On Friday, Oct. 2, Disneyland opened the doors to its long-awaited new Disney Gallery, which has been relocated from the site of Walt Disney's intended apartment above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction to the old Bank of Main Street building near the entrance to Main Street, U.S.A.
The original Disney Gallery, which was both a showcase for special exhibits and a showroom for purchasing exclusive artwork, had been closed in order for Disneyland to convert the space above Pirates, which was built as a potential apartment for the Walt Disney family (though it wasn't finished in time for Walt to stay there personally) into a "Dream Suite," which was used during the "Year of a Million Dreams" promotion at Disneyland as a special place for randomly selected park guests to spend the night in the heart of Disneyland. The apartment is currently being used by the Disney Company for various private purposes.
The relocated Gallery, placed in the imposing brick Bank of Main Street building on Main Street, was developed by Walt Disney Imagineering designer Kim Irvine, who was Art Director for the project. Irvine took pains to maintain the look and feel of the old bank structure, which was actually used as a functioning bank branch for many years in Disneyland, before the ubiquitous ATM machine made a bank branch unneccesary. "Guests will still see remnants of the old bank influence - like the vault," Irvine said. In fact, guests will be able to enter the vault to view part of the Gallery exhibits.
The new Gallery is separated into three different rooms, along with a collector's showroom selling various pieces of artwork, both original and reproduced. "This (space) will allow us to tell one continuous story, or three separate stories, as we used to in the former gallery," Irvine said. The initial exhibition in the Gallery is called "Enchanting the Classics: Conjuring New Magic for Iconic Disneyland Attractions." Various exhibits demonstrate concept art and developmental artwork used in the re-creation of various Disneyland attractions, echoing the re-creation of the bank space for the new, expansive gallery.
Not all of Disneyland's fans are thrilled. "What made Main Street so appealing (was) being able to go into different shops that had different businesses... Now Main Street is being blurred into one giant retail opportunity with generic merchandise, which is unfortunate because there was a time when you entered a bank and it was... a bank, and that helped support the believability of the story," said "Nautilus," a member of the Micechat message board. However, the bank hasn't functioned as a bank for years, and most recently was used as a processing center for annual passholders.
To many, the new Disney Gallery is a welcome addition to Main Street, U.S.A. and a long-missed opportunity to see rare artifacts from the Disney archives - and, of course, to buy souvenirs from the park. Next Saturday, Oct. 10, the Gallery will be hosting a signing event with many artists who have created Disneyland-themed art specifically for the gallery, including Kevin Kidney, Jody Daily, Shag, Jim Crouch, and many more. Products range from orginal art priced at thousands of dollars, to limited-edition giclees for $500 and small prints for $35. The following Saturday, Oct. 17, the Gallery will host a "Nightmare Before Christmas" product release, celebrating the characters from Disneyland's "Haunted Mansion Holiday" and "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" film. Artists will be on hand to sign their work at that event as well.
To be notified of future events at the Disney Gallery at Disneyland, visit ArtofDisneyParks.com.
On Friday, Oct. 2, Disneyland opened the doors to its long-awaited new Disney Gallery, which has been relocated from the site of Walt Disney's intended apartment above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction to the old Bank of Main Street building near the entrance to Main Street, U.S.A.