Previously unreleased concept art shows more of the delayed Mary Poppins ride planned for EPCOT at Walt Disney World

Mar 22, 2023 in "United Kingdom (Pavilion)"

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Gallery / 3 Photos
Unreleased Mary Poppins ride system concept art

Posted: Wednesday March 22, 2023 8:50am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A former Walt Disney Imagineer has posted concept art for the postponed Mary Poppins ride that was previously announced for EPCOT.

Unreleased Mary Poppins ride system concept art

The new art shows an overhead plan view of the attraction, including the preshow area, the ride system, and the exit.

Unreleased Mary Poppins ride system concept art

As speculated at the time of the ride's announcement, the ride is a teacup-style spinning flat ride, taking place in a show building with decorated backgrounds.

Unreleased Mary Poppins ride system concept art

Announced at the 2019 D23 EXPO, the expansion to the United Kingdom pavilion was to add an entirely new neighborhood at the pavilion, complete with a ride. In the plans, guests would step in time down Cherry Tree Lane past Admiral Boom's house, then enter Number 17, home of the Banks family, where their adventure would begin.

Disney officially announced that the United Kingdom Pavilion expansion was paused in July 2020 as the park reopened from the COVID-19 shutdown. In addition to pausing Mary Poppins, Disney also put a halt to the Spaceship Earth update.

Mary Poppins attraction poster and concept art

The last official comment on the Mary Poppins ride for EPCOT came from then Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who said in response to a question at the 2022 Shareholder Meeting, that the project is in a holding pattern currently, but looks forward to refunding the Mary Poppins ride in the future.

A lot has changed at Disney since then, and it remains to be seen if the Mary Poppins expansion at the United Kingdom pavilion in EPCOT will be built.

Mary Poppins attraction poster and concept art

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HauntedMansionFLAApr 14, 2023

Yes! That’s a good chunk of land that you could do a lot with😉

James AlucobondApr 14, 2023

Let us all continue to pray for its deletion when World Celebration opens.

lazyboy97oApr 14, 2023

It’s old, baseless supposition paraded about as fact because most people don’t know how to go about questioning it. Yes, regulations have changed that might not allow exact 1:1 duplication but to this day small dark rides are built in the US. A good example is the dark rides at LEGO Discovery Centers.

HauntedMansionFLAApr 13, 2023

Just look at all of the space WorldShowPlace takes up….

James AlucobondApr 13, 2023

I thought the question was whether or not they could cluster multiple small rides together in a similarly tight configuration, not whether they could generally construct a small ride. Though again, would be nice to know if the poster in question is speaking from a place of authority or supposition.

Timothy_QApr 13, 2023

Universal Hollywood just built a super charming Secret Life of Pets dark ride that's a third of the footprint of Ratatouille. I'm sure the health and safety codes have changed over the decades, but saying that's the reason Disney can't manage space well anymore is silly

James AlucobondApr 13, 2023

It's not difficult to discern the implication. @J4546 means that things like the fire code, standards for ADA compliance, etc. have evolved over time, and what was acceptable when the original Fantasyland rides were built may no longer be kosher for new builds. Older structures that met the standards of their time are often grandfathered in. That said, I have no idea if what was said is actually true and to what extent codes have changed, but the thrust of the argument is pretty simple.

DonniePeverleyApr 13, 2023

Eh ?

bpiperApr 13, 2023

What laws are you referring to?

J4546Apr 13, 2023

its not that disney doesnt know how to build classic fantasyland style rides, its that laws wont let them. DIsney could never build the rides in fantasyland as they are today

DonniePeverleyApr 13, 2023

Timothy_QApr 13, 2023

Just wanted to check again how much space they have in the UK, and it's bigger than the show building+queue of Rat You could also fit like 3 classic fantasyland rides, if they still knew how to properly utilize small spaces

yensidtlaw1969Mar 25, 2023

If you're referring to that big "spaaaunch" noise the teacups make as they begin to come to a stop, that's not an inherent noise and the other Mad Tea Partys around the world do not make them. In fact, I recall a time where even the WDW version did not make that noise. The first time I heard it I assumed something had gone quite wrong and that it would be fixed by my next visit. But years later, here we are . . .