On Saturday, May 9, D23 Members and guests gathered in Burbank for a “swingin’ time” at The Parent Trap Party at Camp Inch.
The Disney Studio lot—where much of The Parent Trap was filmed—transformed into Camp Inch, where Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers (both played by Hayley Mills) fatefully met and decided to switch places on their parents.
To start the day, D23 Members had the opportunity to shop at the Disney Studio Store and a Mickey’s of Glendale pop-up shop—offering exclusive Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise—until it was time to gather in the historic Main Theatre to experience the 1961 classic on the big screen.
After the screening, Disney artist and historian Stacia Martin dusted off the turntable to share some delightfully rare audio treasures from the film’s production. The Parent Trap expert revealed that the film’s title actually was decided upon late in the game, sharing a few of the proposed names, like “We Belong Together,” “A Switch in Time,” and even “Hocus Pocus”(!).
Disney historian and award-winning producer Les Perkins then took the stage to reveal the special processes that helped Hayley Mills appear alongside herself in the film—technical achievements which led the way to classics like Mary Poppins. Audiences particularly enjoyed director David Swift’s personal home movies, which showed his futile attempts to get dozens of young Camp Inch members to march together in time at the Big Bear shooting location.
Susan Henning, who played Hayley Mills’ double in the film, made a special appearance to share personal memories from the film’s production. The actress admitted that she and Hayley Mills even switched places with each other off the set, tricking Ms. Mills’ own mother during a visit to the Studio!
After the historical presentations, guests were dismissed to camp, where D23 Members and presenters mingled over a hot dog cookout lunch and s’mores station.
As part of the event experience, each guest received a special Camp Inch patch and commemorative flipbook, featuring a stop-motion animated scene from the film’s title sequence. A special display by the Walt Disney Archives even exhibited some of the original puppets created by X Atencio, Bill Justice, and T. Hee!
