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ladodgerjon
03-15-2007, 09:30 AM
Soooo.... I finally did it. I finally saw backstage along Main Street.

Last night the crowds were pretty thick for viewing the 7pm parade. To ease oot traffic, the CM's opened up the employee passage behind the west side of MAin Street. Pretty cool.

The highlights -- in my opinion -- were the views afforded of the jungle cruise repair area (I counted at least THREE of the old style boats in a concrete channel), and seeing the stairs that Walt would have climbed to enter his Firehouse apartment.

Of course I was traveling without a camera and have no pix to share-- though I understand they've been opening-up the back walkway for over a year on heavy nights. I bet this spring break season will see many more backstage openings in the near future.

BTW: there is a large, motorized crane that allows techs to li the boats onto land for repairs. Also, I got a kick out of seeing a sign that blocked the stairs leading to the firehouse that read, "...this is not a break area."

ladodgerjon
03-15-2007, 09:32 AM
one more thing:

The horse drawn carriages are also kept under a tarp behind the city hall building. I also spotted a sign that read: West End Ave

Andrew
03-15-2007, 09:35 AM
Of course I was traveling without a camera and have no pix to share-- though I understand they've been opening-up the back walkway for over a year on heavy nights. I bet this spring break season will see many more backstage openings in the near future.
The backstage path was open during the last summer of the Main Street Electrical Parade ('96), which was the first time I saw it. It was open again the next summer, during and after performances of That Which Shall Not Be Named. The Big Thunder tunnel (north end of Fantasyland to Village Haus) was also around that time.

gibson510
03-15-2007, 02:38 PM
I have also seen the Main Street back stage area. One for the memory bank though as I also was without a camera.

jeffthechef
03-15-2007, 04:00 PM
Does anyone know what is located behend the east side of Main St. Would there ever be a possibility of opening it up, like the Liberty Square concept?

PanFan
03-15-2007, 09:37 PM
I was so excited when I got to exit out behind Main Street for the first time (now I can go there whenever I want, but I'll always have fond memories of that first time, as of when I got to go from behind Toon Town to the Carnation Plaza stage for Magical Music Days in college). I had fought against the crowds to get to the end of Main Street so I could get a cream cheese pretzel, then saw they had opened up backstage, so I pretended I was exiting and followed the crowd, just so I could see it (I had no intentions of leaving yet).

Regarding the east side, I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say, but there is a cast dining place behind Plaza Inn and basically offices and such. It's a lot more open than the west side, which is a rather narrow corridor, and as such would be much more difficult to control large numbers of people, some of whom may try to "escape" into the backstage world. For that reason alone (I can think of others, but I don't want to say too much about the mysteries of backstage...) I can't ever foresee them opening it up as they do the west side.

Andrew
03-15-2007, 09:47 PM
Regarding the east side, I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say, but there is a cast dining place behind Plaza Inn and basically offices and such. It's a lot more open than the west side, which is a rather narrow corridor, and as such would be much more difficult to control large numbers of people, some of whom may try to "escape" into the backstage world. For that reason alone (I can think of others, but I don't want to say too much about the mysteries of backstage...) I can't ever foresee them opening it up as they do the west side.
Your secret is safe with me (http://www.google.com/maps?q=1313+S+Harbor+Blvd,+Anaheim,+California+928 02&ie=UTF8&z=19&ll=33.811029,-117.918556&spn=0.001449,0.002704&t=k&om=1). :D

MrTomMorrow
03-15-2007, 10:39 PM
I've been backstage behind Main Street on the East side... Characters were preparing to go onstage near the Mad Hatter shop... there were a lot of vehicles (I guess for quick transport around backstage areas) behind the buildings... the West side sounds more exciting because it's close to the Jungle Cruise...

kirstie_29
03-16-2007, 09:10 AM
In '96, I went to Grad Night and they escorted us through the backstage area from the bank on Main Street and into Tomorrowland. A big thrill for a Disney fan :D

EvilQueen_76
03-16-2007, 09:45 AM
The east side is pretty amazing. I was with a friend that was able to sneak me in (I don't want to say how). We went to return some of her attire and it was so weird seeing rows and rows of the same outfit. It kind of reminded me of Monsters Inc when they show all the doors. Then she took me back even more to where the characters were getting ready for the parade and it was really neat to see them preparing. She was concern that it would take away some of the "MAGIC" but I told her no way, this is very interesting. Then we also hit up another castmember store that there.

gibson510
03-16-2007, 12:03 PM
The east side looks pretty big. I imagine a lot goes on. I want to know more.

someimagination
03-16-2007, 04:57 PM
It's a lot more open than the west side, which is a rather narrow corridor, and as such would be much more difficult to control large numbers of people, some of whom may try to "escape" into the backstage world. For that reason alone (I can think of others, but I don't want to say too much about the mysteries of backstage...) I can't ever foresee them opening it up as they do the west side.

If it's horribly busy they will sometimes open this side... New Year's eve of '06 they opened it up and had us CM's lined up to divide the traffic flow... you could either exit the park [where you would be taken through the east side and exit out near the Mad Hatter shop] or you could go to Tomorrowland [and re-enter the park near the restrooms next to Space Mountain].

I think they typically open up the west side more often, because it's easier since guests on that side of are exiting out to their right side...


Of course I was traveling without a camera and have no pix to share

I'm pretty sure CM's would discourage people from taking pics, but in this day and age there's always some bound to pop up :D


The east side looks pretty big. I imagine a lot goes on. I want to know more.

Lets just say it's big enough to fit a whole parade and then some ;)

parkfreak
03-16-2007, 11:17 PM
during and after performances of That Which Shall Not Be Named.
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
Oh my GOSH, what a frighteningly terrible "streetacular" that was, huh. :crying:

eightperf
03-17-2007, 02:04 PM
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
Oh my GOSH, what a frighteningly terrible "streetacular" that was, huh. :crying:

You must be talking about "Light Tragic," right...? (I actually thought it was pretty cool, mostly).

As mentioned above, we got to see the westside backstage a couple of times during the last season of the MSEP. Seemed like there were several "last night" dates for that, they kept extending it... Must have been about a billion people in the park those nights and even with the overflow traffic backstage being in the middle of those crowds was almost frightening at times.

Marcus

geoffa
03-17-2007, 02:34 PM
Does anyone know what is located behend the east side of Main St. Would there ever be a possibility of opening it up, like the Liberty Square concept?

As seen from above on Google Earth:

http://www.sca-group.co.uk/personal/darrin/dl%20main%20street.jpg

I've been backstage at MK at WDW but never at DL