Anyone else miss the 'ol Penny Arcade on Main St?

[o'malleyalleycat]

Yeah that 'ol penny arcade........where games that only cost a penny still up and running. I can't begin to tell ya how much we (family) looked forward to that as much as any ride.

As I've gotten older I appreciate it from a nostalgic point of view too. Playing
a game that these days would be 80 years old? The architecture of the games themselves and the magnificent way Disney had it set up, you felt
like you were walking back in time to a 1910-1920 arcade!

The old films too, some had a crank handle to advance the picture ,some not.
You can spot a few of the items in the Disney Boardwalk hotel and some are still in the sports related merchandise area where the game room originally was.

Any memories to share ? Did you have a favorite game?
Did you try the old fashioned baseball games only to have that darn silver marble repesenting the ball go so fast you struck out quickly and felt just as aggravated as if you spent a full 25 cents?

There were some test your strength machines as well ,I think the one is still at the Boardwalk ,probably deactivated, you had to hold on to two handles and see how much shock you could absorb?

For those of you who discovered Disney after they moved out that game room, well ,believe me you'd wish they'd never removed it.

If it were to come back IT would be a hit. Today's kids would be intrigued by them. Don't be suprised if it does return one day, mark these words for when it does.

On a side note does anyone notice as well the shadowboxes on display of antiqued sporting goods from YEARS ago in the merchandise sporting goods
section on Main Street ? Baseball equipment, old pins, rackets,etc,.
Easily overlooked if you're not into antiques.

Specifically anyone remember the heilcopter game? Trying to get that thing
to land at certain points as it went round and round and round?

Well, hope I stirred up a few memories for you. Please share yours.

 

[Dustin]

If I'm not mistaken... i remember penny arcade machines under the train station...near the locker. But yes, i miss them.

 

[luvthatduke]

One Word: YES!
I was sooooooooo disappointed that I couldn't
show DS those wonderful machines - really bummed me out
that they saw fit to remove them, and the fun room they were in.

 

[stemikger]

I really miss it. I have very fond memories of that place. Oh well, I also miss the magic shop in fantasy land.

 

[seashoreCM]

I miss the Main Street arcade also. With its giant nickelodeon piano with all kinds of sound effects inside.

I did not play the machines very much. When I did play I always ran into such problems as the ball going exactly between and out of reach of the flippers*.

Regrettably those old game machines cannot withstand the daily use from guests. Those games are now rare antiques and will be found in museums as opposed to amusement parks. There are arcades throughout WDW, one near Space Mountain, one is Disney Quest, several are in resorts. Disney does not have a "huge stash" of these old machines, repair parts, and skilled technicians, so that, if one machine breaks, they haul it out and install another, as they do with the modern machines.

Unrelated hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/musicbox.htm

*At Disney Quest I judge the difference between game sharing and game hogging in terms of minutes rather than "games/sets/matches". I could judge using points, too.

 

[goofie4goofy]

I miss it too, espically since a lot of those games came from a place called Jolly Roger which was an amusement park on Long Island. My parents took us there almost every weekend when we were kids. It was great! In addition to all the arcade games (in which the owner was a huge collector and WDW bought them when Jolly Roger closed) there were rides, carousel, boats etc...a lot of it indoors. It was a kiddie park, but it sure was fun for us we loved the arcade games.

 

[snowbunny]

Miss them too. We always spent time playing the penny games on Main Street. The wall to wall Disney Store that is now Main Street is a real step down.

 

[Disney Fool]

Yeah, that was back when Main Street really was an "attraction". Now, it's just stores. There really was a quaint charm about it back then. The arcade, the joke shop, even the candy store was different then.

 

[Equidae]

I found some of the movie ones (you put a penny in and watch a flip book of a movie) at the Boardwalk Resort this past fall. I'm sure I've walked by them many times, but I was waiting for someone in the bathroom and walked over and recognized them as being in the Main Street Penny Arcade. They still worked too! Maybe more of the games are around the resort still. I miss the arcade and the magic shop a lot. It was always so much fun to go and see the old type games and look at all the magic tricks!

 

[PixiePop]

I miss it too.

I still remember the fortune I received from the fortune teller machine:

"You will either get married very young or when you are older. You will either have many children or few."

 

[lylacat]

Glad to know I am not the only one who really misses the arcade and magic shop. I remember that me and my brother and sister would spend hours in there...we always had to hit those two things first before we did anything else. I have not looked for any of the machines at the train station...do you know if they still have some there? I am Going in December , so I am starting to plan my timeline and would love to include a little trip down memory lane.

 

[TCKK]

Yep we miss it too. We've tried to describe the movie ones to the girls, but I'm not sure they understand. Maybe we'll have to check out the Boardwalk when we go this time.

