Is the Hub/Part of Main St USA anymore, or Not?

[steve2wdw]

With the conversion of the Plaza Pavilion to a Mary Poppins themed bakery, a new Carnation Gardens replacement (Fantasy Faire- part of Fantasyland), and the Astro Orbitor jutting out of Tomorrowland, has the Hub essentially been removed from Main Street USA? WDW's Magic Kingdom Hub has the luxury of being on an island (so it's actually in no-man's land) and so it really can't support these types of additions, but DL's is right up against Main Street proper. While I love the idea of a HUGE bakery in the hub (makes grabbing a cup of joe in the a.m. and parking on a centrally located bench to people watch, a lot easier), should WDI have found a USA inspired "setting" for the new facility? Or do we just surrender the whole Hub area to a mish mash of themes?

[sbk1234]

It seems to me that even back in the beginning days, The Hub has always been a sort of mish-mash. There is a fairy-tale castle facing it, an old-west stockade, tropical jungle, and futuristic architecture all visible from the hub. And it's always been this way. To me, the Hub is like a gateway, and not really part of the turn of the century theme of Main Street USA.

[disneylandfan95]

Yeah, I don't think the Hub has ever been officially Main Street. When you think about it, Main Street acts as a corridor to the Hub, which then radiates out into the different lands. There never has really been an overarching theme for the Hub.

[Bronco21]

As far as I'm concerned the hub has not been part of main street since 1998. The astro orbitor destroys the romanticized feel of Main Street. The hub has really never been part of any land, however, because at one side there's a world of adventure and a frontier fort while on the other there is a futuristic looking architecture. And the biggest theme breaker of them all is the Castle so its pretty much a crap shoot when it comes to theming in that area. Anything can be put in and nothing will ever break theme as long as it fits within those areas.

[Steve DeGaetano]

I agree with the above. While its pavement is contiguous with Main Street, I never really thought it was thematically a part of the avenue.

[PragmaticIdealist]

The problem with the way Disney has been treating Central Plaza as of late is that the stockade, the castle drawbridge, and the entrances to the other Realms function as proscenium arches or invisible fourth walls. There are clear dividing lines because these places are supposed to be universes unto themselves.

[DisneylandTraveler]

I have a slightly different take. I think of the Hub as part of Main St. because, for part of the day anyway, a Main St. vehicle stops there. I would consider the 3 Plaza structures part of Main St. as well even if they have a slightly different architectural style. Now once you point your face towards a "Land" and take a few steps toward it, I think of the Hub as a portal to the Land that you are headed. Just me I guess....

[BigThunder]

It depends. If you stand at the Partners Statue and look south, it is. If you look in any other direction, it isn't.

[Mojave]

Just have to chime in here and say I don't think the Hub as been a part of Main Street since the beginning. It has always been the Hub - the very center of the park that connected the 5(+) lands.

The Plaza Inn and Plaza Pavilion are somewhat transitional but still are part of Main Street, imho, so I'm not totally happy with the Mary Poppins themed bakery, but that's a lot better than an AP center, so you take what you can.

[PragmaticIdealist]

I agree with the above. While its pavement is contiguous with Main Street, I never really thought it was thematically a part of the avenue.

Those pavers were added under Eisner and Pressler.

Originally, pebbly pavement and olive trees defined Central Plaza and distinguished it from the rest of Main Street, U.S.A.

[noleafclover1980]

I have a slightly different take. I think of the Hub as part of Main St. because, for part of the day anyway, a Main St. vehicle stops there. I would consider the 3 Plaza structures part of Main St. as well even if they have a slightly different architectural style. Now once you point your face towards a "Land" and take a few steps toward it, I think of the Hub as a portal to the Land that you are headed. Just me I guess....

The hub is just... the hub, imo. It's not supposed to really represent anything other then a way to get to the other lands. Do main street vehicles stop there? Yes, but the train also stops in Tomorrowland. The vehicles have to stop somewhere.

[PragmaticIdealist]

The astro orbitor destroys the romanticized feel of Main Street.

Every time I look at the Astro Orbiter, I'm reminded of the lying bastards in Disney that promoted the 1998 Tomorrowland by saying the thing is as close to the center of the Plaza as Sleeping Beauty Castle is. A quick look at a satellite image easily reveals the truth.

[Steve DeGaetano]

Those pavers was added under Eisner and Pressler.

Originally, pebbly pavement and olive trees defined Central Plaza and distinguished it from the rest of Main Street, U.S.A.

PaveMENT, Prag, not "pavers." I'm talking about the street blacktop.

[bee1000]

The Hub is a demilitarized zone set aside in hopes of keeping the peace between the lands. The Astro Orbiter may or may not have infringed upon this zone (historians' opinions vary), but Pixie Hollow certainly did (although it was approved by Mickey Mouse as a compromise between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland), and the Fantasy Faire is a thinly veiled act of aggression on the part of the Princesses who are upset at the ongoing troop build up in Tomorrowland.

At this point, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are teetering on the brink of a civil war that could very well draw every land into a prolonged struggle. I fear dark days lie ahead, for Mouse lacks the commitment and strength to maintain peace the way he could in the past.

[noleafclover1980]

The area that Pixie Hollow is at has kinda always been occupied by one theme or another intruding on the hub. It's funny when it comes up, since before Pixie Hollow it was Triton's Garden featuring Ariel's Grotto for a meet and greet, and even further back the House of the Future was there, so it was TL intruding. Question though, since my memory is very hazy on the time in between... what was there between the House of the Future and Triton's Garden? Was it a more theme neutral take on the area?