What else to say to the characters???

[IzzysMom]

Last year my DD brought her Minnie doll to breakfast at Chef Mickey's and Mickey played with it for a long time - showing that he loved her (Minnie). Very cute.

 

[msmickminn]

After Donald had signed his autograph for my DS 4, I took the book and looked at it and told him, Wow! you signed that like a REAL movie star!!
As you might imagine I got quite an earful from the duck!!

 

[dreamgirl]

These are so funny. I need to keep these in mind for my upcoming trip. Espsecially the ones about Donald. He's my moms favorite.

 

[ctrabada]

Thanks for this thread... I get very tongue tied when I meet the characters and so does my DD7 (and neither of us are known for being the "quiet" type ). We hug them, take a picture and say "thank you" but that's it... we don't know what to say! Keep them coming, please!

 

[HollyJoy]

Love this thread too! I have been reading all of the posts to my daughters, telling them to try to remember the clever things to say and do!

 

[Time4disney]

Originally posted by ctrabada
We hug them, take a picture and say "thank you" but that's it... we don't know what to say!


My 12 year old niece pretty much does the same thing.........but she had an ordeal with Jafar on her 10th birthday. We arrived in Fantasyland at opening time and we were the first ones to see the characters. I usually videotape the character interaction and take still pictures too. Well, we came across 3 villians that particular day and our niece went up to the first two characters and got their autograph and took a picture. Then she walked up to Jafar and no one else was around but us. As she approached Jafar, he towered over her glaring down on her and he then snatched her autograph book away from her. At that moment she turned on her heels and ran to my husband who was videotaping this. I then told her to go back up to him to get her picture taken to which she flat out refused!! I had to literally drag her to him just to get the book back. It sure did make a funny story when we showed family members the video of ALL the characters but was missing the picture with Jafar!

 

[ladydancer]

I know what "not to say"!

Don't call Goofy "Snoopy". My grandson 9, did that on a recent trip. lol

 

[plutolovr]

While at Blizzard Beach, and getting an eyeful of enough speedos, we ran into Chip and Dale. I asked Chip where his Speedo was, he waved his hand in a "No Way" kind of way. I thought that was hilarious.

Plutolovr

 

[Lucky4me]

In 1997, we had Snow White to ourselves for several minutes.

DH told her he hi- ho'd it to work every day and that those dwarfs had nothing over him. She said, awww..poor sweety and kissed him. He walked around with her lipstick on his cheek and a big smile on his face all day.
He has tried that line with her every year since, but no more kisses!

 

[pampam]

Once at a character breakfast I patted Goofy on his tummy and told him he was built just like my husband. He pointed to a notebook on the table. I said Oh, that's my journal. I write down everything that happens, so I will remember my vacation. He picked up the book and pen and started writing. When he finished, he handed it to me. I read aloud what he had written. Dear Diary. Today Goofy kissed me. It was great. Then he had me stand up, put my head in his huge mouth and made a kissing noise. Everyone in the restaurant was laughing.

Another time we met Cinderella in the castle. She was talking to my daughter about the pin she was wearing. A few hours later, we were watching the parade. Cinderella, on her float, noticed us and signed to us where was the pin? I called back to her it was on her sweater we had taken off. Oh, OK, she motioned back. We were so surprised she would remember.

I find the characters will interact if you talk to them. It makes lovely memories. Like the time my daughter asked Mary Poppins what spit spot meant. She had always wondered. When I explained it to her she still didn't understand, but when Mary Poppins explained it she understood clearly. Never asked again.

 

[DutchsMommy]

This thread reminds me of something I have seen on TV that sticks in my mind - Dianne Sawyer did a special on the "Dilley Six Pack" - and one of the boys was in love with Pocahontas - he had a Pocahontas birthday, Pocahontas was going to be his wife, he was Pocahontas for Halloween etc etc. The family managed to save enough to go to Disney (Magical Gathering maybe? LOL) and all this little guy wanted to do was meet Pocahontas. Anyway, they had this great shot of his face when he finally saw her - he yelled her name and she came over and gave him a great big hug - it was so touching to see this little guys dream come true - it still chokes me up to this day.

