Tag Archives: Disney World Characters

Disney Character Close-up – Lady Tremaine and The Steps

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IMG_3285If you’re taking little ones to Walt Disney World, you will, of course, want to take them to see their favorite characters.  The Fab Five, Princesses, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet too!  Character autographs, character meals, character meet and greets – opportunities abound.

Again – I want to point out (I’m not trying to make you sad, I promise) – your kiddos won’t stay little forever.  The importance of character interaction will wane a bit as you find yourself with tweens, teens and young adults.  This may surprise you, but meeting characters becomes a whole lot more interesting when your children get a little older!

Enter the more “sophisticated” characters.  Characters that can be intimidating or downright terrifying to small children are absolutely wonderful for interacting with older kids and adults.IMG_3289   Examples include the likes of Captain Hook, Jafar, and – to me, truly the very best characters for older children, Lady Tremaine and the Step Sisters.

IMG_3290We first ran into Lady Tremaine and the Steps unexpectedly near Cinderella’s Wishing Well in the Magic Kingdom – we laughed hysterically at their antics.  Lady Tremaine is dead serious in her unflappable adoration of her beloved offspring.   Anastasia and Drizella are pretty amazing in the level of selfishness and conceit they display!  At that time, Megan and Joseph could appreciate the humor, but weren’t quite ready to be a part of the “show”.

We next ran into Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella during our magical VIP parade seating.  Joseph was old enough to really interact with the Steps and knew just what to do.  He showed them some attention and, as expected, that was all it took before one of the girls, Drizella, screamed, IMG_5221“MOTHER!  I want this ONE!”

Later that night during the Main Street Electrical Parade, Joseph saw Drizella and Anastasia again on a parade float and blew a kiss – Drizella immediately focused all her attention on Joseph as the float went by.  As it moved along the route, Joseph stood with one arm longingly (and dramatically!) outstretched towards his now favorite character as she reached towards him with equally passionate dismay.  C’mon – that’s hilarious!  Priceless Disney magic….character interaction for big kids is every bit as fantastic as it was with little ones.

IMG_5222On our upcoming Walt Disney World vacation, I’ve booked a character meal at 1900 Park Fare (buffet at the Grand Floridian).  Oh, seeing Cinderella and The Prince will be nice, but I can’t WAIT to see Lady Tremaine and the Step Sisters again.

Need to tell them apart?  Drizella is the oldest and wears blue / green.  Anastasia is the younger sister in Pink.

It’s your turn:  Who do you think are the best characters for older children?  Who are your favorite characters to interact with?

 

 

Magical Memory Monday – Loving Donald

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IMG_5202I must confess…while growing up, I was never a Donald Duck fan.  Watching Disney cartoons on TV, I thought he was always kind of crabby and pretty grumpy in general.  Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Daisy were so happy, Donald just suffered by comparison.  Based on those childhood feelings, It surprises me how much of a Donald fan I am now…He is, without a doubt, my favorite Disney character!

What happened to make me fall in love with Donald Duck?  Disney magic, that’s what!!!

It was during a spring break trip to Disney World in 2005.  We were staying at the Contemporary and were on our way out to the parks for the day when Megan realized she’d forgotten her key-to-the-world card.  Joseph and I waited on the monorail platform while Raymond and Megan ran back to the room to get it.  Joseph was occupying himself in the way 10-year-old boys tend to do as I looked down over the railing at the goings-on at Chef Mickey’s.  Donald was out in front of the restaurant posing with a family for pictures.  After the pictures were taken and the family went on inside, one of those magical Disney moments took place that changed my feelings about Donald Duck forever….

Donald glanced up at me as I stood there by myself looking over that wall on the monorail platform.  And when he saw me, he threw his arms wide and stepped back in surprise…one hand flew to his heart while he pointed right at me with the other…perfectly miming, “It’s YOU!”  Then he began madly blowing kisses to me with both hands.

At first I was so shocked I just sort of waved back a little, but Donald’s enthusiasm (at seeing me!) and those kisses he just kept flinging at me, quickly snapped me into the magic of the moment and before I knew it…..I was wildly blowing kisses back at Donald with, I’m sure, a ridiculously huge, dopey IMG_5201smile on my face!  Yeah…..so that was just about the time I heard, “Mommmmm?  What are you doing?”  And I answered the only way I could….”Oh, Joseph!  Donald and I are having a moment!”  Then, Raymond and Megan got back so Donald and I both went on about our day…but, in that one brief moment, grumpy, crabby Donald became special, magical Donald and had won my heart forever.