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"Main Street! This is Maaaain Street!"

"Final call for passengers boarding on track one!"

Facing the Victorian splendour of Disneyland Hotel, Main Street Station is an icon of Main Street, U.S.A.; a lavish and ornate statement of the wealth and prosperity the railroads brought to every corner of America.

They shipped out goods and brought in new townspeople, transforming economies - and cityscapes - in their wake. Originally just a small town square, Main Street has the railroad to thank for its rapid growth out toward the gardens of Central Plaza.

Attraction Experience

As soon as you enter Disneyland Park, the imposing facade of Main Street Station welcomes you to a bygone era. As a railroad engine steams on the tracks above, you head through the courtyard of flowers and trees and underneath the station itself, through a maze of concourses and passageways lit by thousands of small electric lightbulbs and adorned with colourful posters advertising the wonders which lie beyond.

You've stepped out onto the cobbles of Main Street, U.S.A., but there's no time to lose - the engine is blowing its whistle, the guard is announcing the "final call"! Hurry up the staircase on the East side of Town Square and onto the balcony of the station. Head past the ticket booth and take a quick read of the 'Tourist Information' signs announcing special trains to the distant lands of Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland - also depicted in circular stained glass on the four front windows of the station.

As the final travellers board the train, take a moment to notice the details around the enclosed platform - an ornate red orchestrion for announcing arriving trains, luggage waiting to depart, red fire buckets in case of emergency. The railroads were an icon of money and wealth - visitors would judge a town by the lavish quality of its railroad station, effort and attention to detail therefore poured into every corner.

All aboard! You're on your way - steaming out of the station, headed for the majestic Grand Canyon.

Fun Facts & Footnotes

Main Street Station in Paris is entirely unique and unlike any of its three cousins, which all follow the same design. Although situated behind the grand entrance of Disneyland Hotel rather than a grand entrance on its own, as at California, Florida and Hong Kong, it is a vastly enriched and expanded station concept when compared to the original 1955 version. The entire line, platform and waiting area is undercover, and guests can walk right through passageways spanning the length of the station, rather than only at either side.

Countless elements of the station building, its signage and surroundings are still adorned with the initials 'EDLRR' to this day - standing for Euro Disneyland Railroad, the original name of the line before the park changed to Disneyland Paris in late 1994.

Like every other Main Street Station, Paris' version features the famous entrance plaque welcoming guests into the lands of Disneyland. However, for the first and only time the engraving is altered to better suit the park (and particularly its Discoveryland), reading: "Here you leave today and enter worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy." Or, in French: "A partir d'ici, vous quittez le présent et entrez dans le monde de l'histoire, des découvertes et de la fantasie éternelle." In comparison, the original 1955 plaque reads: "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy."

Main Street Station features a loop of monotone station announcements written by Eddie Sotto which range from the regular "Last call for the Disneyland Railroad," to the slightly unusual "Travellers must refrain from buffalo hunting, spitting ... and the consumption of alcoholic beverages, other than for medicinal purposes," to the plain silly "Will the person who lost a roll of 20 dollar bills in a green rubber band please come to the ticket office. Good news... we found your green rubber band."

The maroon red Band Organ seen opposite the station platform (and also clear from the park below) was originally designed to play a swelling musical fanfare triggered by arriving trains, pre-recorded since the outdoor location of the organ would not allow real continued use. All of its horns and musical parts, however, are indeed real. The "Orchestrion" itself is a piece of cabinetry made to look like an organ, the inspiration coming from a cabinet seen by Imagineering at the Smithsonian Institute.

History

Speaking to his team of animators who became the original "Imagineers" in the early 1950s, Walt Disney simply said - "I want it to look like nothing else in the world, and it should be surrounded by a train." With a railroad inevitably comes railroad stations... And, since the line would circle the park, it seemed only natural from the start that a station would be located right at the park gates.

But, as concepts evolved, that very first station on "The Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad" would serve not only as a means for taking the "grand circle tour", but as a barrier between reality and fantasy - a raised, elevated station building under which guests would walk to "leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy." Main Street Station is where the magic begins and ends every day at Disneyland Park and at the magic kingdom parks around the world in California, Florida and Hong Kong.