Who would have ever known that there were so many different styles of Mickey and Minnie Mouse Ears. I saw princess, reindeer, glitter and santa ears. You name it and there were ears to match.
When we arrived at Magic Kingdom we were all so excited. It was great hearing Sydney read the signs and she kept saying “This is amazing!” We had about thirty minutes before the park opened and we were excited to see the opening ceremony. It was crowded but the crowds didn’t seem to bother Sydney. Ms. Bridge mapped out our meet and greet with the characters, arranged the fast passes and made dinner reservations. She’s the Disney guru.
I couldn’t find the autograph book that we packed so I stopped in the gift store to buy another one. Sydney came with me. The store was not crowded at all, so I didn’t think she would get over stimulated. I told her she could pick out a pair of Mickey Ears. She went straight to the ears and scanned the section. She saw the mermaid ears first and said she wanted those. I started to look around the shop, since we had time before we could enter the park. As crazy as this sounds I thought our chances of being in a gift shop were better than being in the large crowd.
Boy was I wrong. Syd went into Mickey ear sensory overload. Next she wanted the princess ears, then the Minnie ears. As quick as I could get her to select a pair, she would spot another set of ears out of the corner of her eye. I felt like I was ball in a ping-pong machine bouncing back and forth and still remaining calm.
After several prompts she picked the Mermaid ears. We talked about how she could earn another pair of ears on a different day. While I was paying she went back to look at more ears. She must have changed her mind again because she went to pick up another pair of ears and the entire shelf fell. It was raining Mickey ears.
Sydney became upset. I don’t know if she thought she was in trouble because the ears fell or if she wanted another pair. Rachel and I began to calm her down. Ms. Bridge was able to take Harrison out of the store. The cast members in the store were very friendly and offered to help. Before we left the store Sydney helped the worker put the ears back on the shelf. The cast member even gave Sydney a big hug and told her how proud she was of her. She really was concerned about how she could have stepped in to offer help. Just that gesture meant the world to me.
I am not sure what triggered the meltdown. Was it the waiting? The excitement that she was going inside Magic Kingdom? The beautiful Christmas decorations? I will never know. But that was the only meltdown for the entire day and we didn’t leave the park until after 10:00 pm. If you need to borrow Mickey Ears just let me know. We collected a few along the way.
Tomorrow’s blog: You’ve Got The Look
~Brooke
A Woman's Work - Brooke Basically Blogging 