PDA

View Full Version : Character Meets



Pages : [1] 2 3 4

adriennek
02-08-2006, 08:08 PM
Tonight at Disneyland, Mickey was greeting friends on Main Street. With three boys 7 and under and one developmentally 4-year-old girl, we got in line. After a few minutes, the character hostess told us that Mickey would be leaving in a few minutes and we 'might not' get to see him.

We asked where the line would be cut off.

Her answer was, "I don't know, it depends on how long it takes the people in front of you to get through."

That sucks. It just flat out does.

Our unique personal issues aside I think it's crappy to let people get in line and then make this announcement. At some point, the character hosts should have a little 'end of the line' token or they should stand at the end of the line or SOMETHING and just say, "After this person sees Mickey, he needs to leave for a break."

I think it's crappy to string children along like that and to force people into gambling with their children's emotions.

:mad:

Adrienne

Mermaid
02-08-2006, 08:13 PM
I agree! When I was there in Sept, we ate lunch near Jessie and Woody. The handler stood at the end of the line and said, "this is the end." People were getting upset but at least it was clear and fair. He didn't let anyone get in line behind him. I'm sorry that they did that. It sucks!

MsYumiBr
02-08-2006, 08:17 PM
I agree. There are many times where we stood in line and the character had to leave. That is one of the reasons why we stopped doing that. In the character's defense, the costumes are hot and the time limit protects the safety of their health. I would suggest next time, never get in line for a character unless you see them arrive, people start to line up and there are no more than 8 people in front of you. That cuts down on the disappointment factor. My kids learned early mom doesn't stop for autographs but will take them to one character meal to get their visiting time in.

socaltexan02
02-08-2006, 08:19 PM
That is too bad. Especially for the kids who don't really get it and just want to see the Mouse!

I will say, that I have seen (on several occasions) the CMs who "handle" the Princesses give the cut off at the end of the line...so no kids are in that position to wait in line and then be denied a chance to meet/greet. I think the line control for the Princesses around the castle seems a bit more organized than the character greetings on Main Street.

ILovePoker
02-08-2006, 08:19 PM
I disagree. So you didn't get to see Mickey. Who cares? It's not that hard to go to Toon Town where Mickey is at his house permanently. The people in the costumes need a break, especially in warm weather.

They are not doing this just to tick you off.

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-08-2006, 08:20 PM
This happened to us in March 2005. I ran from the area near the secret bathroom, clear over to the baby care center, with my then 3 1/2 yo, to see Woody and Jessie. We were in line for Jessie and the CM made a similar announcement. There was just one kid in front of us, but lots of people behind us, I wasn't worried we would miss our turn. But this hag that was in line behind us, as soon as it was my son's turn, he had on his ears, had out his autograph book etc., she ordered her 3 TEENAGE kids to go get their picture with Jessie and they pushed in front of my son. Controlling myself before I decked her, I said "there is a line." She said, very rudely to me "well she said she was leaving, so we have to get our photo." I looked at her kids, and then at my son, and said to her "I am sorry that your teenagers seeing a costumed character is more important than my 3yo seeing her." I will never forget her response "Well he ain't my kid" I mentioned to the CM, as we moved over to the Woody line, what this woman did, she asked if I wanted security called, I should have said yes, of course she was long gone. I was furious.
I TOTALLY agree they should hand out something to the last person in line, similar to the feathers they give for Dumbo and they should be better monitors of people actually staying in line and not cutting. It really isn't the best system them have set up.

dsnyredhead
02-08-2006, 08:23 PM
I'm guessing that means you and your kids didn't get to see him?

We had that happen at Mickey's house at WDW in October. We were in line and they came out and announced that Mickey was leaving and no one else could see him...after we had stood in line. So we missed out. It stinks. The CM gave us some excuse that "you shouldn't assume that Mickey will be at Mickey's House". Um, no...that's why people go to Mickey's house, to see Mickey.

We wouldn't have been upset if they had told us that to begin with. But we were under the impression that we would get to see Mickey Mouse.

adriennek
02-08-2006, 08:23 PM
I disagree. So you didn't get to see Mickey. Who cares?

Our children care.

Adrienne

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-08-2006, 08:24 PM
I disagree. So you didn't get to see Mickey. Who cares? It's not that hard to go to Toon Town where Mickey is at his house permanently. The people in the costumes need a break, especially in warm weather.

They are not doing this just to tick you off.

