Editors Note: As the Disneyland
resort in Anaheim expands with the new budget minded California
Adventure park, We invite you to take a look via a series of photo
essays at the level of detail and quality the Walt Disney Company put
into past projects, in particular Disneyland Paris.
Contributor Ian Parkinson's eye for
detail has provided us with a wonderful series of photos celebrating
what may have been the last time we may ever see this kind of effort put
into a new park from the Disney Company. [We should note that the
opening of Disney Tokyo Seas may also be another wonderful example - in
this case only because it was funded by the Oriental Land Company.]
In order to best show some of the
detail in this series on line - we've gone ahead and reproduced photos
at much larger sizes than you may be accustomed to. This means of course
that pages may take a bit longer to download. We think once you see the
richness of detail in these shots, you will feel it is well worth the
extra time it may take to view the pages.
Thanks to the magic of the net -
let's head on off to Paris, and see what a real Disney theme park
should look like...
- Al Lutz
The Discovery and Liberty Arcades
This is the first in a set of reports
showing the unique and distinctive areas or attractions that can only be
found at Disneyland Paris. For the launch of the series I have chosen to
write about the two corridors that run down either side of Main Street
U.S.A, the Liberty and Discovery Arcades.
It seems cruel to call them corridors when
they are in fact beautifully designed and themed parts of the park. Of
course the main purpose for which they have been built is to provide
shelter for visitors during the cold and wet French winter as they make
their way into the park.
As you look down Main Street towards the hub
it's not obvious that these Arcades exist at all, for as far as the
casual observer is concerned they could simply be entrances to the Main
Street shops. The unassuming facades in fact conceal an Aladdin’s Cave
of Artwork, Memorabilia, wonderful Disney design and a few surprises.
Join me as we visit them, shall we?
As you stand in Town Square looking down
towards the Castle, on the right of Main Street you will find the
Discovery Arcade, designed and built to tell the story of innovation and
discovery, now and in the future. On the left of Main Street you will
find the Liberty Arcade, designed and built as a tribute to the Statue
of Liberty.
The Liberty Arcade
You enter the Liberty Arcade from Town Square via the green doors
under the illuminated ‘Liberty Arcade’ sign.
The Arcade is constructed using ornamental pillars and beams; the
floor is tiled in a colorful geometric design. Along the side of the
Arcade are entrances to each of the stores along the right hand side of
Main Street.
On both sides of the Arcade are numerous display cases showing the
history of the Statue of Liberty. They include displays of US
Immigration, Construction and how the Statue was a gift from France.
The main feature of the Liberty Arcade is the small attraction that
commemorates the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty. Below you can
see the entrance to the attraction.
