(Dis) Organised Chaos

[Millies Daddy]

Once again a Trip Report or a Highs and Lows highlights the chaos surrounding the Character Meet and Greets. Has anyone ever actually enjoyed the impromptu meet and greet without it turning into an chaotic scrum with the winning child being the one with the pushiest parents? Being typically British we have always told our two to wait patiently until their turn. Despite the inevitable pushing and shoving they always, eventually, get their turn but it is very difficult to instil patience when everyone else is lacking it!!

This is one of the reoccurring themes and one that Disney have failed to address. Surely they could train the 'Character Handler' to control the children and select who is next in line? This would remove incidents such as experienced by poor tracy021083 where she lost sight of her DD!

 

[Aussiesonholidays]

We has a few great Cm throughout our visit they took kids from one side to the other in order and when Rhodes pushed in they quickly moved them back into line

 

[MissSkellington]

I have to say...this is the one thing that simply makes my nostrils flare.

Until DLP we'd never encountered a character without a handler (or at least a handler that did something rather than fall to the side and wait for it to be over)...poor costumed thing left to manage a crowd of shoving parents and impatient kids...as much as I want to push the kid that just pushed mine, I have to remind myself we won't act that way, and we've never once not had the chance to meet a character, as the character always noticed the ones standing still and waiting. Nothing makes me happier than a character that pulls the patient ones close and ignores the mouthy ones. Sounds hateful, I know...

Last trip I had a lady give me the stink eye and tell me you HAVE to push ahead or you won't get a photo...I said have at it, but I won't. And while she was shoving her kid to the front, Minnie told my DS to step forward and he got chosen before hers. As we walked away and she continued to push others, she called us stupid ...I don't get some people. is it really worth all that?

After all, it's a person in that costume...as much as I want to meet them too, it's not a matter of life or death, it's meant to be fun...not a stampede.

 

[tracy021083]

Thinking about what happened with our daughter still makes me mad and upset.
I agree that the actual characters were all fab and def noticed our children waiting patiently and for their turn.
The main problem being in the disney park after the train parade that stops outside the castle - the characters split and go different ways but always to the same meet points. At these meets the cast members just stand back and there's no crowd control!
In the studios it's done differently because there is a disney photographer there with minnie so there's the rope up and the proper queue system.
On the day we lost our daughter there were so many kids pushing to see minnie that the cast member said to put all the kids to the front for one group photo - this is when it went wrong as all the parents then pushed through to get their kids back at the end, which is when I got barged out of the way and lost my daughter who followed minnie off.

I have decided to send an email to disney today to express my concerns and tell them about the incident as it seems its very common!

 

[Millies Daddy]

Good luck tracy021083 with the email. Let us know if you get a reply. I think the way it is done in the Studios is far better. There are the same in the Park for organised Meet and Greets it is the unorganised, barrier-less ones that cause all the heartache and should be sorted. A CM controlling the crowd is all it needs really. Disney are so good at most things, surely this is not too much to ask!!

 

[addverbaan]

We have also experienced the horror of the scrum on previous trips but I have to say on our trip 2 weeks ago, we were very pleasantly surprised. all the cms accompaning the characters were making people get into a sort of semi - circle que, and as people were coming over,they were being told to stand at the end of the semi-circle. The characters without handlers were also for the main part doing the same thing. This was soooo much better and seems like Disney may finaly be listening to all the complains and comments

 

[scampbunny]

Tracy..., they never do anything... June last year I was separated from my boys for bout 5 mins... When ur alone it's worst fear in ur life.... I cudnt get out of the surge of adults n even had a lady in a motorised scooter barging me whilst I'm shouting for my boys (one is autistic, the other currently being assessed..)
Luckily I'd just met a fab lady n her daughter is a cm and so she knew s of the cms n told them n they held the train up whilst they started looking for them.... All the other visitors cudnt care n were just pushing towards the characters....

 

[Lisa_C]

I have got to put here that I've had positive "scrums". Yup , us British queue patiently, often I will voice very loudly "let them push, if we can't do it now we'll try again". 9 times out of 10, the CM will hear or even a character, especially if I pull a parent up who has shoved their child in front of mine - which is often! I have got very stern and said NO to some parents and children who rush forward and tell them my child is waiting too, and have no qualms in making that point heard. But saying that, we have been very lucky.
Lilo jumped off the CE and took my DD by the hand to where she was signing. I don't know what she did to get her attention as I didn't even have any intentions of joining the crowds. But suddenly off she went, hand in hand (cue panic moment) and Stitch told people to move back. He joined them and all they did was play with her!
A second time at Aladdin's organised meet and greet, the crowd just got mental and I asked the CM if he could just take the book to get signed because my DD was getting sad that she kept missing them. We were told to wait in a corner, and before I knew it, off she went hand in hand with Jasmine and Aladdin, with the CM taking pictures while yes, you guessed it, people were pushing their children towards them trying to get photos. Aladdin explained he was with his new Princess and Jasmine told my DD they had to run because they were being mobbed....they took her with them!
But we have experienced a black eye from the scrums - an elbow hit my DD when she was 5 and I wasn't impressed...my Dad followed the man who did it and completely lost his temper.....
I think I prefer character meals to be honest, but as we've been going for many years we have met most of the available characters in the park at some point, apart from the buddies. So this year, after our adult July trip which will involve much food October is reserved for meet and greets and Halloween fun, December is reserved for some magical family moments and hopefully we'll have an August trip in which we can just chill and maybe do some hunting - but I know I'm on my own with DD for that as my Pirate will not be pushed around!

