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explodingboy
10-05-2009, 12:17 AM
Not sure if this has been posted yet already but the new Disney Gallery is open, and it is very cool. I highly suggest going and checking it out now that it's up and running. There are a few different rooms with some rad artwork & concept drawings, and also some of the stuff that was in the 50th anniversary gallery they did where Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln was a while back. Overall pretty sweet go check it out, I know I'm glad it's back.

mechurchlady
10-05-2009, 12:33 AM
Next door to the north is some cool stuff. For a long time there was a display of DLR back in the beginning and it was set on a table top with a glas cube over it. They have mounted it in a north wall at a 45 degree angle in a glass case.

Steve Martin fans will be glad to know that the film is now showing in the far back corner on a wall. They also kept the display of tickets from the past.

As was stated the moulding, artwork, clock and so much more is awesome and the artwork is very expensive. I took a couple of shots but was told no flash photography. It is a disposible camera, oh well. Do stop buy and browse and see the history of Disjney, lots of stuff in there.

newhdplayer
10-05-2009, 05:39 AM
Very cool.

This will have to be one of the first stops now entering the Park.

I guess we'll turn right, instead of left, as we usually do.

futurecm21
10-05-2009, 06:18 AM
As happy as I am that it has returned, did the bank, and Walts Offices really have to go for the sake of the gallery?:crying:

AVP
10-05-2009, 07:06 AM
Here are some photos and comments from my MousePlanet Blog:

A little more than two years after closing to make way for the Disneyland Dream Suite, the Disney Gallery reopened last Friday in the the space recently vacated by the former Bank of Main Street. The banner outside the new Gallery announces the current exhibit, "Enchanting the Classics." Stepping inside the Gallery, I was immediately drawn to the former bank vault, now standing open and housing original artwork on wooden easels. At the new cash register area to the right, cast members were still unpacking merchandise for display.

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89709-2/DisneyGallery-Exterior-100309-AVP.jpg

I was admiring the intricate woodwork in the gift shop area when my husband Tony tore me from my examination with one quiet comment: "They knocked out Walt's offices." Unbelieving, my eyes darted to the exhibit space beyond the gift shop, and I realized he was right. Although Walt's formal office display was "temporarily loaned" to Walt Disney World in 2001 for the 100 Years of Magic celebration - and never returned - I've always hoped that the office would eventually be sent back to Disneyland and put back on display in the lobby of the Main Street Opera House. Instead, those two rooms have been converted into sales and exhibit space for the new Gallery. I guess this is Imagineering's way of saying "Get over it, the offices aren't coming back."
http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89769-2/DisneyGallery-Store1-100309-AVP.jpg

Feeling as if I'd been punched in the gut, I wandered through the new space to see what had replaced such a vital piece of Disney history. I once had the pleasure of being allowed to walk through Walt's offices before the formal office was packed off to Walt Disney World, and I remember how it felt to step into that room, the sense of reverence and history that filled the air. Now, entering the new exhibit rooms years later, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was trespassing.

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89761-2/DisneyGallery-RoomB2-100309-AVP.jpg

The first room, which now connects via a new doorway directly into the entrance lobby of the Main Street Opera House, houses an exhibit of art for sale. (Most of the pieces will be featured during the Gallery's first artist signing event on October 10th.) A small room, currently shut off from the rest of the Gallery with folding glass windows, will be used at some point in the future as a work space for visiting Disney artists. The widows can be opened to let the artists chat with guests as they work.

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89753-2/DisneyGallery-RoomA2-100309-AVP.jpg

The second room houses the Gallery's current exhibit, with original concept art displayed on the walls and two glass cases filled with sculptures and models. Wooden benches provide a place for visitors to sit and contemplate the exhibit... or the current whereabouts of Walt's office. The room is gorgeous, with lovely paneling and a stunning ceiling treatment.

The theme of "Enchanting the Classics" is illustrated with a wide variety of artwork, starting with Walt Disney's first renovations of Tomorrowland and the Jungle Cruise, through to the recent addition of Disney characters to "it's a small world" and the current Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy overlay. Walt Disney's oft-repeated quote that "Disneyland will never be finished," is displayed on a sign at the entrance to this Gallery. I guess this is Imagineering's way of saying "See, Walt added gorillas to the Jungle Cruise, so we're totally justified in adding ghosts to Space Mountain."

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89765-2/DisneyGallery-RoomB3-100309-AVP.jpg

Clearly I wasn't in the right frame of mind to fully appreciate the exhibit, so I stepped into the lobby of the Main Street Opera House. One corner of the lobby contains a small seating area, and the 50th Anniversary film starring Steve Martin plays in a loop on a small screen. The opposite wall contains a large scale model of Disneyland, displayed behind glass like a classic Disneyland wall map. A display case in the center of the room holds a collection of Disneyland admission tickets, on loan from the personal collection of Imagineer Tony Baxter. Nearby, two more display cases hold a scale model of Sleeping Beauty Castle, and a scale model of Splash Mountain.

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89725-2/DisneyGallery-LLobby3-100309-AVP.jpg

As I was taking pictures, a very friendly cast member offered to answer any questions we might have. She must have overheard my complaints about Walt's office, and she asked if I'd seen the front entrance yet. I told her we'd come in from the Gallery, and she said "you have to see this."

