Happy to help where I can (though sadly I do not have many photos). Main Street is great, but it has been dumbed down greatly (not as bad as in Florida however).Where the clothing shop is now, it has a small room that has baby clothes in it now. In the early years, they had a sillouette studio where they would trace your image and cut out sillouettes. It disappeared about the same time as the barber shop quartet, marching band, and police sax group :-(Main Street Motors was a real car showroom with 4 automobiles for sale, and one of the largest collections of vintage garage material. The cast members in there could tell you how the cars would work, and why they were cranked to start them with. About 1996, it became a Winnie the Pooh store, and now it is another Women's clothing store.Lily's Boutique was originally a ground floor serving room for Walt's and because of the lack of imagineering material, they had a live pianist and when I ate in there, a magician. In 1998/99 they converted it to the store, but when it first opened, they sold the fine china from Walt's, the Silver Spur, Blue Lagoon and Auberge de Cindrillon as well as other unique items like wine glasses and the ilk. Now it is dumbed down and sells the limited culinary items that WDW also sells.Cafe de Visionaire's was nothing special, just a counter service with some nice murals and great views of the castle, as well as the real flames burning on top of the fountains (man I miss those).Ribbons and Bows was a hatshop until the Millenium, and in the early years, they embroidered the hats like at Disneyland.Also some other nuggets that have disappeared from Main Street:The stamping Tigger at the Storybook Store, where he would stamp a Eurodisney Stamp on paper for you. The repainting of the Emporium so it feels less authentic. The loss of the ragtime piano player at Casey's Corner. Most of the phones that you could listen into the conversations do not seem to work anymore.There was 1 female, 1 male, and 1 baby/kids clothing store and they had unique offerings including cuff links and business dress for guys.Just don't get me started on what we have lost from Frontierland and Adventureland, it's enough to make this grown man cry.What so many disney fans do not overtly recognise is it used to be the themed experience that made the Disney parks so great. The characters were only about 4% of the equation. Now, no more.I really should write a book. Disneyland Paris was at one time the greatest Disney park on earth. Sadly, between the early economic challenges and the ignorance of fans, it is a shadow of it's former self. Still great, but not what it once was.
I knew you would reply to this, and thank you for doing so. I very much feel your pain, even if I hardly remember what everything used to be like.Tigger at the Storybook Store used to stamp things for you? That explains his existence -- it always seemed a bit random, that figure, and you wonder why there is an opening in the glass. Why did they take that out? Could they not be bothered to change the stamp to "Disneyland Paris"? (MousePlanet)And the silhouette artist/baby clothes place, are we talking the slightly complex area with the different levels near Market Street?One good thing, though; the phone at Town Square Photography still works. I only discovered it two weeks ago and thought it was a riot.
Ribbons and Bows was a hatshop until the Millenium, and in the early years, they embroidered the hats like at Disneyland....There was 1 female, 1 male, and 1 baby/kids clothing store and they had unique offerings including cuff links and business dress for guys.
