The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (72 page)

There are no holographic or digital effects to shatter the period atmosphere.  The small
Disney
figures in the windows move because they are attached to mechanical rods or wheels, just as figures could’ve been animated in a turn-of-the-20
th
-century Macy’s window.  It was in 1901, in fact, the year that
Walt
was born, that the enormous Herald Square Macy’s opened, and their window displays were immediate hits.

The
Emporium
, like all of the
Main Street
buildings, is outlined with tiny, period-appropriate popcorn lights.  If you approach the glowing, twinkling
Emporium
at night, you truly feel as if you are about to step into the emporium of a turn-of-the-century American town.

Most reasonably large communities of th
at time had one or more of these stores on its main street.  Long before our modern Wal-Marts and Targets, American emporia offered locals a place to purchase just about everything under one roof. 
Walt
would have seen emporia in
Marceline
and
Kansas City
and New York.  They were part and parcel of the American landscape in the early 1900’s.

When you step thr
ough one of the many entrances from
Town Square
or
Main Street
, you find yourself in a vast, brightly lit space crowded with racks, shelves, and bins of merchandise, cash register counters, and fellow Guests.

Look up; the ceilings are high,
lit with period lights and giant crystal chandeliers, and throughout the store you’ll see second-story displays presenting vignettes of Victorian shopping experiences, the store barber, the store tailor, and so forth.  When the display figures move, it’s with the same primitive, period-appropriate mechanical motion as the
tableaux
in the outside windows.  Look for the wide-eyed child with uneven bangs flinching back from the barber’s scissors.  We’ve all been there!  I recall terrifying childhood trips to local hairdressers who operated out of their finished basements.  My brother endured haircuts by an elderly barber with failing eyesight and a hand tremor.

Given that it offers the most merchandise in the park under one roof, at all price points, th
e
Emporium
makes a terrific first and/or last shopping stop for your
Disneyland
visit.  Looking for a reasonably priced
Mickey
T-shirt?  A giant, pricey
Sleeping Beauty Castle
play set?  A tiny or enormous stuffed
Winnie the Pooh
doll?  A fancy silver
Disney
pen?  A sketchbook?  A plastic
Minnie
keychain?  The newest
Disney
pins
?  A
Minnie
spatula?  A replica of the
Millennium Falcon
?  The latest
Bridget Mendler
CD?  All of these and much, much more are arranged throughout the airy spaces of the
Emporium
.

The only drawback of this lovely venue is that after the nightly fireworks, when multitudes of Guests begin filtering out of the park simultaneously, most of them seem to end up in the
Emporium
, either cutting through on their way to the exit turnstiles, or doing their final shopping.  Whatever their reason for being in the
Emporium
, they all seem to be shoving, nudging, and running over fellow Guests’ feet with their strollers and wheelchairs!  A recent store floor redesign did a magnificent job of eliminating bottlenecks and opening up aisles, but the store still gets very crowded at night.

How much of a mad press does it become?  A drowsy child
, a complete stranger, once grabbed my hand and hugged me, then blinked up at me sleepily.  “
You’re
not mommy.”  “No, I’m not,” I agreed.  We quickly found his mother; they’d become separated in the crush.  This is a prime example of why you need to stick to your younger children like glue if you shop at the
Emporium
during peak periods, especially if the kids (and you) are exhausted and groggy.

If you like the hustle and bustle of the crowded
Emporium
, evenings and night are perfect shopping times for you.  But if you like tranquility and personalized attention from Cast Members, browse the
Emporium
in the morning, or the mid-afternoon when everyone else is watching the parade.  Often the
Emporium
stays open an extra hour after the park’s official closing time to accommodate late shoppers.

Whenever you shop
at the
Emporium
, and whether you purchase anything or not, you’ll have a delightful time!
Did You Know?
  Over time, emporia evolved into the fancy department stores of the 1920’s and ‘30’s.  Visit
Elias & Co.
in
DCA
’s gorgeous new
Buena Vista Street
district for a taste of bygone glamour.
Something In The Air:
  The
Emporium
has an extremely pleasant, distinct scent, like
Downtown Disney
’s
World of Disney Store
and other shops at the resort.  Retail stores in general are increasingly using scents to draw customers to certain departments or products, and it seems like, as usual,
Disney
was ahead of the curve.  Scents powerfully connect us to memories and moods.  A pleasant scent can inspire us to buy a product, slow our pace and spend more time in a store, and form pleasant associations with a store that make us want to return. 
Disneyland Resort
already uses scent as a storytelling tool in some attractions, like the glorious evergreen and orange aromas of
Soarin’ Over California
in
Disney California Adventure
, and the warm gingerbread smell that wafts up from the
Grand Hall
scene in the holiday version of the
Haunted Mansion
.  Even
“it’s a small world”
has added gingerbread and peppermint aromas to its holiday overlay.  It makes sense that
Disney
would disburse a pleasing aroma throughout its stores as well.  To some folks it all sounds manipulative and nefarious, but I’d far rather inhale a soothing signature
Disney
potpourri than the unfiltered aromas of tired and sweaty fellow Guests!  Scent technology advances are making it increasingly common for large hotels, stores, or transportation sites (like Los Angeles’ Union Station) to add a little something pleasant to their heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC) units. 
Disney
might be ahead of the curve but they’re not alone. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  It’s so cool!  [The
Emporium
] has millions of things to buy!

