When were the Gosselins...

[heimlichfan]

in WDW?!?!??


DH and I just finished watching their show that showed them in MK and there was NO ONE in the park!!!!

Cute show great... no crowds priceless!

 

[ShannonRT]

Jon and Kate came to a local church a few weeks ago for a speaking engagement and said their trip was at the end of July.

 

[heimlichfan]

seriously, how is that possible?

Fantasyland was empty and there was hardly anyone at the parade!

DH is now accusing me of not knowing anything about WDW since I've always said we will NEVER go in the summer because of the crowds...

 

[ShannonRT]

Forget the crowds! I'll never go in the summer because of the heat alone!

 

[momtimesone]

There is no way that was in July When we have gone the past yrs its always in July and its always hot and the park is like a cattle auction. If they did this in July as they stated then They filmed it during EMH early morning I bet. I will watch any show that involves a trip to Disney world. The only prob is they look like they just rode Dumbo and nothing else. I did feel bad for the Disney staffer giving out the ice cream.All in all it was a great show and it looks to me like they had fun.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

Someone posted awhile back seeing them at WL in July. I bet your right about it being EMH, since it looked so empty. I was surprised they did not visit the other parks, let alone 1 day at MK. Does anyone know if they actually were there longer?

 

[JABEAR]

They said at the end of the show that they were there a total of 5 days. Didn't indicate if they went to other parks though. When they met the princesses they appeared to be inside the rose garden with alot of Disney suits around them. As far as the crowds, I am guessing that they got some special treatment during their entire stay. That episode was one big commercial for WDW.

BTW, The first of July is more crowded than the end of July but July is July! Hot and Crowded every year. Had to be EMH in Fantasyland if not a day set aside where they were allowed to enter before the masses.

 

[trivial]

I didn't notice the crowds, but it was apparently quite hot. I looked at my wife and said, "This is why we'll never go in the summer." They surely went to the other parks, but for some reason didn't include them in the show. Perhaps they just wanted to have the rest of their vacation to themselves, or maybe they just couldn't fit it all into the show.

I was thinking that Disney would probably pay for their trip, but then why would they go through the hassle of driving 19 hours each way?

 

[N10CJT]

Disney clearly rolled out the red carpet for them, which makes sense considering the publicity concerns.
It looked like they opened Chef Mickey's early for them. In the background of some of the shots, you can see cast members still setting up. And obviously the characters don't have the type of time to devote to one family that they had there.
They were definitely in the park right at the beginning of the day. The princesses was a staged event, with cast members arriving at intervals with trays of ice cream. I'd be interested to know if anyone on the boards has ever seen three princesses together like that outside of the princess breakfast.
For the parade, I think Disney roped off some space for them. Just to have a camera crew during a normal parade would require some designated space, and besides, they had to be front and center so there could be shots of the characters interacting with them.
Hey more power to them. Jon looks like he's in his own personal hell sometimes, so I think a little preferential treatment from time to time balances out some of the craziness. I can't say why they still drove, other than the guess that Disney wanted to make it seem like they went on their own, thus making all the un-natural experiences seem like everyday occurences that could happen to anyone. In any case, I think hundreds of people flying from Pa. that day give thanks that they didn't line up on the jetway with them!

 

[scottishduffy]

They definitely had guides assigned to them and got special treatment during the time of filming. It looks like they only filmed during one of their days, but were there for longer. My CM friend J said the people following them are called DSA's. I forget what it stands for but these are the VIP tour guides that escort the VIP's around.

From the show it looks like they got up *very* early. They got into FantasyLand early and had some private time to film. In the princess scene as well as a few others you can see the Disney guides swarming in the background. Disney made sure that this episode would be every sort of magical. As far as parade seating it looking like they were on the inner circle of the castle hub, with a small area roped off just for them.

Disney most assuredly sponsored a good portion of that trip for PR purposes. It was a fun episode and my hubby and I had fun picking out the Disney guides in the background!

 

[holcomb-mania]

The little calendar they showed at the beginning of the show clearly showed their itinerary and the dates were the end of July/beginning of August. My guess is that they did some EMH's over those 5 days in MK. They didn't show any other park, so they could've easily edited multiple MK days together. The shot of Main Street was pretty crowded, but Fantasyland was deserted.

