The Castle

There's a first time for everything, or so they say.

I realized that as I threw my backpack at Nolan, handed my camera to Mr W, and managed to scoop up mini-Snow White under my arm football-style to sprint across the courtyard in front of the castle all in the hopes of garnering the attentions of Cinderella. 

Hoo, boy, did I feel kinda ridiculous.  I'm sure I looked it too, and some set of Japanese tourists is showing footage of it right now, but I can't dwell on it.  What's done is done.

I slowed to a walk, gently set Audrey down, and tried to act nonchalant as I asked the poor girl, "Where will you be next?"

Man, they have it down pat.  I can just see it, in the Disney Princess employee manual:

Keep moving, as you make your way through the crowd to your designated area.  Don't engage in any eye contact.  Stay out of reach of the little grubby hands.  Let the male escorting you to your destination handle crowd control.  Keep moving, even if you are answering a question.  Keep moving, even if Walt himself appears in front of you.

The girls that play the Princesses inside the park are certainly gracious enough.  They are pleasant, they speak with each little girl like they realize that it's a huge deal for them, and they are perfectly costumed.

I don't know if I could be that patient in the presence of the rabid fan 12-and-under set, especially once the parents get thrown into the mix.  Add a line with a 10-15 minute wait, and it's like a disaster waiting to happen...until it's your turn,  your own little one lights up from within, hands over the autograph book,  and you reach for your camera.  What line?

I found myself staking out the Wishing Well, waiting for Snow White, while a line formed behind us.  I'd gotten the inside info from Ariel during our audience with her that Snow White was just across the way...so I found the spot, there we stood.

Had I known Audrey would be so enchanted by the idea, I'd have planned better; as it was, we were wasting valuable minutes on our last day there to do this.  But I figure, she's only little once; the next time we go, she might not be that into it; so it's okay to let her wear her costume, and enjoy the moment.  I was a little worried about boring the boys, but it turns out that they understood how much she liked it, and they were the ones that pointed Cinderella's passing by us out to me.

We never did get to see Cinderella other than that little exchange where she turned her head and answered my question as she kept walking.   We attempted, but the place where she was holding storytime court was sooo crowded, that standing room only would've been a dangerous proposition.  "Maybe next time,"  I said to Audrey.  The prospect of more rides on her mind, she went off after her brothers without a fuss.

"Where on earth do they find these all these beautiful girls?"  I asked Mr W.  "They're all so amazingly good looking."

Seriously, in the shadow of the dewy light of their youth and good looks, it was all I could do to keep from running into the nearest bathroom in a fit of hysteria, whipping out moisturizer SPF 5000: "Is that a wrinkle? Is it?? Is it ???"  (Oh, yeah.  A real "Mirror, mirror on the wall" flash of insanity.)

My husband, in his either infinite wisdom, or total lack of understanding of anything within the female beauty realm, replied to me that "Yes, they are pretty, but it looks like a heavy makeup job, too."   Hey, good answer, I thought to myself, as I smiled at him in appreciation for his effort before pointing out that they all had wonderful bone structure.  "Do you think they wear wigs?"  he asked next. 

I wondered, would he detour through Las Vegas, on the way home, so I could marry him again?  Ha!

Anyway, I've been pondering off and on over the last couple of weeks, where do they find all the girls?  I mean, certainly, there are probably tons of young ladies eager to have that job, what with the adoration and getting to be (perhaps) your favorite childhood character while getting paid for it.  Aside from the occasional inappropriate stray male comment, I can't imagine it being too horrible a gig.

I have a theory.  You know how you can walk all around Sleeping Beauty's castle, but not actually go inside it?

I've decided it's either a hidden beauty salon, or a lab where they clone them all.

But it's just a theory.