Main Street Vehicles is a series of turn-of-the-20th-century-style vehicle attractions in

Disney theme parks Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of the Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort. Led by Josh D'Amaro, t ...

throughout the world, consisting of

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

ways with horse-drawn streetcars and free-roaming motor vehicles. They usually operate in their respective Main Street, USA sections, transporting park guests on one-way trips between the Town Square at the park's entrance and the Central Plaza at the park's center. The original Main Street Vehicles attraction is located in

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. 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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and includes horse-drawn streetcars and motor vehicles. The Main Street Vehicles attraction in

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

within

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

has nearly identical offerings as its Disneyland counterpart. At one time, an omnibus transport option was present in Epcot within Walt Disney World. In

Disneyland Park (Paris) Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland Park, is a theme park found at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 12 April 1992 as the first of the two parks built at the resort. Designed and built by Walt Disney Ima ...

, the horse-drawn streetcars are billed as a separate attraction from its Main Street Vehicles and are simply named Horse-Drawn Streetcars. Only motor vehicles are included in the Main Street Vehicles of Hong Kong Disneyland. Omnibus in Tokyo Disneyland's World Bazaar section and Big City Vehicles in Tokyo DisneySea's American Waterfront section are similar attractions to Main Street Vehicles.

Attraction concept origins

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

and

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honor ...

, a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

and fellow rail enthusiast, travelled to the

Chicago Railroad Fair The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and Greenfield Village, an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

, in the summer of 1948.. The historic vehicles that Disney saw at these locations led him to include several types of turn-of-the-20th-century-style vehicle attractions, including a

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...

, in a detailed description of a ''Mickey Mouse Park'', which he first outlined in a formal Walt Disney Studios memo submitted on August 31, 1948. The concept of Mickey Mouse Park evolved into what would become Disneyland. Bob Gurr of WED Enterprises (now

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

) developed all of the vehicles for the original Main Street Vehicles attraction.. Each vehicle in the attraction was arranged to operate in Disneyland's Main Street, USA section, which is an idealized combination of Walt Disney's hometown of

Marceline, Missouri Marceline is a city in Chariton County, Missouri, Chariton and Linn County, Missouri, Linn counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,123 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History In 1887, the Chicago, Santa Fe, an ...

, and Disney artist Harper Goff's hometown of

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

.. The attraction contributes significantly to the Main Street, USA section's turn-of-the-20th-century theme, particularly the combination of sounds that its vehicles and horses make, which are meant to be in juxtaposition to the sounds that park guests would normally hear on a present-day street. Main Street Vehicles and similar attractions now operate in six Disney theme parks across the globe..

Disneyland

The Main Street Vehicles attraction in Disneyland in California opened with the park on July 17, 1955, and is located in the Main Street, USA section. Attraction vehicles present in that section on opening day included horse-drawn streetcars, horse-drawn

surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

s, and a horse-drawn fire wagon. In 1956, transport via

horseless carriage Horseless carriage is an early name for the motor car or automobile. Prior to the invention of the motor car, carriages were usually pulled by animals, typically horses. The term can be compared to other transitional terms, such as wireless p ...

(a.k.a: jitney) and omnibus were added. On August 16, 1958,

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

rides were inaugurated. The fire wagon was retired in 1960 and put on display in Disneyland's Town Square

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

, and the surreys were discontinued in 1971. A one-way trip on each vehicle between the Town Square at the park's entrance and the Central Plaza at the park's center initially required an A ticket or a fee of 10 cents... Ride tickets and fees were replaced with a pay-one-price admission system in 1982. Vehicle types in service as of 2024: *Horse-drawn streetcar *Fire engine *Jitney *Omnibus

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

The

draft horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plowing. There are a number o ...

s used to pull the Main Street Vehicle's narrow gauge horse-drawn streetcars consist of

Belgians Belgians ( ; ; ) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority ...

