"A Jolly Holiday" Attraction Concept
Lilly Concept by Lilly
Imagine. You are walking down the lane on the streets of England in EPCOTʼs World Showcase. As you pass where the British Invasion plays on your left, straight ahead is the beginning of a queue for A Jolly Holiday.
England continues as you walk inside a building where the queue continues, you turn a corner and realize you are on Cherry Tree Lane. You walk by Admiral Boomʼs house where an animatronic Admiral Boom and Mr. Binnacle are washing windows or getting ready for cannons on the hour. He shouts things like “Time Gun ready?” or shouts to guests in the queue things like “Good afternoon to you, young man. Where are you bound?” and “A word of advice, young man. Storm signals are up at number 17. Bit of heavy weather brewing there.”
And sure enough when as you walk by number 17 on Cherry Tree Lane, you can hear Ellen and Mrs. Brill shouting at each other at the top of their lungs.
Then on your right you notice some chalk drawings. They are Burtʼs drawings from the film. As you turn the corner into a new room you see the exact same chalk drawings now talking up an entire wall, except you can walk through the center one–the one of the English countryside.
As you walk into the next room you find yourself inside the chalk drawing. It is colorful and the walls have projections of flowers turning into butterflies. You walk over a white bridge that goes over a little stream. Then you come to a door. The door opens and a gentlemen or lady costumed as an attendant at the country fair, usher just the right amount of people into a loading room.
In the loading room is a carrousel of horses and benches (for wheelchair/people who donʼt want to ride a horse). Everyone loads and the carrousel begins to turn. All the horses go up and down.
A wall opens and there are animatronics of Burt and Mary Poppins on their carrousel horses. Bert says, “Very nice. Very nice, indeed, if you don't wanna go nowhere.” Mary replies “Who says we're not going anywhere? Oh, guard!”
At that moment a window on either side of the guard opens up and the guard says “Righto, Mary Poppins.”
Then another wall opens and reveals a passage way and the horses and benches leave the carrousel and travel through the scenes from the chalk drawing sequence in the film starting with a fox hunt, then the horserace, then Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Mary, Bert, Jane and Michael of course make appearances throughout the adventure. At the end of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, it begins to rain and the chalk begins to run and wash away. You turn a corner and find yourself back in England where you dismount your horses and exit the attraction. The exit would dump you right into the character meet and greet that already exists for Mary Poppins and you would be able to meet with Mary–who off course denies everything and doesnʼt know what youʼre talking about. (We would kick Pooh and friends out of the Mary Poppins room along with Alice, how did they get into Mary Poppinsʼ story anyway?)
The best part of the attraction will be that the carrousel horses continue to move up and down throughout the adventure. As a concept of how to make that happen, I shot this footage of a baggage claim.
[Footage coming soon]
You would create large floor pieces that look like this and each piece would have a horse or a bench. It would be similar to Ellen's Energy Adventure. Then a bar at the top that goes throughout the attraction would turn the top of the pole and help the horse go up and down just like a real carrousel.
The show building would be as shown in the above illustration. Where the World Show Place now sits. This building was originally built for the millennium as the Millennium Village. but now has turned into a building used for the Food and Wine Festival and other special events. I think A Jolly Holiday will be a much better use of space.
Reader Comments (16)
I always thought the World Showcase could use more attractions. But attractions that are not in-your-face, jumping out at you. The existing attractions are tucked away nicely and that's how it should be in WS. I like that this concept is that way as well. An entrance and queue not seen at first glance. A show building completely unseen, hidden behind the already beautiful pavilion.
Great work, Lilly!
The other logical place for a Poppins ride would be Fantasyland. However I do like the idea of putting it in England. I can be done in a classy way that does nothing to take away from the world showcase, but enhance it in the right way.
That World Showplace is a joke. Why a big inflatable tent?? The last thing that should exist at Disney, let alone Epcot, let alone The World Showcase. It was 'temporary' (we've heard that one before) for the Millennium Celebration, right? The Millennium Village it was called. I agree, Lilly, a Mary Poppins ride, if done tastefully, would be much better.
