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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Part Seven in our Series - 31 Facts About Mary Poppins You Might Not Know!

Glad to see you here again!  Are you ready for another 31 Mary Poppins Facts?  Well then, "Spit Spot"....get comfortable, and start reading!




1.)  Larri Thomas (the Beautiful Lady) wears the same hat worn by Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly in "Pollyanna" (1960).

2.)  The Sherman Brothers were delighted to discover crew members singing "Chim Chim Cheree" around the set.

3.)  Note that Mrs. Banks displays her devotion to "the cause" only when Mr. Banks is not around.

4.)  "I 'aven't done me brasses yet" refers to the polishing of the brass ware, a standard duty for a housemaid of the time.


5.)  A little practical joke caused Disney Van Dyke to re-record part of "Chim Chim Cheree."  He came in from filming the Mr. Dawes, Sr. scene.  He walked stiffly, like Mr. Dawes-but sand and clicked his heels in the air like Bert.  The musicians cracked up.

6.)  Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber were required to spend four hours each day with a tutor to keep up with their schooling.  

7.)  the London rooftop set occupied an entire stage.  The designers used photos of real London rooftops as inspiration.

8.)  The pointed gables, spires, chimneys and smoking pots are exact replicas of those seen in a birds-eye view of the city.
 
9.)  Each chimney was rigged to pour forth smoke on cue.  It took a barrage of large fans to clear the smoke between takes.   

10.)  Peter Ellensshaw painted 78 glass or "matte: paintings, helping to create the world of Mary Poppins.

11.)  Matte paintings complete the sets by filling in the part of a scene that cannot be built.

12.)  From the clouds on which we first see Mary Poppins sitting, to the vistas of the London skyline, with towering cathedrals, massive bank buildings and brilliantly atmospheric skies,  This vision of turn-of-the-century London is the brilliant work of matte painter Peter Ellenshaw.


13.)  the "smoke staircase" was covered with sponge to create the bouncy illusion of walking on smoke.

14.)  Julie Andrews and possibly Dick Van Dyke were filmed yodeling on the rooftops, but the yodels were left on the cutting room floor.

15.)  For the night scene after the smoke staircase climb, Ellenshaw used two matte paintings on glass with little holes in the paining for the "star light" to shine through.  


16.)  the dancers rehearsed "Step in Time" on a plywood rooftop set built outdoors on the Disney back lot.  

17.)  It was 95 degrees in the shade.  After 6 weeks, they went inside the air-conditioned sound stage for filming.  

18.)  Designer Tony Walton gave prim and proper Mary Poppins a spicy side by adding dashes of bright color to her linings and petticoats.


19.)  Author P.L. Travers preferred Mary Poppins skirts to cling "demurely around her ankles," of their own accord, of course.  

20.)  The "Step-in-Time" sequence took an entire week filming on the rooftop set.  This set was later re-used for a scene in the Disney TV series, "Gallagher." 

21.)  A lazy susan-like device helped Julie Andrews spin, along with a special harness to lift her into the air.

22.)  Choreographer Mark Breaux pulled open the trap doors for the dancers carefully timed drops into the chimneys.

23.)  Choreagrapher DeeDee Woods  and Marc Breaux staged all of the "Step-in-Time" dances.

24.)  Wood and Breaux were proteges of master choreographer Michael Kidd.  They had previously done choreography for TV specials for Jack Benny, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland.

25.)  Walt Disney took particular interest in this scene and came to watch dance rehearsals daily at 2pm after lunch.

26.)  Disney told the choreographers to let their imaginations go wild and use as much "wire work" as they could use in the "Step-inTime" scene.

27.)  Mary Poppins was nominated for an astonishing 13 Academy Awards.  It was the only Walt Disney film nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay or Best Performance up to that point. 


28.)  Mary Poppins won five Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Song ("Chim Chim Cheree") , Best Score, Best Editing and Best Special Visual Effects.  The Academy honored the film with a sixth award.  it was a special technical award presented to Ub Iwerks and his team for the process of combining live action and animation.

29.)  Golden Globe nominations had gone to Dick Van Dyke, the score, the film plus a win for Julie Andrews.  

30.)  When the film was finished, remarkably every crew member asked for a copy of the soundtrack.

31.)  Sales for the cast album went Gold in just 13 weeks.  It was #1 for more than 16 weeks, and a best seller for more than a year.  

Join us again at the end of September for our last round of Mary Poppins fun facts! 





