>Traveling up Main Street USA

>Welcome to This week’s Friday Fotos, Today we travel up Main Street USA. We hope you enjoy the trip!



Town Square is the beginning of Main Street USA.




Roy Disney and Minnie Mouse Share a bench in the Central Plaza.





The outside Windows of the Emporium Present Disney Movie Scenes





The Dapper Dans perform on Main Street daily.




Cinderella Castle awaits you.



The information board toward the end of the Street.





We made it!



>Saturday Matinee

>Today’s Saturday Matinee was a Magical Experience taken during a visit to the Magic Kingdom this past summer. Enjoy!

>Musical Main Street

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This past summer and last summer when we were down to Walt Disney World, we saw some very unique entertainment throughout the different parks. We saw Off Kilter, the Jammitors, Mulch Sweat and Shears and even Mo Rockin’, but in the Magic Kingdom we saw some very different entertainment for this day and age. Granted we were on Main Street USA, and the whole idea there, is that we were in turn of the century (turn of the 20th century) small town America, but even so, the entertainment we saw was wonderfully simple and so pure that they have to be considered as Unknown Magics. I’m talking about the Music of Main Street USA.

The first musical act we need to talk about is presented early in the morning and a few times throughout the day. It is the Main Street Trolley Show. This show can be seen at different times during the morning and although it isn’t listed on the Times guides, you can ask a cast member and they should be able to help tell you when it might be performed. What this show is is a group of performers that catch the trolley form the Castle Hub area, back down Main Street USA. As they do, they stop a few times and sing a couple of songs, dance and interact with the crowd as they are walking by. It is a very upbeat way to start your day in the Magic Kingdom, and can create Magical Experiences as the singers like to play to the crowd.

Another group that is very well known by repeat Disney visitors, usually shares their musical talents in their own special area in Town Square, but sometimes, they roam Main Street later in the day as people are starting to plan out where they are going to sit for the afternoon parade. I’m talking about the Dapper Dans. The Dapper Dans are a barbershop quartet that has been singing in the Magic Kingdom since 1971. Most of the time they can be found around the Main Street Barber shop, but as I stated above, they do take to the Street, from time to time to entertain the crowds before the parades. These four gentlemen definitely can help you have a Magical Experience, as they are not only are great singers, but excellent showmen too.

The other group that has been performing on Main Street USA since 1971, that seems out of place by today’s standards, is the Walt Disney World Marching Band. Except at high school or college football games, you don’t see many, if any Marching Bands anymore. But on Main Street USA, we get to experience a wonderfully entertaining throwback to an era that was slower and more family friendly. The Walt Disney World Marching Band is a fun group to watch and listen to; playing your favorite Disney tunes, and horse-playing with the kids standing on the sidewalks, the red and white dressed group brings smiles to faces as they march down Main Street USA.

So, now you know, there is Musical Entertainment that can be heard on Main Street USA that is presented without all the noise and flash of entertainment that you might see other places. But all though it is wonderfully simple and takes you back to a by-gone era, the performers are as top notch as any you will see in Walt Disney World. So, next time you want a unique Magical Experience for the family head on over and listen to the Music of Main Street.

>Have a Seat Part I

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The Disney Parks planning video, a few years back, featured a couple of actors and a couple of actresses, that gave the rundown of what you could find in the parks, the dining experiences, the recreation and everything else that Walt Disney World offers. My son’s favorite part of the video was the one guy that kept looking for a bench to sit on. Throughout the video he was tired from all that you can do in Disney and wanted to sit down. So, that year on our trip, my then nine year old son looked for the most comfortable bench in Walt Disney World. Over the last few years, I have joined the search. Not for the most comfortable bench, but for a great place to Sit and Relax, in the middle of all the noise and excitement that is the Disney Parks.

