Ever been rushed while meeting a character?

[LovinPooh]

Last week DD wanted to meet Marie. So we were welcomed into the line by the 'handler?'. As DD got up to the character the woman started yelling at my DD to hurry up, have your book ready (page was open and pen was ready). She told her to hurry up and get in the picture, yelled at me to hurry up and take the picture. "lets go, lets go, quickly" she kept yelling. We were there for about 30seconds LOL! People behind us walked away. Crazy!

Just killed a bit of Disney magic

 

[Belleandtinker]

How horrible!!!!!!

We have never seen that happen in all our visits. Sometimes I feel like saying "move it along" to the families that are overly excited about capturing the moment then living the moment.

I hope the rest of your character visits were better.

 

[WDSearcher]

Sounds like you got a grumpy handler! Sometimes, in an effort to get as many people through as possible and to get the characters on and off set on time, the handlers forget that they can come across as "unmagical" and downright rude.

I would drop a note to Disney with as much info re: time & place, handler's name, etc. as you can remember. While it won't make your experience better, it will likely help others. If Disney can locate the specific handler, she will be "coached" regarding this ... plus they'll pass along a reminder to ALL of the greeters to remember what role they play in the show.



PS. Also sent you a PM ...

 

[deannanb]

I felt that way at Chef Mickey - I made our waitress go and bring Goofy back to our table. He came to the table long enough for an autograph - but no time at all for a picture.

Sorry for being rushed!

 

[eyor44]

One tried to hurry us along once (not like your experience) and I just ignored them. We don't take long with characters, but Pluto was playing with DD and I gave her a few seconds to enjoy it. No one else minded cause DD was giggling as Pluto was "licking" her face.

 

[PeterPan]

I have never had a problem like that and sorry to hear you did... normally all the character attendants are friendly and helpful and even if they are trying to "keep things moving" they do so in a friendly way. Really sounds like someone was having a bad day :\

That being said I will say in a lot of the character restaurants at WDW it always feels VERY rushed where they spend as little time as possible at each table and you better hope that you get perfect photos the first time because if you see that one is all blurry or something good luck trying to get a character to stop again for a 2nd attempt.

 

[stargazertechie]

I've been rushed as an adult, and it bothers me. So what if I'm past the "age of believing"? My fiance didn't get to go as a child, so these are his memories we get to make now!

 

[2Tiggies]

I felt that way at Chef Mickey - I made our waitress go and bring Goofy back to our table. He came to the table long enough for an autograph - but no time at all for a picture.

Sorry for being rushed!

We had the same at Cape May last year. Funny, it was also Goofy who was the worst with rushing through. Felt like he was doing us a favor by stopping by to begin with! Even worse was that it was a late breakfast so there were not that many guests in there at the time.

The character handlers to tell people to be ready and this is to stop everyone having to wait in line while others try and get themselves together at the last minute. It is usually done quite firmly so that everyone pays attention, but they really should not be yelling. Sorry about what happened. I hope your other meet and greets went great

 

[AnthonyJPreston]

.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

Last week DD wanted to meet Marie. So we were welcomed into the line by the 'handler?'. As DD got up to the character the woman started yelling at my DD to hurry up, have your book ready (page was open and pen was ready). She told her to hurry up and get in the picture, yelled at me to hurry up and take the picture. "lets go, lets go, quickly" she kept yelling. We were there for about 30seconds LOL! People behind us walked away. Crazy!

Just killed a bit of Disney magic

So sorry that happened, that stinks to no end. (I know from first-hand experience-I had something like this happen to me once). It especially stinks because the rest of the character handlers I've encountered at Disney have been very polite & helpful.

I would most definitely write Disney & let them know what happened. Tell them the handler's name (if you know it), where & when this meet happened, and how the character handler acted.

 

[CTmommyx3]

so sad that happened.

on my dd first trip we went to animal kingdom the mice from Cinderella were out. she was sooooo excited! we got in line and at no time did the handler say time is running out or anything. My dd was the next one and they said sorry they have to leave. I explained to her maybe later we could try again she was devestated. i turn around and I kid you not the family behind us was just finishing a picture. i was so mad then
my dd was around 4 1/2 and when anyone asked her about her Disney trip the first thing she said was i didn't get to meet the mice

 

[mom2rtk]

so sad that happened.

on my dd first trip we went to animal kingdom the mice from Cinderella were out. she was sooooo excited! we got in line and at no time did the handler say time is running out or anything. My dd was the next one and they said sorry they have to leave. I explained to her maybe later we could try again she was devestated. i turn around and I kid you not the family behind us was just finishing a picture. i was so mad then
my dd was around 4 1/2 and when anyone asked her about her Disney trip the first thing she said was i didn't get to meet the mice

How sad is that! I really wish they'd bring the mice out more often!

 

[mm522]

Unfortunately the handlers can sometimes be a bit of a kill joy. Sometimes they get too focucsed on getting the characters in on time and making sure everyone can get through the line or the line doesn't get too long, etc. Not all handlers are like that but some are. Usually the character itself doesn't mind having to stay out a little longer but the character handler usually rushes them through.

 

[lllGurulll]

The problem we keep running into is the handler shutting down the line right before we get there. One thing I am adamant about is not planning my vacation around character meet and greets though.

I'm just not into that hurry up and wait mentality.

 

[Finally08]

Yeah we have come across a few handlers like that over the years. It always makes me think of Seinfeld and the soup nazi with the barked protocol (which we always do anyway)....."no soup for you!!!"

 

[Chip's My Hero]

I've been rushed as an adult, and it bothers me. So what if I'm past the "age of believing"? My fiance didn't get to go as a child, so these are his memories we get to make now!

When the DH and I were there last March for our solo Anniversary trip we got the joy of meeting Tiana and Naveen. Had a GREAT time with them...she asked for tips on how to handle being married for 15 years because...girl that man is driving her crazy...It was hillarious!!

But we had a father yelling at the "handler" because we weren't children and why did we get to see them and his little princess didn't. (the line was closed) The handler responded "Who told you they weren't kids?"

I almost kissed that woman. LOL We've only had a few handlers that weren't..magical. And they were at the end of the line where the character had to get inside for a few minutes and they were actually very worried about the heat and how that character was feeling. Not an excuse but something maybe???

 

[livndisney]

We have run into a grumpy Marie handler twice (2 different CM's). But most of the rest of the greeters have been wonderful.

 

[Linda Farrell]

We've had some rushed experiences too, but I wanted to mention a wonderful one that happened on the DCL during President's week. We were walking through the lobby, and happened upon Belle in her blue dress, sitting on the floor, reading a story to some little girls. My DGD6 sat down with them, and it was such a magical experience for us to watch her all enthralled with Belle reading her a story. At the end, Belle posed for a photo if you wanted one, and then walked off reading her book, like she does in the movie at the beginning. A very magical experience for all of us!

 

[twokids0204]

We met Alice 3 times last August / September and felt very rushed 2 out of the 3 times.

This picture is from one of them - surprisingly though it is one of my favorite character pics.

 

[TheNotSoGreatGonzo]

When we were watching our videos of my DS meeting some characters, I noticed how much I was rushing him (not the handler). I was so concerned about getting through it quickly, worried about others behind me that I felt like I didn't even get to enjoy watching my DS.

All I hear in the videos is "give him your pen, turn around, say cheese, come on". I'm determined that when we go back in September that I'm not going to be the one to push things along.