Reimagining the Main Street Cinema

[DoctorQ9]

Does anyone really go inside of the Main Street Cinema anymore? I realize that it has a nostalgic appeal along Main Street USA, but do we go inside and watch the old films unless there is a heat wave in Anaheim?

Disney was able to remodel the Penny Arcade into something much more functional and yet maintain the theme and exterior. Why not do the same for the Main Street Cinema? Perhaps the interior could become a shop dedicated to electronic media featuring Disney films and theatrical productions. I foresee Disney branded Apple iPads and laptops, USB drives that contain Disney music, and Disney Character holograms (in the future).

[waltopia]

I had a good laugh in the theater earlier this week. Tech toys are for Tomorrowland, silly.

[Disneymike]

Oh boy, here we go.....

[yoda1138777]

I sure hope not that place holds great memories, and it is a great place to take kids the cant go on some of the bigger rides

[indianajack]

The cinema is fantastically magical the way it is. Now let's move along...

[WED]

I think the OP is being facetious...

But in reality, I do think the Main Street Cinema suffers from the same problem the original Penny Arcade did. I would love to watch some old cartoons, but they way the cinema is laid out is very inconvenient and uncomfortable. Anytime I walk in there there's very few people there, they're usually there to rest and are sprawled on the floor, and I usually don't stay very long because standing while watching a cartoon is not my idea of enjoyable.

I say gut the place, and redo as an actual theater: 1 screen, and as many seats as they can cram in. Then play a 30 min loop of a mix of cartoons, silent shorts, and "news reels". The news reels can be fake and done somewhat in the style of the one they use in Indian Jones: kind of tongue-in-cheek and jokey. They can keep swapping out the shorts and cartoons to keep it fresh. They can even add some Oswald in to the mix now, Alice comedies, etc.

This style, being able to sit and enjoy the old reels as they did back in the day, would be an excellent draw. The only issue would be the fact that people would probably go in there just to rest/sleep, so they may need at least one cast member who is dressed as an usher to monitor the place.

They *should* keep the cinemas, but they need to up the game on it or else it may become shopified. In its current state, I wouldn't be able to argue that the space is being maximally used.

[JerrodDRagon]

Why not make it into a mini theater and sell popcorn? I would not mind watching some old cartoons IF you could sit down

[Pinrar]

The penny arcade compromised by keeping all the machines but just rearranging them. The only way i could see the same happening for the cinema would be to push the theatre portion back and theme a TINY shop up front to a small, nostalgic theatre concession stand.

That, I would approve of.

[Pirate Lover 68]

To answer the question, does anyone go in there except to escape a heat wave? Yes, and every time I go in there, I see a few families with kids watching cartoons they've never seen. Please...no tech toys, no videos for sale, just the movies running, it's lovely. A seat? Sure, that would be great.

[biggsworth]

I think the OP should go there every visit. I know I do and when I am not in there I am not alone. I would think it gets good foot traffic.

[Disneymike]

I think the OP is being facetious...

But in reality, I do think the Main Street Cinema suffers from the same problem the original Penny Arcade did. I would love to watch some old cartoons, but they way the cinema is laid out is very inconvenient and uncomfortable. Anytime I walk in there there's very few people there, they're usually there to rest and are sprawled on the floor, and I usually don't stay very long because standing while watching a cartoon is not my idea of enjoyable.

I say gut the place, and redo as an actual theater: 1 screen, and as many seats as they can cram in. Then play a 30 min loop of a mix of cartoons, silent shorts, and "news reels". The news reels can be fake and done somewhat in the style of the one they use in Indian Jones: kind of tongue-in-cheek and jokey. They can keep swapping out the shorts and cartoons to keep it fresh. They can even add some Oswald in to the mix now, Alice comedies, etc.

This style, being able to sit and enjoy the old reels as they did back in the day, would be an excellent draw. The only issue would be the fact that people would probably go in there just to rest/sleep, so they may need at least one cast member who is dressed as an usher to monitor the place.

They *should* keep the cinemas, but they need to up the game on it or else it may become shopified. In its current state, I wouldn't be able to argue that the space is being maximally used.

Why does everything have to be "maximally used"? It's charming the way it is and does not need seats for the reason you state (people going in to sleep) which then you would not need the extra CM . I always see people in there but it does not need to have a 1000 person capacity. Sure they can change the reels out but why do some people feel the need to cram every inch of Disneyland with bodies? It's too crowded as is, how about leaving some quiet area's...

[DLFreak71]

Not sure why we need more stores that sell junk on Main Street.
I think it's refreshing to have a few buildings that aren't trying to shove merchandise in your face.

[Disneymike]

Not sure why we need more stores that sell junk on Main Street.
I think it's refreshing to a few buildings that aren't trying to shove merchandise in your face.

Exactly. And I think it's nice that there are places you can de-compress without having to
stand in line or put a blanket down to reserve space.

[SparkChaser]

The recent Penny Arcade work I can deal with because we can still use the machines but gutting the Cinema is flat out nuts. No hard feelings but Main Street is a turn of the century town the cinema is key part it's theming. It's hard enough for me to stand the WDW cinema. Once again no hard feelings. How about revamping the place with seats and one big screen for silent movies?

[Mr Wiggins]

Does anyone really go inside of the Main Street Cinema anymore?

Goodness, no -- nowhere near enough to offset the high cost of projector maintenance, as any competent Disney beancounter will verify. The Main Street Cinema is a throwback. It's all give and no take -- a flagrant violator of Disney's business model that every square foot of Disneyland must make a profit.

I realize that it has a nostalgic appeal along Main Street USA....

Thankfully for the bottom line, nostalgia means even less to Disney than it does to the kiddie demographic that Disney markets to.

Disney was able to remodel the Penny Arcade into something much more functional and yet maintain the theme and exterior.

Bingo. Tuck in a couple video screens showing Steamboat Willie among the merch and registers, and no one will know the difference.

I foresee Disney branded Apple iPads and laptops, USB drives that contain Disney music, and Disney Character holograms....

I foresee the same generic character merchandise you can get everywhere else in Disneyland (and WalMart), with the same obscene price markups.