Pack your bottomless carpet bag ’cause it’ll be a jolly ‘oliday with Mary, Bert & the Banks kids at Walt Disney World where Disney Parks’ first-ever attraction themed around Mary Poppins will open soon.
The Mary Poppins attraction was revealed at the D23 Expo in Anaheim over the weekend (the same place the Disney-themed Cirque du Soleil show was announced), and will be part of a whole new neighbourhood inside Walt Disney World’s Epcot, along the United Kingdom Pavilion.
Some 40 Australian Travel Agents were there to hear the news first-hand as part of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Mega-Fam from Disney Parks’ Chairman Bob Chapek AND Mary Poppins’ very own Dick van Dyke.
That’s right, Dick van Dyke was there!
Read on for more of the chim chim cher-ee details they learned:
STEP IN TIME, WHAT’LL THE ATTRACTION BE LIKE?
Disney Parks’ Chairman Bob Chapek couldn’t reveal much and stressed that more details would be revealed as the project develops.
HOWEVER, he did say that the attraction will make visitors feel as though they’re stepping into the movie and onto Cherry Tree Lane.
“They’ll step down Cherry Tree Lane, go past Admiral Boom’s home and then enter number 17, the home of the Banks family. That’s where the adventure begins.”
Bob Chapek, Disney Parks Chairman
“You’re going to love stepping into this magical world for the first time,” he added.
WHAT DOES DICK THINK?
Equally as excited about the announcement, Dick van Dyke believes it’ll have the same magic as the movie.
“The story was great, the music the guys wrote I’ll never forget, nor the dancing numbers,” he said to the audience. “But you know what I think made it, Uncle Walt.”
“Walt was a creative genius who looked at the world through a child’s eyes and he’s come on the set every day and try to bring out that sense of wonder.”
Dick van Dyke
WHAT ELSE IS COMING TO EPCOT?
SO MUCH, it’s going to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Keep an eye on KARRYON for complete details of Epcot’s makeover, but joining the Mary Poppins attraction in World Showcase’s French Pavilion will be Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – an adventure inspired by the popular movie Ratatouille.
Visitors will be shrunk down to the size of the ‘culinary King of Paris’ and join him on a wild adventure through Gusteau’s kitchen.
The attraction will open in the US summer of 2020.
To complement the French ride will be La Creperie de Paris, a restaurant service French favourites through both table and quick service options.
OH, and there’ll be a Beauty & the Beast sing-along feature film coming to the Pavilion where “everyone will be able to sing along to their favourite songs while enjoying the comedic twist on a tale as old as time”. The film will debut in January 2020.