|
Post by Mrs. Nesbit on Jan 18, 2010 16:44:03 GMT -5
Which character is a MUST see when you go to a Disney park?
|
|
|
Post by SpellWovenNight on Jan 18, 2010 19:52:59 GMT -5
Mickey of course! No Disney trip is complete without seeing Mickey Mouse. It's like the old Disney Park commercials where the kid is so excited to go to Disney and he or she gets there and has a lot of fun and sees all these other characters, but doesn't see Mickey at all. So, then when they're leaving the kids all sad and then Mickey appears and they leave skipping I like the old Disney Park commercials.
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Jan 18, 2010 20:33:00 GMT -5
I have a few must sees. Bu the funnest characters to see are Chip and Dale. They are incredibly fun to goof off with. On assorted visits, I've seen them jumping out from behind a pillar outside DCA's Tower of Terror in an effort to scare guests, fight with each other because they were waiting for me to get my camera ready, pretend to be airplanes, scold me for not having a pin of them on my lanyard, gush over a pin of them on my lanyard because I'd finally listened to them, accuse each other of smelling badly, and torment each other over a plush Dale toy.
On Halloween, they were dressed as cop and robber, so at one point, Robber Dale escaped from Cop Chip and tried to hide in the line, using a cast member to help him. Chip eventually captured him, arrested him, and Dale showed off his ball and chain.
In December, when I told them they deserved a movie more than Alvin and the Chipmunks, they proceeded to show off their sumo wrestling skills before reenacting fight scene from The Matrix.
|
|
|
Post by Pride on Jan 18, 2010 23:22:17 GMT -5
Lol BRP I love your character experiences! I wish I had cool stories to tell! Honestly, nothing really exciting ever happened to me personally when I met characters...they usually just say how nice to meet you, where are you from, and then we pose and are sent away. If anything. However, I do agree that chip and dale are playful and have fun with the people. The only time I took a picture with them I was with my friend and my friend got one and I got the other (I can't remember which). Whichever one I had got all bashful when he asked for my arm for the picture and then afterwards he "kissed" my hand and then his brother like started getting after him or something. But we ran away lol The faeries are always nice, too. I've only met Silvermist, Tinkerbell, and Terrence ( <3 ), and they courteous, but they seemed to be more into each other/themselves than the guests. For example, today it was raining so no one was waiting for Tinkerbell so we decided to take some new pictures, and just as we got there Terrence came out of the secret room thing and he and Tinkerbell were just talking when we lined up next to them and just posed ane left. Last time, my friends and I were wearing our "Team Prince ____" shirts and she actually paid attention to our shirts and told us she hopes we find them. Although I've never actually met Mary Poppins and Bert, I've seen them out dancing before and they always do great poses in the pictures (mainly Bert). If you wait in line at the Princess Fair, you never know who you are going to get. The last time we waited I checked out who was there when we initially got in line and it was like Cinderella, Snow White, and someone else, but they change every 15 minutes. By the time we got to them, it was Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel. In there they seem to be more concerned with keeping people moving and not having a personal experience with the guests. Today we saw Mulan, Ariel, and Cinderella, and it was pretty much the same thing. We tried to talk to Ariel and she just kind of smiled. Mulan, however, shook each of our hands, asked for our names, asked where we were from, asked what we had done that day, and talked a little about Mushu. That really impressed each of us. It was pretty much the same experience for me in DCA's Hollywood backlot...the pixar characters don't do much (except Sully...he can be fun) and the Princesses are just kind of there to look pretty.
|
|
|
Post by Silver on Jan 19, 2010 0:58:51 GMT -5
Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that Pride.^^
I was very fortunate to have had a great experience for the most part with the Disney Princesses. I guess the reson they rank on the top of my list is because they were my childhood idols. (Not to be confused with role models) So when I went to visit them I felt these giddy emotions flooding back into me. I was only adult in line who wanted a picture and autograph and every other person looked at me like I was ridiculous. But the actors were very sweet to me. In fact I think they were secretly thankful to have an fan whoam they could look directly into the eye as opposed to kneeling down. Yes I did get to spend some more time with others depending on how long the lines were but from what I could see they all made an effort to make the fans feel happy. Jasmine was my favorite though.
