Disneyland Hidden Disney: Secrets & Details > Main Street USA
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Primeval World - Three-Fingered Tyrannosaurus Rex
Before pulling into Main Street Station, the Disneyland Railroad passes through Primeval World and a one-of-a-kind Tyrannosaurus Rex. Although fossils indicate the T. Rex only has two fingers on its short arms, Walt Disney demanded his Tyrannosaurus have three digits on each hand, because he felt it looked better that way
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City Hall - Lost Parents
The lost parents sign in front of City Hall features Mr. & Mrs. Darling, whose children have become Lost Boys.
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City Hall Bookcase
City Hall - Town Square: There is a faux bookcase in the City Hall lobby that features a variety of famous Disney titles. The famous titles are paired with familiar characters or names credited as authors.
Note: The book titled Walt & You is supposedly penned by the pair Sidejas & Kimbrell. The author's credit acts as a tribute to Ray Sidejas, Disneyland Custodial Guest Services Manager and Bruce Kimbrell, business programs facilitator for the Disney Institute. Bruce Kimbrell is the author of "Walt Disney and You," an internal training program that teaches current Disney Cast Members the ideals and founding principles of Walt Disney.
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Main Street Cinema - Tilly
Main Street Cinema: Tilly is the Cast Member inside the Main Street Cinema ticket booth. Tilly's hails from Marceline, Missouri, Walt Disney's hometown. Several photos are posted on the walls behind Tilly, including Mary Pickford (top).
Mary Pickford was silent film star from the early 20th Century. Pickford commanded huge salaries and founded United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffiths and Charlie Chaplin. In 1933, Mary Pickford was to star in a live action Alice in Wonderland feature, to be produced by Walt Disney Studios. However, Walt Disney never got the project going, because Paramount had its own Alice in Wonderland (1933) film featuring an all-star cast that included W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant.
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Main Street Cinema - Tilly
Main Street Cinema: The Cast Member inside the Main Street Cinema ticket booth is named Tilly. Tilly's name tag reveals that she is from Marceline, Missouri, which is also Walt Disney's hometown.
Note: Tilly is dressed in costume, celebrating Disneyland's Halloween Time.
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1890's Phone Conversation
Market House - Main Street USA: The Main Street Market House is filled with nostalgic items, details that act as reminders of Walt Disney's small town childhood in Marceline, Missouri. On the walls around the shop, there are 19th century style telephones that guests can use to have 1890's style phone conversations.
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Piano Lessons
Take a turn onto Center Street and head toward the lockers. It sounds like a piano lesson is going on in one of the second floor shops. The piano teaching theme is one of the many Disney details meant to enhance the feeling of Main Street USA, creating a sense of small town America.
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Painless Dentist's Office
Center Street - Main Street USA: There is a painless dentist's office, which doubles as a dental school, near the Center Street lockers. The sounds of shrill dentist's drills and screams add to Main Street USA's charm.
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Painless Dentist's Sign & Window
Center Street - Main Street USA: The myriad of sounds coming from painless dentist office's open window (on the second floor) aren't very reassuring.
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Test Brick Wall
Center Street - Main Street USA: At the very end of Center Street, near the entrance to the Locker Area, is what looks like a poorly made brick wall. The wall's right side looks uneven and misaligned. A closer look reveals that it contains bricks laid out in several different masonry patterns.
According to legend, this wall was made to test various masonry designs and brick types for use throughout the park. Since money and time were pretty tight in the weeks leading up to Disneyland's opening, it's possible that the Test Wall may have been overlooked, forgotten or simply left as is, allowing its slipshod appearance to survive the last 55 years.
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The Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade - Main Street USA: There is giant Indian Head One-Cent piece featured above the Penny Arcade's marquee. This novel Disney detail is dated 1901, the year that Walt Disney was born.
Note: The Indian Head Penny was minted and circulated in the United States from 1859 to 1909. From 1859 to 1864, the pennies were minted with a copper-nickel alloy. In 1864, the Indian Head cents were minted in bronze and their weight was reduced. The bronze Indian head pennies were struck until 1909, when they replaced by the Lincoln Wheat Cent.
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Esmerelda - The Fortune Teller
Penny Arcade - Main Street USA: Just inside the Penny Arcade, Disneyland guests can have their fortunes told by Esmerelda. A closer look at Esmerelda's hands reveals that she is holding Haunted Mansion-themed playing cards, which feature the four Stretching Room portraits and Madame Leota's disembodied head as the Joker card.
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Candy Kitchen - Smellitzers
Candy Palace & Candy Kitchen - Main Street USA: A photo of the Candy Kitchen Cast Members hard at work. Under the window is a vent that sends the wonderful candy aromas out onto Main Street.
Note: Invented at Walt Disney World by Imagineer Bob McCarthy, the Smellitzer, is akin to the famed artillery howitzer - used to launch smells instead of shells.
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Candy Kitchen - Smellitzers
Candy Palace & Candy Kitchen - Main Street USA: A closer shot of a vent that sends the wonderful candy aromas from the kitchen, out onto Main Street.
Note: Invented at Walt Disney World by Imagineer Bob McCarthy, the Smellitzer, is akin to the famed artillery howitzer - Smellitzers are used to launch smells instead of shells. Smellitzers create scented scenes at a few Disneyland Resort attractions, including Soarin' & Heimlich's Chew-Chew. However, its uncertain if the Candy Kitchen is outfitted with true smellitzers, or if these are simply vents allowing the natural smells to escape.
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Candy Kitchen - Smellitzers
Candy Palace & Candy Kitchen - Main Street USA: A photo of the Candy Kitchen shows that there is something attached to the vent. The black piece of machinery could be a Smellitzer or fan, wafting the wonderful Candy Kitchen aromas out onto Main Street.
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Candy Kitchen - Smellitzers
Candy Palace & Candy Kitchen - Main Street USA: A close-up photo from the Candy Kitchen focuses on the apparatus to the vent. The black piece of machinery could be a Smellitzer (or simply a fan) wafting the wonderful candy aromas out onto Main Street.
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Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner - Red & White Bulb
Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner - Main Street USA: Sometimes perfection takes a little effort. An odd number of red & white bulbs alternate under the Coke Corner's marquee. To maintain the illusion that the lights alternate, one of the bulbs has been painted half red & half white.
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Red Wagon Corn Dogs
Plaza Street - Main Street USA: For some guests, the trip to Disneyland isn't complete without one of the Red Wagon's corn dogs. Found on Plaza Street, the Red Wagon concession stand acts as a reminder of the original Red Wagon Inn, which was located where the Plaza Inn Restaurant is currently located.
FindingMickey.com - Swift's Red Wagon Inn History.