Happy Women’s Month! March is the perfect time to celebrate some of the influential women in the world of Disney! This is the first of a pair of articles and will focus on something you can see when walking down Main Street in Disneyland. That’s right, I’m talking about the women of the windows! You may be wondering what I’m talking about, fortunately, we have a brief history lesson before we get to the ladies!
The names on the windows of Main Street are an honor bestowed on people who’ve made important contributions to the Disney company, primarily in or pertaining to the parks. According to the former head of Disney Imagineering, Marty Sklar, “To add a name [on a window] today, there are three requirements: Only on retirement; only [for] the highest level of service/respect/achievement; [and on] agreement between top individual park management and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates the design and copy concepts.” The theme of their window is usually based on their roles or interests.
Below are the four women honored on Main Street in Disneyland. There are windows for other women at the other parks, but for this article, we will focus solely on Disneyland.
- Harriet Burns (The Artisans Loft – Handmade Miniatures By Harriet Burns)- Harriet Burns was the first woman hired by WED Enterprises (the predecessor to Imagineering) in a creative role. In fact, she was one of the original three members of WED (along with Fred Joerger and Wathel Rogers). Burns was most well known for her work on miniatures of Disneyland attractions and figure-finishing. She worked on attractions such as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, The Submarine Voyage, Pirates of the Carribean, and The Haunted Mansion (we will talk about her more in next week’s article). It’s worth nothing that she was the first woman to receive a window on Main Street in 1992. You can find her window above Carriage Place Clothing Company.
- Alice Davis (Small World Costume Co. – Alice Davis – Seamstress to the Stars)- If you’ve been on It’s a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean you’ve seen some of the contributions of Alice Davis. She assisted Mary Blair in the costuming for It’s a Small World and researched and created 47 different costumes for Pirates of the Caribbean. Additionally, the systems and techniques she created and utilized in her time at WED Enterprises are still used today by Imagineers and maintenance staff at Disney parks worldwide. She received her window in 2012. It can be seen above Disneyana.
- Mary Anne Mang (Good Neighbor Foundation – “Caring and Giving Come From the Heart” – Mrs. M. A. Mang – Director)- Unlike the previous two honoree’s, Mary Anne Mang was not an Imagineer. She was the first woman to hold a manager position at Disneyland. She spent many years in sales prior to that and eventually led the public relations department. She held a strong belief that Disneyland should be a community partner and was integral in the creation of the VoluntEARS program whose mission was to “develop opportunities for Disney employees to contribute their time, expertise, and effort to make a positive impact on the community, while furthering the traditions and ideals of The Walt Disney Company.” Mang’s window is above New Century Timepieces and was awarded in 1994.
- Cicely Rigdon (Ambassador Finishing School – Cicely Rigdon – Instructor)- Have you heard of the Disney Ambassador Program? It is a program where 2 cast members are selected to represent their respective park at important events, within the community, and more. That program was created by Cicely Rigdon in 1982 after working in the park since 1957 as a ticket taker, tour guide (she helped develop and grow this department), guest relations supervisor, and eventually the “Keeper of the Keys” to Walt’s apartment. Like Mary Anne Mang, Cicely Rigdon was honored with her window above the China Closet Store in 1994.
Thank you for joining us on this journey down Main Street. Next week I’ll be exploring the topic of women responsible for some of the spookier sights of Disneyland. So stay tuned and be sure to come back for more fun with Disney history!
For more information and reading:
- Snyder, Chuck. People behind the Disney Parks: Stories of Those Honored with a Window on Main Street, U.S.A. Disney Editions, 26 Sept. 2023.