 

[OhMari]

They explained in the beginning of the show that it was easier to drive down than fly. Her and Jon said they were there with the twins when they were 3.
I applaud them for asking her friends to meet them there and help them. One of the friends said, "if one child gets sick, they are done, they have to go back to the room." She said, that is why they are there, to help out as much as possible. Kate hugged them in the end and told them they couldn't have done it without them. They probably had "The grand Gathering Package" in which you get roped off areas to watch parades and fireworks. Plus they made the comment that they were done by 3:00. They were definately not inexperienced Disney people.

 

[Lucky4me]

I love how the interviewer is now starting to act like a shrink, leading Kate into realizing she has an OCD problem. :lol:
I can't believe how Kate acted about that ice cream. So wash them up afterwards, buy them a new shirt if need be. She is really out of control.

 

[pugluver31902]

Until any of us have sextuplets, I don't think anyone is in a position to judge how Kate acted with the ice cream. Considering how many children she has, she needs to be obsessivly organized. I know families with way less children whos homes are in utter chaos. I give her a round of applause. Every mother has melt downs from time to time. Unfortunatly, hers are caught on camera. Cut her some slack. The kids are well taken care of and always safe. On top of that, they are happy kids. If she is gonna freak out over ice cream, let her. Taking eight kids to Disney is a huge feat. She was just as hot and tired as the kids. I think she did great.

 

[daisax]

>Taking eight kids to Disney is a huge feat.

Once they were there it was 5 adults and 9 kids. And VIP treatment. And during the drive a camera crew to watch the kids while they took the bags into the hotel and get settled.

That's one part I didn't get -- first time I've watched these people, but I wanted to see WDW. What was she planning on doing in the hotel room while he wrangled all the kids back and forth? Wipe the rooms down with bleach and cover everything with plastic wrap? Because I can't imagine telling my husband to get our 8 sleeping children out of the car while I take my one bag in (and open the door to the adjoining room).

 

[TheLodgeLady]

I was there when they were at the Wilderness Lodge.

They checked into the WL on the morning of July 28th. Same day we did. They stayed on the Club Level.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

She said they wanted to drive to be able to bring all their stuff, have their own car seats, and also she said they would not be able to rent a van big enough for them. I guess she meant they also needed the uhaul unit attached to the van.

 

[Lucky4me]

Until any of us have sextuplets, I don't think anyone is in a position to judge how Kate acted with the ice cream. Considering how many children she has, she needs to be obsessivly organized. I know families with way less children whos homes are in utter chaos. I give her a round of applause. Every mother has melt downs from time to time. Unfortunatly, hers are caught on camera. Cut her some slack. The kids are well taken care of and always safe. On top of that, they are happy kids. If she is gonna freak out over ice cream, let her. Taking eight kids to Disney is a huge feat. She was just as hot and tired as the kids. I think she did great.

I am from a family of eight kids and never once saw my extremely organized Mother act like that. She needs to get a grip. I admire her organizational skills, but she should lose the drama over spilled ice cream, non matching clothes, etc.
The fact the show is recognizing her problem will hopefully help her recognize it and get help. Help for herself, not help with the kids. She gets plenty of that. I imagine for every meltdown the camera catches, there are a dozen they don't. Those kids don't need that. Look at the one older daughters behavior. She is consistently whiny, mouthy and miserable. It will only get worse as time goes on if Kate doesn't get in control of her own emotions. I've watched this show from day one and Disney was only one of dozens of times she's acted like this.
Having said all that, I do think Kate is a wonderful person and loves her family with all her heart. She just needs to stop flipping out all the time.

 

[blessedby3]

I am from a family of eight kids and never once saw my extremely organized Mother act like that.

You may be from a family of eight, but it is a whole different story when there are 8 kids of various ages instead of 6 kids the same age with 2 more only 3 years older. We have many families at our church with lots of kids (like 8-12) and the older siblings are mainly like more parents. When the kids are all the same age you are on a whole different page and it is much crazier. I think Kate does a great job and she and Jon seem to banter a lot, but you can also see the love between them. You would have to be overly organized to run a household with that many kids the same age. I was just thinking the other day how hard it is for me to make sure that my 3 kids have all their homework done each day and help them with some of it-(and get dinner/baths, etc. done each afternoon) - I wouldnt want to have to help 8 kids with homework like she will be doing in a few years

 

[sydprincess]

Ughhh, that older child's meltdown was so out of line. Yes, I'm sure she was hot, tired and whatever, but come on. She's old enough to at least try to get a grip. Very immature for her age. I didn't see one of the adults stop and ask her to calm down and be patient. They just let her have it out. Well, no wonder she does it! No one tells her not to! Those parents should be concerned. I'm not a shrink, but she sure has symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder.