Rapunzel question

[Finally08]

Look at the petitions floating around (facebook, tumbl, etc) and they are being fueled by a huge "young lady" presence. Yes, moms like him too, as do little boys, but if anyone thinks he isn't a teen draw they are wrong. There are so many fan sites with preteen/teen and even adults who are big fans. Do a youtube search for videos and again, you see lots posted from people who weren't even traveling with young kids in their party and waited in that long line.
Yes Disney needed to address the line...but what they did was take the cheap n' easy way out.
And maybe I wouldn't feel so strongly about it if it didn't come in the middle of a ton of other cuts, just after we returned from a trip where my daughter was already obvious of changes happening. Her motto that week was "Disney just keeps taking away all the fun stuff!!"

 

[Caretames1]

I really think it's too bad they pulled Flynn Ryder from the "play & greet" expeirence. My DD had the best time of our whole trip there, even getting to dance with Flynn! (pointing to the name of my TR, the M&G is on pg 34 if it)

There were kids that were invited in the area that didn't participate in the dance ( I didn't feel any forcing being done, they just stood with the parents off to the side), and it didn't last long. The meeting actually went pretty fast, but the lines behind us were very long. I made it a priority to be there early for my DD, as that's what she wanted.


I do think having Rapunzel at another park as well would help.

 

[LionKingDramaQueen]

This is better than tv!

Oh, the controversy!

 

[photo_chick]

My DD is 11 and seeing Rapunzel was high on her priority list. She likes going around and talking with all of the princesses. So some pre-teens do go in, though she was the oldest in the group we were in. My 8 year old son was totally not interested in it and stood bored the whole time. If Flynn Ryder had been there I'm sure it would have been different and my DH was the one who was actually a little disappointed that he wasn't there because he thinks they need a stronger prince type presence like that in the parks for the boys.

We did it on July 8th. We walked up about 11:40 and got into the next show, we were midway though the group that was let in for that show. The CM said that was unusual and attributed it to the fact that most people probably went to watch the shuttle launch, which I tend to agree with because lines were short all around that morning.

The did give out coloring sheets, that the kids who were waiting for thier turn colored, and they did a very short dance so it was not just a standard meet and greet. Rapunzel also spent more time talking with my DD (about dance actually) than at most of the other meet and greets we did this trip.

 

[Donalyn]

Agree totally. Maybe the cougar to kid ratio was the reason Flynn got pulled. Wasn't that a problem with Captain Jack in DL?[/QUOTE]


Cougars? Why can't moms like the characters too? And note, you don't see them pulling Jasmine for the reverse issue, now do you?

 

[juliebug1997]

We were at BB on July 8th and no one was there either. I wouldn't have attributed that to the shuttle launch so much as the 70% chance of rain (for those of us at water parks).

I'm 36 and I was never told that I had to color or dance with the characters. It didn't add to my wait time either because it was pre-show entertainment, almost like the previews.

I still don't really understand how cutting Flynn saved them money. Were they allowed to fire all the CMs that they used for this? Nope, they're still paying them a salary to be CMs. And, after meeting a weird and hyper Snow White at Germany in the WS, I wish they would add Rapunzel out there. France already has three characters out on a very regular basis (Beast is out a couple of times a day). Some Rapunzel times to fill in the gaps wouldn't be that much of a stress.

 

[maiapapaya]

We were at BB on July 8th and no one was there either. I wouldn't have attributed that to the shuttle launch so much as the 70% chance of rain (for those of us at water parks).

I'm 36 and I was never told that I had to color or dance with the characters. It didn't add to my wait time either because it was pre-show entertainment, almost like the previews.

I still don't really understand how cutting Flynn saved them money. Were they allowed to fire all the CMs that they used for this? Nope, they're still paying them a salary to be CMs. And, after meeting a weird and hyper Snow White at Germany in the WS, I wish they would add Rapunzel out there. France already has three characters out on a very regular basis (Beast is out a couple of times a day). Some Rapunzel times to fill in the gaps wouldn't be that much of a stress.

I think we encountered the same weird Snow White at our princess dinner last fall in Norway. She was talking so fast it was like someone had hit her fast forward button. When she left the table even the kids were like "what the heck was wrong with her?!"

I think how you might save money by cutting Flynn is this. Probably a lot of the younger CM's are students who are on term contracts. When Flynn was cut those guys would have been shuffled to another position, but when their contracts are up there would be no need to rehire the 3 or 4 guys it took to fill the role. If they weren't contract employees it is possible they could have been laid off? (ie. their positions was down sized/eliminated)

I agree too, if they want to do the "play & greet" format to give guests a different experience they should also offer the character in an alternate location so guests who just want a normal M&G can do so. This helps the long waits for everyone.

 

[alliejay]

We meet Rapunzel and Flynn in December and it was very fun. We were the last people in line for that particular M&G and so we waited about 45 mins to an hour to meet them. During this session, only the first 20 or so children were around the table coloring. The rest of us just stood. I don't even remember the dance - I don't think it could have been very long. Anyway, I'm disappointed they got rid of Flynn. It was a fun experience. I wonder if he'll be at the Very Merry Christmas Party? It seems from people's photos that the other "prince" characters are there.

 

[WillAustin]

I think we encountered the same weird Snow White at our princess dinner last fall in Norway. She was talking so fast it was like someone had hit her fast forward button. When she left the table even the kids were like "what the heck was wrong with her?!"

I think we saw her this past week at CRT. My daughter said, "Daddy, she's a chatterbox!"

Thursday morning there was a moderate line for Rapunzel, but I got there early during the EMH so we'd be in front and get it done. I saw longer lines later in the day when we'd walk by.

 

[ericf70]

So, is it still necessary to rush right to this M&G at RD? We're going mid-August and both my girls want to meet Rapunzel.

 

[christie_megansmom]

We're going mid-August, too, and my daughter wants to meet her! The whole "at least an hour wait" thing was totally stressing me out and confusing my touring plan!

 

[Caretames1]

My suggestion to those who want to meet Rapunzel is this. If you can, get an early ADR in the park and be out of the resturant and in line before the park opens. You'll be meeting & greeting within minutes!

No ADR? Be at rope drop (early enough that your at the front of the pack) and move quickly to get in the M & G line.

That way your touring plans are pretty much still intact, maybe off by 20-30 minutes. Only you can decide if it's worth it.

Good Luck!