Emporium: the biggest shop in the park

The Emporium is the largest shop in Disneyland Park, on the left-hand corner where Town Square meets the main thoroughfare of Main Street U.S.A.

Its architecture is modelled on the department stores of small American towns in the early twentieth century: a Victorian facade, striped awnings, balconies with flowers, lit shop windows and ornate ceilings. The facade bears the date 1892, exactly a hundred years before Euro Disney opened. Four separate entrances lead into the shop: one on the corner opposite New Century Notions - Flora’s Boutique, one on the central walkway towards Sleeping Beauty Castle, one through the Liberty Arcade and a last one near Dapper Dan’s Hair Cuts, opposite the entrance to Walt’s restaurant.

Inside, the space is punctuated by decorative columns, mosaic floors, stained glass and a glass dome held up by a gilded metal frame and decorated with the names and portraits of early twentieth-century inventors: Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, Robert Fulton, George Eastman, the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Hidden Mickeys (concealed Mickey silhouettes) are tucked into the railing beneath the dome. On the ceiling, a system of little baskets running on rails recalls the days when sales staff weren’t allowed to handle money: payments whizzed off to a separate room run by the bookkeepers. Behind the tills at the back, two murals show the Emporiums of California and Florida, dated 1855 and 1871, a hundred years before Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Outside, one window reads "Elias Disney - Contractor - Est. 1895", a tribute to Walt’s father, and the upstairs windows tell you that Pongo works there as a volunteer firefighter.

The range covers most of the park’s categories: souvenirs, mugs, figurines, soft toys, stationery, Disney ears, pins, adult and children’s clothing, accessories, costumes, dolls, tableware, seasonal items and the Disney PhotoPass+ service.

The Emporium opened on 12 April 1992 with the park. The street next to it, Edison Street, is named after Thomas Edison and marks the switch from gas lamps to electric street lights along Main Street, just as at the turn of the twentieth century.

Aim for park opening or mid-afternoon: at the end of the day, it’s one of the most crowded shops in the park as everyone does their last-minute shopping.