A&E Stampede this morning was insane!!!

[kermiebudge]

All I have to say is thank goodness my kids have never bee into the M&Gs!!!! It would be really tough if they had their hearts set on meeting someone and knowing how much valuable time (or FP+) would be spent waiting :/

 

[travelinggnomes]

My 3 year old REALLY did want to meet them. It wasn't in her top list, because we never let her know that it would happen. BUT, when the time came, she was tickled. That said:

1. We would never have waited more than 1 hour tops to meet them.
2. When the day was done, she liked Small World and Pooh the best.
3. Elsa was weird. Really, she looked like the girl next door, and like Disney just grabbed someone who kind of fit the build.
4. We actually felt a little rushed, and the sisters didn't make too much ado about the kids, it was more about them. Goofy/Donald and Tiana/Navene rocked in this area.
5. The mad dash was silly, and turned the Magic Kingdom and Fantasy Land into a mass chaos, when it should have been one of the most magical times of the day.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

My understanding is that they have been having issues casting them, especially Elsa, so I really don't think they have 10 back-up sets.

I think that is part of why it took them so long to move them to Fairy Tale Hall - because in Fairy Tale hall there are two meeting rooms for each side, so there are two sets of A&E working at all times now vs. the one when they were at Norway

To the best of my knowledge, there are currently 3 friends with Anna and 3 with Elsa. I don't understand why they are having such a difficult time finding friends for them.

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

To the best of my knowledge, there are currently 3 friends with Anna and 3 with Elsa. I don't understand why they are having such a difficult time finding friends for them.

My friends would tell you it's because they never went to daycare. Being locked up in a dusty ole castle can do that to a person.

 

[burnetta696]

My 3 year old REALLY did want to meet them. It wasn't in her top list, because we never let her know that it would happen. BUT, when the time came, she was tickled. That said: 1. We would never have waited more than 1 hour tops to meet them. 2. When the day was done, she liked Small World and Pooh the best. 3. Elsa was weird. Really, she looked like the girl next door, and like Disney just grabbed someone who kind of fit the build. 4. We actually felt a little rushed, and the sisters didn't make too much ado about the kids, it was more about them. Goofy/Donald and Tiana/Navene rocked in this area. 5. The mad dash was silly, and turned the Magic Kingdom and Fantasy Land into a mass chaos, when it should have been one of the most magical times of the day.

Off topic- but one of my favorite times ever with a character was with Tiana and moreso Naveen... It was in June 2011, so I would doubt it is the same friends of theirs but, my friends and I had gone down and we were all 24/25 at the time and we happened upon them with no one around and no wait and we got about 8-10 minutes of time with them because no one else came by. But, Naveen asked me what I did, and I told him I was a preschool teacher. He proceeds to ask me what exactly I teach- his voice, his accent, his mannerisms were totally on point, and I mentioned numbers, letters colors... And he stopped me and with a flourish he motions to his clothes and asked what color he's wearing. I answer green, and he shakes his head and says "no, no, no, no, no! But what SHADE of green..." And then he continues to name every shade of green ever named. Yellow-green, blue-gree, evergreen, frog green... He just kept going. I was laughing, my friends were laughing, Tiana was laughing (and shaking her head). It was amazing the photos from that were priceless.

 

[rebeccam31]

Off topic- but one of my favorite times ever with a character was with Tiana and moreso Naveen... It was in June 2011, so I would doubt it is the same friends of theirs but, my friends and I had gone down and we were all 24/25 at the time and we happened upon them with no one around and no wait and we got about 8-10 minutes of time with them because no one else came by. But, Naveen asked me what I did, and I told him I was a preschool teacher. He proceeds to ask me what exactly I teach- his voice, his accent, his mannerisms were totally on point, and I mentioned numbers, letters colors... And he stopped me and with a flourish he motions to his clothes and asked what color he's wearing. I answer green, and he shakes his head and says "no, no, no, no, no! But what SHADE of green..." And then he continues to name every shade of green ever named. Yellow-green, blue-gree, evergreen, frog green... He just kept going. I was laughing, my friends were laughing, Tiana was laughing (and shaking her head). It was amazing the photos from that were priceless.

