ONE MAN BAND:
A SMALL TRIBUTE TO A VERY BIG BIRTHDAY
Last updated: December 20, 2025
Sometimes the best blog posts are the ones you didn’t plan. And I’ll be honest — I didn’t realize that December 13th marked Dick Van Dyke’s 100th birthday. But the moment I found out, there was no way I could let it pass without tipping my hat to a man whose work has influenced so many lives. From physical comedy to musical timing, his influence is everywhere — even in places you might not immediately expect. That’s what led me to showcase a Mickey Mouse short this week: One Man Band.
The episode’s music-man energy instantly reminded me of Bert’s first job in Mary Poppins — the one-man street performer turning public spaces into stages and everyday passersby into an audience. That joy, created right on the pavement with nothing but talent and timing, felt like the perfect homage. And fittingly, the short pulls inspiration from some of London’s most iconic landmarks.
So consider this a birthday nod to Dick Van Dyke (even if it’s a week late), as well as a look at how animation, history, and travel all move together — very much step in time.
THE REGENT'S PARK
When we first find Mickey, he’s performing for an audience in Regent’s Park — channeling Bert in Mary Poppins perfectly.
Regent’s Park is massive, and that’s something you don’t fully understand until you’re walking it. The first time I visited, I kept thinking I’d reached the edge… only to realize there was still more park ahead of me. Wide paths, open lawns, gardens tucked into corners — it just keeps going. To put it in Disney terms, you could fit almost five Disneyland Parks inside Regent’s Park. If you’re visiting, you could easily make multiple trips and still not see it all, but a few highlights include:
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Spending time in Queen Mary’s Gardens, especially when the roses are in bloom
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Visiting ZSL London Zoo, which is actually inside the park and easy to forget until you stumble upon it (Side note: this zoo was once home to a bear named Winnipeg — “Winnie” for short — who later inspired A. A. Milne to name Winnie-the-Pooh. I’ve written more about Winnie the Pooh here.)
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Taking a stroll along the towpath of Regent’s Canal to watch the canal boats glide by
This park will also play a major role in another post coming soon (yes, 101 Dalmatians fans — this one’s for you), so be sure to check back for a deeper dive into Regent’s Park in a future post.
LORD'S CRICKET GROUND
Next, we find Mickey smack in the middle of a cricket match — and chaos ensues. And full disclosure: I haven’t been to a cricket match… yet. Which actually makes me a little sad, because one of my favorite things to do while traveling is experience sports that are new to me. Cricket, however, has managed to elude me so far.
Instead, I visited Lord’s Cricket Ground on a guided tour to get a feel for the place, knowing I’d be writing this post. As someone unfamiliar with the game, it was fascinating... and more than a little confusing. That said, I loved the experience. It felt ceremonial, precise, and steeped in tradition. Just as you would expect in England.
If you visit:
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Do the guided tour for access to areas you’d never see otherwise
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Visit the museum to understand why this place matters so much
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If you attend a match, check the schedule carefully — and pace yourself
I’m hoping to attend a match on my next trip to London, and when I do, I’ll be sure to update this post — hopefully armed with a little more knowledge about this wonderfully quirky sport.
royal exchange
This next location genuinely surprised me: the Royal Exchange.
While it’s undeniably historic and beautiful, it’s not one of London’s most recognizable tourist landmarks — which makes it an interesting choice for One Man Band. Originally opened in the 16th century, the Royal Exchange was designed as a center of commerce, a place where merchants gathered to trade goods, ideas, and news. It has burned down twice and been rebuilt multiple times, which somehow makes it feel even more impressive.
While it’s stunning both inside and out, I must confess that I didn’t spend much time there myself. I was already in that part of London visiting locations for a future post coming soon, when I decided to step inside. What I found was Fortnum & Mason and several other luxury retailers — a bit fancy for me as someone who is very much not fancy.
