>On the Side Street

>There is a place in the Magic Kingdom that usually goes unnoticed, which is what makes it a great place to take a break. This out of the way place that is so close to the action that you can actually see Main Street USA, but you really don’t hear the noise, so it is nice to go here and relax. This Unknown Magical Place is down at the end of the side street off Main Street USA. As you are

walking toward the Castle, the street is on the right hand side about two-thirds of the way up. When most people get to this little side street, they look at it, see that there isn’t anything down there (attraction or shop wise) and they continue on. The thing is, if you just look down the street, it doesn’t look like much, but if you walk down to the end of the street, it is a great little place to not only relax for a few minutes, but also for some Unknown Disney World Magic.

The Unknown Magic comes in the form of some details that the Disney Imagineers added to make the area more realistic. As you walk in this area, don’t walk fast, but stroll and keep your ears open and look up and to the left. There is a set of windows on the second floor that say that there is a music and dance studio there. As you stand there and listen, you can actually hear the lessons being given. It is a neat little thing that is wonderfully Disney. Where else, but in a Disney park, would they add sound and visual effects on a side street that doesn’t have any attractions or shops on it? This is one of my favorite details in all of the parks.

As you continue walking down the street, you find yourself in a little courtyard. The courtyard has a few businesses and shops, but they are all just for show and none of the doors open. The upstairs of these shops look as if there are apartments where the shop owners would live. The courtyard itself has tables and chairs and looks like there should be a little café for the shoppers to stop for a latte or a pastry.

Even though there isn’t anything down in this area, or maybe because of it, this is a great place to take a break from your day in the Magic Kingdom. The tables offer a nice spot to sit, while the décor of the area makes it so very relaxing and peaceful. Not only that, but because it is across from the Emporium shops, it is a great place for the kids to sit with a little toy, while you get a well deserved break. With the Main Street Bakery at the opening of the street, it is also a great place to relax with a sweet snack.

This is truly one of my favorite places in all of the Magic Kingdom. It is relaxing and out of the way, but right off Main Street, so you won’t miss anything. It is definitely the perfect place to sit, and it’s on the side street.

>As the Sun Goes Down; Main Street USA

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One of my Favorite times of the day in Walt Disney World, is that time when the sun is going down and the lights start to come on in the different parks. The Magic Kingdom seems to become even more Magical when the lights come on. See for yourself.

>The Chameleon Castle around the Holidays

>A while back I wrote about how Cinderella Castle could be called the Chameleon Castle. How the Castle changes colors and that these wonderful views of it are all able to happen because of special LED lighting fixtures placed on different areas of the castle and surrounding it on the ground. I told how the castle is illuminated in 16.7 million colors because

of these fixtures. I told you that if you walk around the Castle, you can see the larger tubes that light the castle up, but you need to look for them as they are hidden amongst the grasses and shrubbery surrounding the castle moat. I still say that these Color Changes can create Magical Experiences for you, because as the Colors Change, you can enjoy a different Castle view all night long, without ever moving. Around Christmas it gets even more special. Although we know about the Chameleon Castle, this time of year, it becomes an Unknown Magic all over again.

As the sun goes down and the Magic Kingdom becomes a Magical Holiday Wonderland, you can see the Castle changing colors, when it does; you know that the Chameleon Castle has something special in store for you on this Holiday night.

So, as you walk up Main Street USA, with the smell of baking cookies filling the air and the music, the garland, and the colors getting you all excited, watch as the Castle lights up in ways that are different, from their normal exciting ways, to add to the special feelings and Magical Experiences of the Holidays.

And enjoy the Chameleon Castle as you can only at Christmastime.

Even during the holiday fireworks the Castle takes on a new look for your enjoyment. And all you have to do to enjoy this Unknown Magic is to get a good seat and keep watching the Chameleon Castle.

>Saturday Matinee

>In 2007 when in Walt Disney World, we enjoyed one of the original “A” Ticket attractions in the Magic Kingdom. I hope you like the ride.

