Anyone else saying NO to waiting for Anna and Elsa?

[momof1princess]

Well, my DD is a 16yo Disney addict, and would LOVE to meet Anna & Elsa, but there's NO way she'd wait in a line that long. She's always loved meeting characters and doing autographs and pictures, but even she has a limit. We're going to WDW Thanksgiving week, so IF I can get a FP, we'll do that. If not, she'll have to wave at them as the parade goes by.

 

[dzak1717]

I am thinking the same thing about BoG. A 3 yr old has no idea it's even around. It would be nice to do but not worth it

 

[Buttrcp16]

This is one of the few times I can brag about the advantages of only having sons. They have zero interest in meeting A&E (in the words of my 4 year old with a disgusted look, "NO, she's a GIRL!"

If I had a daughter who loved A&E, I would be checking for FP+ every day like a crazy woman, but there is no way you would get me to wait in that standby line. Not. A. Chance.

 

[SillySallySews]

DD13 wants to meet Elsa - no interest in Anna tho - and DD9 has no interest in either of them but will meet them if she "has" to b/c DD13 wants to. Crazy!!! I told DD13 she'd only meet them if we can get a FP, she understood as soon as I told her the average wait time in stand by.

Is 13 too young to do a A&E FP by herself while I take DD9 to do something else? I'm torn about it....

You know your kid best, but at 13 I was walking to/from school and babysitting jobs myself. I was also allowed to go with friends alone for the whole day to our local amusement park, which is no small place and gets visitors from all over the country. I would probably say yes to my own kids at that age as long as they were responsible and clear guidelines were established on where to meet up after.

P.S. She can probably just meet Elsa and skip Anna if she wants to. There was a report here a few days ago that they split the girls up (one on each side of the same room) as of Sunday. I've seen several pictures on Instagram and Facebook where they are split up, and my own FP reservation now says "meet A&E" when it used to say "meet A&E with a visiting princess."

 

[Robertfam08]

There's no way I would wait in the line. I have a five year old and a 3.5 year old OBSESSED with frozen. My five year old just had a Frozen birthday party this weekend. I hope to get fast passes, but if not, there is so much else to do and distract them with that they won't miss it. I agree with what others have said...it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal.

 

[Fsudisney]

There is no way we would wait that long. My kids (5 and 3) just know that sometimes lines are just too long and we have to skip things. That's how life is, sorry! They are generally fine with it and if there was a tantrum then so be it.
You should just keep checking for a FP.

 

[AmyB2006]

Maybe some people would find this terrible, but I would never permit my kid to wait over 30 minutes, let along 4-5 hours for any character greeting.

Maybe its different if you have a season pass, or are a FL resident, but I live in the NE part of the country and get down to WDWevery 3 years if lucky. Every minute of park time is valuable, and I'm not spending it waiting to have pictures done withcollege kids dressed like Disney characters.

As I said, I just woudln't permit it. I truthfully wouldn't want to pass down such values where my kid just couldn't live without seeing Elsa (or any celebrity figure really, real or imaginary) , and simply HAD to wait in that line. I would just say "no". Maybe my kid would cry but they'd get over it soon enough.

I won't begrude those that do wait in those lines, its their time and it doesn't harm my life, but those lines are not for me. Those waits are why I do Chef Micky's/Akershus/Crystal Palace for breakfast/dinner, as it gets the character/princess stuff out of the way without the line.

OMG I couldn't have said this better. . Exactly why we do character meals as well.

A lot of people don't want their kid to cry or be upset ever. Which just isn't possible when dealing with children, if you want to keep your sanity. Plus, it's good for kids to experience a little disappointment every now and then and not have absolutely everything handed to them, before they even have a chance to want it.

 

[Beer Me]

Easy to avoid that without a meltdown at that age--she won't even know it's an option.

We did go with our son at 3YO and by the third day, he knew you get in a line and ride a ride. We got in the Dumbo line (the old one where you were right there and could see the ride), then decided it was too long and started to leave. That was a melt-down for the ages.

When my boys were little they really got into filling their autograph books. We never waited in long lines though. Most of them were from character meals.

On our last day my wife and I had split up for some reason and each had one kid. Me and DS1 ran into Captain Hook. Almost no one else was waiting. I texted my wife to hurry up and bring DS2! She must have said "hurry up! Let's go meet Captain Hook!" 10 seconds before they got there Captain Hook went on break. Melt down city.

So yeah, don't set up the expectation and they won't be disappointed.

 

[catherines_mama]

I am just thankful my kids are older (13,12,9) and can go without meet & greets. Now if we come across one they have fun. But they are okay not doing them. Esp with those waits! Good luck those of you with little ones. My tip: just don't tell them it's a possibility if you have to wait that long. . That way no broken hearts

 

[butterfly71076]

I am so glad my DS has absolutely no interest in meeting Anna and Elsa. He saw the movie and likes it ok, but, the only princesses he would go see are Belle, Tiana, and maybe Rapunzel (with Belle being the favorite!) It's the little things like this that make me so happy he's a boy! But, put any of The Avengers in the same situation, he would probably want to wait!

 

[Love Tink]

OMG I couldn't have said this better. . Exactly why we do character meals as well.

A lot of people don't want their kid to cry or be upset ever. Which just isn't possible when dealing with children, if you want to keep your sanity. Plus, it's good for kids to experience a little disappointment every now and then and not have absolutely everything handed to them, before they even have a chance to want it.

