A Walt Disney World vacation is all about those magical moments. On one of our trips, we made a list of all the characters we hoped to meet. I want to say there were about 20 characters on our list and we ended up meeting closer to 30 during our 7 park days. One of our favorites was meeting Merida in the Magic Kingdom.
My boys like Brave, but it's not necessarily one of their favorites. But Merida was on our list and her meet & greet area looks cool, so we decided to wait to meet her. I think her wait was one of the longest we experienced on our trip. We probably waited about 30 minutes (don't worry, we had Daddy go get us Mickey bars to hold us over!). But I would say she was well worth the wait!
As soon as we walk up she says, "Oh! My little redhead brothers!" She gives my boys a big squeeze and seems to really hang on for an extra beat or two. She talks with them about their vacation. She asks about my youngest's stuffed cat that he insisted on carrying around that whole trip (Meow- Meow was its name).
Meanwhile, my oldest (4 yrs old) is holding the autograph book and green sharpie pen, waiting to have her sign it. As she's talking, he is totally smitten with her. It's like he's going into a daze, listening to her. And as he's zoning out and marveling at her princess beauty, he starts absent-mindedly coloring on his face with the marker!! I think he was nervously going to nibble on it or something and didn't realize the cap was off. I'm watching and taking pictures and suddenly realize what's happening. I shout out to him to stop. He realizes what he's done and gets embarrassed.
Merida laughs (authentically!) and says, "You know what? You look a bit like a warrior!" She goes on to say, "You really are like my little brothers! That's something they would do!"
After I snap some pictures, I have the cast member take a picture of all of us together. As I stand next to Merida to pose, she gives me a side-squeeze and says, "Oh, mum! Enjoy them!"
I could have been upset that he drew on his face (and it stayed there for a bit after!). I could have been disappointed that the pictures weren't perfect. But instead, it was a highlight of the trip. Merida handled it perfectly and added to the magic. What could have been a typical 4 yr old mess, turned out to be a magical moment with a princess.
Do you have a good character meet & greet story? I'd love to hear it! Share in the comments!
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