There are those moment in life when you say to yourself, “This is pretty cool!” There are other moments in your life when you say to yourself, “Holy smokes! Is this really happening to me right now?”. This is the continuing story of one such event.
In part 1 and part 2 of this series, I talked about viewing rare artifacts and artwork at the Disney Archives. Later in the day, the blogger at the event and I were treated to an extraordinary opportunity to watch a special photo session with Disney animation legends and luminaries for the next edition of “Disney twenty-three,” the D23 quarterly publication. While we couldn’t photograph the actual picture that will be in published, we (plus a few folks from D23 and the family members accompanying the photo subjects) were able to get into the shot afterward and came away with this amazing shot. I made a beeline so that I could be next to Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Wendy Darling, and I wasn’t going to move for anything–even when they told us to shift over a bit to let other people in!
The photo features:
- Kathryn Beaumont, voice of Alice and of Wendy Darling
- Alice Davis, Imagineer and costume designer
- Lisa Davis, voice of Anita in “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”
- Joe Hale, animation producer
- Dickie Jones, voice of Pinocchio
- Margaret Kerry, live-action model for Tinker Bell
- Floyd Norman, animator and “story man”
- Richard Sherman, composer and lyricist
- Ruthie Thompson, supervisor of Scene Planning department (Ink & Paint)
- Tyrus Wong, background artist
After the photo was finished, we were all brought up to the second floor of the Disney Archives for a reception and opportunity to mix and mingle with the Disney legends and luminaries. Getting to visit the rarely-seen second floor of the archives and spend an afternoon with the living greats of Disney history was indeed nothing I could have ever expected when I drove onto the studio lot that day.The second floor of the archive is houses incredible treasures from throughout the company.
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| Awww…it’s Cubby! |
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| Holy Smokes! It’s those famous block from “Mary Poppins.” |
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| You know this guy from Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland! |
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| Alice Davis, Disney Imagineer and “it’s a small world” costume designer with one of her lovely creations. |
Once inside for the reception, we were able to “rub elbows” with all of those Disney legends and luminaries.
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| The piano from Walt Disney’s office. |
And then there was this… Richard Sherman stepped up to that piano and put on a show.
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| Someone please pinch me! Richard Sherman has written the music I’ve been singing along to since I was a child. I was blown away to get to hear him sing and take a picture with him. Few people impact the world with their words and music like Richard and Robert Sherman have, and I am honored to have met Mr. Sherman. |
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| Just hangin’ out with Walt and Tinker Bell…you know…what I do every day! Margaret was the model and actress who helped Disney animators bring Tink to life. |
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| I was honored to take a picture with Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Wendy (“Peter Pan) and Alice (“Alice in Wonderland:). Again, it’s one of those times when you get to meet someone who is part of your life without them knowing it. I have had to recreate her dialog from “Peter Pan” while playing with Brandon more times than I can count. Meeting her was such a thrill for me. Check out all of the cool stuff out behind us! Anyone recognize that bird? |
Although this was a media event not open to D23 members, this just goes to show how D23 is able to bring its members truly amazing experience with access to the individuals who have made Disney what it is today. If you are looking to treat yourself or a fellow Disney fan to a D23 membership or would like to learn more about D23, click here for details.
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