The Mary Poppins weathervane was never a famous movie prop. It appears in exactly two shots in the 1964 classic movie.
Both shots are around two seconds long. They exist for the sole purpose of providing a visual representation of the “winds of change.” The first is early on, signifying the wind blowing East and the arrival of Mary Poppins. Then again at the end of the movie, when the wind blows Mary away from the West. It would not surprise us if the second shot was simply the first shot played in reverse.
The Mary Poppins weathervane is not exceptionally remarkable or recognizable either. It has the standard North-South-East-West directional poles, a few curlicue iron flourishes at the top and bottom, and then the weather vane (or flag) itself: A triangular little flap on a swivel.
Yet the flag is the most Poppins thing about it. If you look closely, it resembles a telescope. This is because the weathervane sits atop the house of an old navy man. Admiral Boom seems to exist for the sole purpose of announcing the changing weather to the Banks family, who lives next door at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.
Half a century later, Disney released the sequel: Mary Poppins Returns. Admiral Boom also returns. But you know what did not return? The Mary Poppins weathervane. The filmmakers just didn’t need it. Jack gets the point across in song.
As iconic movie props go, this thing is not Indiana Jones’ whip or Wilson the volleyball. It’s not even the most iconic prop on Admiral Boom’s roof (that would be the cannon). The Mary Poppins weathervane is just a thing that appeared in a 60-year-old movie for a few seconds.
Which makes it all the more surprisingly that Disney put it in a theme park ride.
Mary Poppins in the Great Movie Ride
There’s no question that Mary Poppins is a great movie. Many consider it Walt Disney’s crowning theatrical achievement. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won 5, including Best Original Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee. Disney recreated that scene for the Great Movie Ride, the flagship attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Surprisingly, the Great Movie Ride is one of the few Mary Poppins concepts to ever make it into the theme parks. Not for lack of trying. Imagineers have floated dozens of concepts over the years. But nothing ever happened.
The fan community lost its collective mind when Disney finally announced a Mary Poppins attraction for the United Kingdom pavilion at Epcot in 2019. Disney unveiled the artwork of the Cherry Tree Lane neighborhood, with Admiral Boom’s house prominently featured.
The Mary Poppins weathervane, of course, was nowhere to be found in the concept art. Because who cares about weather vanes?
Apparently, the Imagineers of the Great Movie Ride did. The Chim Chim Cher-ee segment is mainly about Mary Poppins and Bert, who appeared in full Audio-Animatronic form off to the right side of the vehicle. A beautifully detailed London rooftop set filled the entire room, populated by the silhouettes of Bert’s chimney sweep friends. The chimney sweeps were flat cut-outs, primitively animated to sway with the music.
And on the left side of the room — the side side that nobody is looking at — we see the Mary Poppins weathervane.
Ah-hah! There is that trademark spyglass vane. The same struts, the same curlicues along the shaft, the same topper. Much like the chimney sweeps, the weathervane was not a dimensional prop. It was a static cut-out. It didn’t move. So it was not the actual prop from the movie.
Nevertheless, it is a faithful recreation. The Imagineers took care to include it for some reason, even though by 1989, when the ride opened, there were relatively few people who would recognize it as something from the movie. It was basically an easter egg, showing off Disney’s never-ending appreciation for the remarkable artistic achievements of its past.
In 2017, Disney promptly closed the most famous ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, stripped it down to the studs, trashed the elaborate sets, and replaced it with a projection-based ride through a cartoon world.
So much for the appreciation of remarkable artistic achievements.
What Happened to the Mary Poppins Weathervane?
When we say that they gutted the Great Movie Ride to make room for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, we mean it. Rooms were expanded, or shrunk down, or turned into pre-show theaters. A trackless locomotive replaced the travelling theater cars. The cast of Audio-Animatronic figures was sent to the breadlines. The ride is unrecognizable from what it once was.
But surely some trace of the Great Movie Ride remains?
Well, there is the Chinese Theatre itself. The outside is relatively intact, as is the theatre lobby containing the queue. Although, it must be noted: The vintage movie props that once appeared in the Great Movie Ride queue have vanished.
Ironically, one of these props was an actual carousel horse from Mary Poppins. It filled a prominent display case just before entering the movie theatre portion of the queue. We’re confident that Disney didn’t just trash it. The Disney Archives has their hands on it now.
The Chinese Theatre actually has a history with Mary Poppins that predates the Great Movie Ride. The movie premiered at the original Grauman’s Chinese Theatre back in 1964 in Hollywood. Even today, one of the show windows outside the Disney version at Hollywood Studios has an elaborate display of Mary Poppins memorabilia behind glass. So Disney has not completely forgotten their past.
But Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway preserved precious little from the Great Movie Ride. Granted, there are a few things of interest to Parkeologists. Topics for another day. But we are proud to say that at least one physical prop did survive.
And we really hope you’ve guessed it by now.
In the very last scene of the ride, atop the facade of a barn in Runamuck Park, way up near the dark rafters, you can see a weathervane. And if your eyes have adjusted to the low light (and you can ignore the dancing cartoon bird in the barn loft), you’ll recognize the telltale shape of a spyglass, the four spokes pointing North-South-East-West, and the hints of the curlicues still in place around the shaft.
It’s still just a cutout — now with some blacklight paint applied so you can see the outline against the black backdrop. It’s also much higher up than it was in the Great Movie Ride, so the cutout is a little more distorted than before.
Perhaps the wind is blowing West up there in the rafters, signifying that Mary Poppins has left the building. Or maybe — just maybe — it’s blowing East and Mary Poppins is coming back soon.
