Disney should be ashamed!

[PlutoTheDog89]

I think the picture of Jessica Rabbit is very old, though. They've come vary far with costumes - look how good Jake looks!

 

[FLchick415]

Actually, that picture of Jessica is from just last year at Disneyland Paris.

 

[chrismb22]

Yes, I talked to some folks who did it, the last time we were down. They had a blast and were still giggling about it on the bus back to Pop. Very much the same attitude people get about lining up for hours to meet a rock star.



It's because the hair has to look exactly the same on every actress, and it has to be recognizably the same hair that the kids saw in the cartoon. Natural hair can't do that. You can't even dye and style natural hair to do that.

Plus, I did a tour of the wig-making facility backstage at Epcot recently and they aren't "jokes". It's amazing the artistry that goes into those things. Even the colours have to be tested to see how they show up on film.

If you ask me, they did a pretty amazing job on Anna and Elsa's hair:

Hey Magpie, can you get me the bottle color for Anna's hair That's the red I've been dreaming of for a few years now!

 

[FlowerInAdversity]

So... did a bit of research. It's not actually the training that takes a long time, it's the interview process.

The interview process can take months, with no guarantee of success.

Princesses have to meet rigid body standards. The first thing any applicant undergoes is a detailed body measurement to see if they fit the role. If you're 10 pounds too heavy or too light, if your bra size is too big, if your shoulders or hips are too broad or too narrow, or you're an inch too tall or short, you won't make it past this part of the process.

Princesses have to be the right age (generally between 18 and 23 at time of hiring) and complexion for the character. They mustn't have any distinguishable or memorable features such as freckles or moles or ears that stick out or noses that are too sharp. Disney likes the blandest possible face, so that children don't say, "Hey, that's a different Snow White!"

Princesses must be slender and physically fit, with a background in dance and experience in choreography (dance is not strictly required, but definitely helpful in getting past this part of the interview process). They're tested extensively on their acting and improvisational abilities.

They have to be prepared to work long, exhausting days, never sit down while on the job, never stop smiling, and never, ever break character. And all this for just 13.50 an hour! It's an intense commitment.

Once they've found exactly the right girls, training them only takes about a week.

The difficulty with Anna and Elsa lies in finding the right girls. Even if they find one, she's no use to them until they find the other. They can't appear alone, and they need to be able to work well with each other.

A former Snow White ended up with inoperable vocal nodes, after years of straining her voice to sound like the character.

I suspect Daniel Day Lewis would burn out in short order.

SO much of this is false.

 

[Magpie]

SO much of this is false.

Want to tell me what, exactly? I'm going off reports from people who've been through the process and/or worked as face characters.

Edit: Here's (some) of the stuff I've been reading today:

http://ablondespointofview.com/fashion/disney-princess-auditions-my-first-attempt-experience/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307280/Secrets-Disneyland-princess-revealed-Snow-White.html

 

[TheGreatGafsby]

When we visited last time we saw the same princess played by different actors (meet and greets, CRT, different days etc.). This is unavoidable really... so, if that is OK, putting princesses in two different parks should be OK. It seems like a cheap way on their behalf to lower those wait times, and is completely different IMO than a ride like TSMM. Far easier to put a couple people back in at Norway than build a new ride queue etc. I think it's crazy that people line up that long for anything, but feel really badly for the little kids waiting that long to see the "real" princesses.

 

[SuperRob]

Want to tell me what, exactly? I'm going off reports from people who've been through the process and/or worked as face characters.

This is the ideal process, but circumstances can shorten a lot of this. The training process also isn't THAT short, unless there is a dire need and the situation is very controlled. There's too much potential for "bad show" if you rush someone through training.

My guess is that this is the process Disney WANTS people to believe takes place. But it's very likely not all that rigid unless they have an overabundance of people trying out for the part (which may have very well been the case for Anna and Elsa).

 

[FlowerInAdversity]

Want to tell me what, exactly? I'm going off reports from people who've been through the process and/or worked as face characters.

Edit: Here's (some) of the stuff I've been reading today:

http://ablondespointofview.com/fashion/disney-princess-auditions-my-first-attempt-experience/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307280/Secrets-Disneyland-princess-revealed-Snow-White.html

Unfortunately, there's not much I can say. Anna and Elsa are Anna and Elsa, and that's that.