We had a great Naveen interaction, too. He was trying to set my (then 10 year old) daughter up with a frog friend of his. The whole exchange was hilarious! We also got great pictures of everyone cracking up.

 

[surferdave]

Off topic- but one of my favorite times ever with a character was with Tiana and moreso Naveen... It was in June 2011, so I would doubt it is the same friends of theirs but, my friends and I had gone down and we were all 24/25 at the time and we happened upon them with no one around and no wait and we got about 8-10 minutes of time with them because no one else came by. But, Naveen asked me what I did, and I told him I was a preschool teacher. He proceeds to ask me what exactly I teach- his voice, his accent, his mannerisms were totally on point, and I mentioned numbers, letters colors... And he stopped me and with a flourish he motions to his clothes and asked what color he's wearing. I answer green, and he shakes his head and says "no, no, no, no, no! But what SHADE of green..." And then he continues to name every shade of green ever named. Yellow-green, blue-gree, evergreen, frog green... He just kept going. I was laughing, my friends were laughing, Tiana was laughing (and shaking her head). It was amazing the photos from that were priceless.

Naveen is one of the best character interactions at WDW. I only like Gaston and the step sisters more.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

To the best of my knowledge, there are currently 3 friends with Anna and 3 with Elsa. I don't understand why they are having such a difficult time finding friends for them.

probably because it's essentially a low-end, part-time acting gig.

 

[FLchick415]

Well, I finally got to see the Anna and Elsa rush this weekend. Yesterday morning, to be exact. HOLY. CROW. It was like Disney's very own running of the bulls. I was standing in the front, waiting for the park to open, and there were stroller dads behind me, probably ready to ram my ankles if I didn't move fast enough. I mean, people were literally running at full speed, not even stopping when the CMs told them to slow down. It was crazy. Thankfully, I had a FP to see A&E later in the afternoon. LOL (Side note: Anna and Elsa were absolutely adorable and I loved meeting with them. They were so cute.)

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Well, I finally got to see the Anna and Elsa rush this weekend. Yesterday morning, to be exact. HOLY. CROW. It was like Disney's very own running of the bulls. I was standing in the front, waiting for the park to open, and there were stroller dads behind me, probably ready to ram my ankles if I didn't move fast enough. I mean, people were literally running at full speed, not even stopping when the CMs told them to slow down. It was crazy. Thankfully, I had a FP to see A&E later in the afternoon. LOL (Side note: Anna and Elsa were absolutely adorable and I loved meeting with them. They were so cute.)

thanks for your post! It's nice to know you enjoyed seeing A & E. I have a FP also but from what you describe I wonder if I might survive the crush!

 

[Hannathy]

My understanding is that they have been having issues casting them, especially Elsa, so I really don't think they have 10 back-up sets.

I think that is part of why it took them so long to move them to Fairy Tale Hall - because in Fairy Tale hall there are two meeting rooms for each side, so there are two sets of A&E working at all times now vs. the one when they were at Norway

Like I said earlier in the thread Baloney!!!

There are thousands of college theater majors that would do it in a heartbeat. I could have you a dozen Elsa's in one Saturday casting call. It isn't Neurosurgery. So find another excuse. Maybe being cheap? which is one of the reasons Disney has run with these character meets instead of new attractions.

Walk onto any campus in the upper Midwest go to the theater dept and you will see a half a dozen "Elsa's" walking at any one time. Blonde blue eyes are a dime a dozen up there.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Like I said earlier in the thread Baloney!!!

There are thousands of college theater majors that would do it in a heartbeat. I could have you a dozen Elsa's in one Saturday casting call. It isn't Neurosurgery. So find another excuse. Maybe being cheap? which is one of the reasons Disney has run with these character meets instead of new attractions.

Walk onto any campus in the upper Midwest go to the theater dept and you will see a half a dozen "Elsa's" walking at any one time. Blonde blue eyes are a dime a dozen up there.

You're assuming that any theatre majors would want to live in Orlando. There's not all that much to do theatre-wise down there...kind of a dead-end.

 

[wallrock]

Like I said earlier in the thread Baloney!!!

There are thousands of college theater majors that would do it in a heartbeat. I could have you a dozen Elsa's in one Saturday casting call. It isn't Neurosurgery. So find another excuse. Maybe being cheap? which is one of the reasons Disney has run with these character meets instead of new attractions.

