Next Door to Mickey Mouse Fess up. If you could quit your job, pull your kids out of school, sell your house, and say goodbye to your friends, you'd move to the doorstep of Walt Disney World, in a heartbeat. But who can do that? Scott and Michele Atwood did. And in doing so they built a Disney business. Here's how! From cold, snowy Michigan, Michele Atwood tried to run her popular Disney site, The Main Street Mouse. It wasn't easy. All the action was many hundreds of miles away, in Orlando. Her dream--her Disney dream--was to earn enough money from The Main Street Mouse to support her family. But from Michigan? No way. So she shut down the site and got a real job. Except ... she didn't! If Disney couldn't come to her, she'd go to it. She persuaded her husband, Scott, that it made perfect sense to pull up stakes and rent a house near Disney World, a house they'd never seen, and count on the website to pay the bills. After some difficult times, Florida began to feel like home, and The Main Street Mouse became one of the biggest, most successful Disney fan sites in the world. And they blogged happily ever after! The Atwood's story is a real Disney dream come true.

As an archetype for an entire class of places, Main Street has become one of America's most popular and idealized images. In Main Street Revisited, the first book to place the design of small downtowns in spatial and chronological context, Richard Francaviglia finds the sources of romanticized images of this archetype, including Walt Disney's Main Street USA, in towns as diverse as Marceline, Missouri, and Fort Collins, Colorado. Francaviglia interprets Main Street both as a real place and as an expression of collective assumptions, designs, and myths; his Main Streets are treasure troves of historic patterns. Using many historical and contemporary photographs and maps for his extensive fieldwork and research, he reveals a rich regional pattern of small-town development that serves as the basis for American community design. He underscores the significance of time in the development of Main Street's distinctive personality, focuses on the importance of space in the creation of place, and concentrates on popular images that have enshrined Main Street in the collective American consciousness.

"Traces the transformation of commercial development as it has moved from centralized main streets, out along the street car lines, to form the "miracle miles" and shopping malls of today ... Also explores the evolution of roadside buildings."--Back cover.

Carol Milford dreams of living in a small, rural town. But Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, isn't the paradise she'd imagined. First published in 1920, this unabridged edition of the Sinclair Lewis novel is an American classic, considered by many to be his most noteworthy and lasting work. As a work of social satire, this complex and compelling look at small-town America in the early 20th century has earned its place among the classics.

Mindy Thompson Fullilove traverses the central thoroughfares of our cities to uncover the ways they bring together our communities After an 11-year study of Main Streets in 178 cities and 14 countries, Fullilove discovered the power of city centers to “help us name and solve our problems.” In an era of compounding crises including racial injustice, climate change, and COVID-19, the ability to rely on the power of community is more important than ever. However, Fullilove describes how a pattern of disinvestment in inner-city neighborhoods has left Main Streets across the U.S. in disrepair, weakening our cities and leaving us vulnerable to catastrophe. In the face of urban renewal programs built in response to a supposed lack of “personal responsibility,” Fullilove offers “a different story, that of a series of forced displacements that had devastating effects on inner-city communities. Through that lens, we can appreciate the strength of segregated communities that managed to temper the ravages of racism through the Jim Crow era, and build political power and many kinds of wealth. . . . Only a very well-integrated, powerful community—one with deep spiritual principles—could have accomplished such a feat.” This is the power she hopes we will find again. Throughout Main Street, readers glimpse strong, vibrant communities who have conquered a variety of disasters, from the near loss of a beloved local business to the devastation of a hurricane. Using case studies to illustrate her findings, Fullilove turns our eyes to the cracks in city centers, the parts of the city that tend to be avoided or ignored. Providing a framework for those who wish to see their communities revitalized, Fullilove’s Main Street encourages us all to look both inward and outward to find the assets that already exist to create meaningful change.

Look out for visual field guide like no other, and meet the people behind the names on the windows of Main Street, U.S.A. at the Disney parks! When you first enter Disneyland, in California, or the Magic Kingdom in Florida, a charming train station is set elevated before you, like a stage-show curtain. Walk through one of its tunnels to find vibrant posters displayed like "coming attractions" at a theater. Then arrive at Main Street, U.S.A., an idealized Victorian-era town of bright colors, upbeat melodies, and delicious smells. Here, your eyes finally meet the grand view ahead: a stunning castle, filled with the promise of adventures beyond. Keen observers will notice intricate details throughout the Disney parks, including names emblazoned on the building windows lining Main Street, U.S.A. Designed as calling cards for fictionalized shopkeepers, these names belong to the real life "all-stars" who helped make Disney's theme parks a reality. They are the opening credits to a show like no other. The people listed on these windows are skilled actors, artists, business leaders, Imagineers, songwriters, and more. With their imagination and sharp skills, each person has made an important contribution to The Walt Disney Company. In fact, many have also received the impressive Disney Legends award. Through short biographies and key imagery and a foreword by Disney Legend Marty Sklar, this expertly researched volume is sure to intrigue and inspire. As Walt famously said, "You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world . . . but it requires people to make the dream a reality."

Lessons from the Man Who Created Disney University. Van Arsdale France, the founder of Disney University and author of its world-class "cast member" training programs, takes you inside the "berm" for a first-hand look at how Disney makes the magic that keeps its guests coming back for more.

"See yourself in the movies!" Prior to the advent of the home movie camera and the ubiquitousness of the camera phone, there was the local film. This cultural phenomenon, produced across the country from the 1890s to the 1950s, gave ordinary people a chance to be on the silver screen without leaving their hometowns. Through these movies, residents could see themselves in the same theaters where they saw major Hollywood motion pictures. Traveling filmmakers plied their trade in small towns and cities, where these films were received by locals as being part of the larger cinema experience. With access to the rare film clips under discussion, Main Street Movies documents the diversity and longevity of local film production and examines how itinerant filmmakers responded to industry changes to keep sponsors and audiences satisfied. From town pride films in the 1910s to Hollywood knockoffs in the 1930s, local films captured not just images of local people and places but also ideas about the function and meaning of cinema that continue to resonate today.

PUT WALT TO WORK FOR YOU! How do you go from dreaming of a theme park to building one? Walt Disney laid the blueprint. Learn how he did it, and how his wisdom can guide you toward achieving the things that you dream of. The experts told Walt it'd never work. A giant theme park, where parents and children could play together? Crazy! So Walt put all of his money into this crazy dream of his. He put his reputation on the line. Anyone else would have quit, discouraged and disillusioned, but Walt built Disneyland. How did he go from dreaming to doing? And how can you do the same, no matter what your goal? In The Wisdom of Walt, Professor Jeffrey Barnes distills Walt Disney's vision, his knowledge, and his methods into a series of actionable lessons. Through historical vignettes about Disneyland, as well as plentiful examples and exercises, Barnes creates a framework through which you can apply Walt's wisdom to improve your career, your company, and your life. Learn to: -Listen to your "Walter ego" and start trusting yourself -Go "beyond the berm" with the secrets of Disneyland's success -Make a "Main Street impression" on everyone you meet -Create "E-ticket experiences" that keep them coming back for more WITH THE WISDOM OF WALT, YOUR SUCCESS IS JUST A DREAM AWAY!

As you walk down Main Street, U.S.A., have you ever looked up and wondered what the names on the windows mean? Although the tradition of honoring people with a window has been around since Disneyland's opening day, there has never been a comprehensive list of them all... Until now. In this book, you'll find a complete guide to all of the whimsical tributes at every Magic Kingdom park throughout the world, complete with full color photos!