The entranceway to a park may be the most underrated but needed aspect to set the mood for any Disney visit and the best parks do it brilliantly!
A lot is being written about the coming opening of Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe Park. It’s a huge deal and the IP used is a fun mix of properties like How I Met Your Dragon and the classic Universal Monsters.
Notable is the park’s entranceway, Celestial Park, which is meant to be a mix of future and past, showing the themes of the main park. It doesn’t seem too bad, yet some criticize it for not properly telling a good story or theme.
It shows how the entrance to a theme park is always a key part of the experience. A good park needs to set the tone right away. The Six Flags theme parks can vary, with Illinois’ Great America boasting a gorgeous fountain and double-decker carousel. SeaWorld Orlando has a lovely lighthouse and bay area, instantly making you feel like you’re in an aquatic world.
Compare that to how Universal Studios feels a bit more bland. The entire “working studio” motif doesn’t quite impress when you first enter until you get to the main attractions. Islands of Adventure isn’t bad, yet it doesn’t quite convey the adventure theme right away.
When it comes to Disney, let’s be honest: No one does that entrance area better than they do. It’s been a key part of the parks since they were created and Imagineers know how to make it work. Yet it leads to the question of whether just one entrance is needed or not.
The magic of the Disney entrance areas
The first of all the Disney park entrance areas remains the best: Main Street USA. Walt Disney based this on his hometowns, and it’s no wonder every Magic Kingdom park tries to replicate it in their own way.
The moment you walk under the railroad and into the park, you’re embraced by the feel of Disney. The way the main thoroughfare leads to the castle is wonderfully done, and the old-timey feel adopts the illusion right away.
It’s overlooked how Disney set the bar for the “central wheel” park concept that’s been copied since. How it lets you choose which direction and land to head for first emphasizes how brilliantly Main Street USA works as an entranceway.
For EPCOT, there’s the wonderfully redesigned opening plaza past the fountain garden with Spaceship Earth looming overhead. Hollywood Studios may have changed a lot over the years, but it retains the pitch-perfect recreation of an old Hollywood streetway that works for the movie motif. Animal Kingdom’s long walkway lets you feel like you’re embarking on a journey into the wild.
The water parks likewise are good from Typhoon’s tropical setting to Blizzard Beach’s “snowy” motif. California Adventure wisely dropped the huge sign for an opening area emphasizing classic California that works much better.
Other Disney parks around the world have their own opening areas, which use the different cultures well, from DisneySea’s streamlined streets to the planned altered opening for World of Adventure. It shows how Disney has a knack for finding the right entrance area…at least at first.
Should there be only one entrance to a Disney park?
Disneyland fans have long known that Main Street isn’t the only entrance to the park. There’s also the monorail dropping guests off in Tomorrowland. Some will find this more convenient to get to those rides first and often skip the larger crowds trying to pack in at the entranceway.
However, the Tomorrowland entrance doesn’t feel as enchanting as Main Street does. Having been to both, I can attest there is a much different vibe walking down Main Street, seeing the castle coming closer, and choosing where to start your day. It instantly gets your blood flowing, your excitement builds, and you pick up your pace, ready to get on your favorite rides.
Beginning in Tomorrowland is great with some nice views from the trams. Yet it doesn’t quite embrace you in the Disney feel like Main Street does and somehow off. It oddly feels more pleasing if you’ve been in the park, exit for California Adventure, and come back via Main Street to experience it better.
EPCOT is the same as the International Gateway heading into World Showcase doesn’t impress you like walking under the globe of Spaceship Earth. It’s more convenient for resort guests yet there were times I’d prefer the monorail and main entrance over this Gateway.
Hollywood Studios and DAK are only the one entrance and that seems to be much better for the experience. There are obvious reasons for the multiple entrances from crowd control to pricing and many will feel it’s better.
Yet not entering a park through the planned entranceway is losing out on one of the best parts of a Disney trip, which is being wrapped up in the magic from the start. It really feels better taking this entrance into the parks as the Imagineers wanted it, the gradual pace and themes taking you in as you enter.
It says something that the entranceway is always first on any park design as it's meant to get the entire theme and experience established off the bat. There have to be Imagineers bugged at a park having more than one entrance when the big one is always meant to be part of the journey.
Obviously, Disney isn’t going to close the Gateway or the Tomorrowland monorail. And there will be visitors who prefer those. But there’s something to be said over using the original initial entranceway into a Disney park as it gets the magic going early on and the first step into this amazing world.
Have you walked right down the middle of Main Street, USA?