Is this concept related in anyway to Tony's Mary Poppins attraction? Kinda sounds like it . . . Just curious if this is a recycled idea or someone thinks this is actually an original concept?
Wasn't Tony's concept more of a traditional Fantasyland dark ride with similarities to Peter Pan's Flight? I think Lilly's concept is new in the way this story is being presented.
I'm glad we have so many knowledgeable Disney Nerds among us! Yes there have actually been several Mary Poppins attractions penned by Imagineers. Tony Baxter developed an idea for a Mary Poppins-themed attraction as a course project while he was working at the Submarine Voyage (before he was an Imagineer) and he got it circulating among Imagineers which drew their attention toward him. One of my co-writers on this blog actually was able to see another completely developed Mary Poppins-themed attraction after it was shelved. I haven't seen another concept similar to this one yet. I've also read some other Mary Poppins-themed attractions out there on the web. Here's a fun one, take a look!
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=2053
I know you all have great ideas yourselves! Send them to us!!!
A practically perfect idea! I have also had an idea of putting a Poppins actration in Epcot, but instead a nighttime show on "the rooftops of London" featuring elements from "Step in Time".
I have been waiting for a Mary Poppins attraction!! This sounds just magical. Tells a nice story, while experiencing the streets of London, as if your walking through the movies sets yourself. You should think about putting in the interior space of the Bank's house. I love the 'cleaning the room scene', where the drawers and cupboards are opening, and they are singing "A Spoonful of Sugar", and snapping, while Mary is unpacking.
Emma: I have definitely thrown around the idea of a Mary Poppins show. I would love to start it out with Bert's one man band routine and then Mary flies in. Then, of course, later chimney sweeps pop up out of no where on roof tops and roll out of shops and we end with Step in Time. Love it!
Danielle: I will definitely think about the idea of going inside the banks house. Maybe that could happen during the queue, perhaps just in time for "posts everyone!" and then the queue can go up through the nursery where toys put themselves away whenever people snap. That would be fun, but we'd have to make it very life-like. Hmm, definitely some great thoughts to go off. Thanks for sharing.
I was surprised to come upon this article while looking through the imagineer blog. I was with WED at Disney World in the early 70's when the park was still 'new'. I was the youngest member of the group with the least seniority, so my comments usually were discarded or ignored. I became friends with the members of the character dept and redesigned the 'Zoo' for them as a thank you for letting me dress as Pluto often. One of the zoo members and I used to sit down below in the cafeteria sketching out ideas for redoing Mr Toads Wild Ride and turning it into a 'Marry Poppins Ride' Our idea had you sitting in an upsidown umbrella with a talking parrot narrating the ride. To see this at this time put a smile on my face. Thanks for putting some 'Pixie Dust ' on my shoulder.
Marc: Ah yes, the "Zoo." I have spent lots of time there! Many "friends of characters" thank you.
I'd love to see some of your sketches if you still have any. Email them to us if you do!
Lilly: Brilliant! I loved that bit in the movie at the very end of the song when they run through the streets and two of them lock arms with the constable and start kicking! I would love to see that in the show if the constable starts dancing along lol.
i also looked at Epcot using the 3d option on google earth and noticed there arent't that many flat spots on the roofs. I would like for the show to be accesible from all areas of the England pavillion: garden, streets.
Wouldn't it be amazing to stand in the streets and have all the dancers on the rooftops around you? I also thought maybe one dancer could fly across the street over the heads of the guests on a zipline(disguised as a clothes line.) from building to building. BUT the music MUST be orchestrated, NOT synthesyzed. maybe use the original score!
Emma: And original choreography by Dee Dee Wood and Marc Breaux!
I love that idea! I would go on it!
Thumbs up. :D
This would be one of my favorite rides at EPCOT! Brilliant pacing and sense of flow, from your description.