Stupid Guest Tricks

I have always wanted to ask Crush if Pirates REALLY use Sea Turtles for transport........afraid I'd get that look he gives to crazy people ;) :p:

DisneyMom wrote:I have always wanted to ask Crush if Pirates REALLY use Sea Turtles for transport........afraid I'd get that look he gives to crazy people

I remember once when I was at Turtle Talk in California Adventure, a guy asked Crush "Did you help Jack Sparrow get off the island?" And Crush said something like; "Dude, that's suppose to be a secret!"

Disneyguy85 wrote:I remember once when I was at Turtle Talk in California Adventure, a guy asked Crush "Did you help Jack Sparrow get off the island?" And Crush said something like; "Dude, that's suppose to be a secret!"

I guess I have my answer! ;)

felinefan wrote:Anybody ever read the newspaper story about Virginia O'Hanlon? She was the little girl who wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking if there was a Santa Claus. The editor of the Sun replied in the paper, per Virginia's request, ("My father says if it's in the Sun it's so") and the result is the classic "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus". I read about her, and near the end of her life, she was asked if she still believed in Santa Claus, and she replied, "Yes, I still believe". I'll bet her life was enriched by her belief in Santa. If you've seen the movie "The Polar Express", you'll know that the Hero Boy believed the rest of his life, so he could hear that sleigh bell he'd gotten from Santa as the First Gift of Christmas as a kid, when he was beginning to lose faith.

Especially these days, we need to believe in something to give us hope in our darkest times.

I took a friend's kid to see Polar Express quite a few years ago (in 3-d, was awesome!). She was just about at the age of not believing anymore (8 or 9 I think), and none of us wanted to spoil the magic for her. As we were walking out of the theatre, she turned and asked me if I hear jingle bells, and with a tear in my eye I told her "Yes I do sweetheart, every single time." She hid a smile and continued walking.

accioetoile wrote:I understand if you feel like letting your kids believe in the magic is a lie, and you don't want them to believe the lie. I feel sad for the kids because they don't get to experience the magic of Disney, or Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny. But don't ruin it for other kids who do believe.

I have another friend (with 3 boys), who is determined not to "lie" to her kids about Santa and all the rest. The way they circumvented one of the kids ruining the magic for the rest in their classes was to tell them that Santa is different for every family and in their family, daddy pretends to be Santa. I don't personally agree with her decisions, but they're not my kids. I grew up believing in Santa and the rest, and I'm no worse for wear after learning the "truth".

Shorty82 wrote:Then I must be mad. I know that the characters are somebody in a costume but I also know they are actually that character. Doublethink for the win!

We all must be mad then! :O

My first-ever character interaction as an adult was at the age of 29 in Disneyland Paris. We were at the park for the day, and went to Chez Mickey's for dinner. We were sitting a little out of the way in the dining room, and when Mickey came out I lit up. I thought it would be 'childish' to wave him over, and was perfectly happy watching him interact with the children in the restaurant. Next thing I know, my mom stands up and starts waving him over. I couldn't believe it, I got up and hugged him and got a picture with him. The smile was still on my face the next day. :D

Had Mickey Mouse propose to me once Christmas in Judges Tent too! Good thing Minnie didn't see, she'd have been jealous! :p:

And I still get excited to see the Characters everytime I get to WDW!

~Chelle

you know, it strikes me as odd, all these parents who "want the kid to know the truth" about such things.

I get the impression that they are trying to their kids into a serious "mini-person" and get good grades and advance quickly through schools and such.

the funny part is that several studies have shown that kids who have an active imigination will far outpace the "serious" ones in such efforts.

I remember reading a news artical a few months ago about the advantage of letting kids read fantasy books, and allow them to form their own sense of play with creative toys.

maybe if we allowed them to be kids more throughout their lives, we would have less problems?

Grumpy, I agree with you. Today, kids are forced to be too grown up; they aren't allowed to play like my generation did, and play for children is a dress rehearsal for adulthood. People say kids need to see all the crud in the world, because it's more "realistic" than imagination. You look at toys and games that were sold in the 50s and 60s, and they were fun, nobody got hurt, and some taught you things. Now the games they have, people get killed, etc., plus all the games are so competitive, it's ridiculous. And using one's imagination is considered to be non-productive and a waste of time. Do you know that Albert Einstein had dyslexia, and had a difficult ime in a traditional school? His teacher told his father to let young Albert do whatever he wanted, he would never amount to anything. The elder Mr. Einstein instead put Albert into an alternative school, where children were encouraged to use their imaginations to solve problems. He later overcame his dyslexia and credited that school with his ability to come up with his theory of relativity.

So much for imagination being a waste.

FelineFan, Don't Know if we were safer back then, but certainly less regulated!
My Mom told me how her brother had her put her finger on the end of his BB Gun "to see if it worked" and a bow-and -arrow set with which he convinced her to play "William Tell"- no doubt he would have been put on Ritalin Nowdays! Mom lived in Michigan, where they used to play in swampy areas and catch frogs as they popped out of the water-one time she grabbed one and it turned out to be a water mocassin-she fortunately didn't get bit. They went out all day to play with the warning to "stay away from the quicksand" and occasionally did get a few leeches stuck to them....
We rollerskated,skateboarded and went down the Freeway without seat belts, kneepads or helmets....our "elders" who watched out for us were 7 or 8
as we tromped all over the neighborhood playing war with realistic -looking plastic guns, many times in the neighbors' backyards (not that many fences).If we were being too noisy, the neighbor would give us a handful of those big thick chewy caramels to shut us up :p: Doubt my parents knew them. Fourth of July we would buy those fireworks from the stand and run around the neighborhood in bare feet holding Sparklers at night. For school fundraisers we would go door-to-door into unknown neighborhoods to sell magazines,parents had no idea where we were, just had to be home when it got dark.
Kids definitely did get hurt doing those things,and can't imagine doing them now, but it was kind of fun to not have everything so monitored! Nowdays most kids don't know what to do with themselves unless it is a game you can plug in- no imagination required!

So, at night I've been telling my 4 year old about Walt, his life and hobbies and such. I've gotten to the point where I need to get some new books and re-read the old ones, but I did get a book on Imagineers, so I'm going to tell her about them. If I run out of stories, I tell her to ask me questions. The other night she asked how Walt made the characters, not the ones in the cartoons, but the ones that she gets to meet and talk to.

That was a tough one, but I just let it go by telling her it was the imaginations of Walt and others that created them. She pressed on, so I just asked her, "When you meet Mickey Mouse, is it really him?" She said "Yes!" I left it at that :)

ktulu wrote:So, at night I've been telling my 4 year old about Walt, his life and hobbies and such. I've gotten to the point where I need to get some new books and re-read the old ones, but I did get a book on Imagineers, so I'm going to tell her about them. If I run out of stories, I tell her to ask me questions. The other night she asked how Walt made the characters, not the ones in the cartoons, but the ones that she gets to meet and talk to.

That was a tough one, but I just let it go by telling her it was the imaginations of Walt and others that created them. She pressed on, so I just asked her, "When you meet Mickey Mouse, is it really him?" She said "Yes!" I left it at that :)

"Is that really a Warthog, or is it some priest with a furry fetish?" I feel furry, oh so furry...

drcorey wrote:"Is that really a Warthog, or is it some priest with a furry fetish?" I feel furry, oh so furry...

Are you implying there is a problem with furry?