, Brabants, Clydesdales,

Percheron The Percheron is a horse breed, breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray (horse), gray or black (horse), black in col ...

s, and

Shires Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

, and were originally housed on-site at the Circle D Ranch. To accommodate construction of Disneyland's ''Star Wars'': Galaxy's Edge section in the late 2010s, the ranch was permanently moved away from the park to a facility in

Norco, California Norco is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States. Located roughly inland from the Pacific Ocean, Norco is known as "Horsetown, USA" and prides itself on being a "horse community". The area is dotted with corrals, far ...

, which had its grand opening on June 10, 2017. At the Circle D Ranch, new horses go through specialized training for six to twelve months to deal with their future work environment in Disneyland, including becoming acclimated to balloons, bands, bubbles, strollers, and umbrellas. Once training is completed, each horse employed with the Main Street Vehicles is transported to the park via

horse trailer A horse trailer or horse van (also called a horse float in Australia and New Zealand or horsebox in the British Isles) is used to transport horses. There are many different designs, ranging in size from small units capable of holding two or thre ...

on its workdays, which consist of four-hour shifts three to four days a week. Beginning at the Town Square loop adjacent to Disneyland's entrance, an individual horse controlled by an onboard conductor will pull one of the four Main Street Vehicle streetcars along the attraction's single-track tramway at up to , with all four streetcars capable of operating at once. Each open-air streetcar vehicle has forward-facing bench seating that can hold as many as 30 passengers. The horse-drawn streetcar goes around the Town Square loop in a counterclockwise direction, runs along the line's main stretch, heads through the right side of a midpoint passing siding, continues up the main stretch, enters the Central Plaza loop in a clockwise direction, and stops in front of

Sleeping Beauty Castle Sleeping Beauty Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of Disneyland and formerly at Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late 19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.Imagineers (1998). Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind t ...

. Once its journey resumes, the horse-drawn streetcar moves around the Central Plaza loop in a clockwise direction, arrives back at the line's main stretch, rolls through the right side of the passing siding, continues down the main stretch, reenters the Town Square loop in a counterclockwise direction, and stops where it started, completing the line's route..

Magic Kingdom

The Main Street Vehicles attraction in Magic Kingdom within Walt Disney World in Florida opened with the park on October 1, 1971, and is located in the Main Street, USA section. Each vehicle transports guests on one-way trips between the Town Square at the park's entrance and the Central Plaza at the park's center. Vehicle types in service as of 2024: *Horse-drawn streetcar *Fire engine *Jitney *Omnibus

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

The draft horses used to pull the Main Street Vehicle's narrow gauge horse-drawn streetcars consist of Belgians, Clydesdales, and Percherons, and are housed nearby at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. The ranch is located in Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground within Walt Disney World. The horse-drawn streetcars in the Magic Kingdom's Main Street Vehicles attraction are similar to their counterparts in Disneyland.. Each streetcar vehicle has an empty weight of around , and with a full load of 18 adults can weigh around .. Draft horses, which are larger than riding horses, usually weigh between and , and can pull loads weighing on level rails. Unlike in Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom's streetcars go in counterclockwise directions around both the Town Square loop and Central Plaza loop.. When the attraction's four (originally five) streetcar vehicles and

horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domestication of the horse, domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as Saddle, saddles, Stirrup, stirrups, Bridle, bridles, Halter, ...

are not in use, they are stored in a car barn at the end of a spur line connected to the Town Square loop... The attraction's track, including the car barn spur line, totals ..

Epcot

Omnibuses started operating in Epcot within Walt Disney World when the park opened on October 1, 1982, and were located in the World Showcase section. They were eventually discontinued as transport options for park guests due to difficulties with navigating them through ever-increasing crowd sizes. At least one omnibus was used as a parade vehicle in the park until the early 2000s. An Epcot parade omnibus is now on display and occasionally runs at the Volo Auto Museum in

Volo, Illinois Volo is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was incorporated as a village on April 26, 1993. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,122. Geography Volo is located at (42.331 ...