I can't wait to go!!! I want these memories for my little guy.

 

[goofyshell]

This is such a fun thread! More please!

 

[crisi]

Not an "encounter," but when we cruised last year my kids had me write a note to Mickey Mouse telling him how excited they were to be going on his boat and drew him a picture.

Mickey sent them an autographed picture back.

 

[mommy2mrb]

My favorite character meeting was when my DD was 2 1/2. We were waiting for the Mary Poppins breakfast at GF and Alice was in the waiting area, there were no other kids around and we waited for about 15 minutes. Alice played the entire time with our DD, the cutest photo was them sitting on the floor, feet to feet across from each other and talking.

During breakfast when Mary Poppins came over (at the time Mary Poppins was our favorite movie) DD was so exited, Mary gave her a kiss on her forehead and she wouldn't let me wipe it off for the whole day.

 

[drumflower]

Just wondering... Are most cm's playing characters male or female? ( I am not talking about the princesses either! lol) Like Mickey, Donald, etc. Do they really like their jobs? Do they get paid well? They should because they bring so much joy to everyone. The parks would not be the same without them.

 

[jennz]

When I worked there the character they played depended on the persons height. I think the tallest Mickey and Minnie could be was 4' 10, maybe 5 feet (I could be remembering wrong but I know it was pretty short), so they're mostly girls. Goofy was always a guy when I saw him, but he's so tall. When I was there I was part time and we all got paid well compared to Walmart (I ran some of the rides). The characters usually worked for 20 minutes or so and then got a 40 minute break.

I'm not sure that they pay characters more, because that would be saying they're more important to the guest experience and Disney always said the entire comany makes up the experience...how could you ride a ride without someone there, and what if that person was crabby, what would that do to your experience? What if the custodians weren't there, etc?

I think you can tell the ones who love their jobs (they have a lot more interaction) from the ones who are there for the paycheck or having a bad day - you know the ones - a hug an autograph a pat on the head then "next." It's all still fun though! Sometimes I wonder what kind of expression is on his/her face...

Hope that answers some questions!

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

Last December my DD7 wore her Minnie Mouse costume to Chef Mickey's. When Mickey came to the table HE WAS IN LOVE!!! He put his hands on his heart, took my DD by the hand and started dancing with her for quite a while!! She thought that was GREAT!! She also got extra hugs before he went to the next table!! I was smiling so much my face hurt!!!

 

[Chip126]

Great thread! Keep the replies coming. Unfortunately, I have nothing else to add. I am, however, enjoying reading the replies and sharing them with my kids!

 

[Destination Disney]

We were at the Living Seas one day and it was early, not a lot of people around. Well, as we were exiting a group of about 6 characters, well, I would not say characters they were dressed up as CORAL, (Not the Coral from Finding Nemo, but Coral you would find on the ocean floor.) Well, they were returning from the Finding Nemo display and had just walked past us. They were heading behind the scenes and I made the comment to my mom joking around, "What do you do for a living?" "I'm coral!" Well, he, it, she heard me and spun around, put it's hand on it's side and started to tap it's foot like it was annnoyed. We busted out laughing! I had to go over and give it a hug. It was so funny.
We were joking around because I have a cousin who was doing a Disney internship at that time and let me tell you there are some weird jobs out there!

Just like Shane on the Jungle Cruise says, "After 4 years of high school and a bachlors degree, you too can be a Jungle Boat Skipper!

 

[mm6mm6]

When I saw Baloo, he hugged my DD5 and I said, "Good ole Pappa Bear!"

While waiting in line, a woman asked her child, "Do you want to see the Lion King or the monkey?"

My DD5 turned to her and said, "Actually, that's not the Lion King, that's Timone and he's a meerkat. And that's Rafiki, he's not a monkey, he's a baboon."

DD5 got lots of exhuberant nods and hugs from Timone and Rafiki.

When we went to get a picture with Jafar, I got next to him and then said, "Hey Jafar! What's up buddy?" He turned very slowing toward me, stared, then gave everyone the international symbol for "he's crazy" by twirling his finger around his ear.