 

[PaulaVonSchweetz]

Dis eyes isn't "making" anyone wait 5 hours.
Parents do it because their kids want to meet them. Most parents will do anything to make their kids happy and if waiting 5 hours in a line is what it takes, then so be it.

Newsflash: Every kid wants to meet Anna & Elsa. It's new. It's fresh. And just like every time something new is in the parks, there are very long lines.

 

[katew449]

Now, I think they should be ashamed...they should have taken the time when the line was 7 hours long, to think of another plan. The plan to just move them is obviously not waking. Sure it shaved off an hour or 2, but it didn't solve the problem of parents spending their entire day waiting in line for 1 attraction. I don't think Disney could have imagined these 2 would be as popular as they are, but its not their debut weekend anymore. I have seen plenty of ideas that are great (character dining, more than 1 park etc). They should have added mk not moved to mk. It is completely voluntary to wait, but its another thing when that is the ONLY thing your child wants to do and everything else about the trip is just second best. I am happy I have a son who would go nuts over Olaf, but not so much Anna or Elsa so I won't have to deal with this problem. But it is a shame that disney will take your money but not have a plan to expedite the most popular attraction better than they already are.

 

[jvattes]

They should be ashamed of themselves for having guests wait 4-5 hours to meet Anna and Elsa at the MK (or Epcot previously). One day ticket prices are now over $100 per person and guests are expected to spend a good portion of their day waiting to meet some characters? Give me a break! Why in the world couldn't they have multiple Frozen meet and greets around the park? Every additional meet and greet in the park would significantly reduce the wait times. And don't give me any bull about how everyone is waiting in that 4 hour line "voluntarily"! The fact is, they shouldn't have to!

Wow.

Looks like someone put something special in your Cheerios this morning, huh?

 

[jvattes]

They should be ashamed of themselves for having guests wait 4-5 hours to meet Anna and Elsa at the MK (or Epcot previously). One day ticket prices are now over $100 per person and guests are expected to spend a good portion of their day waiting to meet some characters? Give me a break! Why in the world couldn't they have multiple Frozen meet and greets around the park? Every additional meet and greet in the park would significantly reduce the wait times. And don't give me any bull about how everyone is waiting in that 4 hour line "voluntarily"! The fact is, they shouldn't have to!

HAHA! Love that your motto is "Nothing left to do but smile!"

 

[chrismb22]

Now, I think they should be ashamed...they should have taken the time when the line was 7 hours long, to think of another plan. The plan to just move them is obviously not waking. Sure it shaved off an hour or 2, but it didn't solve the problem of parents spending their entire day waiting in line for 1 attraction. I don't think Disney could have imagined these 2 would be as popular as they are, but its not their debut weekend anymore. I have seen plenty of ideas that are great (character dining, more than 1 park etc). They should have added mk not moved to mk. It is completely voluntary to wait, but its another thing when that is the ONLY thing your child wants to do and everything else about the trip is just second best. I am happy I have a son who would go nuts over Olaf, but not so much Anna or Elsa so I won't have to deal with this problem. But it is a shame that disney will take your money but not have a plan to expedite the most popular attraction better than they already are.

THey do, it's call FP+

 

[KilroyWasHere]

They should be ashamed of themselves for having guests wait 4-5 hours to meet Anna and Elsa at the MK (or Epcot previously). One day ticket prices are now over $100 per person and guests are expected to spend a good portion of their day waiting to meet some characters? Give me a break! Why in the world couldn't they have multiple Frozen meet and greets around the park? Every additional meet and greet in the park would significantly reduce the wait times. And don't give me any bull about how everyone is waiting in that 4 hour line "voluntarily"! The fact is, they shouldn't have to!

They don't have to.

Are they suppose to create 4-5 M&G's at MK in the theoretic hope it drops wait times down to 60 minutes? The only ones who should be ashamed are the ones who actually get in line that says "WAIT TIME 240 MINUTES" and then have the nerve to complain about it.

 

[mco65]

We saw Anna and Else just 2 weeks ago and we didn't wait 5 hours.

You have to get up early, but it can be done in less than an hour.

 

[Liljo22]

I like that idea! Having them in only one park doesn't make much sense and definitely adds to the excessively long wait lines. Or at least add them to Akershus in their coronation gowns so that those who are dining at Akershus anyway can forego the long lines outside.
Disney can definitely do something to improve the wait times. They just choose not to.