>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!

>Gettin’ ‘Round the Magic Kingdom

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Years ago I was in Walt Disney World in early December. The one day that we were there we went to the Magic Kingdom. As we walked in, there was a sign stating that the Disney Christmas Parade was being filmed that day. It was an exciting thing to be able to see, but the problem that we had was that the person I was with had called out of work, to go on a Disney Quickie (a three day Disney vacation). So, the problem we had was that we needed to get around the Magic Kingdom without taking the main thoroughfares. On that day, I found so many great ways to get around the Magic Kingdom. So, today I present Unknown Magics that are for the first timers and novice Magic Kingdom visitors, but that can also help you Magic Kingdom veterans too. These Magics are some Tips for Getting around the Magic Kingdom.

The first tips I have for you, are for getting up Main Street USA. These tips can be used when the crowds are blocking Main Street USA for a Parade or during the fireworks. They can also be used early in the morning when the gates have first opened and you are in Disney Commando mode (A Disney Commando is someone that rushes through the parks instead of enjoying the little things that Disney has to offer). If Main Street USA is packed with people, the best thing to do is to go indoors. Both sides of the street have stores that are connected to each other. If you enter the Main Street Emporium, you can walk all the way to the end of the street and come out behind Casey’s Corner, almost in front of the Crystal Palace, which faces Cinderella castle. On the other side of the street if you enter at the candy shop, you have to come out at the cross road of a back alley, which is halfway down the block, but then you can continue walking inside once you cross the alleyway. Again this will take you all the way down to the end of Main Street USA. And when you come out, it will give you a great view of the castle. If you have your camera, take a moment to get a picture of Cinderella Castle from this angle. It is an especially great shot and a Magical Experience.

If you aren’t going to be taking a picture of the Castle or watch a show in front of it, you really may not need to go all the way up to the castle itself. If this is the case, you can use the paths that lead to Tomorrowland and Adventureland. Depending on which side of the street you are on, you can go to either Tomorrowland or Adventureland, because of the path that you are standing on after you come out of the shops. If you are on the side of the street with the Crystal Palace, you can take this walk-way to Adventureland. It actually merges into the Main hub path immediately before the Adventureland Bridge. On the other side of the road,

the path leads you past the Plaza Restaurant and the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station (this is also a great place to watch the Fireworks, because Tinker Bell Flies right toward you during the show).

Once you are in Adventureland, there is a quick way to get to get to Frontierland without walking all the way around the Pirates of the Caribbean and coming to the crossover from Adventureland to Frontierland. The quick way is actually a shared “common area” if you will, that houses restrooms that you can get to from both areas. It is near the exit of the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Frontierland Shooting Gallery. There is also another quick walk-through for these two areas that goes from the Country Bear Jamboree and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

But the quick ways to get around the Magic Kingdom in Frontierland are not just for going back and forth to Adventureland. There is actually a quick way to get from the change-over between Liberty Square and Frontierland to the Splash Mountain/Big Thunder Railroad area. This quick path is right along the Rivers of America (where the River Boat is) and it is a path that looks like a wooden bridge. It hugs the waterline and then has a spot where you can go to the middle of Frontierland or you can stay on the path and you will end up over near Tom Sawyer Island.

When you are in Liberty Square, there is a cut-through to get to the front of the castle. This is a quick way to get back to Main Street USA instead of going into Fantasyland and walking through the castle. From in front of the castle on this path, if you turn to your right there is another little path that will lead you up to the side of the castle and you can get into Fantasyland from there. This path actually leads you to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the courtyard behind the castle. On the other side of the castle, there is another one of these paths that leads to the main Hub entrance to

Tomorrowland. This path will take you past the Cinderella Wishing Well and the new meet and greet area for the Tangled characters. If you take the time to use this path, it can lead to Magical Experiences for you.