 

[loveysbydesign]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not there anymore????
I can't believe it! I was to WDW twice..the 1st time was in 1987 and one of my fondest memories is of that penny arcade!!! I remember my parents asking me and my brother if we wanted to spend all day in there or if we actually wanted to see the rest of WDW. I was just telling my kiddos about it the other day....having no clue that it wasn't there anymore!!! That makes me soooo sad!!!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Oh I miss the old games terribly !! My first visit to WDW was 1993, and they did have the old time arcade then. It fit in perfectly with the architecture of the buildings. My DH and I like the baseball machine the best.
This baseball machine is now located at Casey's on Main Street.

I have now had 6 annual solo vacations while my DH stayed home with our two cats. ( Hubby does not really like to travel ) When DH is not with me, I still use the baseball machine, but I play the first game *For* him, and write down the score. I'm up next, and I write the score down. At the end of the day, I make sure to call him to tell him if he won or lost. And yes, I'm always honest about it. When I was there in December the machine was NOT
working!

 

[petula]

Yes!!!!!!!!!! The penny arcade, the magic shop, and the cinema were the best start to a day! We used to stay on Main Street for ages in the morning.

 

[Twinprincesses]

Yes It was one of my favorite parts as well.

 

[o'malleyalleycat]

Wow........can you feel the heaviness in our hearts just by reading these
responses? I sure can.

Oh Yeah...the Main St ritual of Magic Shop to Arcade to across the street to
Cinema....oh how I miss that. The Cinema is easily a whole 'nother thread of discussion. One of my favorite films that I remember there is a cartoon film
starring a talking soundwave explaining to you about the sounds of musical intsruments. Anybody else remember that one?

Dustin- its almost heartbreaking that it seems you didn't get the chance to see the real arcade, it was on Main Street on upper left hand side of the street.

Loveysbydesign-oh goodness, I am so sorry to had to have been the one to break it to you, but yeah, been gone now for years..........talk about removing a central part of the Magic Kingdom's heart that kept Main Street
beating.

Goofie 4 Goofy- I AM ALMOST IN SHOCK! I was born and raised on the North Shore of Long Island! Did the Jolly Roger thing ALL the time ,although at 3
years old.....don't remember too much. How about that. Wish my Dad had taken more pictures of the game room, who'd of thought?

Claudia- yep can feel your longing in missing it too. Schenectady? Speaking of nostalgia Claudia, am I right in hearing Scenectady's always been deeply rooted in nostalgia ? That certain parts of it will remind you of yesteryear,or
have those parts of Schenectady finaly been updated as well?

Petula- yep ,cinema and magic shop too. If they only knew HOW MUCH those
things meant to all of us. Again as important as any favorite ride.

Well they do say a Dream is A Wish your Heart Makes, It can't be completely
impossible to learn maintainence for those old games, it should actually be EASIER these days to figure out new bolts and switches to get them to operate, kinda like updating an old vintage tv set or radio, and THEY DO,to
the point of having a working set.

There was more than one baseballgame, that I am sure of in addition to the one still at Casey's. One would blink lights to indicate how you scored while
another had the batter go round the bases on a track that circled the bases.

LuvthatDuke, stemikger, seashore cm, snowbunny, disney fool, equidae,
PixiePop, TCKK,twin princesses, Lylacat, glad I'm not the only one who misses it too.

 

[luvthatduke]

Snip... Wow........can you feel the heaviness in our hearts just by reading these responses? I sure can.

* Sigh *

One of my favorite films that I remember there is a cartoon film starring a talking soundwave explaining to you about the sounds of musical intsruments. Anybody else remember that one?

Oh my goodness, yes!!
Thanks for the memory!

 

[crazyj4488]

I loved seeing the penny arcade out at Disneyland while I was there. It brought back such good memories of the one in Florida beacause that's where I always remember playing the machines when I was a kid. I'm really glad Disneyland kept that part of Main Street alive for us. I think they freakin need to get rid of The VMK on Main Street. A virtual reality computer game doesn't belong on Main Street. DUH!

Just my .02 cents <---- Haha...punny.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Was the Magic shop where they had all the halloween style masks? Oh we used to beg my parents to at least try some on but we were never allow to. When I close my eyes and picture the Penny Arcade I remember that when you first walked in there was the foot massage chairs on either side of the entrance. We always used them but I don't ever remember that they helped. LOL Probably because our feet (kids feet) rarely hurt at WDW. We always on the go.

On the second floor of the train station you can still find the penny movies and the dime (I think) soccer like game. I loved Disney as a child almost as much as I do as an adult but it just seemed so much more magical back then (probably because it was seen through a child's eyes). I love at MK how you can't see any part of it from the parking area. That your first glimpse of Cindy's castle is when you are on the ferry or the monorail. How many of you love being on the monorail with other families that have never been, when the children say "Mommy, I see the castle". It brings a tear to my eye everytime.