How do they choose not to? If they did not care about the situation, they would have kept them in Norway. Moving them to MK gave them the ability to double the capacity of the M&G.

I had this in another thread. A 4 hour line in MK is not the same as a 4 hour line in Epcot because it does not take into account the FP guest that are getting in between standby guests. I do not know how they are doing the FP but lets look at a couple of scenerios.

Lets say each guest spends 5 minutes with A&E. In Norway, that 4 hours would turn through 48 families. Now lets estimate MK.

Scenerio #1 - They are letting through 1 FP for every Standby means that 96 families now see A&E in those 4 hours

Scenerio #2 - They are allowing 1 FP for every 2 Standby means 72 families now see A&E

Scenerio #3 - They are letting through 2 FP for every Standy by means that 144 families are now seeing A&E in that 4 hours.

You also have to take into account the fact that Disney has a higher attendence base to pull from so more people are getting into line than they would have at Epcot.

 

[morethananyonex]

Now, I think they should be ashamed...they should have taken the time when the line was 7 hours long, to think of another plan. The plan to just move them is obviously not waking. Sure it shaved off an hour or 2, but it didn't solve the problem of parents spending their entire day waiting in line for 1 attraction. I don't think Disney could have imagined these 2 would be as popular as they are, but its not their debut weekend anymore. I have seen plenty of ideas that are great (character dining, more than 1 park etc). They should have added mk not moved to mk. It is completely voluntary to wait, but its another thing when that is the ONLY thing your child wants to do and everything else about the trip is just second best. I am happy I have a son who would go nuts over Olaf, but not so much Anna or Elsa so I won't have to deal with this problem. But it is a shame that disney will take your money but not have a plan to expedite the most popular attraction better than they already are.

Moving them allowed them to have more than one set of Anna & Elsa at once. It also allowed them to add FP+ as well. The fact that the lines are similar to Epcot when the capacity has doubled just shows us that they have double the amount of guests seeing Anna and Elsa (a fix), some guests being able to skip the wait (a fix), a line that doesn't monopolize an area of the park (a fix), and an indoor line (a fix). That's 4 improvements over the situation in Epcot.

Adding MK instead of moving to MK keeps Norway congested which was a big problem that the meet and greet caused. Adding them to one of the already popular character meals saves a few people some time, but ultimately those meals are full anyways so Disney has no incentive to add Anna and Elsa to them, not to mention you then have people upset because "Disney is charging for Anna and Elsa".

If Anna and Elsa is the only thing your child wants to do and it's going to ruin the trip maybe (1) remind your child the rest of WDW is pretty awesome, (2) bust your butt to get a FP, (3) tell your kid if they really want to do it they need to make it right at rope drop or too bad. I mean, there's enough reasonable options for that child that will have a ruined trip otherwise.

 

[chrismb22]

They don't have to.

Are they suppose to create 4-5 M&G's at MK in the theoretic hope it drops wait times down to 60 minutes? The only ones who should be ashamed are the ones who actually get in line that says "WAIT TIME 240 MINUTES" and then have the nerve to complain about it.

You know what I find funny, have we heard any people complaining who have been in those wait times. From what I'm reading, it's actually fun. It's all us (myself included) armchair quarterbacks who are doing the complaining and discussing

 

[jvattes]

BUT, in the end, it's up to parents to put their foot down and refuse to join the insanity. Try to get a FP+ if it's a big priority, and if you can't or didn't know before that you needed one, refuse to get in line. Little kids can be distracted and bigger kids can accept that there are better ways to spend five hours at MK. My Frozen obsessed five-year-old loved seeing A&E in the parade. I admit my kids have never been really into characters, but it worries me that so many parents are putting themselves through that much torture to avoid disappointing kids who already got a trip to Disney World.

AMEN! This and all of this and more of exactly all of this!!!

 

[SuperRob]

You know what I find funny, have we heard any people complaining who have been in those wait times. From what I'm reading, it's actually fun. It's all us (myself included) armchair quarterbacks who are doing the complaining and discussing

This is why I asked a few pages back if anyone has actually come out of one of these lines and said, "that was totally worth it." I have yet to hear anyone say that.

EDIT: Actually, one of my facebook friends just said she waited 2 1/2 hours in January. I'll see what she says ...