I do agree SpellWoven that Mickey Mouse is the must-see of the Park! He's the icon so to miss him would be a grave dissapointment. I rememeber that commerical with the little girl and her solem expression. Mickey just makes the experience feel complete. I guess it helps since all the Mickey's I met were espeically kind to the fans. They gave hugs, high-fives, hand-kisses, there was even one who bowed down before a little girl who had on Disney tiara. I'm sure the actors are aware these are pretty big shoes to fill, so their expecations are higher then most. I can't imagin the daunting task they have.
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Jan 19, 2010 1:29:52 GMT -5
I've never met Tink or any of her friends. Of course, I'm not really interested in meeting them either. I met Mary Poppins once and asked her to say super. . . backwards. Hilarity ensued as she did it 3 different ways. Once actually backwards as said in the movie, second by syllable, and third by turning her back to me and saying it "normally."
I dislike the Princess Fantasy Faire. The random rotation with no idea of who you're getting is especially annoying since I really only want to see Aurora. But I've been able to have some fun conversations in there. For me, the key is asking a question about their movie and letting them answer it. I've also had some luck with a quick bow. It usually opens up just enough of a window to have a brief conversation about her friends.
One thing for people to keep in mind. You do have to be quick. Like Pride mentioned, sometimes, Disney is just trying to get everybody through the line as fast as they can. But if you can quickly ask a question about her friends or movie, you can turn a 30 second meet and greet into a 2-3 minute one. With no line at The Ultimate Disney Experience after seeing The Princess and the Frog at The Walt Disney Studios, I spent maybe 3-5 minutes talking to Aurora. I've heard that guests who get in line before the Fantasy Faire closes for the day can get more time as well.
I've also heard cast members say that they really enjoy meeting with older guests who "play along with the magic." They do so many smile for the camera moments every day that it's great fun for them to get to show that they know who they're supposed to be.
There's a great difference between putting on a costume and becoming the character. Give them a chance to show you how they've become that character.
|
|
|
Post by Pride on Jan 19, 2010 18:52:16 GMT -5
(I'd like to apologize for the length of my previous post. I had just gotten back from Dland and everything was flooding back to me and I just kept typing..ehh!)
I'm really glad you had great experiences when you went to Disneyworld, Silver. You will get to treasure those moments for a long time! I totally understand what you mean when you said you felt giddy and starstruck by being able to see your idols. When my friend and I were surprised to see Belle we were totally giddy and couldn't stop smiling for a long time after! There's just something about seeing them up close and alive!
BRP I will definitely heed your advice. I've actually been inspired by your interractions with Aurora to come up with questions for when I see the characters, but I always get nervous and scared that they will think I'm foolish or something, but you always make it sound like so much fun! One of these days, I will!
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Jan 20, 2010 1:55:11 GMT -5
One thing I want teenage and adult Disney fans to understand is that it's okay to meet the characters. The characters understand that. Maybe someone has loved Disney your entire life, but are making their first park visit in teenage years or older. Just because you're "older" doesn't mean you haven't dreamed of meeting Mickey Mouse. And Mickey knows that.
Silver, thanks for sharing your stories. There are times when the kids are so excited that they're starstruck. That means a lot to the characters, but at the same time, I've heard from some CMs that they enjoy interacting with older guests who "play along with the magic" because it gives them a chance to show why they were cast.
Honestly, it can be nerve wracking and scary to meet the characters. I've felt self conscious in line because I was the only adult without a little child in tow. But when my turn comes, it's so much fun seeing the characters in character that it doesn't matter anymore. The thing that's helped me the most is simply doing it. It was pretty nerve wracking at first, especially when meeting a face character, but what helped me a lot was jumping right in. It might be easier to interact with the fuzzies first. But as it becomes easier (or at least less self conscious), It's not so strange to go from asking Donald Duck how Chip and Dale are to asking Princess Aurora how Fauna feels about being left out of the debate over the color of Aurora's dress.
|
|
|
Post by barkydog2000 on Jan 30, 2010 14:44:43 GMT -5
I haven't had many interactions because I don't like waiting in line. I don't really go to see a certain character, just to see whoever I can. I usually met the characters in EPCOT since that is were I am the most.