In my post of July 11 (called Peaceful easy Feeling) I talked about the great places to ease into your day; the lobby of your Resort, The Boardwalk, and other places to sit and have a cup of Coffee before you start your day in the parks. They were some examples of a Quiet Seat, but they were mostly about where to get a good cup of Joe. The places I’m talking about now are in the parks, they are hidden away on side streets or back roads or even right out in the open, but most people don’t think about them, because who thinks about Sitting and Relaxing when you are in the Parks? As I’ve tried to convince you in the past, many Magical Experiences happen when you take the time to look and listen, a great way to do this is to sit and watch what happens. Over the next few days, I will bring you some Unknown Magical places to actually do this, Sit and Relax, in a Quiet Seat, in the parks, so that maybe you can have a Magical Experience. So, today I offer to you, the Unknown Magic of a Quiet Seat in The Magic Kingdom.

One of my favorite places to Sit and Relax in the Magic Kingdom, is right off of Main Street USA. As you walk up Main Street, on your right and left you have shops that go all the way up the street. But on the right side of the road (facing the Castle) there is a little side street that pops up. This little side street is between the first set of stores and the second. If you head down this alley, you will find a little courtyard that looks as if it would be for the people that must live above it. Before you get to the courtyard, upstairs on the left is the Dance and Sing studio that I have mentioned before as an Unknown Magic that you need to find. As you get into the courtyard though, you will find a few little tables and chairs and a really nice little area to sit and enjoy a little bit of quiet. This is also a great place to sit and enjoy something from the Main Street Bakery, which is in the store to the right as you leave the alley. The last time I was in this little courtyard, I had the Magical Experience of meeting the Mayor of Main Street, Mayor Weaver and I also got to watch a performance of the Dapper Dans. Both of whom were out on Main Street as I was walking out of the alley after taking a short break.

Another wonderful place to Have a Seat and Relax, early in the day, in the Magic Kingdom is the little seating area across from the Plaza Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, which is at the very end of Main Street on the Tomorrowland side of the road. It does get a little busy later in the day, but earlier in the day, before everyone starts to decide to eat, it is a nice place to sit down by the water and enjoy a view of the castle. There are also colorful White and Yellow umbrellas to keep you out of the Florida Sun.

A very quiet place to Sit and watch the world go by is across the way from this area, almost to the castle. There is a walkway that leads to the entrance of Tomorrowland, and off this walkway, there is a path that leads down to what used to be the old Swan Boat Dock. It isn’t always open, but when it is there is a bench down this way that is very nice place to Sit and enjoy a moment of quiet relaxation.

When you are around the back of Cinderella Castle, looking toward Fantasyland, there is an almost hidden path to the right of the Castle. If you walk down this pathway, you first will pass a very neat looking fountain (with the characters from Cinderella all around it), then you will come to a clearing that looks has wooden log benches. This is the area where, as of this writing, Story time with Belle takes place, but soon will be a meet and greet area for Rapunzel & Flynn Ryder from the new movie Tangled. When Belle isn’t telling stories here, it is a very quiet place to sit, mainly because most people don’t even know about this pathway.

Across the park, In Frontierland, there are some mighty nice benches to sit and enjoy a break. Some aren’t very quiet, but others are so Unknown, you could probably sit there and read a book while your baby takes a much needed nap, it is that quiet. The not so quiet benches are directly across from the entrance/exit to Big Thunder Railroad. Although they aren’t quiet, they are somewhat shaded and offer a good place to sit and wait out family members that are riding both Big Thunder and Splash Mountain. The Unknown place to sit and relax is on Tom Sawyer Island. Not many people that have been to Walt Disney World before think about going over to Tom Sawyer Island, because although it is a neat place to roam around and relax, people figure there are other things to do besides roam around caves and things and if you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it. This is what makes this a great place for a sit down. With so few people that really come through this attraction, it is quieter and there are some very nice areas to sit and relax.

Probably the Most used place to Sit and Relax, that is Unknown to many people, is the Walt Disney World Railroad. The Railroad has three stops, Main Street USA, Frontierland, and (at the time of this writing) Mickey’s Toontown Fair. The Railroad is a great place to sit and relax, because there is nothing else to do, but watch as the Magic Kingdom goes by. There are many visitors that never ride the Railroad and miss out on a Magical Experience because of it. On the Walt Disney World Railroad, you won’t just enjoy the Unknown Magic of Sitting and Relaxing, but you will also get to see some things that you wouldn’t if you didn’t ride the Railroad.

So, now you know, there are places to find a Quiet Seat, in the Magic Kingdom. Places where you can Sit and Relax and take a breather when you need one. The places I talked about aren’t the only ones, there are others. To find them, you need to look around and take the paths and alleys where everyone else isn’t. Then maybe besides finding a quiet place to sit, you can find a Magical Experience.

>A Common Street Performer- Not in Disney World.

>When Disneyland opened in 1955, Owen & Dolly Pope worked at the park. They were hired in 1951 to put together some livestock for Walt’s future park. They first lived in a trailer at the Disney Studio there they raised & trained horses. A few days before Disneyland opened; they moved into the park and ran the Disneyland Pony Farm. Disneyland’s only residents were also some of its first performers. Today this tradition of Street Performers is alive and well in Walt Disney World. Every park in the Walt Disney World Complex has a different type of performer, and they all entertain in different ways, but you have to find them, many people don’t look for them and so this is today’s Unknown Magic.

Most visitors to Disney World know about the characters walking about and have read the best places to find and see the characters, but there are other performers around the parks that entertain and add a Magical Experience to your trip. A lot of these can be met as the parks opening in the morning, but they can also be seen throughout the

 day. For example, Mayor Weaver and Scoop Sanderson can be seen around the Town Square Exposition Hall. And Captian Jack Sparrow can be seen near the Pirates of the Carribean. Over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there are The Citizens of Hollywood, actors and actresses(from the 30’s and 40’s) that interact with you as you enter the park.

 In Epcot there are actual street performers, Mimes and Acrobats that perform around the World Showcase at different times during the day.  In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the street performer here is known as “DiVine”. She is more of a “fixture” at Animal Kingdom on the pathways between Africa and Asia. I have never seen here, in person, but she is supposed to be amazing. These are all wonderfully fun people to encounter as you enter or walk around the different parks. But there are a few other performers that entertain as well.

The Dapper Dans are probably the most famous musical group in Walt Disney World. This Barber Shop Quartet has been entertaining visitors on Main Street USA since1971. But there are other singing groups in Walt Disney World also.  One of these groups is the trash can band in Epcot. They are known as the Jammitors. This group of custodians walks through the park cleaning up until their break time. At which time, they change their head gear; flip the lids of their cans and “Jam on”.

Another one of these groups is Mulch, Sweat and Shears, a cover band in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This group brings their landscaping truck up the Streets of America and turn the back of it into a small stage. Then they ‘rock out’ to hit songs of the 80’s and 90’s.

Over at the Animal Kingdom is another street “performer” that shocks and entertains visitors every day, Pipa is A Talking Moving Recycling Container. Pipa has a brother named Push who is a Talking Moving Trash Can in the Magic Kingdom. Both Pipa and Push talk to guests and love to sneak up behind you and then quickly move away when you try to put something into them. At Epcot there are three Talking Water Fountains, (they do not move) they are located outside the bathrooms near Innoventions West; Outside Mouse Works shop; and near the play fountain between Future World and World Showcase. All of these ‘entertainers” are great to watch when an unsuspecting person walks near them, It is especially fun when a kid hears them talk and interacts with them. Make sure you bring the video camera for these moments, or at least use your cell phone to get some video to share after the trip.

So, now you know, besides the characters, the parks are filled with entertainers to add a Magical Experience to your trip, all you have to do is keep your eyes open and find them.