Trend at Turtle Talk

[inkkognito]

Anyone notice a trend at Turtle Talk of kids raising their hands to be called on, then "freezing" when they are asked to give their question? It was epidemic yesterday! We saw one show, and literally all but one of the kids who were called on said nothing, other than "Uh...ummmm." It kinda ruins the show; Crush will say something like, "Having a Dory moment?" but that's only funny once. Since it was kind of a bummer show, and since there was no line, we saw the next one. Same thing!! Crush must have some powerful "turtle magnetism" that renders kids speechless in his presence.

Oh well, there was at least one funny moment. When Crush came out in the bikini and asked what it was, one kid kept insisting it was a bowtie and that no one wears them because they are out of style.

 

[DeblovesPoohbear]

Maybe the parents should tell their kids to think of a question in case Crush calls on them

I like when he says "Yes, little dude in the orange shell"

 

[cguill]

Hey - their Kids - duhhhhhh ....

 

[rosiep]

Hey - their Kids - duhhhhhh ....

I agree. If anything the onus should be on "Crush". Surely you'd have to expect that kind of thing when dealing with children.

 

[nikkistevej]

My DD4 was just raising her hand because everyone else was when we went to Epcot on our last trip- LOL, I don't think she even realized she had to ask a question, but that was before she was in school. Now for the older kids, that's another story.

 

[ahill004]

Its kids! They get excited to participate and then get nervous when the spotlight is on them. Totally expect it with children. It does help if the kids have a question in advance, but it is tougher to prepare your children for something like Crush than it is for a character meet and greet where you know what will happen.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My DS raised his hand when we seen Turtle Talk with Crush. I quickly asked him, Do you have a question? He assured me he did.

And he did indeed when Crush called on him , he asked What do turtles eat?

 

[disnut8]

Most of the kids going in there have no idea Crush will be talking to them and asking them questions. And I'd say all of them raise their hands no matter what. A kid of that age doesn't want to look "stupid" and not be one of the group.

It's kind of like playing along with a game show at home and then getting to be a contestant on that show. You are going to realize it's not so easy on the other side of the camera with the hot lights on you and an audience that reacts to your every word and action.

I do feel bad for the kids who do freeze. Imagine how sucky they feel after because they couldn't think of a question.

 

[bdoyledimou]

When i first experienced TTWC, i was expecting a little movie about Ocean conservation hosted by Crush.. I was amazed with what we actually experienced.

A think a lot of the parents that attend this are just like me.. don't know what to expect, and are unprepared. then bam.. it's live and interactive.

Add to that , kids can be unpredictable.. you can have the most inquisitive talkitive kid in the world, but having Crush single them out and ask them to ask a question could just be to overpowering an experience..

on the flipside, a quite "in the shell" child may be so amazed that Crush is talking to them they become best friends!

Regardless.. the friends of Crush do an amazing job with the task at hand.

(if all else fails, just ask him to smack into the glass

 

[inkkognito]

I understand that it's kids and that they can easily freeze, but it seems to be a real trend lately...when the show first started, I just didn't see that happen as much. And even tho' kids can't help it, it does put a damper on the show in general because poor Crush doesn't have too much to work with. At the second show we went to yesterday, he finally resorted to calling on an adult whose "flipper" was raised, but so much time had been taken up that Dory came out and he had to abruptly cut that off. I guess that's the risk of a live show, but I was a little bummed because when it's good, it's soooooooo good...but a sea turtle needs at least SOME lines fed to him!

 

[MMmomto5]

I can see freezing up, buy maybe if the CM who ushers everyone in reminds the kids to have a question ready for Crush just in case, it would give the kids a few minutes to come up with something. However that could take away from the kids enjoying the show.

 

[BuzzBiteyear]

I see the same thing at church during the children's sermon. The younger kids go up front, and sometimes the person doing the sermon will ask a question. Only the ones staring off don't raise their hands, and many times when an enthusiastic child is called upon, they have nothing to say.

I'm just glad my DS4 hasn't been called upon at this point. Right now it would likely be poopie-something. As apparently saying anything with poop in it is the most hillarious thing. Perhaps he'll ask Crush how turtles poop this coming week.

