Originally Posted By LindsayC http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=58479 Donna Charles who has played Disney/MGM’s Streetmosphere Cleaning Lady Rosie since the opening of the park recently suffred a stroke. There is a benefit event for Rosie at the Studios, this Friday the 11th of August, which features a Silent Auction. Many thanks to the OP on Mouseplanet for posting this information and all details of the benefit have been posted there by ‘Rosie’s’ son if anyone would like to attend. Both Lee and I send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to a very talented lady, and hope that the evening is a great success.
Originally Posted By leemac I'll echo that. Donna is one of the best streetmosphere actresses I've ever seen at the parks. I just wish I could have been there on Friday. I hope some local LP-ers will be able to turn out for the benefit. I hope it is a tremendous success. Lee
Originally Posted By hopemax Donna is a great lady. We met her on the Backstage Magic tour in 1997. Here is our trip report of our encounter. 1:30 came and on to lunch at Mama Melrose's. I had of course read about the food, and that we would be joined by one of the streetmosphere people, but nothing could prepare us for Helen and nothing could prepare Helen for us. Lunch itself was worth the $160, but I have decided that the mileage you get out of the tour is dependent on who is your guide, who is at lunch, and most importantly who are the people in your group. I would like to stay lunch started normal enough and I guess the first 5 minutes were. We were brought in through the back, were introduced to Helen, Doug invited her to lunch and we went to the two table that were set up for us. Helen sat at our table, along with Laura and her brother, the two men from Scotland and Doug started out at our table. Helen and Doug chit-chated for a couple minutes, I suppose it was to warm us up, (we didn't need warming). Basically our group struck Helen out and she lost it; we all lost it. Then Helen started asking everyone their name, when she got to me she said. "Hope is such a pretty name" and my mother said thank you. Helen was a little confused, so my mom explained that she had given it to me. My mother and I are often taken for being sisters, because she looks so young. Helen asked my mom how old she was and didn't believe her when she said she was 44, and said she had ways of telling how old someone is. She got up and started playing with my mom's hair and face looking for wrinkles and grey hairs. Helen said she did not look 44 but eventually believed she was my mother.-Strike 1 Helen went back to her seat, finished getting everyone's name and then started asking what everyone did. The first person she asked was Steve, one of the people from Scotland. He said he worked in the computer industry, and Helen went off saying how she couldn't understand them and he must be really smart. Then Laura said wait until you find out what these two do (pointing to Jason and me), they're rocket scientists. Helen stared for a moment like she didn't know what to do, then she found out that we were engaged and made us stand up and kiss.-Strike 2 Now for most of the tour, videotaping is prohibited, but during lunch it isn't so Steve and his friend pulled out their video camera. I would like to explain what their presence did at lunch, but it might turn out to be one of those "you had to be there" moments. I don't think I could do it justice, but Steve and his friend had the camera everywhere, Helen couldn't understand what they were saying through the Scottish accent and the laughing. She kept having to ask for them to repeat what they were saying and they would very slowly repeat what they were saying. Needless to say, there were moments during lunch when she had to put her napkin over her head, to compose herself, and at one point she crawled under the table to breath, and Steve's friend crawled down on the floor with the camera following her. Anyway, lunch included drinks, caeser salad, wonderful, marvelous bread (which Helen stole), lasagna, vegi pizza, cheese pizza, bowtie pasta, pasta w/ marinara. I think I had more stuff up my nose than I actually ate, but the lasagna was absolutely fabulous. We also had a desert platter. At the end of lunch, Jason pulled out his sorceror Mickey hat, and Helen said that was it and he would have to take his hat off otherwise she would die. Helen joined us on the bus, and at this point she was supposed to break character, and explain who she was and talk about her job. She couldn't do it. Everytime she tried to compose herself, she would look at all of us and start giggling. She kept telling Doug that she couldn't do it. We arrived back at the Animation Studio, and this was where she was supposed to leave us, but she still hadn't broken character. Finally she was able to tell us that her name was Donna, and that she was a streetmosphere performer, and most of the rest of the time she was thanking us profusely for playing along at lunch, and how she had the most wonderful time she had ever had, and she would never forget us. She told us how she also played Rosie the Cleaning Lady at Indiana Jones, and my family decided we would make sure we saw Rosie at Indy(more on that later). The people at the studio were getting anxious, so Donna gave anyone a big hug and kiss and we were went inside. **** A few days later we went to the Indy show, and Rosie was there. Early on, I commented to her that we had met her cousin Helen, and that she had a new boyfriend from Scotland. She laughed, and then proceeded to move about the theater. When it came time for her to do her main act, she came back to where we were and did it from the row directly behind us. The poor people who were roped into it, thought we were plants! That's one of our most favorite memories. Now that my parents live in Orlando, I think they are planning on attending the benefit. My Mom ran into her last year at the pin event, and she remembered that crazy lunch, and they talked about it a bit.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN I never found those streetmosphere characters at MGM funny in the very least. Annoying.. yes.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Boy, without the Streetmosphere characters on that main drag in Disney-MGM Studios, that entire area would have been absolutely lifeless. Streetmosphere is the only reason to even slow down on that street. I mean, unless you want to buy Walt Disney World sweatshirts and assorted plush.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>Boy, without the Streetmosphere characters on that main drag in Disney-MGM Studios, that entire area would have been absolutely lifeless.<< The problem is that the main drag has been basically taken over by the same rubberheads and faces that you see in Magic and in Epcot, and in Animal Kingdom, and in restuarant X and at hotel Y, and so on. How many times can you run into Pluto? I'm sure for some, not enough. Long gone are the days of '89 or '91 or whenever where MGM was distinguished with it's own stable of streetmosphere characters floating all around that main drag. It was easier to throw another rubberhead out there.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <The problem is that the main drag has been basically taken over by the same rubberheads and faces that you see in Magic and in Epcot, and in Animal Kingdom, and in restuarant X and at hotel Y, and so on.> Didn't know that ChiMike.
Originally Posted By ChiMike It's not black and white Jim, just trying to say that your post rang more true than you might have thought. I was in agreement... >>Streetmosphere is the only reason to even slow down on that street. I mean, unless you want to buy Walt Disney World sweatshirts and assorted plush.<<
Originally Posted By vbdad55 the street entertainment when I was there in June wasn't going to Broadway ..but my family still found it entertaining enough to stop and watch -- not sure what some are expecting...I would like to see more street entertainment if the Studios are going to get their 'atmosphere' back
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl We love the street entertainment and there was plenty of it on our last trip in Jan 06. We spent the better part of an afternoon sitting outside of the hat shop just watching shows and interacting with the street performers. A few of the performers gave our kids hula lessons...just hilarious and they still talk about it!
