I think the thing about the exorbitant line-waiting that affects me (while not really affecting me personally) is that it is an eye opener to see the lengths to which people will go to please their child(ren). While it makes no difference to me how anyone else decides to vacation, this behavior brings up some unresolved feelings that I can identify with as a parent in this generation.
I think many people parenting in this generation (of which I also belong) are driven by our passion to give so much to our children, to provide them with the best shot at a great life as possible. This extends far beyond bending over backwards to manage a meet and greet with Disney princesses but to investing in everything from Baby Einstein and baby sign language to sports and music camps and training all in the name of providing them with an edge over others. It is akin to the Keeping Up With the Joneses phenomenon too, where so many of my kids' friends' instagram accounts are filled with pics of their recent shopping purchases (all from name brand stores), expensive phones, electronics, shoes, their stash of $20-$40 pairs of socks (this is an athlete thing, I think!), vacations multiple times a year, etc.
I realize getting to meet Anna & Elsa won't give children an "edge" over others but wanting to provide our children with everything we can seems to come from the same place as that desire does -- the hope that our children are happy now and grow into happy, successful adults. There is a cultural phenomenon that we don't want them to suffer hardship and that by protecting them from disappointment, they will be happier now and as adults.
I am simply expressing my thoughts about the culture of parenting as a whole (not individually) in this generation. I am not judging, as I too, am a parent that can be found expending plenty of time, thought, energy, effort and money on helping my kids pursue things that will benefit them not only now, but in the future.
These are all generalizations and I'm sure there are plenty of individual examples to refute my thoughts. But on the whole, I do think we, as parents today, tend to step over the line of overindulgent tendencies when it comes to our kids than parents of previous generations. We want a good relationship with our children. We want them to have happy memories of childhood with engaged, attached relationships with us. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get this parenting thing right. I don't know if all of this will make this generation of children grow up to be better, happier, more successful adults or not. But I do think even on an unconscious level, the desire to give our kids all their heart's desire, definitely plays into the decision many parents make when they step into a five hour line for a meet and greet.
P.S.
I also realize there are plenty of people who want to see A&E that are not parents and there are plenty of adults (parents or not) that want to see A&E that also choose to stand in the long lines, and this doesn't necessarily apply to them.