You don't have kids do you?

cfrith
02-08-2006, 08:25 PM
That is really sad and I remember that happening alot on our trip 2 years ago. We basicly tried to get almost every character's autograph that we saw. We ended up with about 25 in 2 days. It was exhausting and this time I'm not sure we'll try so hard. But we made the cutest 5 X 7 scrapbooks with a picture of the character and my dd's on one side and the autograph on the other. At least this time we'll have 4 days!

adriennek
02-08-2006, 08:26 PM
I'm guessing that means you and your kids didn't get to see him?

Actually, my friend and I debated staying in line. I'm actually leaving out medical details about one of the members of our party. This decision was much more difficult than it would've been for the average guest. The people in front of us heard our conversation and very, very politely made their visits with Mickey very quick. Everyone walked up, took a picture promptly, and left, so we did get to the front of the line.

We got our 4 kids out of their strollers and wheelchair quickly enough to get our visit over as quickly as possible to do the same for the people behind us.

Adrienne

cfrith
02-08-2006, 08:33 PM
My dd's favorite character when we went last time was Cinderella and when we saw her near KAC she quickly grabbed my then 5 year old daughter's hand and said that she had to go help Gus get out of a trap (she was really going to meet a Make a Wish Child). She held dd's hand and kept walking very quickly (I snapped a bunch of photos while chasing after them) all the way to Tomorrowland! Then she ducked down behind a wall with my dd (I think hiding from another crowd) and said she was sorry she had to go but we were able to get some great pictures there. It was the most magical few minutes of our trip!!! It felt so personal and was just such a great experience!

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-08-2006, 08:34 PM
Actually, my friend and I debated staying in line. I'm actually leaving out medical details about one of the members of our party. This decision was much more difficult than it would've been for the average guest. The people in front of us heard our conversation and very, very politely made their visits with Mickey very quick. Everyone walked up, took a picture promptly, and left, so we did get to the front of the line.

We got our 4 kids out of their strollers and wheelchair quickly enough to get our visit over as quickly as possible to do the same for the people behind us.

Adrienne


If only all resort guests were so considerate, Adrienne.

PrincessLeia
02-08-2006, 08:37 PM
The line management thing is a bummer for kids who don't get to meet their favorite character...hopefully it won't be too long before you are in the parks again (are you still there?)? I would recommend planning character meets as the priority for your day, maybe picking 3-6 that they really want to see, getting in the park right when it opens (great chance to meet characters on MS), and making Toon Town, Pooh Corner, Princess meets, etc the thing to do! It may take away from some of the spontenaity of "Hey, there's Mickey, let's meet him!", but it is a much better guarantee of an actual interaction/photo op! Don't let it get you down! ;)

ILovePoker
02-08-2006, 08:45 PM
You don't have kids do you?
You don't have compassion for the people in those costumes who need a break do you?

kimbopotamus
02-08-2006, 08:46 PM
I had a great experience with this when we were at DL in April 2005. We were in line to see Eeyore, Tigger, and Pooh. A CM was walking all around the line, announcing very loudly, "In .... minutes, Pooh will take a 4 minute break. In ..... minutes, Pooh will take a 1/2 hour break." He repeated this over and over and over. I thought that was great because the folks planning to get in line had the choice to line up, or choose another time. It was great for us because we were in line and could estimate whether or not we would make it to Pooh within the time he said. We made it!

On a side note, I have so much sympathy for the characters. What patience that job must take! I wouldn't even let my daughter collect autographs (I know, mean Mom) because I feel too sorry for them having to sign over and over. A picture is worth a thousand words to me!

ILovePoker
02-08-2006, 08:48 PM
I agree, the autograph books have to go.:D

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
02-08-2006, 08:50 PM
You don't have compassion for the people in those costumes who need a break do you?

Noone said they don't need a break, read the replies. WHAT WE ARE SAYING, is that they need a better system to tell guests when the breaks will happen. It isn't like the CMs don't know that they can only be on stage for 15 mins. etc.

Autograph books have to go? WHY? Because you are an adult without a child and cannot remmeber what it is like to meet your hero in person? VERY VERY SAD!

ILovePoker
02-08-2006, 08:57 PM
Noone said they don't need a break, read the replies. WHAT WE ARE SAYING, is that they need a better system to tell guests when the breaks will happen. It isn't like the CMs don't know that they can only be on stage for 15 mins. etc.

Autograph books have to go? WHY? Because you are an adult without a child and cannot remmeber what it is like to meet your hero in person? VERY VERY SAD!
Personally from what I have read, it's the parents who want the autographs, not the children. I hear that the character interaction is what the child likes instead of name on a piece of paper.

From past experiences, the Cast Members have always announced when the characters would be leaving well ahead of when they would leave. Atleast 5 minutes time.

