Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Main Street at Night, The Magic Kingdom

My friend Mr. X took some amazing night shots of Main Street at the Magic Kingdom during his first visit in November, 1971. Like this shot of the Main Street Bakery, sponsored by Sara Lee until 1985. I wonder if they piped the aroma of fresh-baked goods out into the street? Suddenly I feel the need for a pastry! 

I've noticed that most of the upstairs rooms have closed blinds, but that room above the Bakery has furnishings and a lamp, which makes it feel as if somebody lives up there.


Next is this very nice photo of the "House of Magic". After a quick search online, I found out that this shop was fondly remembered by many people who loved to drop in to buy a magic trick or two, or maybe one of those "practical jokes" from the S.S. Adams Co. (how about an ice cube with a fly in it?), and if they were lucky, maybe they could see a close-up magic trick performed by one of the CMs. Best of all, there were monster masks.

Sadly, the House of Magic closed on March 19th, 1995 - it's now the Main Street Athletic Club.


14 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Once again, Mr. X really knows how to snap those pictures. It's funny that the crowds of people should be seen hovering-around the House of Magic, with far fewer folks at Sara Lee. These days most folks would be clamoring for lots and lots of high-fat/high-sugar goodies at Sara Lee.

Thanks to Mr. X, yet again.

Pegleg Pete said...

These are great - thanks, Major and Mr X. As ever, I really like the minimalist Christmas decorations which seem much more period-appropriate to Main Street than today's efforts.

Melissa said...

Hey, there's Charlie Manson's twin brother hanging out under the PUZZLES sign. And it's been a while since we've seen one of those cool souvenir hats with the tall feather.

They did indeed waft the aroma of cinnamon rolls out into Main Street. I believe Starbucks has continued the tradition, but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks, Major P. And Mister X!

Handsome said...

Great, now I've got the 70s-era grammatically challenged Sara Lee commercial jingle stuck in my head: "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee!"

Stefano said...

The second photo brings back memories of the Main Street Magic Shop in Disneyland. My pre-adolescent eyes popped at the cornucopia of masks, tricks, gags, and S.S. Adams specialties. There was one thing not on display, though: the Whoopee Cushion. I asked the clerk if he carried any, and without a word he reached under the desk and produced one --- a real "under the counter" item at Disneyland. It was the classic Whoopee design, with image of embarrassed high society dame, lap dog blown off lap and guy losing his monocle.

JC Shannon said...

Night time Disney magic, I love it. Two guys in photo one just visited fedoras are us. Check out the plaid pants in the second pic, far out. Love the window, I want to live there. Thanks to Mr X and Major for the snaps. I love Sara Lee pound cake by the way!

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’d like to think that people were way more interested in seeing the rubber monster masks than they were in eating cakes and pastries. It would renew my faith in humanity.

Pegleg Pete, I know that people love the glitz and lights of today’s Christmas decor, but (like you) I appreciate the way the old ones looked more like what you might see on a real small town main street.

Melissa, maybe if Charlie had spent more time going to Disney theme parks and less time being a weirdo, things would have turned out better for him. I was wondering if any stores in the real world pipe the scents of their products out into the wild, but then I remembered that any time I walked past an Abercrombie and Fitch, I just about passed out from the smell of the cologne.

Handsome, I did not remember the “Everybody doesn’t like something” part. I’m kind of surprised that the Sara Lee folks gave the green light to that famous jingle. “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee?! That’s idiotic! What am I paying you for, Jenkins?”.

Stefano, so funny that the humble Whoopee Cushion was an “under the counter” item. Scandalous! I used to want so many of those S.S. Adams items - the hot gum, snakes in a can, joy buzzers (I had one of those), itching powder… everything that a growing boy needs.

Jonathan, those hats look suspiciously like souvenirs to me. Points were deducted due to the lack of a giant dyed ostrich feather. Not only are there plaid pants, some are wearing striped pants. That’s for me!

Melissa said...

There's a quote going around from that new Christopher Robin movie: "People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day." Reminds me of that Sara Lee slogan.

steve2wdw said...

I've got some semi-good news for the House of Magic fans.....although the actual House of Magic store has yet to reappear (the magician can't seem to find the correct trick to do that), the exterior of the building has been restored from the Main Street Athletic Club to the House of Magic facade. The facade had been behind scrims for longer than usual and when they were removed, that building had been restored to it's original state. We MK fans were pleasantly surprised, as there had been no word that this was going to take place. Someone at Imagineering is thinking of us!

Patrick Devlin said...

I think some of the upstairs spaces on Main Street in Disneyland are used as office space. Is that the case in WDW as well? Maybe that lit window is showing some of the office furniture. But it doesn't look like office furniture. I'm going to have to go on wallowing in my ignorance. Sigh...

JC Shannon said...

Hear, Hear, maybe Disney is finally figured out that tradition matters! I think Tevya said that first though.

steve2wdw said...

Patrick....it is ALL office space above the Main Street shops, yet there is a buffer zone that is filled with either audio equipment or show scenes. Generally where there speakers are located, the windows appear to have shades, etc...and when in use, the windows automatically open. In the other areas, period furniture, lamps, etc...are staged to make it appear that someone actually lives in the space. If you look carefully at the bakery picture, you'll notice theres just a few feet of "diorama" and then a wall. I was once a part of a Magic Band focus group in an office above that very area, and as the parade went by, the thumping from the speakers on the other side of the wall, was VERY noticeable! It was pretty neat being up there.

Nancy said...

Main Street lights at dusk.....magical!!

Chuck said...

Still can't find my in-laws. Bummer. But the photos are still awesome.