Disney should be ashamed!

[Anc96]

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

Maybe I'm missing it, but it gives a general height (5'4"-5'7" for general princesses, shorter for tink and wendy), and does not indicate if they are 10lbs over or under it's a deal breaker. Also all the other extreme specifics are not mentioned.. no freckles? Most foundation covers those anyway..lol. I've seen many prominate noses. I see no bra sizes mentioned.
They teach you an 8 step dance, very easy, basically to see if you are comfortable adapting and moving (unless your character is expected to actually dance). Princesses usually, but not always, play the same character. They don't need to wait until the perfect actress comes along to play the character. The usual age is 18-23.. and not usually over 27 or 28.
SO.. it seems you need to be about average height, weight and age...
sounds very hard
Once you're chosen, you have about 5 days of training. Brutal.

Anyway. As many have said there are many Mickey's, Minnie's and other characters around. Put more A&E in different parks. Kids won't notice. Do it for a while until the mad rush is over... why? To help the crowds. To help the kids see their beloved characters.
Yes, it's the parents choice to wait, but most of them are there to try to make as many of their kids dreams come true as possible. For some it's a one time deal. And as for FP+... just like the legendary FP, a lot of people don't know about it and don't use it.

I don't think OP was unreasonable... but SOME will always make anyone that says something anti-Disney (or something they perceive to be anti-Disney) seem unreasonable.

 

[juliebug1997]

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

I totally agree. You hear that people waited in it and it seems that most have said it was worth it.

We got to Norway around 9:05 AM on January 2nd. The CM came through and counted. We were numbers 78 and 79. According to the CM behind me (she was bringing her granddaughters), they usually allowed about 85ish people to be in a group. So, we waited in line and got in to see them around 11:40. We are early risers so it wasn't a big deal for us to get up at 6:30 AM, go have breakfast at Cape May and then walk from the IG over to Norway. While we were waiting in line, we talked to a lot of the people around us, DH would go get a drink, I'd go do a little shopping, etc. It was actually kind of fun.

 

[aaarcher86]

Just don't tell your kids they're there and VOILA! No wait!

It's not like they're prancing them around where everyone can see them but not meet them.

Suck it up, buttercup. Or don't... since it's a CHOICE to get into a line that long.

 

[catherines_mama]

They really can't have the characters meet in more then one place in a park. It takes away the magic of the character. And the only way I see of making it shorter is to make the visit shorter, which is not a good idea. I agree that we would not wait that long, and am amazed at people even entering a line to meet characters when the wait is more then 20 minutes.

They can make that 1 meet n greet more efficient. Have multiple rooms that the 1 line serves and multiple Anna & Elsa just all in different rooms. That way a group of 5 girls can each go into a room and meet them all at the same time, just stagger it. That won't ruin the magic for that child but also move more people through the popular meet n greet

 

[KilroyWasHere]

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

I don't know who is doing the complaining.

I was just playing off the words of the OP in that the only shameful thing I could see in any of this would be someone getting in a 5 hour line and then complaining about "having" to wait.

It is kinda like getting on a ride that says "You will get wet on this ride" and then complaining that you got wet after you get off.

 

[juliebug1997]

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.

But I have yet to see anyone say that it wasn't.

 

[Kristine316]

I can't tell if you're serious or just mentally handicap.

Unbelievably rude and I am pretty certain this breaks the rules of conduct for this forum.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Huh? Disney's not HAVING anybody wait in line 4-5 hours for Anna and Elsa. They made Anna and Elsa available and the guests WANT to wait in line 4-5 hours for them - that is how you get a 4-5 hour line in the first place. Disney's done a service moving them to Fairytale Hall where more guests will be able to meet them, and some can get Fastpasses. At some point it's up to the parents to say "no we are not waiting in this very long line." and I think it's been noted that most folks came out saying the experience was worth the wait. It's like anything else that people are willing to wait forever in line to experience.

They're also in the parade. so if you just want to see them, have a look at the parade.

there's a lot of talk here about how if there's a demand, Disney should just have Anna and Elsa in each park. Get rid of the other meet and greets or just clear something out and stick A&E in there. It's Disney World, not Frozen World. There are other things besides Frozen. If you are really determined to meet the Frozen ladies and you can't get a fastpass, just realize that you are going to have to wait in line and plan accordingly. Their popularity certainly isn't Disney's fault.