So after a quick look around, I headed around the corner to something equally beautiful but far more relaxed: Leadenhall Market. It felt welcoming and lived-in — perfect for wandering, grabbing a bite, and people-watching.
In the end, you really can’t go wrong — it’s less about choosing the “right” place and more about finding the spot that you’re in step with that day.
elizabeth tower (big ben)
This is one of my favorite sections of the short. As Mickey is chased through London by the Royal Guards, we suddenly hear the deep bong of Big Ben echo through the city. And no — despite what the rumors might suggest — London doesn’t actually stop for tea when the clock chimes. That said, tea is still very much a thing. It’s estimated that over 100 million cups of tea are consumed in the UK every single day. For perspective, that’s more in one day than Coca-Cola sells in an entire year at Walt Disney World — so honestly, the stereotype feels a little earned. But tea aside, let’s get back to Big Ben.
I’ve written about it twice now (check them out here and here), so this time I wanted to come at it from a different angle. Almost everyone visiting London makes their way to Big Ben, but what most people don’t realize is that there’s more than one “Ben” in the city.
Little Ben is a smaller clock tower located near Victoria Station, originally built in the late 1800s as a freestanding public clock. Like Big Ben, it’s named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the man associated with the installation of the original bell. Over the years, Little Ben has been dismantled, moved, rebuilt, and restored — a quiet counterpart to its famous sibling.
tower bridge
From there, we watch Mickey running from the guards and crossing back and forth across Tower Bridge. Since I’ve covered Tower Bridge before (in this post and this post), I wanted to focus this time on how it actually works. The bridge opens using massive bascules — sections of the roadway that lift upward like giant seesaws. Originally powered by steam, they’re now operated hydraulically, allowing the bridge to open smoothly and efficiently. Even today, Tower Bridge lifts for over 800 ships each year — and yes, you can plan around it.
If you want to see it open, the official Tower Bridge website posts a lifting schedule.
Timing your visit with a lift adds a whole new layer to the experience
In 2025, one of the most talked-about crossings was the Nao Santa María, a full-scale reconstruction of Christopher Columbus’s flagship from his 1492 voyage. I was lucky enough to be in London when it arrived and docked as a temporary attraction at St. Katharine Docks. Watching it pass beneath Tower Bridge was genuinely incredible. It felt almost like traveling back in time -- even if it did require briefly ignoring the fact that Tower Bridge wasn’t built until 1894. Time travel is funny like that.
buckingham palace
Finally, so much of One Man Band takes place at Buckingham Palace, both inside and out.
From guards at the gates to the Queen seated in the throne room, the palace serves as the ultimate backdrop — formal, regal, and absolutely gigantic. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, which puts it roughly on par with Disney’s Old Key West Resort, home to 761 rooms — except instead of Vacation Club Members wandering about, you’ve got royalty.
I’ve visited during the seasonal opening of the State Rooms, and I genuinely enjoyed the general tour. It’s self-guided, well-paced, and gives you a real sense of how the palace functions beyond the gates and guards. One of my favorite details from the tour was learning that Buckingham Palace operates almost like a small town, complete with its own post office, police station, medical facilities, and over 300 staff members working behind the scenes. It reminded me of how Disney runs its theme parks and resorts — as fully functioning, self-contained cities designed to keep the magic moving smoothly
If you're not there during the summer, you do have another option to visit, but it's much more limited. During the off season, there's a small-group guided tour offered on specific dates. I haven’t been able to snag one of those yet, but it’s firmly on my list — right alongside those famously hard-to-book Disney dining reservations.
This post started as a simple idea and became something more meaningful once I realized the date.
Dick Van Dyke has spent a century reminding us that performance doesn’t need a grand stage — sometimes it just needs a street corner, a tune, and a willingness to move. One Man Band captures that spirit beautifully, and London provides the perfect backdrop.
So here’s to 100 years of timing, heart, and movement — and to the places, animated or real, that remind us why we fell in love with storytelling in the first place. Happy (Belated) Birthday, Dick Van Dyke. You’re a true legend.
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