If you want to get around the parks and you aren’t in a rush, but you want to get out of the crowds on the main walk-ways, a great and relaxing way to make your way from Frontierland to Tomorrowland or from Main Street USA to either of these places, you can take the train. The Walt Disney World Railroad is a Magical Experience in itself, but it is also a great way to travel around the magic Kingdom.

So, now you know, there are some quick ways to get around the Magic Kingdom. To find them, you need to be observant and not follow the crowd. These paths will not only help you to get around quicker, but can lead you to Magical Experiences along the way.

>Magic in the Details of Main Street USA

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In the past, I’ve written about the Details in the Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios, that help to make for Magical Experiences while you are in Walt Disney World. There are Details in The Magic Kingdom that can help make Magical Experiences as well. And as I sit to write about the details in the Magic Kingdom, I find myself with so many Details about Main Street USA, that I feel compelled to split the Details of the Magic Kingdom into more than one article. So, as I present today the Magic of the Details in the Magic Kingdom, it will be a two part article, continued tomorrow. Here today is part one, The Magic in the Details of Main Street USA.

As you enter the Magic Kingdom and walk up Main Street USA, the first details that many people miss are the buildings on Main Street. Everyone notices they are designed and presented as businesses from back at the turn of the 20th century in a smaller town in the mid-west, but what you might miss is the fact that the buildings seem taller than they are. The Disney Imagineers used what is called forced perspective to make the buildings seem like they are two or three stories tall. The only buildings that do not get smaller as they get higher are Exposition Hall, and the Main Street Train Station. Another detail about the buildings on Main Street USA that you might not know is that the windows are closer to the ground than most windows are, because Walt Disney himself wanted them lower, so kids could have the Magical Experience of seeing what was inside them.

Another detail that is you may miss, is one that I have mentioned before, but it is one of my favorite Unknown Magics in Walt Disney World. On the side street to the right

as you are walking toward the Castle, there is a nice little sitting area where the street dead ends. This is a wonderful place to sit and have a snack or just to relax from the hustle and bustle of the park. As you are down in this alleyway, look up at the windows on the second floor. One of them is a Dance and Voice studio. If you stand here for a few minutes and listen, you can have a Magical Experience because you will hear lessons being given either in tap dancing or

singing with a piano or other musical accompaniments. This is one of the details that the Imagineers added to make Main Street USA more realistic.

At night when you look at the windows on Main Street, some of the windows are lit up as if there are people still in the buildings. Although some of the buildings have storage areas on the second floors, most of the rooms that are lit are just for effect to make Main Street seem as if there are always people there.

Another detail on Main Street USA that makes you feel as if you are in the past is the music that is played. Not only is it time period appropriate, but it is also very bouncy and upbeat. Making you feel even more excited than you are, when you first walk in, even if you don’t realize it. Another thing that the Imagineers do to change our mood or enhance your walk up Main Street, that you might not even really notice at first, is to make you feel comfortable by producing the smell of fresh baked cookies. If you walk past the Main Street Bakery, you can smell this wonderful smell, and it can take you away from the rush and noise of Main Street and help you to have more Magical Experiences.

Great Details aren’t found only on the outside of the buildings on Main Street USA, they are found in them also, In Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, for example, there is a statue of Lady and the Tramp, that goes along with the heart you can find outside the restaurant, which is based on the Spaghetti scene form the Lady and the Tramp. Across the Town Square, at Firehouse 71(which is named this after the year the Magic Kingdom opened) there are patches from fire companies from all over the world. This is a very neat tribute to the rescue workers that help us every day.

Other great indoor details can be found at the other end of Main Street at Casey’s Corner. The back of this wonderful little hot dog shop is a very cool place to sit and eat. On the one wall there is a huge screen playing sport related Disney shorts, from way back when. But the details come in as it has bleachers and the floor is laid out as a baseball diamond. What great touches to add to a place to get the feeling of eating a ballpark hot dog.