 

[moriaw76]

Quite difficult, actually. First you have to find girls who look like the characters. Then you have to sort through the girls you've found and figure out which ones can actually act. Then, having found some who can portray the character to the required standard, you need to put them through weeks/months of training and orientation. They're not doing it "on purpose" just to ruin your vacation. As for "how many parents are willing to tell their kids that they won't get to see the characters they had their heart set on?" I would hope the answer is "Plenty!" Part of being a good parent is teaching your child that sometimes we don't get what we want, the moment we want it. I'm not saying that if you do choose to spend hours in line, you're a bad parent. Far from it. But it's a choice you make, and make freely. Your child is not holding a gun to your head. Real parents don't fall apart like a soggy tissue at the prospect of a disappointed child.

Exactly! There was no way we were standing in line for 4 hours in December. I tell my kids no all of the time, even in Disney.

 

[SuperRob]

They can make that 1 meet n greet more efficient. Have multiple rooms that the 1 line serves and multiple Anna & Elsa just all in different rooms. That way a group of 5 girls can each go into a room and meet them all at the same time, just stagger it. That won't ruin the magic for that child but also move more people through the popular meet n greet

Have you ever been to Fairytale Princess Hall, or the Town Square meet & greet? This is EXACTLY how it's done, and it's why they moved Anna & Elsa there. And the lines are STILL hours long since moving them there.

Face it, the only thing that can be done about the demand at this point is to ... you know ... not demand them.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

But they don't have to!

That's the whole definition of "voluntary". It's not like there's nothing else to do in the park, after all.

Disney has nothing to be "ashamed of". Would you rather they hastily stuffed a bunch of untrained girls into shoddy, ill-fitting dresses, slapped some wigs on them, and had them standing around everywhere, meeting the kiddies? What happens when the kiddies then say, "But I just saw a different Anna, 20 feet away! You're not the real Anna! Waaaaah!"

It takes time to find actresses with the right look and train them to be able to portray the characters to Disney standards. If you really want just some random teenager in a costume, you can hire one yourself.

Get yourself a FP, or wait a year until the hype settles down. It's your choice. (Though, to be fair, I suppose it's also your choice to wander the internet raging pointlessly... whatever floats your boat.)

I disagree. Disney has decades of experience in crowd management and they aren't doing a very good job at the moment.

Get yourself a FP+ is rather simplistic considering they have been sold out every day we were there.

Not everyone goes every year.

They are there voluntarily. People wait in a line for Toy Story Midway Mania in DHS that says 180 minutes (3 hours) and I don't hear any outrage about that. Disney did open up more FP+ spots. Also, if they have more than one set around the park, that can be confusing to little kids who don't know about friends.

People also sleep out for tickets to sporting events and concerts, to get into a sale on wedding dresses, and to get into Wal-Mart to buy garbage that's going to break in a year. But, hey! Whatever floats their boat.

There are plenty of complaints about tiering at DHS because it highlighted how little ride capacity in the park for families.

I agree with the OP. If a child has their heart set on seeing certain characters, why is it acceptable to disappoint them?

 

[HotMama]

Ashamed?? LOL!

We love the frozen princess, but we will not wait in line to see them. It's our choice to do other things, even though my kids would love to get a chance to meet them. They can only be in one place in the park at one time. That is fine with us. We choose to enjoy other things... some people will choose to wait for the princesses. It's a theme park, there will be lines.

 

[SuperRob]

It is kinda like getting on a ride that says "You will get wet on this ride" and then complaining that you got wet after you get off.

To be fair, there are degrees of wet, though. Getting splashed in the face on a hot day where you dry off in just a few minutes is one thing. Getting completely drenched and then having to sit in those wet clothes in an air-conditioned restaurant is a bit different.

I say this because I had that exact thing happen to me on Splash Mountain, right before our Blue Bayou reservation. It was ... uncomfortable.

 

[aaarcher86]

I disagree. Disney has decades of experience in crowd management and they aren't doing a very good job at the moment.

Get yourself a FP+ is rather simplistic considering they have been sold out every day we were there.

Not everyone goes every year.



There are plenty of complaints about tiering at DHS because it highlighted how little ride capacity in the park for families.

I agree with the OP. If a child has their heart set on seeing certain characters, why is it acceptable to disappoint them?

