The Main Street Cinema is a small movie theater currently located on
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...
at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
and previously at the
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...
and
Tokyo Disneyland
(local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...
.
Disneyland Version
When the theater opened on the park's opening day on July 17, 1955, the cinema showed many silent movies, including films starring
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
and
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
. In the 1970's, these were replaced with several
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
shorts on six different screens while a recorded musical accompaniment plays. Five of the six shorts are played without sound and are changed from time to time. The sixth short is always
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
's 1928 cartoon classic ''
Steamboat Willie
''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celeb ...
'', which is played with its original sound, albeit in an edited version to remove objectionable content; it includes an introduction prepared for a 1950s reissue reminding the viewer when the short was created, and that it is still screening today worldwide.
In 2010, for the 55th anniversary of the park, footage of Disneyland's opening day was shown.
In June 2019, displays selling Disney resort-brand merchandise were added inside the cinema. They were removed a week later after heavy criticism, and benches were added to give a better view of the featured films.
Original Films Shown
* ''Fatima's Dance'' (1903)
* ''
A Dash Through the Clouds
''A Dash Through the Clouds'' is a 1912 short American silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett, written by Dell Henderson and starring Mabel Normand. It has the distinction of being somewhat of an aviation film as Sennett employed the servic ...
'' (1912)
* ''
Gertie the Dinosaur
''Gertie the Dinosaur'' is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaude ...
'' (1914)
* ''The Noise of Bombs'' (1914)
* ''Dealing for Daisy'' (1915)
* ''
Shifting Sands Shifting Sands can refer to:
*''The Shifting Sands'', a book in the ''Deltora Quest'' series
* ''Shifting Sands'' (1918 film), a 1918 film
* ''Shifting Sands'' (1922 film), a 1922 film
*''Shifting Sands'', a 1957 episode of The Goon Show
*Forms of ...
'' (1918)
Magic Kingdom Version
The version at the Magic Kingdom is also located on Main Street, U.S.A., and opened with the park on October 1, 1971. As with the Disneyland version, the cinema at the Magic Kingdom originally showed silent movies before switching to Disney cartoons. By 1994, the cinema showed the ''Mickey's Audition'' short that was previously shown at
Disney-MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Ma ...
. Here, it aired under the title of ''Mickey's Big Break''.
In June 1998, the Cinema ceased showing cartoons and began to show previews of then-new Disney animated movies. By 2005, five of the screens were removed from the building when it became a venue for guests to play the
Virtual Magic Kingdom
''Virtual Magic Kingdom'', also known as ''VMK'', was a massively multiplayer online game developed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Sulake and published by The Walt Disney Company. It was a virtual representation of the Disneyland-style t ...
online game, and the building was renamed as ''VMK Central''. However, a single screen remained in the building which was used for showcasing promotional trailers or videos. ''VMK Central'' closed on September 30th, 2007, and was replaced with a gift shop called ''The Art of Disney'' in November 2007. It remained as such until 2021, when the store was closed and the artwork formerly housed there was relocated to a shop in Fantasyland.
In May 2021, the venue was used as a temporary location for the Sweets and Treats shop. For the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, the venue became home to ''The Magic of Walt Disney World'', containing a shop known as the ''Walt Disney World Vault Collection Store''.
Tokyo Disneyland Version
The Cinema at Tokyo Disneyland was housed in the
World Bazaar
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...
, and operated from the park's opening day on April 15, 1983, until October 20, 2002, when the cinema closed to make way for an extension to the ''Imporium'' shop next-door, with the combined lot being renamed to the ''Grand Emporium'' in December 2002. The Main Street Cinema signage was removed in the process.
Hong Kong Disneyland Version
Although the attraction doesn't exist in
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...
, a facade does for the building that houses the shop inside.
The first shop the building was home to was ''Midtown Jewelry'', a jewelry shop that operated from the park's opening day on September 12, 2005, until April 14, 2016.
On July 26, 2016, as part of the park's 10th Anniversary celebration, a
Duffy the Disney Bear
Duffy the Disney Bear (ダッフィー) is a Disney Parks stuffed bear that can be found at the Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line and formerly at Disneyland and Disney California ...
themed shop named ''My Journeys with Duffy'' opened, becoming a joint ''Duffy and Friends'' themed gift shop and Meet & Greet attraction.
See also
*
List of Disneyland attractions
Disneyland is a theme park, conceived by Walt Disney, within the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. As of March 2017, Disneyland has 53 attractions with 49 rides (The term "attractions" is used by The Walt Disney Company, Disney as a catc ...
References
External links
*
Disneyland Resort attraction page for Main Street Cinema
{{coord, 33.8107, N, 117.9188, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark_scale:1000, display=title
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions
Disneyland
Main Street, U.S.A.
Tokyo Disneyland
1955 establishments in California
1983 establishments in Japan
2002 disestablishments in Japan