Fortuosity Shop

[
FastView:
 
High-end, beautifully crafted clothes and jewelry with
Disney
designs.  Worth every cent, if you can afford the treasures here.
]

This is a relatively new treasure at the southwest corner of
Main
and
Center
, just south of the
Carnation Café
.  Replacing
New Century Timepieces
, the shop still boasts a master watchmaker sitting in the window, crafting
Disney
timepieces.

If you’re on a tight budget, you won’t be purchasing the e
xquisitely crafted,
Disney
-themed merchandise, which includes pocket and wrist watches, bracelets, rings, wine stoppers, jewelry boxes, book marks, and business card cases; merchandise is high-quality, and price points are high.

There are T-shirts with unusual designs, like vintage album covers of the
Disney Princess
LPs, but these aren’t the moderately priced T-shirts of the
Emporium
; these start at over $30.  Male Guests will find pricey and unusual
Disney
socks, boxers, ties, and cufflinks.

What is “
fortuosity
”?  It’s one of those clever
Disney
hybrid words, and seems to be a mash-up of “fortune,” “fortuity,” and “curiosity”.  The
Sherman
brothers penned a song called “
Fortuosity
” for
Disney
’s 1967 live-action production
The Happiest Millionaire
, a frothy trifle set in Philadelphia just before World War I.  The cheerful butler who sings
Fortuosity
claims that it’s his own word, and that it refers to “lucky chances … fortuitous little happy happenstances.”  Even if you aren’t a happy millionaire, and can’t afford to purchase a single one of the store’s curiosities, it’s fun to pop in and browse for a few moments.

Because the store is filled with precious breakables,
Fortuosity
’s door onto
Main Street
is kept closed after the nightly fireworks, effectively preventing crowds seeking to escape the mad flow of departing Guests from stampeding into the shop and shattering every last treasure.  Once the flow of Guests abates, the street door is re-opened.

You can reach the
Fortuosity Shop
from
Main Street
, from the adjacent
New Century Jewelry
to the south, or via the toy-and-book section of the
Emporium
to the west.  Check out the hypnotically odd Victorian displays of miscellany in the large shadow boxes mounted outside the
Fortuosity Shop
just across from the entrance to the
Emporium
’s toy-and-book store. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  It’s very expensive, but has so many cute things.  If you’re rich, buy everything here!

Guide I and Guide II Souvenir Shops (in Town Square Near West and East Entrance Tunnels)

[
FastView:
 
Lots of budget-priced souvenirs like keychains, pens, postcards, and plush dolls.  Souvenir quick-stops when you’re entering or leaving the park.
]

You can enter
Town Square
via either the
West
(left) or
East
(right)
Entrance Tunnels
; as you emerge from each tunnel into
Town Square
, you pass tiny, unmarked souvenir counters.  Not only do the counters lack name signs, they’re also completely absent from the compact
Guide to Disneyland
map as well as the large, highly detailed park maps that you used to be able to buy at these counters and other shops throughout the park.  Why are the little shops outside the tunnels so anonymous?  It’s a mystery.

The shops’ wares are even more slender than the
Newsstand
’s, limited to disposable cameras, a few T-shirts, hats, pens, keychains, postcards, maps, inexpensive
Disney
-themed snow globes, and seasonal trinkets and other
tchotchkes
.  Given the small stands’ limited, clearly displayed merchandise and modest price points, these are good shopping spots for small kids who have a few
Disney Dollars
to burn and might be overwhelmed by the mountains of goods and choices in the larger stores.  Kids pause at these counters and put a lot of thought into picking out their own modest keepsakes and gifts for folks back home.  It remains unclear why the stands have no signage, but they do have names.  The west counter is
Guide I
; the east counter is
Guide II
.

The Mad Hatter Shop

[
FastView:
 
Browse a big selection of
Disney
hats and have your name or your little ones’ names embroidered on the back.
]

This small shop on the northeast corner of
Town Square
offers an enormous variety of
Disney
hats, including the ever-popular
Ear Hats
, and will customize your
chapeau
by stitching your name on the back of it for $3+.  Looking for baseball cap, or one of those
Goofy Ear Hats
, or
Captain Jack
hats, or the
Mickey groom
and
Minnie bride Ear Hats
?  Whatever
chapeau
you’re seeking, you’ll probably find it here!