This seems to be the prevailing attitude in these (daily) Anna and Elsa threads: the only reason anyone would ever wait in this line is because their children are spoiled, and they are terrified of a tantrum.

I don't fear my children. I do like to make them happy. If one isn't willing to sacrifice one's time for something that a child would enjoy, and that you don't "get," that's fine. But own the choice, i.e. just admit that you don't want to waste your time. You haven't reached some higher plateau of parenting.

Although I do like the post where someone said he didn't want to pass down the wrong values to the child, so he wouldn't stand in line with the child...but rather prefers to spend $35-$65 per person for a buffet meal. Values!

 

[surferdave]

This seems to be the prevailing attitude in these (daily) Anna and Elsa threads: the only reason anyone would ever wait in this line is because their children are spoiled, and they are terrified of a tantrum.

I don't fear my children. I do like to make them happy. If one isn't willing to sacrifice one's time for something that a child would enjoy, and that you don't "get," that's fine. But own the choice, i.e. just admit that you don't want to waste your time. You haven't reached some higher plateau of parenting.

Although I do like the post where someone said he didn't want to pass down the wrong values to the child, so he wouldn't stand in line with the child...but rather prefers to spend $35-$65 per person for a buffet meal. Values!

Yeah, I was thinking about topping the "I show my kids who's boss" thread by saying I don't take them to Disney at all, vacationing with my dad in a mosquito infested swamp was good enough for me, it can be good enough for them.

 

[AmyB2006]

This seems to be the prevailing attitude in these (daily) Anna and Elsa threads: the only reason anyone would ever wait in this line is because their children are spoiled, and they are terrified of a tantrum.

I don't fear my children. I do like to make them happy. If one isn't willing to sacrifice one's time for something that a child would enjoy, and that you don't "get," that's fine. But own the choice, i.e. just admit that you don't want to waste your time. You haven't reached some higher plateau of parenting.

Although I do like the post where someone said he didn't want to pass down the wrong values to the child, so he wouldn't stand in line with the child...but rather prefers to spend $35-$65 per person for a buffet meal. Values!

I think you need to lighten up. I haven't read any other a&e threads about this yet. I didn't say everyone's kids that wait in line are spoiled nor did I say that I am a better parent because I won't wait in line.

The only accusations I see are the ones coming from you. I stated my opinions, just like everyone else.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I'm fortunate enough to have a fastpass for my upcoming trip, but last trip was unable to get one so I skipped it. Not wasting 3+ hours of MK time in a line for a 3 minute meet. Nope, nope, nope.

& really, half the point of this one is to get a postcard autographed to send to my niece with a picture; and also for Facebook purposes.

 

[Delirium]

There are a lot of unknown factors to consider before I would say yes or no to my daughter (8). If she told me that meeting Anna & Elsa were the most important thing for her on the vacation, I would find a way to make it happen. Maybe I could luck out and find a time where I would only wait 2 hours innstead of 4.

Children aren't the only ones that can be drawn to wait in unnecessarily long lines for something not worth it. Adults will camp out overnight to get concert tickets. Or, they skip Thanksgiving dinner to be the first in line for Black Friday sales.

 

[4under4]

We are staying offsite so won't be able to book FP until 30 days out. I know my 4year old would love to meet the sisters but I am not going to wait in that line. I will continue to check frequently to see if any FP open up but I am keeping my expectations in check for that.

I have asked my family and friends to not mention Anna and Elsa at MK to my daughter hoping that what she doesn't know won't hurt her!

Anyone else saying no?

Yep. DD & I are going to try to go right at RD one day, but we are hopping over to WS before noon and using our FPs there. Our other MK day is booked solid, and I'm not wasting a FP on a M&G. I already told DD that if we don't get a good spot in line, and it looks like the wait is more than 45 minutes, that we are getting out of line, enjoying a few rides, and catching A&E on our next trip. She was fine with that. We made a similar deal last year with Rapunzel, and we didn't end up seeing her. For DD, getting to meet Rapunzel is actually more important than A&E precisely because we put it off last year.

 

[whitepicketfence]

Not related to A&E, but years ago our oldest was totally, totally into football. He was 9 and all he cared about was football. We went to WDW for a family reunion: our family, my sister's family, my mom, my brother and his wife so 11 of us. We had ADRs at Spoodles to celebrate my brother's bd.

The same night, they were giving some awards at ESPN related to football. The line was huge to meet the players and my husband jumped in with football-obsessed son while we went to Spoodles. The line at ESPN to meet the players (son wanted to meet Chris Weinke) moved slowly, while the line at Spoodles was moving right along. This was back before we all had cell phones, so I am using the walkie-talkie trying to get through to my husband, knowing they would not seat us till all 11 were there. I finally walked over to ESPN and 9 year old was not happy. at. all.

Son got a picture of the player through the window.

We were seated at Spoodles and had the BEST meal, time, experience ever. Just a lovely experience that I treasure as my brother, the birthday "boy", died a few years later. My oldest son came to me years later and said he was so mad that I made him leave the line that he ordered a pb&j for dinner. In his 9 year old mind, he thought he would get back at me by ordering something so simple from an expensive place. We laugh about it now, but as an adult, he says we did the right thing! You will have a great trip!