Originally Posted By davidleaphart Hi Folks, I'm currently working on a book that covers the Main Street Horse Car.... As part of the story, I really want to include some of your memories about or riding the horse car! A special occasion, funny happening, or just why you enjoyed it. On including anything in the book, I would be sure to get your permission and fully credit you with the story... You can post here or send me a personal message if you like via Micechat..... Thanks for your help on this!! David
Originally Posted By davidleaphart Hi Folks,,,,got my wires crossed. In my post, I mentioned sending a personal message on Micechat...meant Laughing Place... Got too many blogs open!!! David
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt Go luck with your project. Don't have a great story but I do love the horses!
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom According to WDW's official website all Main Street USA ride vehicles are still in use. Although I have never seen a single Main Street USA ride vehicle in use in years. The crowds are just to huge and there are far too many people taking family photos ( for Christmas cards I would imagine ) down Main Street USA. Don't believe me? I have dozens of recent pictures looking down Main Street USA and not a single ride vehicle can be seen.
Originally Posted By DlandDug The horse cars are out every day at Disneyland. Along with horseless carriages, the double decker bus, the fire truck...
Originally Posted By TP2000 Yeah, the whole fleet of vehicles is in use daily at Disneyland. They honk-honk and clatter and putt-putt and ring-a-ding their way through the crowds up and down the street for most of the day, until parade time in the late afternoon. At WDW's Magic Kingdom... not so much. In all my recent visits to WDW, I can't remember a single vehicle in use on Main Street USA. They've spent a lot of time and mony in recent years to blast a shopping mall through all the buildings at WDW's Main Street, removing and/or destroying all the unique, indivdual stores like the Magic Shop, the Cinema, the Penny Arcade, the Fire House, etc. But they still don't run the vehicles out there. And the "it's too crowded" excuse doesn't hold any water. The Magic Kingdom is no more crowded than Disneyland is, and with all the mall refurbishments WDW's Main Street has they are now forcing huge portions of the crowd into the mall-stores in the buildings that now connect all the way down the street. In addition, WDW's Magic Kingdom has a Main Street built to accomodate the bigger crowds they were expecting in 1971 versus the quaint little park Walt built in 1955. 2010 Theme Park Attendance Magic Kingdom - 16.9 Million Disneyland 15.9 Million The excuse that Magic Kingdom is somehow so much more crowded than Disneyland that it can no longer run any vehicles on Main Street is not just an excuse, it's a pathetic one at that. Like much of current WDW's operation, it's just a cheesy budget cut that they think the stupid tourists from Ohio won't notice or miss. Pathetic. Anyone wanting to research the vehicles of Main Street USA; Horseless Carriages, Omnibuses, the Fire Truck, or the horse drawn Streetcar need only stop by Disneyland tomorrow morning and see it all in action for yourself. As for the horse-drawn carriages... those disappeared sometime in the 1960's. If you are talking about this, they haven't been seen since the early 1960's, and there are few people left who would have an actual memory of them: <a href="http://sharemickey.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/1960-xx-xx-Horse-Drawn-Carriage-Town-Square-Main-Street-USA.jpg" target="_blank">http://sharemickey.com/wp-cont...-USA.jpg</a> But if you are talking about the Horse Drawn Streetcar, these are in operation daily, as they have been since 1955: <a href="http://www.mydisneycloud.net/user/498621/members/9D438911-2159-493B-A072-0744D29C886C/big_201161218461060.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.mydisneycloud.net/u...1060.jpg</a> Usually there are two running simultaneously, and thousands of people per week ride them at Disneyland USA. Although that Horseless Carriage in the picture above looks a bit impatient stuck in "traffic" behind the horse! If you want opinions of riders, just go to Disneyland and ask people as they step off the Streetcar in front of the Castle every morning.
Originally Posted By davidleaphart Hi Folks, Yes..the WDW Horse Car operates until about 12:30pm with some breaks for the Main Street Show and a couple of parades. The fire truck and car are usually out until about 11am. After lunch, you are right..the crowds build up quickly on the street. David
Originally Posted By davidleaphart Hi Folks again, Just wanted to add that the memories of or riding the Horse Car at Disneyland are just as important...the story is about the Horse Car and Main Street at Disney, whether it be CA or FL. Thanks! David
Originally Posted By TP2000 The Magic Kingdom opens at 9AM almost every day, even on Saturdays. So... we're looking at a two hour operation of the Main Street Vehicles at Magic Kingdom? From 9AM to 11AMish? The Parade is at 3PM, but the first Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! is at 11AM in the Hub. Which would make sense that the vehicles all have to stop at that time. Then another show at 12:30PM, and then comes the parade. How... magical. No wonder they don't bother bringing these vehicles out at the Magic Kingdom. There's only a solid 90 minute operating window for them each morning. Amazing how they run their parks out there. Simply... amazing.
