Terrible Mickey Interaction at Animal Kingdom

[smitch425]

I wasn't talking about you! Sheesh!

If you reread your previous post, I think you will see that it appeared as though you were talking to me. You went from "she" to "you", so that is why I was confused. Sorry if I offended you in some way.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I agree! Why does a 2 year old need a dozen "Mickey Mouse" autographs? Just get one, or one per autograph book, or one per trip. We are not character autograph people though so maybe I don't get it.

This is what we do. There are barely enough pages in the books as it is to get one per character let alone duplicates. With that said, we do go for pictures multiple times because I'm always on a quest for that "perfect" shot.

 

[tlkgt76]

Hmmm......maybe his giant white Mickey hand was falling off and he had to throw it behind real quick to make sure it didn't ruin the magic? There may have been a "the show must go on" situation going on.

If that's a little too far fetched...lol....I'm thinking maybe Mickey was trying to get the little one to smile by teasing him a little. I hope this poor little kid doesn't spend his whole life getting upset over the little things in life like this, he'll be awfully stressed out! There's going to be times in life when things won't go as planned.

As much as Disney puts into ensuring our trips are as magical as possible, they can't cover every single thing for every single guest out there. I would have thought changing the order up a little bit would have been OK. This goes to prove how great Disney World is, that we expect EVERY detail to be perfect, because we're used to it.

I understand that it just plain sucks that the day had to start off this way! Hopefully the rest of the day went smoothly.

 

[Kellykins1218]

That is why my two year old has parents. So I can teach her that she cannot get her way all of the time.

 

[Granny square]

Ditto.

Yeah, I'm not really understanding the issue. Sometimes, in big corporations, things change. Like the autograph/picture policy. Big whoop. I'm sorry your little ones were confused but I don't see how this could be labeled as a "terrible" interaction.

Well, it was terrible for them. What is so hard to understand about that? I would get over it, personally, but they are allowed to have feelings about it.

Fireable offense? That is whacked!

 

[mjkacmom]

Wow. Kids cry when meeting characters ALL THE TIME. Especially 2 year olds. I imagine Mickey/handler had no idea why this particular 2 year old was crying, almost from the instant that the kid was put forth in front of Mickey.

1. Shocked this is posted here.
2. Shocked so many people have such a strong opinion.
3. Glad I don't work in customer service!

I agree - I'm betting Mickey deals with a crying 2 year old every 5 minutes. I'm sure the OP heard his grown up 2 year old cry "please, Mickey, can I have your autograph first?" However, to the rest of the world, I'm sure it sounded like "wah! wah! wah!"

I've been around enough hysterical 2 year olds to state that they all sound pretty much the same - incoherent, except maybe to the parents.

 

[Srbright]

If you went to a restaurant and asked the waitress to bring coffee with your meal and she said no, she personally brings water first and won't bring coffee to dessert. Would you just go with the flow and agree you need to be flexible?

Ever been to a traditional French restaurant or a boutique restaurant? When they think it is part of the dining experience then absolutely they won't serve it. I've been to places that won't serve you anything but what they want you to have....and no one storms off angry.

Stacy

 

[ariel53098]

Also OP, please never meet Jack Sparrow, OK? At least not until they are much older.

LOL when DS was five, we went to DL and he was on a mission to collect autographs. We had fun doing it and then we ended up on Tom Sawyer's island and he saw Jack Sparrow. Jack was doing his thing and DS was following him with his autograph and pen ready. Jack was being Jack and there was a group of us following him enjoying his antics. Anytime Jack would stop, DS would stand off to the side and stare him down holding the book and pen. Jack acted too drunk to understand and finally after 20 or so minutes Jack too the book and almost fell out of character when he said "you get this for your determination. I have never seen a kid wait that patiently for so long!" and he signed the book. 6.5 years later, it's his favorite autograph!
Rachel

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

As I said to my nephew that had a Disney complaint " If this is the worst that happens to you then you are doing ok"

Sorry your interaction was not magical for you. In all the years I've been to Disney I don't even remember the order it's not a big deal to me and I guess my kids either. Now that you know things change it would help to explain to your kids and maybe the handler if that is possible.

As someone whose children are grow and I mean 18 and up yours are still quite young. These things happen. There will be more opportunities.

 

[ElCapitanAmerica]

Anytime Jack would stop, DS would stand off to the side and stare him down holding the book and pen. Jack acted too drunk to understand and finally after 20 or so minutes Jack too the book and almost fell out of character when he said "you get this for your determination. I have never seen a kid wait that patiently for so long!" and he signed the book. 6.5 years later, it's his favorite autograph!
Rachel

LOVE this story!!!

 

[stargazertechie]

Sorry OP, but I think you have a valid reason to get a full refund for your trip. Please ignore everyone else. If it was my child they would be so devastated. I hope this "Mickey" never gets the privilege of wearing the uniform again. How dare they kill the magic!

