Ok, full disclosure…this is an extremely nerdy post.
Every single person that passes through Disneyland starts in the same place: the front entrance. This largely empty, oval shaped space is the starting line for thousands of daily adventures, and most people never think twice about it. In fact, if you were to tell someone Disneyland’s entrance is genius, you’d get some crazed looks. But stop for a second and think about all of the things this oval manages to do, and you’ll appreciate its importance.
The gap between the real world and the magical world.
There’s something really distinctive about Disneyland compared to California Adventure or Downtown Disney. When you pass through the gates, you don’t quite feel like you’re “in” the park yet. Instead, you have this little buffer (created largely by the berm) that places you between two worlds. Here, you can leave the real world behind as you pass under the railroad tracks and into Disneyland proper. By providing this buffer space, you feel extra insulated when inside Main Street, without having to see the outside world until you’re ready to leave.
The mood-setter for the season.
The colors, banners, garlands, and decor in the entrance change with the season. In southern California, you won’t find “seasons” that are terribly different from one another, but the entrance is a nice mood setter. In the spring, you’ll see pastels. In the summer, you’ll see warm, vibrant greens. In the fall, the space turns orange and yellow, and during the holidays, it’s bright red and gold. The decor at the entrance isn’t as over-the-top as the other lands in the park, but it’s almost like a warm-up act prepping you for the season you’re walking into.
The disorganized crowd catcher.
Some of the most chaotic crowd navigating happens at the start of your day. It’s hard not to feel like a salmon swimming upstream, dodging overpacked strollers and entire families trying to stick park tickets back into their bags. The entrance catches most of these people in this open space, preventing a lot of this chaos from happening on busier Main Street. It’s a great place to stop for a second, figure out where you want to go first, put your ticket away, grab your camera, etc. without blocking off a ride queue or passing show.
The portal to yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.
You may have heard this analogy before, but the idea of Disneyland’s entrance is commonly described as a feature film. The oval entryway is the lobby, the tunnels under the berm/railroad tracks are the opening previews, and then Main Street is the feature film. The tunnels show off attraction posters, usually in a vintage style, teasing what adventures lay ahead. And above each tunnel, you see a famous sign: Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. There’s something really cool about passing through a tunnel and entering a new world, and these signs do a great job of building that excitement.
The path to the big reveal.
And finally, the entrance makes the big castle reveal possible. Think about when you enter Buena Vista Street. You can see Carthay Circle even before you pass through the gates. Sure, it’s beautiful, but it doesn’t have that “wow” moment when you suddenly see it for the first time. Disneyland’s entrance strategically takes you to either side of Main Street’s plaza, so no matter how you walk into the park, you still don’t see where you headed. It’s not until you reach the middle of the plaza that BAM – the castle appears at the end of the street.
I hope I’ve convinced you of the genius of Disneyland’s entrance. This clever Imagineering design really does make the start of a Disneyland trip that much more special. And one pro tip – hang around here toward the end of the night if you need some peace and quiet. The crowds slowly stop streaming in, and the whole oval is pretty calm.