Closing One Quarter of Main Street

Who doesn't like to stroll down Main St. Disneyland starting the vibe that's turns you loose for what hopefully will be a very exciting day? But beginning just after the new year and continuing on until probably sometime in May, one quarter of Main St. is closed for refurbishment. I don't have a trip to Disneyland during this time frame but the question is out there - if I were to make a trip down there during the closure and refurbishment, would I miss anything? Let's take a walk over there and see beginning with -

The Carnation Cafe.  As mentioned numerous times in this blog, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I love the Carnation Cafe. What's not to love? A very good breakfast or lunch, reasonably priced by Disneyland standards, lovely setting, Chef Oscar, and a loaded baked potato soup to die for. Mrs. DLT and I will make to the CC at least once during a trip. Seeing it closed would be very much missed.

Blue Ribbon Bakery. The BRB is gone for good in name only giving up its space for a new indoor seating section added to the Carnation Cafe. The bakery itself has moved up around around the corner to the new Jolly Holiday (Mary Poppins themed) Bakery in the old Plaza Pavilion structure. So nothing really changes here except the new bakery offers more space, more registers, better theming, a dining patio, and an expanded selection of food items (including sandwiches, soups, a quiche, and salads - more dining options, always a good thing). Stopping by the bakery for a nice pastry and coffee is the cheapest breakfast in the park. Expanding it - a wise decision on Disney's part. PS... if you're looking for Chef Oscar while the Carnation Cafe is on hiatus, you can find him over at the Jolly Holiday Bakery still charming customers like no other.

Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor. I love ice cream. Who doesn't? But over the course of my life I have become somewhat lactose intolerant. I can enjoy and savor maybe about 6 bites of ice cream but any more may cause suffering of the "let me just lie down for awhile" kind. So the closing of the GGICP is no big deal for me (as much as I would love to have one of their cones). Not to mention, I've probably saved hours over the years not having to stand in that ridiculously long and slow moving line. Supposedly that is one of the changes the will come with the refurbished Gibson Girl, a reconfigured line that will move along a bit quicker.

Penny Arcade.  Always looking for a "deal" in collecting some kind Disneyland souvenir to bring home, I once spent a great deal of time on one of my trips looking at several of the various penny pressing machines in the Penny Arcade and other locations around the park. I probably pressed 10 to 12 pennies on that trip. If you were to ask me what happened to those Disney penny pressings I would have to say I have no clue. They're around the house here somewhere. Needless to say, I think my penny pressing days are over so a closed Penny Arcade doesn't bother me at all. In the end collecting a souvenir that is difficult to see and hard to display isn't much of a souvenir at all. 

Candy Palace. Again, a leisurely visit around the confines of the Candy Palace is something Mrs. DLT and I do on most of our trips at least once. We usually stop by to get some fudge or some kind of other delectable chocolate morsels or sweet treat. Though probably mostly for show, the one thing a visit to the Candy Palace did provide was a classic Disneyland scene of real live candy makers working their delicious craft (though I am pretty sure most of the candy treats are made offsite in a centralized location). Since candy and sweet treats can be found around the parks and Downtown Disney pretty easily, the closing of the Candy Palace is no big deal.

(Coca-Cola) Refreshment Corner. Another traditional stop I make on my trips to Disneyland is to the Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner to get a cherry coke. This isn't the jack-nasty beverage that Coke puts in cans and bottles but a real coke with a shot of cherry flavored syrup - old school. One year I stopped by the CCRC probably 3 times over a 5 day trip to get a cherry coke. Every time I stopped by the cast member said they out of cherry syrup. Huh???? I felt like making a complaint to city hall. Also available at the CCRC (though not exclusively) is another go-to favorite of mine - the jalapeno cream cheese filled Mickey pretzel - so filling you could almost make a a meal out of one and less than 4 bucks. The Refreshment Corner is also home to Disneyland's ragtime piano players. While under refurbishment, the piano has moved aboard the Mark Twain. 

So other than the Carnation Cafe being closed, having a quarter of Main St. closed is not such a big deal. Having all those facades behind construction walls does cause bit of an eyesore though.