When did meeting a Disney character or not become 'acceptable vs unacceptable?'

Seriously. If a kids biggest disappointment is that they didn't get to meet Anna and Elsa I think they're doing alright. Lots of characters don't come out anymore and people don't meet them. Or maybe someone waits in line to meet talking Mickey and they end up with Mute Mickey. My daughter has wanted to meet Megora for the past 3 trips. She's nowhere to be found and about 4 days after we got back she made a special appearance at Epcot. My daughter survived.

It's not up to Disney to make everything happen for everyone. You're welcome to stand in the line and meet them to avoid disappointment. Or don't. But it'd be on you, not Disney.

 

[morethananyonex]

Huh? Disney's not HAVING anybody wait in line 4-5 hours for Anna and Elsa. They made Anna and Elsa available and the guests WANT to wait in line 4-5 hours for them. Disney's done a service moving them to Fairytale Hall where more guests will be able to meet them, and some can get Fastpasses. At some point it's up to the parents to say "no we are not waiting in this very long line."

They're also in the parade. so if you just want to see them, have a look at the parade.

there's a lot of talk here about how if there's a demand, Disney should just have Anna and Elsa in each park. Get rid of the other meet and greets or just clear something out and stick A&E in there. It's Disney World, not Frozen World. There are other things besides Frozen. If you are really determined to meet the Frozen ladies and you can't get a fastpass, just realize that you are going to have to wait in line and plan accordingly. Their popularity certainly isn't Disney's fault.

Exactly this.

Yeah, they could stick 15 Anna and Elsa in each park so that nobody has to wait longer than 20 minutes. They could turn Maelstrom into a Frozen ride. They could add Anna and Elsa to all the princess meals. They could stop manufacturing all the princess dresses in favour of more Elsa dresses. They could even build a dome over WDW, start a blizzard and rename it Arendelle!

I don't care how popular they are. They don't need to be monopolizing the parks and the meet and greets. If people getting into a line with a 4 hour wait that's on them.

 

[juliebug1997]

There are plenty of complaints about tiering at DHS because it highlighted how little ride capacity in the park for families.

I agree with the OP. If a child has their heart set on seeing certain characters, why is it acceptable to disappoint them?

But there is no tiering at MK. This is kind of an apples and oranges comparison, IMO.

Um, if kids don't learn disappointment and failure and struggle, then they'll never be prepared for anything except a desired outcome as they got everything that they wanted. They will get yelled at by a boss for not doing their work correctly. They will fail a test because they didn't study. Not making them do chores makes for a lazy, slob. Since when did telling a child "no" or making them suffer the consequences for poor choices start making someone a bad parent?

 

[chrismb22]

it is kinda like getting on a ride that says "you will get wet on this ride" and then complaining that you got wet after you get off.

best analogy ever

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Multiple Meet and Greets? Here's how you do it.

1. Create identical M&G rooms at each location.
2. Near the end of the queue, just before you enter the M&G room, have a doorway (possibly with some sort of special effect) that is a "portal" to the princesses location.

Stepping through the portal magically transports you to the "one" location of the princesses.

I believe they have done this before with other characters in the past. Don't understand why they wouldn't do this now

Unbelievably rude and I am pretty certain this breaks the rules of conduct for this forum.

I thought the same thing when I read that. That wasn't nice at all.


Ok, I'm sure many people tried out for the parts of A&E. So they take the best ones and put them in other parks at the same time. People can't be in two places at once so I don't get how this could ruin the magic. Although I wouldn't go as far as to say Disney should be ashamed, people are paying a lot of money for their trips and Disney should do everything they can to make their time there enjoyable. They know this is the most popular meet and greet right now, and its their job to meet the demand. Yes, you can get a fp for this IF you can get one. These are gone right away. So your only other option is to wait standby 4 hours or disappoint your child....I AM SURE there is more they can do to help relieve the long waits.

 

[surferdave]

What Disney should do to be providing a good service

and

What a guest should do to be a good parent

are

TWO

DIFFERENT

THINGS​

Why do people here want to turn everything into a parenting issue?

 

[Reddog1134]

You do know that is what they have already done? That's how the current M&G works. Same for Mickey in Town Square

Yes, at a single location.

I was referring to having multiple locations across the park or the same character at different parks. If you wanted to maintain the illusion of there only being one of each character while having multiple locations.