What would you build part 2

[sandie]

We need a Mary Poppins attraction - what will it be?

[KeithS]

That's easy - I have it all in my head.

It begins as a little sedate ride - something like the Pooh ride in DL.

You pass through a couple of nice sets showing family life in the early 1900's and the arrival of Mary Poppins - and snatches of various songs.

But then you get to that penguin scene, and hidden guns pop up into your ride vehicle - you can then open fire on the penguins (which naturally explode in bursts of feathers - no blood, this is Disney afterall). Once you've destroyed the penguins, the walls of the set are torn apart by giant walking robots with laser beams for eyes. They begin blasting at your ride vehicle and pieces actually come off it. Also, there is a heater in the vehicle, so it begins to feel like it is on fire. You get to shoot back at them (obviously...).

(and now comes the cool bit) Using a new panel that also opens up on your ride vehicle, you can call in an airstrike to defeat the evil robot warlords. Helicopters come streaking in to the next set (the robots are chasing you from set to set) and they destroy the robots in exciting balls of flaming and screaming molten metal parts. Oh yeah, each set sort of looks like period London (this is a Mary Poppins ride.)

Eventually, after defeating the manic penguins and robot warlords with the laser beam eyes (and lots of other baddies I failed to describe here), you return to the bedroom of the kids, and realise it was all just a story being read to you by Mary, and everyone lives happily ever after. The End.

[ajp]

I had all intentions of describing a nice dark ride similar to Toad or even Peter Pan where we rode through the park, fed the birds, danced with chimney sweeps and raced in the horserace ....

But Keith's is so much more exciting!

[mushu mama]

Oh... my.... gosh.....

poor penguins....

I might have to come up with something to lift this out of X-box territory....

stay tuned.

Lisa. -/

[KeithS]

But Keith's is so much more exciting!

In hindsight, I think I may have gone a bit over the top. Maybe I should cut out those early scenes of life in London and just begin with the penguin sequence

Sorry to everyone who was going to provide details of a normal Mary Poppins ride - please go ahead anyway and ignore my moment of lunchtime inspired insanity!

[mushu mama]

Maybe I should cut out those early scenes of life in London and just begin with the penguin sequence

Oh thank goodness... thats so much better.

actually, that was pretty funny . I'll post my version of the MP attraction later today.

Lisa. -/

[mushu mama]

OK, so interestingly, when I saw that we were doing Mary Poppins, my first thought wasn't a wild shoot em up ride.... The first thing I thought was civility, spotted dick and basically thinking of England.

No... seriously, I was seeing Mary Poppins as a good theme for a restaurant experience... not unlike the Golden Horseshoe... Dinner and a show kind of thing - only this is afternoon tea and a show. There are two morning tea shows and two afternoon tea shows. Bookings are essential.
The Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious experience. ( and I have no idea if I spelled that right but you know what I'm getting at )

So you walk down a turn of the century London street, dark coloured masonry, dingy pavement, boring trees... then you reach the entrance of 17 Cherry Tree Lane to be greeted by a chimney sweep who welcomes you in his best cockney accent - and you can't see past the foyer - there are a series of rather large 'chalk' pictures that you must step on to enter. But they're digital... and they kind of 'poof' you into a whole new space with the aid of some shots of smoke from the floor that you walk through as the partition that obstructed your view slides apart in the middle, allowing you into a bright, airy and massively round room. This room is like the scene in the movie that is cartoon. Bright, airy but all white. There are huge green willow trees that have table settings underneath where your party are seated. Elsewhere in the room, there are settings that have you seated on carousel horses and the tables are such that the horses heads are under the glass of the table so you are at the right height and distance from the table to eat with comfort. Your view of the walls are unobstructed. But the walls and floor, at this stage are white. When all the punters are seated, a rousing chorus of supercalifragelisticexpialidocious surrounds you and in stream your waiters... you guessed it... dressed in tuxedos ( not unlike a penguin - no machine guns please Keith ) . You are served drinks and then out of nowhere dances Mary herself in her gorgeous diaphanous white and red ensemble, singing and dancing her way around the tables meeting and greeting. While that is happening, the walls and floor take on a cinema like transformation where there are willows that sway in the breeze, singing and dancing animals and lots of songs and scenes from the movie being screened on the walls that appear to be alive. Under the carousel horses, you are traveling over the dirt road or water and the willow trees suddenly have grass and little woodland animals poncing about your feet.
The Lovely afternoon tea trolley is wheeled around by those penguin waiters, offering you such delights as 'spoonfuls of sugar' (lovely tiny donuts rolled in icing sugar); Mary Pop 'ins ( like tiny popovers); Superlative tiny scones and strawberry/raspberry jam goes without saying; spotted dick; tiny club sandwiches ( and god knows, there'd be some of that ubiquitous watercress in there somewhere ) and tiny custard and jam tarts, to name but a few of the delicacies on offer. Everything is finger food sized so that its easy to consume. Oh... and the piece de resistance... the Supercal -dotious (abbreviated just to save my typing finger) is a wonderful chocolate confection that defys description suffice to say, it involves dripping molten chocolate, mud cake, ganash, little chocolate butterflies made from multi coloured chocolate that are 'floating' above the plate having been set on tiny wires that are poked into the top of the cake, toffee lacework and your own tiny bottle of squirt on cream.... sigh....
And naturally, there are dozens of types of tea on offer - which would be a shock for anyone more used to a billion versions of coffee and only one very ordinary type of tea.
During all this, Mary and Bert make their way around the seating places for photos and autographs. But sadly, when the show comes to a close, you are reminded that "enough is as good as a feast" and dawdling patrons are hustled out with a cheerful spit spot... theres much to do today in Disneyland".... You exit with a full tummy and a cheery disposition and ready to play nice straight into the Mary Poppins shop selling pins, little pots of jam,prepackaged spotted dick, chalk and boards, umbrellas with birds for handles, carpet bags,'vote for women' sashes and buttons, toilet brushes that look for all the world like a chimney sweeps brush and delightful mini Mary dresses amongst other treasures.

Now... who wanted the Earl Grey?

Lisa.

[sandie]

I vote for Lisa's you guys are too testosterone laden for my theme park!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sandie