There is one other detail on Main Street that kids today may not understand, and may be miss understood, but it definitely adds to the turn of the century feel of Main Street USA. This would be the cigar store Indian. Originally it was in front of a tobacco shop, when the Magic Kingdom first opened. The shop has been closed now for quite a while and the Indian has been moved down the street a little ways.

So, now you know, Main Street USA has many Unknown Magics that the Imagineers have added to enhance your enjoyment of walking down a busy street at the turn of the 20th century. These details are sometimes visual, sometimes aural and sometimes aromatic, but they are there to add a Magical Experience to the beginning of your day in the Magic Kingdom. So, next time you go to the Magic Kingdom, don’t rush down the street take the time to look, listen and smell your way to a great day.

>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.

>Childhood Memories

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My Dad

When I was a kid, I lived and breathed baseball. The Team I was on was really good. The two seasons we played when I was eleven and twelve years old we lost only 2 games. Our team was so good that when they put together the All-Star team, when I was twelve, to represent our league, they only added two extra kids and took off one that was too young to play. At that time, my dad was coaching the teams. He was a good manager and believed we were good enough to win the Little League World Series. He actually would schedule his vacation for the last week in August, because if we went to the World Series it would be played before the end of August. This memory came back to me today, because the Little League World Series started in Williamsport Pennsylvania this week. As an adult, I still follow the LLWS, and I still follow baseball, but it isn’t the same as when you’re a kid. I remember one place we played that had a great refreshment stand. They had great fries and hot dogs. I remember sitting on the wooden bleachers and eating between games. There is a wonderful eating spot in the Magic Kingdom, where you can do this. It’s called Casey’s Corner. So, I present for you today the Unknown Magic of reliving childhood memories, in Casey’s Corner.

Casey’s Corner is a hot dog stand, plain and simple. They don’t serve burgers; they don’t serve chicken fingers; they serve hot dogs! They do have corn dog nuggets, a side of chili, and fries. But that’s it. It is a hot dog stand. As a kid, a Hot Dog Stand is like heaven. Its food you can eat with your hands. Your mom can’t yell at you for doing it, you’re supposed to eat it this way. Grab it, chomp on it and wash it down with some soda. And this Hot Dog stand is a Magical Experience just waiting for you.

If you catch it right, (which applies to any Magic Kingdom eatery) there isn’t any line. Of course at the normal lunch and dinner hours they are busy, especially at lunch. But there have been times when we have been in Casey’s Corner, that there wasn’t a person in line or even better, in the back of the shop, where you eat. This eating area is what makes Casey’s Corner Magical. There are a few tables in this area, but they

also have a set of old wooden bleachers to sit on while you enjoy your dogs. What a great way to eat. This is a childhood memory that everyone should have, eating a hot dog or fries while sitting on wooden bleachers. If you didn’t do this as a kid, now is your chance to do it.

As you are sitting on the bleachers eating, across the room from the bleachers is a wall size screen. On the screen, they play old cartoons. Most of them are Goofy cartoons, the ones where he is playing sports. Things like: How to Play Baseball, How to Play Baseball and Double dribble. All great Disney Shorts that have sports themes. Along with these great old shorts, there are baseball pictures, a scoreboard and a field marked off on the floor, it is such a neat place to sit and eat and get out of the sun for a few minutes.

The sitting area of the shop opens into Main Street Athletic Club a great shop that sells Disney sports related merchandise (This shop is part of the row of shops that connects the whole side of the street to the Main Street Emporium). It also opens onto the very end of Main Street and looks directly at Cinderella Castle.

So, now you know, when you walk down Main Street USA and you’re a little hungry, you can stop in and get yourself a hot Dog and have Magical Experience of reliving childhood memories, or create some while you‘re in Casey’s Corner.

** This post was originally titled “Don’t Strike Out” and was posted at the end of April. For the few people that read it, I apologize for repeating the post, but in re-reading it, I wanted to re-work it to make it closer to one of our current blogs. I also wanted to add some pictures from our recent trip.