A mom who intended to share a heartwarming video of her toddler meeting Daisy Duck accidentally sparked a heated debate among Disney Parks fans. Some called the girl’s parents negligent for allowing her to walk up to the character performer while she was busy with another family, while others slammed those who would criticize an excited child at Walt Disney World Resort.
As much as we all love the commercials of families walking hand-in-hand with Mickey Mouse down Main Street, U.S.A., that’s not the reality of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation. Tens of thousands of guests visit Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park daily, necessitating more organized, streamlined character encounters.
TikTok user @waltdisneyworldkid recently shared this video of her toddler walking up to Daisy Duck at her meet-and-greet location in EPCOT. “When you meet your favorite celebrity but approach from the wrong side…,” the Disney Park guest wrote.
@jilteddisneybride Wait for it …. She’s our little oddball. Also her desperation to meet characters is a recurring problem 😆 #disneyparks #disney #daisyduck #disneyparkstiktok #disneytiktok #disneykid #disneywithkids #parentinghacks #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #wdw #disnerd #disneyadult #liloandstitch #epcot
In the video, the little girl runs up to Daisy Duck as she greets another family. Daisy’s character attendant is controlling the line on the other side and doesn’t notice the girl approaching at first. When the cast member notices, she encourages the girl’s father to move her away.
Luckily, Daisy Duck’s line was short, so the family didn’t have to wait long once they got in line. When the little girl tried to run up before it was her turn, Daisy’s character attendant did a fantastic job redirecting her attention. Then, she finally had her moment with her favorite Disney character.
The girl’s mom shared the clip innocently, not knowing it would amass thousands of views and hundreds of comments across social media platforms. Many Disney Parks fans slammed the girl’s parents for not stepping in when she initially rushed the character performer.
“It’s kind of messed up you let her cut in like that,” @isisbabyyyy commented.
“Why do they think this is cute?” u/Entire_Flounder_1648 asked on Reddit. “Why would they sit there and film this while the cast member had to redirect their child? Wtf.”
“Can she not hold her child’s hand and teach her?” u/StomachPhysical3597 replied. “How gross.”
Still, many defended the child and her family.
“Obviously she’s a toddler and didn’t fully understand why she wasn’t saying hi to her back??” @b1tchknee commented on TikTok. “You guys redirected her and waited your turn, really really confused why people are so mad at A CHILD being excited at DISNEY??”
“I think people have an issue because it could be dangerous if characters dont see the kiddos running up to them,” @torgi13 explained. “But she was redirected to go to the front of daisy and the cast member helped her wait a second for the previous guest interaction to end. This is such a cute video.”
Others were angry that an adult woman was in line before the little girl.
“Blows my mind that grown adults by themselves make kids wait to see characters,” @simmonsfam7 said.
“The grown woman needing to take a photo with Daisy first is what gets me,” @tayyyreyes4 wrote. “…How easy it would have been for them to be kind and let the baby meet Daisy first since she was SO excited.”
But the toddler’s mom defended the woman who was in line ahead of them.
“We would never say our kid should go first or be prioritized,” she replied. “We walked her around and talked about waiting our turn. There are always adults in character lines. It’s part of Disney. It would be crazy if they had to step out to keep letting kids in front. It’s nice that people feel bad for our cute kiddo but she was a ok waiting 1 minute 😆 Disney is good for learning patience.”
Did these parents do anything wrong? Share your opinion with Disney Dining in the comments.
