Look up at the rooftops on Main Street and count the stars. Most of those flags are props with the wrong number, and there are two different explanations for why.
Next time you’re walking toward Cinderella Castle, glance up at the flags on the rooftops. Then try counting the stars.
Most of the American flags flying above Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland aren’t official U.S. flags, per several Disney history sources. They’re decorative props, missing stars or stripes on purpose.
Only one flag on Main Street is the real thing. It’s the big one on the pole in Town Square.
How many stars are on the Main Street flags?
It depends on who’s counting, and where.
Disney-History.com says the Main Street flags carry 45 stars, arranged in the same pattern as the U.S. flag flown from July 4, 1896, to July 3, 1908. That’s the era Main Street is built to look like, the turn of the 20th century, when there were 45 states.
The Disney Food Blog describes the rooftop flags more broadly as missing stars and/or stripes, so they don’t match any official flag at all.
Either way, they’re not today’s 50-star flag.
Why doesn’t Disney fly real American flags on Main Street?
There are two explanations, and both could be true.
The first is flag code. Under U.S. flag etiquette, a flag flown around the clock should be properly lit at night. Otherwise it’s raised in the morning and lowered in the evening. Disney would have to light dozens of rooftop flags during nighttime shows, when it’s trying to keep Main Street dark, or send Cast Members up to take them down every night. Making the flags unofficial sidesteps the whole issue, per the Disney Food Blog.
The second is storytelling. Disney-History.com argues the flags are meant to be period-accurate, a detail that matches Main Street’s setting. It points out that other parts of Magic Kingdom, like Liberty Square and Frontierland, also fly flags with star counts that fit their own time periods.
Is the flag in Town Square a real American flag?
Yes. The flag on the main flagpole in Town Square is an official U.S. flag, per the Disney Food Blog, and it’s handled by the rules.
Cast Members raise it every morning and lower it every evening in the Flag Retreat ceremony. Security Cast Members kept doing it even when the park was closed, per DFB.
At Magic Kingdom, the Flag Retreat usually happens in the late afternoon in Town Square, and Disney often invites a veteran guest to help. It’s one of the quietest, most moving things you can see in the park, and a lot of guests walk right past it.
Are there other hidden details on Main Street, U.S.A.?
Plenty. The windows along Main Street carry the names of Imagineers, executives and Disney legends, styled like business signs from the era. It’s Disney’s version of movie credits.
The flags fit that same idea. Main Street is a stage set of an idealized small town, and almost everything on it is designed to look period-right from where guests stand, including the details most people never look up to see.
Where can you see the Flag Retreat at Magic Kingdom?
In Town Square, near the train station, at the base of the main flagpole. Check the My Disney Experience app or the park’s daily times guide for the exact time, since it shifts with the season and park hours.
Arrive a few minutes early to get a spot. Then, once the real flag comes down, look up at the rooftops. Now you’ll know which ones to count.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney-History.com, the 45-star period flags and star counts in other lands
Disney Food Blog (March 28, 2021), the flag code explanation, the Town Square flag and Flag Retreat
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