Disneyland Park (Paris)

The Horse-Drawn Streetcars and Main Street Vehicles attractions in Disneyland Park (Paris) opened with the park on April 12, 1992, and are located in the Main Street, USA section. Horse-Drawn Streetcars is a separately billed attraction from Main Street Vehicles. Each vehicle transports guests on one-way trips between the Town Square at the park's entrance and the Central Plaza at the park's center. Vehicle types in service as of 2024: *Horse-drawn streetcar *Fire engine *

Limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...

* Mercer *Omnibus * Paddy wagon

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

Horse-Drawn Streetcars - Disneyland Park - 3845639371

The draft horses used in the narrow gauge Horse-Drawn Streetcars attraction are Percherons, and are housed onsite at the simply named Pony Farm. When new horses are needed for the attraction, Percherons aged four or five years with good limbs and a quality

aplomb In classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet ...

are selected. The three streetcars that the horses pull can be differentiated from their counterparts in the American Disney theme parks by their enclosed cabins with wood-panel interiors and inward-facing seating arrangements that can each accommodate 15 passengers. When the streetcar vehicles are not in use, they are stored in a car barn on Town Square..

Hong Kong Disneyland

The Main Street Vehicles attraction in Hong Kong Disneyland opened with the park on September 12, 2005, and is located in the Main Street, USA section. Unlike its counterparts in the US and France, Hong Kong Disneyland has never had horse-drawn streetcars. Each vehicle transports guests on one-way trips between both ends of the Main Street, USA section. Vehicle types in service as of 2024: *Omnibus *Paddy wagon *

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

Tokyo Disneyland

The Omnibus attraction in Tokyo Disneyland opened with the park on April 15, 1983, and is located in the World Bazaar section. The attraction takes guests on a looping tour of the Central Plaza at the park's center and as such is not used as a form of guest transport.. Vehicle type in service as of 2024: *Omnibus

Tokyo DisneySea

The Big City Vehicles attraction in Tokyo DisneySea opened with the park on September 4, 2001, and is located in the American Waterfront section. In the past, each vehicle either transported guests on one-way trips between the American Waterfront section's New York City and Cape Cod areas or took guests on a looping tour of the New York City area. Now, only the latter option is available. Vehicle types in service as of 2024: * Delivery truck * Open-top town car *Paddy wagon *

Tour bus A tour bus service is an escorted tour (sometimes a package holiday) or bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions. Information Double-decker buses and open top buses are commonly used, for provid ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Main Street Vehicles (Disneyland) – official websiteMain Street Vehicles (Magic Kingdom) – official websiteHorse-Drawn Streetcars (Disneyland Park (Paris)) – official websiteMain Street Vehicles (Disneyland Park (Paris)) – official websiteMain Street Vehicles (Hong Kong Disneyland) – official websiteOmnibus (Tokyo Disneyland) – official websiteBig City Vehicles (Tokyo DisneySea) – official website
{{Portal bar, Disney, Cars, Horses, Trains 1955 establishments in California 1971 establishments in Florida 1982 establishments in Florida 1983 establishments in Japan 1992 establishments in France 2001 establishments in Japan 2005 establishments in Hong Kong 3 ft gauge railways in the United States 914 mm gauge railways in France Disneyland Disneyland Park (Paris) Heritage streetcar systems Hong Kong Disneyland Horse-drawn trams in operation Magic Kingdom Main Street, U.S.A. Narrow-gauge railroads in California Narrow-gauge railroads in Florida Passenger rail transport in France Passenger rail transportation in California Passenger rail transportation in Florida Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Railroads of amusement parks in the United States Railway lines in Île-de-France Railway lines opened in 1955 Railway lines opened in 1971 Railway lines opened in 1992 Railways of amusement parks in France Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo DisneySea Transport in Chiba Prefecture Transport in Hong Kong Transport in Île-de-France Transportation in Anaheim, California Transportation in Orange County, Florida Vehicles of China Vehicles of France Vehicles of Japan Vehicles of the United States Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Walt Disney World transit

Attraction concept origins

Disneyland

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

Magic Kingdom

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

Epcot

Disneyland Park (Paris)

Horse-drawn streetcar operations

Hong Kong Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo DisneySea

See also

References

Bibliography

External links