Princess Fantasy Faire: Why, oh why?

[JungleBumCT]

Can somebody please defend the Princess Fantasy Faire to me? I've seen this thing for years now, but since I've had only sons I never had to wait in that ghastly, never ending line. Now that I've got a 2 year old daughter, we decided to let her meet the princesses. I know (or so I'm told) that the line fluctuates some, but still, average of an hour to meet 3 princesses?

What happened to the good old days where you'd see them around the castle and wait 5 minutes for an autograph? Now you're herded through the line that never gets shorter, just to see 3 of them.

Waiting in that line was torturous. Why, WHY did they do this? What on earth was the rationale? Somebody please convince me.

[mycroft16]

There is no justification other than $$$. They funnel you in there and keep you there and have all the princess stuff to buy.

I too yearn for the days when they wandered the Fantasyland walkways bringing life to the land. The fact that you never know who you are going to meet so you might end up disappointed and just have to do it all over again is wrong. It's the antithesis of a Disney experience. Plus, what is better than a photo with a princess in front of the carousel or the castle... certainly not a photo in front of a painted plywood flat.

[nonob88]

I have no interest in visiting the PFF anytime soon, but I do realize it is very popular with guests especially the little ones. What bothers me the most is that this giant meet-n-greet/store replaced the Fantasyland Theatre! Put a show in there already!

[WestsideCM99]

I agree with many here who think that sequestering the character meet & greets to lesser travelled areas of the park is a good thing. The amount of overcrowding, especially around the castle, would make passing through to Fantasyland a complete nightmare, also Disney probably couldn't profit as much as they do with PhotoPass if there are large crowds around the castle.

What I do absolutely hate about PFF is that it has proven itself to be a high demand attraction, it's almost a given that if you get all the princesses in one area to do a meet & greet it will sustain long lines throughout the day. So why has this proven attraction not received an upgrade to a full-on show building or truly themed area? Everytime I pass by PFF on the way to the train station I just see a hollywood set with some midevil looking backdrops, a 1/2 castle with a stage in front of it, some trees in planters, and merchandise in an open air store that's just waiting to be pooped on by the birds pearched above in their trees.

I would say that PFF needs to get a major upgrade if TDA plans on keeping it around for the next 5 years. In comparison at least with other established meet & greets like Pixie hollow and Mickey's House at least you cannot see outside to the rest of the park once you are in the main theme area of those attractions, PFF tries to accomplish this but fails in providing the guest with the real experience of meeting a princess in a magical castle/kingdom as castle walls are not supposed to look paper thin, princess' chambers usually have a roof and castles are usually meant to be explored and not performed in front of. I avoid that area like the plague because everytime I see it, it just makes me more dissappointed and bitter towards Disneyland's park management.

[lou_mom]

I've never waited in line for the PFF but we did go to the corination dance and my then 17 yr old son danced the May pole with his 7 yr old sister. A thoughtful act that she will remember for the rest of her life. Anyway, Maybe you could do the Ariel's Grotto lunch or dinner in DCA. We did that and completely loved it. The food was ok but the princesses were wonderful. My daughter was 5, my son was 14 and my other daughter was 17. They all said it was great.

[misskswann]

I too agree the line is VERY long to get autographs, Ive seen it before. But I have to believe that its all for good cause. I know the princesses understand and respect the guests having to wait in line and the little ones growing cranky from having to be in that line. So the princesses take their time with each one, talking with them and making feel like its the real thing, which i find very heart warming. And who knows, they probably combine them in the PFF so that they can fit in all the other friends in the course of a day or week, they have soo many nowadays! lol =]

[Dan - Tasmic!]

My theory is this: when they were "free" it would be hard for the Princesses to cut the line, more and more people would tend to cut in line and complain about seeing a certain Princesses. When they are prisoner of PFF, you are guarenteed to meet a Princess, no matter what, without having to worry about being cut off from the line.

The shortest line I had to wait was around 15 - 30 minutes during the parade.

[JungleBumCT]

My theory is this: when they were "free" it would be hard for the Princesses to cut the line, more and more people would tend to cut in line and complain about seeing a certain Princesses. When they are prisoner of PFF, you are guarenteed to meet a Princess, no matter what, without having to worry about being cut off from the line.

That's nice, I guess, but three things:

1) When the boys were little they used to like to see the princesses. Even up to the time they were sequestered in PFF, the princesses spent individual time and made it special for the boys. We never waited any more than 10 minutes. EVER.

