A Tale of Two Main Streets (Pt. 7)

Can you believe I've stretched one visit into seven posts? I'm really showing restraint...especially since there's a final installment tomorrow! Today's post will take you from one Main Street (Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A.) to another one (Disney California Adventure's Buena Vista Street). My last few visits, I've shot a few of the former Kodak Shop, not knowing what its future will be since Kodak pulled the ol' sponsorship plug this year.

As I was cutting through the shops on Main Street, I could hear the sweet harmonies of the Dapper Dans.







Drew Tablak, my favorite "Silent Night" soloist from Candlelight, was singing as part of the Dans.



The Cinema looked crisp and clean; stay tuned for a dedicated post to this Opening Day favorite later on this week.



Doing a little criss-crossing, I took a few shots of the lights in the Fortuosity Shop...



as well as some of the shelf displays.



Over at the Emporium, I was beginning to see the crowds...I knew that my day would be coming to a close! Still, I was able to get a few more shots without guests.



These animatronic tableaus are simple, but have fascinated me ever since I saw them as a little boy.





As I left Disneyland, the lines to get in were crazy long, and so were the lines for DCA. Still, I was hungry for lunch and had a few "to-do's" on my photo shot list.



Buena Vista Street was also decorated for the 4th; something about the patriotic bunting that I really like. Probably the sense of nostalgia that it invokes.











You know I can't resist the light fixtures.



A few of the Carthay Circle Theater:





And today I will be dropping you off at the "Lone Ranger" locomotive parked at the front of the Hollywood Studios Gate.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos on my Main Street web pages.

Meet Me at Disneyland Pt. 6: Tomorrowland

Of all the lands, Tomorrowland is the one I spend the least amount of time in. This trip proved to be the exception, as the light crowds permitted a walk-on situation for all the biggies. Despite that, the main reason I removed myself from the norm this trip was to get a few photos of the "Iron Man 3" exhibit at Innoventions, aka the former Carousel of Progress.



People playing video games.



Corporate advertisements.



Infomercials cleverly presented in the form of edu-tainment.



Semi-interesting displays.



And the main reason I came: the Iron Man exhibit, featuring costumes (or replicas?) from the movie.









This one shot made it all worth it. This kid was having a ball. Absolutely priceless.



A few more "Iron Man" shots, so that you don't forget the Marvel-Disney connection.





The Dream Home is still here, but now that it's over five years old, the "thrill" (and I use that term loosely) is definitely gone...or pretty much on the way out.









I didn't bother re-visiting the Dream Home; there were enough people milling inside that it extinguished the tiny bit of desire I might have had to go through once again.



Instead, it was onward and upward to Space Mountain.







Although this is one of my favorite "thrill" rides at Disneyland, I guarantee it wouldn't be half as exciting if the lights were on.



How dare that little girl attempt to cover my face!



Working my way back to the front of Tomorrowland, Star Tours was next on the day's to-do list.



One of the greatest comedy duos since Laurel & Hardy.











The doors open...one group departs, and the next one begins to board.



Time to put the camera away as the journey is about to start...and photos of the 3D screen look like ca-ca anyway.



Final Tomorrowland attraction for the day was Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters.



32?!? Wow...I really need to work on my game.



One closeup of the Astro Orbiter gate, and then I was finished with the Tomorrowland portion of my day.



Tomorrow, we'll meet on Main Street—both of them!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Tomorrowland photos on my Tomorrowland web pages.