Beauty and the Beast

Though Christina was barely past her third birthday, we decided to venture through the Disney MGM Park live version of Beauty and the Beast. It was raining, it had been raining pretty much all day, and the rest of the attractions lost their appeal. The truth is, with the exception of The Magic Kingdom, the parks at DisneyWorld don't have many rides you can take a three year old on. We'd bought the DVD the year before, so she was familiar with the story.

As with every Disney attraction, the lines were phenomenal. We had to park our stroller out on the street and haul our bags and daughter through the rain. Oh, we had our ponchos on, but they didn't keep much of the rain off. All they really did was render us invisible in the sea of orange and yellow out there. You lose sight of your party for a second and you're screwed.

The show was terrific as expected. Christina was riveted throughout, mouth and eyes wide open. We were back a ways, but we could see the stage well. I kept Christina propped up on my lap so she could see. It was a pretty good workout, actually.

Toward the end, as Cindy and I were planning our getaway through the crowd in anticipation of the final bows, something unexpected happened.

When Belle kissed the Beast and a puff of smoke came up, only to have Prince Charming suddenly appear, Christina was devastated. She looked around the stage in a panic, and not finding what she sought she started bawling."Where's Beast?" she asked. My explanations were futile. "I want Beast!!! I want Beast!!!" she started to yell, at the top of her lungs. People were turning around and staring at us impatiently, telling us with their looks to "Shut the kid up!"

Well, I didn't know what to do. Certainly I was distressed at being the cause for such an interruption during the final scene, the supposed happy-ever-after ending. But when it came down to it, I said the hell with everybody. My daughter was crushed and suffering intensely for the poor, disintegrated Beast. She needed our comfort.

We coddled her and kissed her, and promised her that Beast was okay. In fact he was happier now that he looked like a normal person. "No!" she yelled. She couldn't imagine how the Beast could be any prettier than he was, a big fluffy teddy bear.

Inconsolable, we carried her out of there. We went to the nearest gift shop and bought her a Beast doll. That finally calmed her down. She snuggled up with him in her stroller.

If that was a sign of what kind of men she's going to like, I'm in a world of trouble!

Comments

Sarah McBroden said…
Grins.

Mick, I always thought the beast was so much more, well, manly, than the prince could ever hope to be.

I wish you luck. If she is anything at all like me, you are going to need it (and a shot gun wouldnt go astray.)

Laughs.
Krupskaya said…
C'mon! She'll love people for who they are, not how they look. Can't get any better than that.

Krupskaya (via bigg-fish's blog).
A said…
Beast has it all over the Prince. After looking at the Beast for so long, how sweet he really is and so protective over Beauty, once the Prince shows up he looks a little "fem" in comparison, you know? Christina has it right.
Mick said…
Sarah, I'll take the shotgun tip under advisement. Thanks! ;-)

Krupskaya, you're absolutely right. It is a good thing!

Fish, I also think Belle's let down by the appearance of Charming. I'm now proud of my daughter for feeling that way!

Amber, I couldn't agree with you more. Beast is a man's man! He quite simply kicks ass!
Anonymous said…
That was charming and shows she has a lot of empathy. How nice of you to share that little gem.

RP
randompensees.mu.nu
Mick said…
Thanks Fish!

It looks like the storm has passed us to the east. All we're really getting are some heavy showers and high winds. Hopefully our neighbors on the gulf coast will get through it with minimal damage.

We appreciate your concern. Thank you!
Anonymous said…
Ha! This one made me laugh out loud. That's so cute! I wouldn't have shushed her. I would have found it amusing that she liked the Beast better. :)

~Brad
http://almostlucid.com

Popular posts from this blog

Ipod

A red rose for Claudia

Puppy blues