I don't know if my sarcasm meter is just that far off, or if you really do just appear in controversial threads to

 

[North of Mouse]

Sorry OP, but I think you have a valid reason to get a full refund for your trip. Please ignore everyone else. If it was my child they would be so devastated. I hope this "Mickey" never gets the privilege of wearing the uniform again. How dare they kill the magic!

 

[starjazz]

I see a couple of things going on in this thread.

One - I see a parent of a 2 yo that had a fit at Disney. Thats gotta be disappointing, no matter the reason. The parent blames the experience on the CMs, right or wrong, because that is how she perceived the situation. She decides to share - either to gain sympathy, or help other parents prepare, or just vent.

Two - Until this thread, I was not aware of how deep the Disney apologists have their mentality ingrained in their heads. Automatically, this parent is a terrible parent. All of the apologists are far better parents that would NEVER allow this event to happen with their 2 yo. And there is NO way that any blame could be placed on the beloved Mickey.

My reaction is this -

1. I think the OP is slightly off - I mean, the first post talks about how "grown up" the 5 and 2 yo are, and how "experienced" they are with character m&g's. Later she explaines how the 2 yo has "dozens" of Mickey autographs (that equates to Mickey signing his book once per month for the 2 yo's entire life, btw). Okay, so that stuff isn't quite normal, but it could be lost in translation. I'm giving the OP a bit of benefit of the doubt here. It does seem as thought the CM handler could have asked Mickey to sign the book once the CM observed the trouble. I mean, did OP explain to CM that this is what the 2 yo wanted/needed? Probably it all happened so fast that its hard to recall exactly. But I do understand leaving the scene the way OP did. If my 2 yo is throwing a fit, I try to remove her from the situation and calm her down. I doubt I'd make everyone else there gaze on our show and wait while I try to get the 2 yo "picture ready".

2. As mentioned above, I certainly think there is blame to go around, but holy cow, some of you defending Mickey here like he's family or something....some of y'all are just as kooky if not more than the OP appeared to be. We're talking about a parent here, a real person, who had a rough go. And some of you are berating her like she shot Mickey in the face or something. This Mickey was a kid in a costume. No chance he did anything wrong here? Or at least the CM handler did? I think a little empathy would be expected here. I too, think OP has responsibility, but I feel for her, and wonder if it couldn't have been handled better by the CMs. They make concessions for our parenting faults all the time.

Parenting, especially a 2 yo and 5 yo, is difficult enough, much less in the chaos that often is Disney. Even the most skilled, trained, schooled parent is gonna have some slip ups in those moments. I think the CMs had the ability to help this situation out, if not quell it all together. And maybe the parent didn't do all she could, but the CMs don't appear to have either.

 

[smitch425]

I see a couple of things going on in this thread.

One - I see a parent of a 2 yo that had a fit at Disney. Thats gotta be disappointing, no matter the reason. The parent blames the experience on the CMs, right or wrong, because that is how she perceived the situation. She decides to share - either to gain sympathy, or help other parents prepare, or just vent.

Two - Until this thread, I was not aware of how deep the Disney apologists have their mentality ingrained in their heads. Automatically, this parent is a terrible parent. All of the apologists are far better parents that would NEVER allow this event to happen with their 2 yo. And there is NO way that any blame could be placed on the beloved Mickey.

My reaction is this -

1. I think the OP is slightly off - I mean, the first post talks about how "grown up" the 5 and 2 yo are, and how "experienced" they are with character m&g's. Later she explaines how the 2 yo has "dozens" of Mickey autographs (that equates to Mickey signing his book once per month for the 2 yo's entire life, btw). Okay, so that stuff isn't quite normal, but it could be lost in translation. I'm giving the OP a bit of benefit of the doubt here. It does seem as thought the CM handler could have asked Mickey to sign the book once the CM observed the trouble. I mean, did OP explain to CM that this is what the 2 yo wanted/needed? Probably it all happened so fast that its hard to recall exactly. But I do understand leaving the scene the way OP did. If my 2 yo is throwing a fit, I try to remove her from the situation and calm her down. I doubt I'd make everyone else there gaze on our show and wait while I try to get the 2 yo "picture ready".

2. As mentioned above, I certainly think there is blame to go around, but holy cow, some of you defending Mickey here like he's family or something....some of y'all are just as kooky if not more than the OP appeared to be. We're talking about a parent here, a real person, who had a rough go. And some of you are berating her like she shot Mickey in the face or something. This Mickey was a kid in a costume. No chance he did anything wrong here? Or at least the CM handler did? I think a little empathy would be expected here. I too, think OP has responsibility, but I feel for her, and wonder if it couldn't have been handled better by the CMs. They make concessions for our parenting faults all the time.

