So what's Christmas-time like in The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter? Given that holiday magic is kind of different from the sort of
magic that they practice up at Hogwarts, Christmas in Hogsmeade is a somewhat
understated affair. There's a wreath on the door at Zonko's and some garland
around the top of that shop's windows.
Photo by Jim Hill
And the same sort of thing is going on at Honeydukes.
Photo by Jim Hill
But beyond a few small seasonal touches on some food …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and merch carts …
Photo by Jim Hill
… it's pretty much business as usual at The Wizarding
World of Harry Potter. Except — of course — for that ginormous construction
crane which is now looming over this side of Islands of Adventure.
Photo by Jim Hill
According the signs on the temporary construction wall
that's just been erected outside of Hogsmeade Village, "Great Things Are
On The Way."
Photo by Jim Hill
Well, I don't know about you folks. But when I'm trying to
EXPRESS myself, giant pieces of construction equipment …
Photo by Jim Hill
… tend to disrupt my TRAIN of thought.
Photo by Jim Hill
Okay. Moving on from the less-than-subtle hints … Let's
move on from Hogsmeade's wonderfully understated holiday decoration to Suess
Landing's completely-over-the-top Christmas celebration.
Photo by Jim Hill
You gotta give the Whos some credit. Because they really go
all out this time of year.
Photo by Jim Hill
I mean, even the Truffala trees were done up in snoof &
fuzzle, tringlers & trappings
Photo by Jim Hill
Of course, you can't blame the Whos for being excited. After
all, Grinchmas gets underway tomorrow.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, the highlight of this month-long celebration at
Universal's Islands of Adventure (which — to be specific here — runs from
December 1st through January 1st) is the Grinchmas Wholiday Spectacular. And
yesterday … Well, the nice folks at Universal Orlando were kind enough to
pull back the curtain a little bit. Reveal some of the behind-the-scenes effort
that goes into presenting this live stage show.
So have you ever
wondered what it takes to transform a live performer into a Who? Well, it's a
45 minute-long process that involves a lot of this stuff.
Photo by Jim Hill
But — of course — before you can get started, you first
have to pick your nose.
Photo by Jim Hill
A foam appliance nose, to be exact. One modeled after the
Who noses that make-up legend Rick Baker created while he was supervising all
of the character make-ups for that 2000 Universal Pictures release, "How
the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Copyright 2000 Universal
Pictures. All rights reserved
First the make-up artist applies some spirit gum to the
inside of this foam appliance.
Photo by Jim Hill
Then a similar amount of spirit gum is applied to the
performer's face.
Photo by Jim Hill
Then that foam Who nose is carefully lowered into place.
Photo by Jim Hill
From here on in, it's all about blending different shades of
make-up …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and then applying them to both the performer's face as
well as the foam appliance …
Photo by Jim Hill
… in an effort to make them seamlessly blend together.
Mind you, in order to make that foam Who nose look like it's a real piece of
flesh on this performer's face, some specialized tools — like an airbrush —
have to be used during the final stages of make-up application.
Photo by Jim Hill
And — of course — it would be at this delicate point in
the operation that the Grinch himself would show up …
Photo by Jim Hill
… determined to do whatever he could to distract this
make-up artist & performer …
Photo by Jim Hill
… from completing their delicate task.
Photo by Jim Hill
But in the end, the Grinch didn't win. After some last
minute touches around this performer's mouth area …
Photo by Jim Hill
… this Who was ready to hit the stage …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and then join a talented group of performers as they —
with the help of some music from Mannheim Steamroller — retold this classic
Dr. Seuss tale.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, if you're a big Who fan, the Whos won't just be
performing inside of Soundstage 20. Inbetween performances of
"Grinchmas," the Who will be out & about in Seuss Landing,
singing Who carols and interacting with Islands of Adventure visitors.
Copyright Universal
Orlando. All rights reserved
Even the Grinch will be making himself available inbetween his
live performances of this seasonal stage show. Though I can't say that I expect
the Mean One to actually behave himself …
Copyright Universal
Orlando. All rights reserved
… once he starts interacting with Universal Orlando
visitors.
Grinchmas gets underway tomorrow at Universal's Islands of
Adventure. For further information on this Wholiday Spectacular (which runs
through January 1, 2013), please click on this link.