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In case you missed part one of this tour, click
here to catch up. We ended that segment as we were about to exit the Adventureland
Suite to enter the Formal Living Room
Now all you Disney Gallery fans, this Formal Living Room used to be the entrance to the
Gallery and as I said at the beginning of the column, this is where Dream Suite
winners enter (through a door emblazoned yet another with a D). The
room is decorated in French Provincial style in a tribute to New Orleans Square
and if you look again at the Dorothea Redmond concept sketch you will see how close
they came to her original ideas when planning this room. And while it is
basically just a sitting room with a couch and a few chairs, there are a few
features worth looking at.
Do you remember the marble fireplace mantel that flanked the right wall as
you entered the Disney Gallery? It's still there. But now, rather than just a
marble mantle, it's a fireplace. Ok, it's a Disney fireplace, so that means,
it's magical. It doesn't actually burn wood, it just looks as if it's doing
that. The fireplace screen features the roof line of Sleeping Beauty Castle (and
yes, another of the many Ds). And, wait a minute, are those fireworks exploding
in that fire? Hmmm, yep, another magical moment.
On the opposite wall are two paintings acknowledging the inspiration for
Sleeping Beauty Castle, that of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, and Chateau
Chenonceau, that beautiful castle built over the river Cher in France's Loire
Valley. And right next to that is a small carrousel horse because, as our guide
Karen noted, "It all started with a horse." The horse is the reference to the
fact that Walt Disney came up with his Disneyland idea whilst watching his
daughters ride the carrousel in Griffith Park.
A couple more small pieces of note to the Formal Living Room, and then I will
tell you about the room's magic moment ... Sitting on a small round table,
flanking the couch, was a little lamp with a softly glowing shade featuring
artwork that looked to me like Maxfield Parrish, and indeed, it was as Karen
told us, specifically, it was Maxfield Parrish's Enchantment (which
appropriately is subtitled Cinderella). When the lamp is lit, the artwork is
visible, but when turned off, it takes on the appearance of a simple
creamy-white shade ... a quiet little surprise for the Dream Suite guest.
Above: Maxfield Parrish lamp
and entry hall corner.
Below: Chandelier, mechanical birds
A little louder surprise is a mirror on the wall opposite the room's entry
door. In Victorian times, reverse glass painting was very fashionable. This
technique involved painting or gilding glass on the opposite side from which it
would be seen. This room's mirror is reverse-painted with a beautiful vase of
flowers, but upon closer inspection, you notice charming little Disney critters
flitting around the flowers and flanking the vase and suddenly the stuffy old
reverse painting-thing becomes very cute.
So, I promised to tell you about the Formal Living Room's magic moment.
There's a very tall clock in the room. On the hour, it chimes. It chimes, its
face illuminates and you notice it's filled with Disney characters, and ...
there's music in the air, When You Wish Upon A Star, and the mirror over
the fireplace (not the reverse-painted one), it's got a castle in it now.
Reading this, it might seem as if that would become annoying should you be a
Dream Suite guest, but I assure you that would hardly be the case. Though it
happens every hour, it's simple, charming, sweet, and definitely magical.
So, let's press on to the last room which is meant to be the kid's room, but
I seriously doubt there's an adult out there who would not love staying there.
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