Character Meetings

Amazingly, I've known quite a few "characters" at Disney World. It started back in 1977 when our family moved to Winter Garden, FL which is at Disney's back door. Many of the kids in our small high school worked at Disney in the "zoo". When we would visit the parks, which was very often, we would invariably get mugged by a character who sometime later would turn out to be somebody we knew.

Many years later, I took a part time job at the brand new Disney store that was opening in Greenville, SC. One of my co-workers had been in the zoo, too. She played Alice, Donald, Mickey and Minnie. In fact, for many years you could see her as Alice on a postcard that was sold at the parks.

She told me many interesting stories about being a character. It's amazing how many adults are either inconsiderate, rude, or crude. I thought some of her stories might be fiction until she showed me a picture album where she and her fellow characters had "switched heads". This is strictly forbidden, but they pulled it off by doing it in an elevator. It was weird to see Donald's head on Mickey's body. It was also a bit disturbing to see Minnie's head on Mickey's body.

One of her worst stories was about an incident that happened during a parade. She was Donald for this particular parade. Well, she fell on the float during the parade and broke her leg, but was forced to finish the parade since it would scar too many kids to see Donald being hauled off in an ambulance.

Knowing so many people who had played characters gave me the boldness to contact the zoo keeper when it came time to propose. My girlfriend, Mary, suspected I would pop the question while we were at Disney but she didn't know how or when. I had a glass slipper made and engraved with a special message at Downtown Disney. I then contacted the zoo manager and asked if there was any way I could enlist Cinderella in my scheme. She was more than happy to help out.

The next day, we made reservations for King Stefan's Banquet Hall. The fact that we were able to make same day reservations and that it was still called King Stefan's instead of Cinderella's Royal Table should give you some clue as to how long ago this was! We were in the waiting room for dinner when Cinderella showed up. A number of small girls got her autograph and a picture. Once everybody else was done, Cindy came over to my very surprised girlfriend and said, "My fairy godmother asked me to give this to you." She handed my girlfriend the slipper which read, "A perfect fit". I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Needless to say, we are now living happily ever after.

Our two girls, when they were still little girls, were convinced that Mommy had been Cinderella when she was young since she had a glass slipper. We didn't dissuade them from their romantic notion.

Now it turns out, Disney World has commercialized my idea. You can setup a proposal dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table including a glass slipper.

If you would like some ideas for interacting with characters at Disney, here are some suggestions based on ideas submitted by members at Disboards:

Minnie & Mickey:
Ask Minnie if she got a wedding ring yet.
Minnie loves it when you wear a shirt with her on it! (So does Mickey :D )
Wear Minnie Mouse costume to Chef Mickey's (or bring a Minnie Mouse doll).
Ask Minnie how many dresses she has. Try to ask her in front of Mickey, or when a CM is around.
Tell Minnie she's the real princess.

Chip & Dale:
Ask Chip and Dale if they are squirrels (or gophers)
Call Chip...Dale and Dale...Chip....
Call Chip or Dale Alvin or Theodore
Ask Chip and Dale how to tell them apart.
Tell Chip and Dale you have nuts in your backpack.

Donald, Goofy, Pluto:
Ask Donald Duck where Mickey Mouse is.
Call Donald "Daffy" or wear a Daffy shirt around him.
If you have the talent, speak to Donald Duck in a duck's voice.
Wear your Pal Mickey or a Mickey shirt/hat around Donald
Call Goofy or Pluto "Snoopy"
Give dog biscuits/treats to Pluto
Scratch Pluto behind the ear
Tell Pluto he's a good dog.

Peter Pan, Wendy & Captain Hook:
Tell Captain Hook....TICK TOCK!!
Crow at Peter Pan.
Ask Peter Pan where he's from in front of Wendy.
Tell Hook he's a codfish.
Have a stuffed croc around Hook.
Where a kelly green shirt around Wendy.
Tell pirate jokes to Peter Pan - Like...What kind of movies do pirates like? One rates Arrrr And...Why are they rated R? Because of all the Pirate Booty in them.
If you say the words "How Rude" in the same tone Little Michelle uses on Full House to Captain Hook, he will give you more attitude than you might think it's worth. Although his reaction is hilarious!
Have on pirate paraphernalia around Peter Pan lol.

Cruella:
When you see Cruella.... BARK!!!!
Cruella gave extra negative attention in response to a hat that had a Disney feline on it! She also notices jewels!
Curella LOVES compliments!
Wear stripes around her.

Princesses:
The gist I've gotten is, they all LOVE to talk and have background stories, and they don't need much prompting.
Princesses oohh and awe over jewelry and clothing with images of them on it.
Ask Pocahontas how she says Hello.
Bow to a princess, and call them your highness ... they love that.
Speak French to Belle.
Ask Belle what her favorite book is.
Ask Snow White how the Dwarves are doing.
Ask Mulan if she's found her true love. When says no, tell her you'll put in a good word with the matchmaker.
Princesses LOVE little boys!
They also love hand drawn/colored pictures and CAN accept them!

Pooh & Friends:
Ask Eeyore if he's lost his tail.
To Pooh: "Where's the hunny? I have a rumbly in my tumbly"
Ask Tigger for bouncing lessons.

Alice & Wonderland cast:
Ask the Mad Hatter for his "autograph". He may draw a picture of a car and a graph.
Tell the Mad Hatter it's your Unbirthday.
Ask the white rabbit for the time.
Mention that you have a cat to Alice.

Dwarves:
Call one of the 7 Dwarfs by the wrong name, very funny, especially if all 7 are present.
Ask Dopey what 1 + 1 is.

Mary Poppins:
Say "Supercalafragilisticexpealidocious" to Mary Poppins.
Ask her to say it backwards.
Ask her how your kids "Measure Up!"

Toy Story:
To Buzz: Point behind him and yell "It's Zurg!!! Oh No!!!"
To Buzz: Ask him exactly where "Beyond" is.
To Woody: "There's a snake in your boot!!!"
To Woody: "Somebody's poisoned the water hole!!!"

General or other:
Give the villains a hug.
Wear a Universal shirt.
Have a stuffed Simba when you see Rafiki.
Offer Stitch a cookie.
Wear something with Stitch on it that he can take, like a backpack.
Stitch and Meeko are known to rummage through purses and backpacks for "food."
Ask Meeko if he is a badger.
Try calling Mushu a lizard.
Prince John - Tell him he's the rightful king, and he'll agree!
Sing Bear/Bare Necessities to Baloo.
Salute the green army man in MGM.
Wait in line to see Capt Jack, but when you get to the front act like you were in line to see Davy Jones.
After a picture op, tell a fur character they blinked or their eyes were closed lol.