Walk onto any campus in the upper Midwest go to the theater dept and you will see a half a dozen "Elsa's" walking at any one time. Blonde blue eyes are a dime a dozen up there.

The fact that there are hoards of people running like crazy to meet these characters may also be a turn off for some people. I'm sure those that audition hear about the frenzy, frustrated guests who may be in a bad mood because they waited half a day, and the occasional violence that erupts in the line and want nothing to do with it.

 

[Hannathy]

The fact that there are hoards of people running like crazy to meet these characters may also be a turn off for some people. I'm sure those that audition hear about the frenzy, frustrated guests who may be in a bad mood because they waited half a day, and the occasional violence that erupts in the line and want nothing to do with it.

Not college kids. They want summer jobs. and a theater job is an extra bonus.

And a Theater job with Disney is a lot better than a server at Denny's so if you are working in Minnesota with your theater degree from a average State school it isn't any more of a dead end than you are in now.

 

[Alice Royal]

You're assuming that any theatre majors would want to live in Orlando. There's not all that much to do theatre-wise down there...kind of a dead-end.

I guess you've never had firsthand experience with some of the companies here? We've got plenty of theater majors here at Rollins...and plenty of blonde-hair-blue-eyes too, but they're Rollins girls, so they'd balk at working for anything other than Daddy's money...

 

[humpback]

It was just posted 5 minutes ago on TP as a 370 minute wait (now only 240).

 

[wallrock]

Not college kids. They want summer jobs. and a theater job is an extra bonus.

And a Theater job with Disney is a lot better than a server at Denny's so if you are working in Minnesota with your theater degree from a average State school it isn't any more of a dead end than you are in now.

How can you be so sure?

And if you're from Minnesota it's a bit closer to go to Chicago. Theater work in the Windy City is probably better for the resume than dressing up as a princess.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

It seems everything was calmer back when they were in Norway, even if the lines were insane. I waited only an hour and half for them back in December, right in the middle of Christmastime rush. The girls were lovely and spent quite a bit of time talking to me about Olaf and the pins of them I'd just purchased. It really was a magical moment and definitely worth the wait time.

 

[ibela]

Actually, I think it's quite the opposite. I think that plenty of kids are being roped into going when they couldn't really care less about it. Take a look at the thread about kids naming their top 4 choices as "hotel pool, be with family, get a Mickey bar" and you will see that it's more the parents than the kids driving this frenzy. Even I myself am guilty of this. My boys love our trips and love all the rides and one, in particular, has always LOVED Winnie the Pooh. I expected him to name that as the thing he wanted to do most when we go back. Nope, it was "ride the train" and "swim in the pool".

And no, the reason for the demand is not "neither here nor there". Good grief, one of the best ways to meet a demand is to see what the heck is driving it! If it's kids driving the demand, then keeping A&E in MK and adding a few more sets of girls would help the most. If it's parents driving it, then moving them back to the more "adult-centric" Epcot would make the most sense as well as adding more sets of girls there.

I agree. I ASSUMED my dd8 would be dying over a m&g with a&e. She begged and pleaded for a Frozen theme birthday party, loves the movie, etc. I'm trying to finalize my plans for an upcoming trip but still have some time. I said each kid can pick one FP+ choice since we only get 3 in advance. I told her "let me guess, meet A&E" but she said no, she'd rather do a ride, as much as she would like to meet A&E she doesn't want to give up a ride with no wait for a m&g with no wait, said she'd rather take a picture of them walking by or in a parade or something from a distance. I was totally shocked and almost fell off my chair but works for me. I'm holding onto an Akershus ADR hoping they add them there just in case but no biggie either way. I'm sure we'll get to it eventually.

 

[Hannathy]

How can you be so sure?

And if you're from Minnesota it's a bit closer to go to Chicago. Theater work in the Windy City is probably better for the resume than dressing up as a princess.

because there aren't exactly an over abundance of theater jobs in Chicago.

Especially for a college kid.

Any theater job is better than being a server or working retail.

They have tons of people show up whenever they have auditions, they could get all they want. There is no shortage of unemployed theater majors. Or any college major. The friend of my DD who was a character last year wasn't even a theater major. he just did it for the job and being in Florida.