Sentimental Sunday-The Last Day of Our 2012 Cruise

Well, here we are.  The last day of August.  I really can't explain where the summer has gone.  When I was a kid, it seems like summer was forever.  Hanging out with friends, playing outside til after dark.  Playing Ghost in the Graveyard, Tag, Red Light-Green Light.  Going to the local pools, vacations, aaaaaaaahhhh...those were the days.  Now, working everyday, and only having a few hours in the evening to relax, and a weekend now and again.........makes the summer pass like a speeding train, and getting older does not help either.  Time is going so quickly, I just want it to slow the heck down.

Wanting our next cruise to get here, but not wanting the time to pass too quickly.  It will be here before we know it, and then it will be over.  As of today we are 60 days away from our departure date.  Whoo hoo!  Looking back at our last cruise, as we will be again today, has been fun, and brought back so many great memories.

Today, we focus on our last full day of the cruise, which was a full day at sea.  I took advantage of some spa time, and had a facial. It was awesome, but very expensive.  The next cruise, I am going to book an appointment to get my hair done for our dinner at PALO.

Our last day at sea started out with breakfast at Cabanas.  Cabanas is located on level 11, aft on the Disney Dream.  There are colorful Nemo-themed mosaics that are absolutely beautiful!
 They have made to order breakfast and lunch selections. The food was really good for a "buffet" type location.  Dinner in this location is table service.  Cocktails may be ordered from the Clam Bar.




We just thought these were beautiful!


 That afternoon we went to play some bingo, (as DCL had given us free bingo cards as part of our celebration) and then made our way to one of the gift shops where the Captain of the ship was meeting passengers, and signing autographs.  We got a baseball hat, and had him sign it. Captain Henry was a very nice man!



We got back to our stateroom, and found a note attached to our fish clip.  The note read, 
"Please come to the Vista Gallery at 4pm for a surprise." 
So, we went.  I know many of you are familiar with the story, as I have posted it here before.  Please be patient as I cover it briefly here once again for those who don't know about what happened.

We get to the gallery as instructed, and walked up to the cast member who was at the desk.  We showed her the note, and she smiled, and said, "please go into the gallery and someone will be with you in just a few minutes."  We did as she asked.  Just as we were about the say to each other "what the heck is going on I wonder?", several cast member were blocking the entry into the area that we were standing in.  The wonderment was getting even bigger at this point..........then we got our surprise.  

Low and behold, a door opens up, and out walks Captain Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy and Donald and Chip and Dale!  To say we were speechless is an understatement.  The young lady who left us the note said to us, "we wanted to let you know how happy we are for you and your victory over cancer.  We are happy you chose to celebrate this wonderful occasion aboard a Disney cruise ship."   Tears were streaming down my face, and Paul's too.
 Talk about making two people feel really special, it's still almost (2 years later) like a dream!  



Pluto was the only character on the ship that we had yet to connect with to get a picture, so we had to take advantage of this one!

After the shock started to wear off, we walked around the ship taking pictures.  Here I am on my royal throne!




More mosaic work here, just gorgeous!  


On our way to dinner, we ran into someone special.........
 He was teaching us how to fly!
Dinner was in Enchanted Garden tonight.........very pretty place!!


Desserts are always wonderful!  These did not let us down!









This was Paul's Bananas Foster Sundae!  Yumm!




That evening after dinner, we went lounge hopping.



 We hit Pink, and District Lounge




PINK is so awesome looking with it's champagne theme!!






Bubbles.......... in glass!







Here is Paul at District Lounge






This was a cool place as well!










When we got back to our stateroom for the last time to sleep there, this was waiting on our bed for us.


Paul being a "phone guy," we had to take a picture of the phone in the stateroom.  He was so excited because it had his name on it! 

We hope you have enjoyed reminiscing about our last cruise as much as we have!  We look forward to sharing our next adventure with you when we return!!  Look for that starting mid-November!

Friday, August 29, 2014

FOODIE FRIDAY!

This week on FOODIE FRIDAY we take a look at one of the dessert items from 50's Prime Time Cafe at Disney's Hollywood Studios. 

Here is a picture of the menu where the item is featured. 



And that item, is the "S'mores"!    Don't they just look yummy?? 


Now that I have your mouth watering, and your taste-buds screaming out for this.............join us again next week as we feature another yummy food item from Walt Disney World!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Throwback Thursday!