 

[Vala]

I agree with scampbunny. They will not do a thing. I lost count of how many times we complained. E-Mails were mostly ignored. The one time I did get a reply the only statement I got in regards to my concerns was "our visitors prefer the scrums."

I didn't have a black eye yet, but my boyfriend injured his hand once trying to hold onto a bag and I don't know how many scratches and bruises I got over the years. The newest trend seemed to be smearing stuff on people on purpose. I don't know if the intent is to make people leave to clean up or to distract them so others can squeeze through. But it happened way too often in May for a coincidence. We found chewing gum on our camera bag and something looking remarkably like cotton candy in boyfriend's hair. I don't even want to imagine what some of the stains in my shirts came from.

 

[Minniesgal]

It is largely a cultural thing, some nationalities just don't queue so you won't change it. For that reason we refuse to do characters meet and greets at DLP we only do those in Florida

 

[ThBa]

Isn´t it s shame that we all have to talk about this situation.

I agree with all of you and my experience with two little kids are horrible.

My two kids love the characters and getting autographs. They are proud the hole day when meeting Mickey or another character. That´s a big part of the Disney magic feeling.

But when you have to be scared that you will "come out alive" the mythos will be destroyed.

Walt said at the opening of Disneyland in 1955:

"To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land..."

If Walt would see this and my daughters crying !

They have to do something.



Thorsten

 

[Lisa_C]

Oh its still very much my happy place. Its what bought Johnny and I together, and this year it will be our escape where we will be running too a LOT together because this is a very difficult year for us - I'm just careful with avoiding situations where possible difficulties could ruin it. I've been going since a few years after it opened and character scrums do not put me off. I love my Disneyland more than ever <3

 

[jillrobinson]

I'm lucky we're past that stage, we've queued, kids have been ignored and pushed out and left disappointed and sometimes we've just not bothered, but I also have to say that some of our best moments have been from turning a corner and just bumping into characters, this

ended up in a sword (long pieces of grass) fight with Chip and Dale and Brer Fox you can't plan for this sort of thing and when they happen it's a really special personal moment, so I'd hate for the spontaneous meets to disappear altogether.

 

[PrincessHi]

I haven't experienced this madness yet as I'm going on my first trip later this year but I remember once trying to weigh a courgette in a Paris supermarket and it taking me forever because I kept getting shoved out of the way (by little old ladies and everything) so I suspect it is largely just a cultural difference..

 

[MummyMinnie]

We have also experienced the horror of the scrum on previous trips but I have to say on our trip 2 weeks ago, we were very pleasantly surprised. all the cms accompaning the characters were making people get into a sort of semi - circle que, and as people were coming over,they were being told to stand at the end of the semi-circle. The characters without handlers were also for the main part doing the same thing. This was soooo much better and seems like Disney may finaly be listening to all the complains and comments

I agree with you, on our recent half term trip I thought there was a noteable difference with the scrums, yes they still happen but either the character or CM was making an effort to organise people and stop people pushing in.

It's definitely a cultural thing and it's always one particular nationality that seems by far the worse, but every nationality does do it. In fact the most rude person on our last trip was English, she really had no shame!, but I did tell her so as I could at least speak her language! Not only did she push my daughter she stole her pen for the autograph - character heard what I said and wouldn't sign her second book, moved her out the way and took my daughter instead

I just find it's something that we put up with as we go so often but I think it's more a shock for people that have never been before and don't expect it.

I doubt they will ever change it but I think they're definitely trying to improve.

 

[MummyMinnie]

I haven't experienced this madness yet as I'm going on my first trip later this year but I remember once trying to weigh a courgette in a Paris supermarket and it taking me forever because I kept getting shoved out of the way (by little old ladies and everything) so I suspect it is largely just a cultural difference..

Made me a

 

[fredgirls]

Well thanks for the heads up! This sounds awful! Black eyes?!
We're a disney family, but only been to WDW and DL. Going to DLP next month for the first time Reading these boards has been a real eye-opener! At least we'll go prepared.
Our kids are older now and even though we don't get autographs any more, we often queue for a hug from our favourite characters. Think we'll just give that a miss!

 

[Ware Bears]

The organised meet'n'greets are fine - it's at the random character appearances that problems are experienced.

 

[Lisa_C]

The organised meet'n'greets are fine - it's at the random character appearances that problems are experienced.

As Elaine says, the random ones are the problem. The characters travel down Main Street on the Celebration Train and get off near the Castle for meet and greets. Its then the scrums start. They will have a CM with them, but its really a free for all.
You'll be pleased that there ARE organised ones though. Mickey has his own attraction now and Minnie can be found in the Studios - both are photo pass ops. You will find them every morning at each hotel too and other various "official" meet and greets in the parks

 

[fredgirls]

The organised meet'n'greets are fine - it's at the random character appearances that problems are experienced.

As Elaine says, the random ones are the problem. The characters travel down Main Street on the Celebration Train and get off near the Castle for meet and greets. Its then the scrums start. They will have a CM with them, but its really a free for all.
You'll be pleased that there ARE organised ones though. Mickey has his own attraction now and Minnie can be found in the Studios - both are photo pass ops. You will find them every morning at each hotel too and other various "official" meet and greets in the parks

Thank you guys! Feel better about that From reading other threads on unfriendliness of staff and smoking and litter, I was starting to rethink our plans!
And sorry OP for getting a bit off topic there.