower alley, it divided up the street nicely and looked cool.

While we never did much with the lost attractions you spoke of, we did visit the flower alley every year to sit and rest for a few minutes on the way out or stop for a morning snack. It was a tradition for us to take a picture there at least once every trip.

 

[jcmayid]

Well I gotta say that all those stores are not that great, I really loved the way it was before with the arcade interweaved into a store and the theater, and the magic shop I always went to, it was traditional and I like it.

 

[figmentmom]

We miss the flower alley, too. And, like lots of other people, it was a regular "family photo" stop for us, too. Too bad it's gone.

 

[Sean23]

I like the old main street better, the arcade and magic shop was great. The still have the theater playing all the old cartoons in the camera shop where you can pick up your photos.

 

[Tron]

I've never spent a whole lot of time on Main Street in either of its forms, other than making an obligatory stop at the ice cream shop, but I seem to recall enjoying the older incarnation much more than the current one.

I think the Penny Arcade and Magic Shop, while not necessarily being everyone's cup of tea, helped validate the theming a little more.

 

[Davis224]

In my oppionion main street is great for that 'entering Disney' feeling. It's not the park to me, I love the look of main street and i love some of the shops there..... I say the new is better It's what people want, at least thats what i think

 

[Mr. Toad]

I prefer the old one. I really miss the magic shop. I used to buy at least one thing there every year when we would visit. The arcade was fun too. It fit better with the theming of Main Street IMO.

I can't believe they got rid of the flower alley.

 

[MKCustodial]

That movie theater was where I saw Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy for the first time, and I just loved that arcade.

So yeah, the old one was way better. I really can't spend all that money they want us to!! :hammer:

 

[tmp]

The old one is better. The fact that they have changed it has always upset me. It has aggravated me more then removing of Mr. Toad. The old way had style and class. I also miss the photo shop at the corner and the old location of the barbershop. Now you go in one store and you have to stop and think "Am I in the Magic Kingdom or Downtown Disney?" The pass few years I have always made it a point to go over and sit in the "new" theater in the kodak shop. ----Which brings up a question. In the back of the Photo shop there is a Mr. Toad car. Across from it is doors. They seem to be theater doors. What was/is this?

 

[momickey]

I have to agree that the old main street was better. I would constantly play with the games in the penny arcade. And because they were so cheap, I would be able to play with so many of them!

And I would always sit in the moive theater and watch the cartoons. They were a lot of fun and allowed you to sit in air conditioning and rest. But then again, I still remember a time when they had a large movie theater and played color Disney cartoons (in Fantasyland where The Lion King was). I miss having places where you can sit quietly. There don't seem to be so many, they've all been replaced by attractions.

 

[Wishingtree]

The old Main Street was better. I miss the old barbershop. I agree that change is necessary, but the small section of store that replaced it is nothing that couldn't have fit in another store.

Just as long as they leave the bakery, Casey's, and the Ice Cream shop.:slurp:

Jim

 

[fauntleroy]

I think the new one is fine. I don't really even remember the old one, I was probably four or five when I was there the first time. The new main street is one where people can find what they want. And for some, buying disney is the way that they get in the mood for disney. Unfortunately they cannot make everyone happy with each decision they make, they seem to have made many happy with changing main street into stores (a kind of "revitalization" much like many small towns have with their main streets). Disney is about a simpler time, and many like thinking of it like the small towns that they drive through, with shops of all kinds around.

 

[Grinning Ghost]

The old Main Street was nice and had a good mixture of shops and attractions like the Penny Arcade and Main Street Cinema. However, as a kid I was never interested in hanging around Main Street. I was more interested in what was beyond Main Street (the rides), so I don't mind the changes. The exterior of the buildings still gives a sense of the purpose of Main Street, to convey a small town at the turn of the century.

Originally posted by tmp
The pass few years I have always made it a point to go over and sit in the "new" theater in the kodak shop. ----Which brings up a question. In the back of the Photo shop there is a Mr. Toad car. Across from it is doors. They seem to be theater doors. What was/is this?

tmp, the Town Square Exposition Hall, where the Kodak shop is, used to be the location for the Walt Disney Story. The doors you saw led to a theater where you would watch a short film on Walt Disney. The theater, I think, still exists.

 

[sigsegv]

Originally posted by Sean23
They still have the theater playing all the old cartoons in the camera shop where you can pick up your photos.

I love this corner of Main Street. Every time I go to MK, I try to catch a showing of Steamboat Willie and Flowers and the Trees. Wonderful cartoons.

(BTW, anybody know where I can get a copy of Steamboat Willie on DVD?)

-Sig

 

[bearboysnc]

The old Main Street was an attraction in itself. It was a snapshot of an era long forgotten. It was a history lesson, of replicas, and actual antiques. The old penny arcade was so magical. All those LOW TECH games were so cool.

The new Main Street is nothing but a themed shopping mall.

 

[tmp]

Originally posted by Grinning Ghost tmp, the Town Square Exposition Hall, where the Kodak shop is, used to be the location for the Walt Disney Story. The doors you saw led to a theater where you would watch a short film on Walt Disney. The theater, I think, still exists. [/B]

Thanks- I forgot about that for some reason. I really do not remember the film or the theater. All I remember is a scale model located their of either Epcot or the Mk --I used to think that was just the coolest thing.

 

[figmentmom]

We just got back on the 20th from WDW (bummer), and had a GREAT time. I'm adding to this thread because I found one BIG advantage to the new configuration of shops on Main Street - it is now possible to make your way completely around Main Street (on the Emporium side) through the shops, thus avoiding huge parade crowds! We did this one particularily hot, crowded, sticky afternoon right at 3:00; we were meeting friends, and had to get out of the MK before the parade trapped us. Of course, our timing also had a lot to do with luck - 2 minutes later, and we would have been unable to cross to the exit because of the parade.

Naturally, my husband had to drag me out of the shops practically by the hair...I DO love Disney stores!