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89785-2/DisneyGallery-WaltsBench-100309-AVP.jpg

Tucked against the wall in the front entrance of the Main Street Opera House, underneath the classic photo of Walt Disney walking through Sleeping Beauty Castle, sits a green wooden park bench. A plaque on the bench reads "The actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland." According to the cast member, the bench is also on loan from Tony Baxter's personal collection. I guess this is Imagineering's way of saying "See, we're not the heartless jerks you think we are."

Though the Disney Gallery is open, construction is ongoing. The remainder of the Main Street Opera House lobby is still closed for renovation to return Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln to the theater. Once that show reopens in December, the wall between the exit hallway and the lobby will be removed, allowing people to return to the lobby and Gallery without leaving the building.

The new space offers the merchandising department a great deal of flexibility in hosting Gallery events, and two such events are scheduled over the next two weekends. On Saturday, October 10, a wide variety of Disney artists and Imagineers will be on hand for the Gallery's first product release and artist signing. Scheduled to appear are Jim Crouch, Jody Daily, Jeremy Fulton, Kevin Kidney, Larry Nikolai, Maggie Parr, George Scribner, SHAG and Yakovetic. Merchandise offerings range from $8,000 oil paintings to $45 prints Tiki mugs. My favorite item is the replica of the Enchanted Tiki Room shirts worn by Disneyland cast members. I've always coveted the Tiki Room shirt owned by an acquaintance, and I'm eager to finally add one to my own collection. On Saturday, October 17, artists Dave Avanzino, Brian Sandah and Tim Wollweber along with Show Development and Production Senior Writer Carolyn Gardner will be on hand for a Haunted Mansion Holiday merchandise release and signing event. Details and photos of the available merchandise for both events are posted to the Disney Gallery Web site (link (http://psc.disney.go.com/eventservices/artofdisneyparks/event/dlr_thedisneygallery_artist_signing.html)).

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/89800-1/TR_VINTAGE_SHIRTS-Disney.jpg

There is a lot of history and nostalgia tied up in this new Disney Gallery. For fans of the Gallery, who were upset when Disneyland pulled it from its home of 20 years to make way for a hotel suite, this reopening is long overdue. The tradeoff is that the Bank of Main Street and the space where Walt's offices were once displayed were gutted to make room for the expanded Gallery. For me, it's hard to accept that this was the only solution, that there was only room for one or the other. The very friendly cast member told us that a current rumor calls for Walt's offices to be returned to the Disneyland Resort, this time to be displayed at the Carthay Circle Theater to be built inside Disney's California Adventure. The cynical part of me says "it's been nearly 10 years, we're never getting that office back." My optimistic self looks at that simple park bench, preserved all these years, and still holds a glimmer of hope.

For more about the history of the original Disney Gallery, read Wade Sampson's article "Farewell to the Disney Gallery" (link (http://www.mouseplanet.com/8225/Farewell_to_the_Disney_Gallery)).

club33az
10-05-2009, 09:04 AM
I don't see the big deal about Walt's offices. What we saw before they left were recreations of Walt's offices at the studio. The items in the recreation were real and items he actually used, but the "offices", the space they were placed in, were re-creations. I'm not seeing the problem.

cstephens
10-05-2009, 09:36 AM
The husband saw the new Disney Gallery yesterday, and when he told me how much room it took, my comment was: "So, I guess they really aren't giving us back Walt's offices, huh?" I'm looking forward to seeing the new Disney Gallery (though I'll miss having a courtyard - I have a lot of wonderful memories from all the times I spent in the former Disney Gallery's courtyard), but I'm sad they really aren't giving us the offices back.

ktrm
10-05-2009, 09:40 AM
Sorry I've been out of the loop for a while. Since the bank is now closed and has been converted to a gallery, where do you go to upgrade your tickets to annual passes? Customer relations at the entrance to the park?

club33az
10-05-2009, 09:41 AM
The husband saw the new Disney Gallery yesterday, and when he told me how much room it took, my comment was: "So, I guess they really aren't giving us back Walt's offices, huh?"
Unless that rumor the CM told Adrienne about moving his offices to the new Carthay Circle Theatre is true.

cstephens
10-05-2009, 10:13 AM
Sorry I've been out of the loop for a while. Since the bank is now closed and has been converted to a gallery, where do you go to upgrade your tickets to annual passes? Customer relations at the entrance to the park?

Annual pass processing is now done at the Plaza Pavilion, at the end of Main Street on the left.

TowerofTerror
10-05-2009, 09:52 PM
How is the new disney gallery since it in at the bank on main street?

Malcon10t
10-06-2009, 05:44 AM
How is the new disney gallery since it in at the bank on main street?See post number 5 above....

gnarly braddah
10-07-2009, 11:44 PM
See post number 5 above....

Pointless post is pointless

mechurchlady
10-09-2009, 06:07 PM
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/janky/Disneyland%2010-4-2009/
Page 3, last photos are of the new Gallery. No flash photography, oops. Very nicely done and so ornate.

MaraMouse
10-17-2009, 05:36 PM
I can't believe how much HM 40th anny stuff there was in here! We picked up 4 signed Shag prints, and I saw 3 flasks left should I get one?

HauntedKid
10-18-2009, 12:48 PM
Can you buy things behind the glass, like i.e. a plated e-ticket they were showing, had a 75 dlls price, but I don`t know if its a collectible and you are able to buy it???? I wanted it so badly hehehehe :P