TBT on this page always pertains to some picture from a trip to Walt Disney World, or Disneyland, or a Disney cruise.  
This week, I look back to 2012 and our visit to Animal Kingdom, and our Wild Africa Trek.

We hold such fond memories of this tour, and will remember it always.  

This was our group, getting a little silly first thing in the morning with one of our guides, Amanda.  She was great!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Walt Disney World Picture of the day! It's a beauty!

Today's ‪‎Disney‬ Picture from the Parks

We travel over to EPCOT to the Canadian Pavilion to visit the Victoria Gardens.
  from Moments of the Magic by Joe Diebold

Mary Poppins made its debut on August 27, 1964


Dick Van Dyke (as Bert) and Julie Andrews (as Mary Poppins). (Photo: Walt Disney Pictures/Photofest)
Dick Van Dyke (as Bert) and Julie Andrews (as Mary Poppins). (Photo: Walt Disney Pictures/Photofest)
Disney's live-action and animation masterpiece Mary Poppins made its debut on August 27, 1964. But behind the whimsical, celebratory storyline, the road to getting the film off the ground was a bumpy one. In fact it almost didn't happen. Walt Disney had pursued Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers for years trying to obtain film rights to her stories. She finally relented, but their relationship was so contentious that when the premiere was scheduled, Travers had to request a ticket. Disney obliged. Although the film brought Disney great success and Travers wealth, she never lost her feeling of disdain for the adaptation of her work. Their prickly relationship was the subject of 2013's film Saving Mr. Banks.
'Mary Poppins' (Walt Disney Pictures/Photofest)
'Mary Poppins' (Walt Disney Pictures/Photofest)
Although the reluctant author was never quite pleased, there is no doubt the film—even 50 years later—was the proverbial feather in Disney's cap. Julie Andrews made her film debut and won an Academy Award for her role as the magical nanny; she co-starred opposite of Dick Van Dyke who played Bert, her friend and partner in shenanigans.

This article was on the bio.com website this morning!  Happy Birthday to the Mary Poppins movie!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY!


Sunday, August 24, 2014

Sentimental Sunday- Part II of Our Day on Castaway Cay

Wow, here we are getting towards the end of August already.  Where, oh where has this summer gone??

Moving too fast for us, that is for sure!  However that being said, we are just that much closer to the time for our next cruise.  At this date, we are only 68 days away!  


Looking back at our last cruise has been so fun, and we still have a couple days to cover, but  today we talk about the second half of our day on Castaway Cay, and that evening on the ship.

Here we are ate Mt. Rustmore.  It's a great photo-op area and so fun to get pictures here.  






Here is Paul with his favorite character, Donald!





I love Donald too!





Here are the fab 4 in all their "rusty-ous" splendor!



















After we headed back to the ship from our wonderful time on the Cay, it was "Pirate Night" on board.  

We dressed up as we did at Walt Disney World for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in our Pirate costumes.  This was a fun night.  

               Our bartender friend at the Bon Voyage Bar was in character as well!  He was a lot of fun! 
Here we are with our Rum Runners!  If you are dressed as a Pirate, you have to drink something with Rum in it, right?????

  After she narrowly escaped the clutches of Captain Hook, we came to the rescue of the lovely Tinker Bell!








She is to tiny!!

             Here we are with that crazy experiment gone wild, STITCH!  Even more crazy as a pirate!




Now it's time for the fun time of the evening!
The "Pirates IN the Caribbean" deck party!


















After the Pirate party, it was time for dinner at Animator's Palate.  This was such a cool dining location!  All the drawings, and the "props" all over.  The food was ok.  I didn't really enjoy my food that night.  In hind-site I know that I should have asked for something else, but I don't like to complain about stuff like that....but now I know that I could have gotten anything else I wanted.






The coolest butter knife ever!!  


 My dinner 













Paul's dinner




Dessert was the best part!!






Loved the "Hidden Mickey's" all over the carpet!






















The drawings all over were so awesome to look at!

After dinner we headed out for the Fireworks at Sea!  On our way out, we ran across some real scallywags!  Captain Hook and Mr. Smee!  Captain Hook was trying to talk us into joining his crew!







Never thought I would see, fireworks in the middle of the ocean!








this crazy guy was hanging around in our stateroom, and waiting for us to return.  

This was a great day, but a long one.  Time to hit the sack!


Please join us again next Sunday as we experience our last full day on the ship.  See you then!