 

[jngwright]

I see the same thing at church during the children's sermon. The younger kids go up front, and sometimes the person doing the sermon will ask a question. Only the ones staring off don't raise their hands, and many times when an enthusiastic child is called upon, they have nothing to say.

I'm just glad my DS4 hasn't been called upon at this point. Right now it would likely be poopie-something. As apparently saying anything with poop in it is the most hillarious thing. Perhaps he'll ask Crush how turtles poop this coming week.

OMGosh!! I prayed that my kids wouldn't raise their hand during Turtle Talk, and I hadn't "prepped" them because I didn't know how it worked. They probably would have said something just like your poopie comment!!

I would love to hear from a TT CM about funny/inappropriate questions from kids, and how they deal with them!!

Sorry to hijack, OP. Kids are unpredictable and aren't trying to ruin the experience for adults. Bummer that Crush didn't fill in with some silly banter!

 

[kayla87]

Our experience with Crush consisted of one kid admitting he forgot his question, and one asking for his cousin or whoever from the movie to come talk to them and Crush went "uhhh...he's far away" or something along those lines. Another kid insisted that he had never been a turtle, for real. He had never been a turtle. I'm serious. It seemed to go on forever, but Crush never said "I've never been a human!" I can't imagine having to manage kids forgetting questions, or asking un-questions! Kuddos to them for what they do to pick up the pieces.

 

[tink too]

I see the same thing at church during the children's sermon. The younger kids go up front, and sometimes the person doing the sermon will ask a question. Only the ones staring off don't raise their hands, and many times when an enthusiastic child is called upon, they have nothing to say.

When our DD was christened (at 3 months old) my nephew raised his hand when the younger crowd in congregation was asked who was related to the baby. When asked "do you like playing with your new cousin?" my nephew replied "Yes, and she loves watching wrestling with us on tv!"

I'm just glad my DS4 hasn't been called upon at this point. Right now it would likely be poopie-something. As apparently saying anything with poop in it is the most hillarious thing. Perhaps he'll ask Crush how turtles poop this coming week.

Well, at least he might have a question for Crush - and I'm sure many folks in the audience would find that one amusing!

 

[Narnia]

I think the show was meant for kids so if the kids forget or whatever oh well. Move on if it bugs you. I'm almost 100% positive my son will forget!

 

[ringow]

My 4 year old son asked Crush last week "Where is Cinderella's Castle?". Crush replied "I don't know, you tell me". My son said " At Disneyworld". Crush: "Where's that?". Son: "At Walt Disney". Then Crush asked "where are you from little dude?". Son: "From the hotel". Priceless!

 

[dudelydude]

Hey - their Kids - duhhhhhh ....

See, I was kinda thinking the same thing as you, but certainly not as rude.

 

[Robo]

"New trend?" I don't think that's likely.

I'm a big fan and veteran of "improv comedy" and know that, regardless of the skills of the comedian ("Crush" in this case,) each show can hinge on the luck of who gets called-on for "suggestions" ("questions," in the case of Turtle Talk.")

Another big factor is who is in the house (the audience members.)
Some groups are charged-up and in-the-spirit from the beginning...
other audiences have lots of "out-of-it" members and the show just never "catches fire."

In the case of Crush... we see many, many performances when at Epcot and,
from early in its existence, we've seen performances where the kids "hem and haw" and don't have questions... sometimes Crush can pull out a killer comeback and save that situation, and sometimes it can go "flat."
Other shows net kids with "zingers" who can spark Crush
(and the audience) into some hilarious moods.

Its nothing new to see any of these things happen, as it's mainly the luck-of-the-draw.

If an improv actor has enough spark and is well-prepared for responses to many of the predictable (and even less-predictable) cues from the audience...
and the house is filled with happy folks, ready to laugh... the shows can be about the funniest form of entertainment ever seen!

 

[mickeymom629]

Maybe it would be nice if the cast members could mention that Crush will be taking questions from the kids, so have one ready (or there could be a sign in the waiting area).