C-R-A(cranky old man)N-K-Y(Why
because of Disney)K.I.D.S KIDS
The Cranky’s,
the Pa. Crank, DIL, and two Crankettes are back from Disney World. I was actually quite proud of the two Crankettes,
in general they were very well behaved.
This was especially true in comparison to the many ultra cranky kids I
observed at Disney World. Don’t let the
commercials fool you, 90 % of the children under 7 are miserable at Disney World
90% of the time.
Kids at
Disney want and then they want more.
When they don’t get what they want, they whine. Parents take their children to Disney to
watch their smiles and create memories.
They react to the whining and the wanting by giving in and giving in. The chain reaction to the rewarding of the whining
with the giving in is even more whining.
The Disney Corporation takes advantage of this by putting a store at the
end of every ride to sell ride related merchandise.
Kids come to
Disney with expectations of dancing with Mickey and Donald et al, based on the
commercials they see on TV. If they are
lucky, they see the Disney characters in a parade…there will be no dancing with
Mickey; this results in more whining.
Parents
spend a lot of money getting to and staying at Disney. To get their money’s worth; they spend from 7
am to 10 pm at the parks. Surprise, this
makes for even more whining by exhausted toddlers.
My DIL was
smart and she rationed hours at the park with time at the pool, and time for
naps. I’m not sure about the Crankettes,
but I sure took advantage of the nap time.
DIL also made it clear to the Crankettes that there would be no purchases
of Disney crap all day long, instead she set aside an hour at the end of one
day to shop and she put a limit on purchases.
Another
Disney toddler observation was of a child’s capacity for wonderment. It is about 20 seconds. We stayed at Animal Kingdom where our
backyard mimicked the African Savanna. There
were zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, large exotic birds and multiple types of
antelope. I took the boys to see the
zebras and giraffes. They thought they
were really cool…for 20 seconds, and then they wanted mints which were shaped
like Mickey.
I also
observed how toddlers cannot put anything in perspective and how they live in
the moment. We took them on every ride
imaginable. They saw talking birds, they
flew over California and took a truck through Africa where they saw lions,
hippos, elephants and much more. They
saw parades with fabulous floats, fireworks and laser light shows that were
beyond description.
What caused mini-melt downs?
Whose turn was
it to push the elevator button, or unlock the room door with their magic Mickey
wrist band. My son was pretty good at defusing
these mini-meltdowns. He expertly used
the ignore and distract method.
Fortunately, a toddler’s capacity to mope over minor disappointment is
about as long as their wonderment time frame…about 20 seconds.
All and all,
I think the Crankettes had a good time and built a few memories. I was proud of their behavior, no spoiled
brats at the Pa. Crank’s.
The
Disneyophiles, Mrs. C and DIL definitely had a good time.
This cranky
old man and son of cranky survived, and I will grudgingly admit that I actually
enjoyed a good portion of the trip.
Oh, did I
mention that I beat my son in the “Toy Story” ride contest…68,800 to 68,700.