2) One thing I've seen at WDW is handlers cutting off lines at certain points, standing there and telling newcomers that this person is the last she'll see. Worked out pretty good. The handler had to take the crap, not the princess. Why can't DLP adopt that technique?

3) With PFF, you don't get to choose who you see. We were there last year with some cousins who waited, really hoping to see Belle. Well, 90 min. later and Belle wasn't in the lineup. Minnie was there though. Minnie who IS out on the streets. So she got Aurora, Minnie, and one of the B-listers like Mulan or Pocahontas.

I think PFF is a disaster. By the time my daughter and I got up there, she was cranky, in tears. The princesses were nice as ever, but the whole thing was kind of a let down.

[RobotMirror]

I think the profit motive is the best answer here. The PFF is pretty cheesy and boring if you ask me. Then again, I'm not the demographic they are aiming for...

[M&M Daddy]

FWIW, and coming from the father of a four year old "princess", I don't see much harm in it. Sure, nobody likes waiting in a long (and always HOT) line. Sure, there's no guarantee which princess you'll see on any given time. Sure, it's brutal trying to steer your little girl away from the high-priced boutique on the way out. Sure, it would be nice to see a return of the coronation ceremony or the storytelling, to get a little more value out of the area. Sure, they could upgrade the setting/backdrops.

But.

You know what? Little girls don't care about any of that.

As noted above, the princesses who do greet your children are universally graceful and warm toward the children (and their parents.) They don't rush them, and they spend the time to have a real conversation, rather than just posing for a photo and moving them on. Those not in the target demographic or without kids just won't get the warm fuzzy of seeing their children light up at meeting and talking to a real princess. Remember, to them they're not seeing a model dressed up in princess clothes, they're actually chatting with Cinderella! And yes, I remember the days they'd just roam through Fantasyland, but I also remember (and still see with other characters today) the frustration when they would be surrounded and overwhelmed by guests whenthey didn't have a "handler", and it would be bedlam trying to get a photo or a greeting without being cut in front of, or another person getting in your space. The PFF, like Pixie Hollow, allows for some brief but quality private time with a favorite character, which makes the experience so much more memorable for the little ones.

I have to admit being in the grouchy camp with some of you until our first time through. My daughter was bouncing around (as most kids her age will after a long wait in line) when she tripped and fell on a step - exactly when she was called to greet the first princess. As she wailed, we walked her over to meet Snow White, who immediately took my daughter in her arms and whispered soothing words into her ear. I've never seen my daughter recover from sobbing so quickly, and within two minutes she was smiling warmly through her tears. Since then, I've been a fan.

Although I'm sure I'd sing a different tune if I had boys....

[bfdf55]

I have no interest in visiting the PFF anytime soon, but I do realize it is very popular with guests especially the little ones. What bothers me the most is that this giant meet-n-greet/store replaced the Fantasyland Theatre! Put a show in there already!

Wait until you see the whole MEET-AND-GREET LAND they are putting in WDW’s Magic Kingdom.

[nonob88]

Wait until you see the whole MEET-AND-GREET LAND they are putting in WDW’s Magic Kingdom.

Right, but it will be a next-generation meet-and-greet land! You'll now be able to make birthday cards for Sleeping Beauty!

all joking aside - the new FL at Magic Kingdom is replacing a worn-out Toontown Faire.. Here at DL the PFF replaced an important venue for DL shows and entertainment.

[jasonryan106]

I too yearn for the days when they wandered the Fantasyland walkways bringing life to the land. Plus, what is better than a photo with a princess in front of the carousel or the castle... certainly not a photo in front of a painted plywood flat.

Yes, those days were much better. Now a "character greet" went from random to an "attraction" a la toontown houses, PFF and even the Pooh photo garden to a degree. it takes up space that they dont need to put an attraction in... theyre popular but unimaginative.

[Baloo]

That whole area needs to be torn down and gutted. Even the new WDW expansion would work better in that area then this aweful idea that has stick aroun longer than it should have

[DARTH KNITE]

while I'm definitely not the target audience for this, I just find the whole Princess marketing campaign to be tacky and annoying (And why the %$&! is Mulan included????) I wouldn't mind them having an area for this, ( which I thought the castle was), but do they have to take over the theatre??? Let's get a stage show back there for crying out loud. When they stopped making animated movies, they really handicapped the park attractions. "Normally" it would be housing whatever current film they had that wasn't given a parade.