It was nice the last time I went with my friends because I wasn't as afraid. I always want to interact with the characters, but I am not that quick on my feet to ask them a question. So in the Princess faire it was nice because we were the only ones in there and it was just the princesses and the camera guys. I asked Cinderella if glass was actually comfortable for footwear and she said her fairy godmother made them extra comfy for her. And we had a nice conversation with Belle on finding a good man, and she suggested one of the camera men! But my favorite was during a parade Hook came over and attacked my sister! and later we saw him and smee and we had tiaras on and they bowed to us. And Peter warned us against the pirates.
So I wish I was more bold so I could have more fun.
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Jan 31, 2010 1:59:44 GMT -5
On one occasion, Cinderella's stepsisters hit on my little brother during Disneyand's Christmas parade. They must have gotten word that he had run away from Cinderella years earlier at Walt Disney World. The revulsion on his face was priceless.
Lexi made a great point about wearing the tiara. "Dressing for success" can work wonders. I once had a special interaction with Sully because I was wearing a Pixar t-shirt that I bought when I saw WALL-E at Pixar. I've had a tremendous amount of fun with my pins. Chip and Dale once scolded me because they weren't on my lanyard. (They later praised me for putting them on it.) Goofy force choked me (ala Darth Vader) when he saw a Darth Goofy pin. Ariel is jealous that she's not on my lanyard. Aurora loved my pin of Minnie and Mickey dancing as her and Phillip.
|
|
|
Post by Miss Megara on Feb 23, 2010 13:36:41 GMT -5
All your posts make me want to go to a Disney Park even more than before. I unfortunately never had the oppertunity to go. They sound so much fun! Hopefully one day I'll be able to go. I'd really like to meet all the princesses if possible, as well as Tink and friends.
|
|
Judge Claude Frollo
Disney Member
And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!
Posts: 175
|
Post by Judge Claude Frollo on Feb 25, 2010 10:41:29 GMT -5
FROLLO!!! For whatever the odd reason he was not in Disneyland, California at all last year. The other parks have him every year, but California decided not to. He was there in 2008, but I missed out on that. Here's hoping this year he'll be back. Esmeralda would be great to see as well. Been a long time since she was in California. I have heard on rare occasion she was seen in WDW, but is seen a lot more in DLP. Heh, Frollo, Esmeralda and Clopin are regulars in DLP. Someday I need to go to Paris. I always see the regulars like Alice and Mad Hatter, Mickey and Goofy and so on. California needs to bring out more rare characters.
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Feb 26, 2010 0:05:13 GMT -5
The only villain I've even seen in Disneyland more than once is Cruella De Vil. I've heard that the villains are out and about during Mickey's Halloween Treat party at DCA, but that's about it.
I've only met two "villains" at Disney, both at Disney's Hollywood Studios: Darth Goofy and Stormtrooper Donald.
|
|
|
Post by Joy on Mar 9, 2010 20:15:37 GMT -5
Other than the obvious (Mickey, the princesses, etc.), it's always a joy to see Alice and the Mad Hatter wandering the park. They're incredibly active (they play Musical Chairs, Charades, etc) and the Mad Hatter is always hilarious! If you see them at the park, you can definitely bet that they're up to something random!
|
|
|
Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Mar 10, 2010 3:11:53 GMT -5
On one occasion I walked through the front gates at Disneyland and saw the Mad Hatter leading about 10 men in a Radio City Music Hall rockettes style kick line. The Hatter was in the middle as the ringleader with the children laughing at their fathers as the wives of these men tried to capture this silly moment forever on film and photograph alike.
|
|