Originally Posted By TP2000 David, I think there's a bit of nomenclature getting us confused. It appears that you are talking about the Horse-Drawn Streetcar. There's never been anything at any Disney park called simply the "Horse Car", although many different carriages and coaches have been pulled by horses in Disney parks over the decades. Most Americans refer to this contraption as a Streetcar, and it's a Horse-Drawn Streetcar to be exact. Here's the official Disney page about it, from Disneyland where all of these vehicles run simultaneously for six to eight hours of the day, every day. <a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/main-street-vehicles/" target="_blank">http://disneyland.disney.go.co...ehicles/</a> They are all lumped together as the "Main Street Vehicles", but it appears you are refering to the Horse-Drawn Streetcar, correct?
Originally Posted By davidleaphart Hi Folks, Yes. The Horse-Drawn Streetcar...I was "abbreviating" to just "Horse Car".... Sorry if this confused some folks... If you have any stories that you might want to share about the Streetcar (Disneyland or Walt Disney World), I would really like to consider them for the book... Thanks! David
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I'm sure that the parade/show schedules affect the vehicles a lot more than most people realize. In addition to Move It running a couple times early in the day, MK also has a small show on the horse-drawn streetcar, and the Dream Along with Mickey show taking over the hub several times a day. Plus, the main parade is at 3:00, which is still relatively early in the park's operating day to shut down an attraction. They could reopen them after the parade, but it would be a pretty short time before dusk, when they'd need to shut down again. Then again, there are old episodes of the Wonderful World of Color showing vehicles at DL after dark, so maybe they could keep them running until shortly before the Electrical Parade. In contrast, DL really only has the big parade to contend with, and it usually starts at 4:00 or later. Factor in earlier openings many days of the week (8am Friday-Sunday) and no other shows that block the street, and you've got a much more flexible schedule. DL does have a little Mary Poppins show near the castle with the Pearly Band, but that takes place entirely on the compass (AKA the circular feature directly in front of the castle) including viewing areas. I suspect that pedestrian traffic is worse in DL, since park hopping (or going to DTD or hotels) is so much easier and people tend to switch back and forth all day long.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I do recall seeing a group of performers on the Horse Drawn Streetcar in the Magic Kingdom performing a little "cavalcade" type number one morning shortly after opening. But I have never experienced a single Main Street vehicle at the MK.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Here's an amusing story about the Streetcar. Several years ago the Disneyland Blue Ribbon Bakery shop offered a thermal mug, with a nice vignette-style photo of the Streetcar passing in front of the cinema, with a lovely nineteenth century graphic reading "Blue Ribbon Bakery, Main Street USA, Disneyland." One problem, though. The photo was taken on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom...!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ah, the horsedrawn streetcar. One of my favorite attractions, no joke. It adds kinnetics and a sense of realism to main street usa. It is a must ride for me everytime we get the opportunity. My great grandmother (born in 1899) used to relay stories of her childhood to us and we heard the clop clop clopping down main street in Disneyland. It was a huge part of the Disney difference. Thankfully in California, main street is still alive and so too are the rivers of America. Sadly in WDW it has been over a decade since I have seen them running, and it adds to my view it is a weak Disney park. In Disneyland Paris, same too, it is rare to see the horse drawn streetcar running. Instead for the last 5 years they have had a stupid character train and meet and greet every hour or so. Meaning the streetcar is relegated to during extra magic hours, and the ambience of main street USA is totally ruined. Then poor Tokyo and Hong Kong DL don't even have the streetcars. I fear for the future of this wonderful little attraction. The excitement we feel when we see it and ride it is great. Now with my children, we try to get into Disneyland Paris early so we can ride the horse drawn streetcar, and I regale them with tails of riding with my grandmother and great grandmother recounting their experience. To me the Disney difference was never about cartoon characters. It was always about the illusion of reality, taking me to another time and place. And the horse drawn streetcar epitomises that ethos.
Originally Posted By rhodisney The only amusing story I have about the Horse-drawn streetcar is the look on my City kids' faces when they saw a real live horse for the first time! I always try to ride the firetruck or the surrey when I go to WDW. Do they still stable the horses over at Ft. Wilderness?
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom According to WDW Official website the horses and ponies are all there. That inclused, horse drawn carriage rides ( which I know are ineffect as right now they are doing "Headless Horseman hay rides", pony rides and horseback riding.
Originally Posted By Manfried I've seen the horse-drawn cars in the mornings and it always sets the stage for me when I visit.