Parenting, especially a 2 yo and 5 yo, is difficult enough, much less in the chaos that often is Disney. Even the most skilled, trained, schooled parent is gonna have some slip ups in those moments. I think the CMs had the ability to help this situation out, if not quell it all together. And maybe the parent didn't do all she could, but the CMs don't appear to have either.

The OP is a he, not a she.

 

[lililoo12]

I see a couple of things going on in this thread.

One - I see a parent of a 2 yo that had a fit at Disney. Thats gotta be disappointing, no matter the reason. The parent blames the experience on the CMs, right or wrong, because that is how she perceived the situation. She decides to share - either to gain sympathy, or help other parents prepare, or just vent.

Two - Until this thread, I was not aware of how deep the Disney apologists have their mentality ingrained in their heads. Automatically, this parent is a terrible parent. All of the apologists are far better parents that would NEVER allow this event to happen with their 2 yo. And there is NO way that any blame could be placed on the beloved Mickey.

My reaction is this -

1. I think the OP is slightly off - I mean, the first post talks about how "grown up" the 5 and 2 yo are, and how "experienced" they are with character m&g's. Later she explaines how the 2 yo has "dozens" of Mickey autographs (that equates to Mickey signing his book once per month for the 2 yo's entire life, btw). Okay, so that stuff isn't quite normal, but it could be lost in translation. I'm giving the OP a bit of benefit of the doubt here. It does seem as thought the CM handler could have asked Mickey to sign the book once the CM observed the trouble. I mean, did OP explain to CM that this is what the 2 yo wanted/needed? Probably it all happened so fast that its hard to recall exactly. But I do understand leaving the scene the way OP did. If my 2 yo is throwing a fit, I try to remove her from the situation and calm her down. I doubt I'd make everyone else there gaze on our show and wait while I try to get the 2 yo "picture ready".

2. As mentioned above, I certainly think there is blame to go around, but holy cow, some of you defending Mickey here like he's family or something....some of y'all are just as kooky if not more than the OP appeared to be. We're talking about a parent here, a real person, who had a rough go. And some of you are berating her like she shot Mickey in the face or something. This Mickey was a kid in a costume. No chance he did anything wrong here? Or at least the CM handler did? I think a little empathy would be expected here. I too, think OP has responsibility, but I feel for her, and wonder if it couldn't have been handled better by the CMs. They make concessions for our parenting faults all the time.

Parenting, especially a 2 yo and 5 yo, is difficult enough, much less in the chaos that often is Disney. Even the most skilled, trained, schooled parent is gonna have some slip ups in those moments. I think the CMs had the ability to help this situation out, if not quell it all together. And maybe the parent didn't do all she could, but the CMs don't appear to have either.

This is the best post in this whole thread kudos

 

[MikeOhio]

I'm so sorry for your trouble. It is tragic when something doesn't go 100% the way a small child expects. Society should set up all rules to cater to the whims of small children.

This should be a teachable moment instead of you acting as irrationally as your kids.

 

[Golf4283]

Can we lock this thread and bury it? This is turning into a peeing match now and I feel bad for the OP.

 

[Granny square]

This is the best post in this whole thread kudos

No kidding!

 

[meowmarie]

The OP is a he, not a she.

 

[mm1971]

I just wanted to share this experience with you all. I'll send an e-mail to guest satisfaction, but I was pretty shocked when it happened.

I have a DD(5) and a DS(2) who are both experienced Disney Fans. Both have grown up, knowing from before they could talk, how Disney character interactions work. They ask the character for an autograph, wait patiently while the character signs, the character will hand the book back to the kid, who hands it back to the parent and when the books are in parent's hands you turn and smile for picture. With the exception of those characters that cannot sign, this is always the routine. Sometime there is banter, and kisses and hugs, but without fail, it's autographs then picture.

On Friday, we went to AK for rope drop and were second in line for Mickey when Camp Minnie Mickey opened. Mickey took the books, then refused to sign them until pictures were taken. My son started crying, saying "Please sign book, please sign book" but Mickey would not sign. My kids wouldn't turn around, because they know they need to give their books back to us. At one point, Mickey put the books behind his back, causing my son to cry more.

The cast member handler kept saying "Mickey takes pictures and then signs!" but that has never been my experience.

Finally, I picked up my son, took my daughters hand, DW asked Mickey for the books which were without signatures and we got no pictures.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? The event left a very sour taste for the rest of the day.

I think that since the handler stated that the pic would be first and then Mickey would sign, it would not be a problem for us. We always enjoyed the interaction better as the books always just end up in a drawer somewhere later.

With that said, I can certainly understand the regimented expectations of a child. My DS always had to have his toys lined up correctly and change was not an easy thing. In the future, you could try to use it as a teaching moment and explain that Mickey is excited to take a picture first or something like that. DS is older now and change can still cause anxiety, but he has learned it is part of life. Sorry this happened to you and it was a bad experience.

I do agree that it could have been handled a little better. Some days all of us are off our game a little.