MammaSilva
02-08-2006, 09:52 PM
I want to preface this by saying that the CM's that assist in the protrayal of Mickey or Minnie or any of the other rubberheads in general are some of the BEST bar none. I have never had a bad experience if they could help it. I've had them 'sneak' my daughter around the corner after their line was closed to give her just a moment of magic because to HER that IS Mickey or Minnie or Chip or Dale or Goofy.

Many of the long term padders are aware that the "developmentally 4 year old" that AdrienneK spoke of is my daughter and she has multiple medical issues to include a severe seizure disorder. Emotional distress can trigger a seizure that can effectively end the trip for the day. Thank goodness those don't happen often and I'm proactive in avoiding situations that would trigger them whenever possible. This resulted in the discussion on the pros/cons of waiting to try and see Mickey tonight.

Do we understand that Mickey can only spend x amount of time out on stage before needing a break? Of course we do. By the same token, the handlers can guesstimate about how many family/groups can see Mickey before the time runs out. Granted, it's still only their best guess, but after a while I'd bet they would be fairly accurtate on their guesses. It follows that they could eyeball the line, walk back and say, "Sorry folks, this will be the end of the line. After this family Mickey needs to head over to Toontown," or whatever exit line they want to use. It would eliminate the need to keep announcing that they were leaving soon and make it easier to control the line.

Of course there will be those guests who try to 'jump the line' but that happens now already. For the most part, MOST guests are respectful of CM's and the announcements and it would elminate wasted 'wait in line' resentful parents. I can totally say to my daughter, sorry honey Mickey needs to go do xxx and we'll see him later. It's not so easy for her to have waited til she's "next" and see Mickey walk away without her hug and autograph.

For whomever said the autographs are for the adults, pardon my rudeness but you know not of which you speak! My daughter LOVES her autograph books and loves getting characters to sign her books. Personally I'd love it if I never had to spend another 10/12 bucks on books that have repeats each and every visit. But, it's about her enjoyment not mine, so I'll continue to buy the books and stand in lines until she stops asking to. Unfortunately for me I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Malcon10t
02-08-2006, 09:53 PM
Personally from what I have read, it's the parents who want the autographs, not the children. I hear that the character interaction is what the child likes instead of name on a piece of paper.

From past experiences, the Cast Members have always announced when the characters would be leaving well ahead of when they would leave. Atleast 5 minutes time.
Just wait til you have kids <g> For me, I never wanted autographs. But my daughter loved it. Heck, we even had the trombone player, every conductor and engineer on the traines, and even one hoof print from a horse. They should do it how they do it in other areas of the park, designate the last person, not say "Get in line and we will see if we can get to you." It sounds like Mickey had a new handler who may not have understood how to handle the cut off.

As for compassion for the characters, I have a ton. I have 2 nieces who are 4'10" and worked at the park.... We have a picture of my kids and all their cousins with Sorcerer Mickey. You can see all the cousins except one niece, but she is there too....

Malcon10t
02-08-2006, 09:57 PM
For whomever said the autographs are for the adults, pardon my rudeness but you know not of which you speak! My daughter LOVES her autograph books and loves getting characters to sign her books. Personally I'd love it if I never had to spend another 10/12 bucks on books that have repeats each and every visit. But, it's about her enjoyment not mine, so I'll continue to buy the books and stand in lines until she stops asking to. Unfortunately for me I don't see that happening anytime soon.
For my daughter, it happened this last summer. She turned 15. BUT, she is also Aspie, so it might have been earlier otherwise. I bought her an autograph book for our summer trip and it was the first time she didn't use it. And I just thought of the horse we got the hoof print of, it was Callie.

3894
02-09-2006, 04:02 AM
The people in front of us heard our conversation and very, very politely made their visits with Mickey very quick. Everyone walked up, took a picture promptly, and left, so we did get to the front of the line.


That made my heart smile.

evrythngwmn
02-09-2006, 04:38 AM
You don't have compassion for the people in those costumes who need a break do you?

What if instead of rotating attractions CMs to break they just shut the attraction down? I'm sure if you were the one left in line when everyone went to break you wouldn't be happy.

ComfyCody
02-09-2006, 05:38 AM
When I was in WDW last summer I was so pleased to see that they finally had a system in place for this. At some point during the meet & greet a CM would hand a silver mylar balloon to the last person in line - telling them, you are the last person that will visit this character today. The CM wrote on the balloon, "End of line", and although dissapointed, there was a clear end to the greet. Even better, the person who was last in line often had the characters autograph the balloon for a keepsake. I haven't been to DL since 2003, I'm surprised they haven't adopted a similar policy!