Story time with Belle, worst cash extraction point

[TRONorail10]

I have heard this mentioned a few times and am curious as to how exactly do the prevent non-participants from getting a picture? Do they announce that you have to participate to get a picture?

The scenario itself is very structured, everyone who participates is already front and center, all the other guests are sitting down in their seats. Each performer stands with Belle right after another, and then Belle leaves the room after the photos are done. It is a very intimate experience, so people just kind of do whatever they are directed to by cast members.

 

[danlb_2000]

The scenario itself is very structured, everyone who participates is already front and center, all the other guests are sitting down in their seats. Each performer stands with Belle right after another, and then Belle leaves the room after the photos are done. It is a very intimate experience, so people just kind of do whatever they are directed to by cast members.

But what is to stop a non-participant from simply getting in the line for a picture?

 

[MissM]

But what is to stop a non-participant from simply getting in the line for a picture?

I saw one Mom shove her kid in the line to get a pic. But it's very rushed and they do not allow enough time for people to get in place to take their own shots, let alone for everyone in the audience to get in line for a pic. It's also not clear that there won't be time for everyone to get a photo either, unless you've already done it once. Belle leaves the room after the performers finish their hurried photos and you exit. I know when I saw the show, I was like...oh, that's it? because it's very sudden.

It's great if you have a kid and the kid wants to be in the show. If you're not in the show, or if you're an adult without a kid of your own, it's not a great M&G because it's really not geared towards giving everyone their moment with the character. Love and I (no kids) have gone to meet many a character for pics and enjoyed it, and while this was cute, it's definitely not a re-do for me because of the limited interaction.

And FYI, I keep seeing people refer to the Lumiere as an "anamatronic" but you guys know it's a puppet, right? His "arms" have puppetry poles like to move his arms around.

 

[danlb_2000]

I saw one Mom shove her kid in the line to get a pic. But it's very rushed and they do not allow enough time for people to get in place to take their own shots, let alone for everyone in the audience to get in line for a pic. It's also not clear that there won't be time for everyone to get a photo either, unless you've already done it once. Belle leaves the room after the performers finish their hurried photos and you exit. I know when I saw the show, I was like...oh, that's it? because it's very sudden.

It's great if you have a kid and the kid wants to be in the show. If you're not in the show, or if you're an adult without a kid of your own, it's not a great M&G because it's really not geared towards giving everyone their moment with the character. Love and I (no kids) have gone to meet many a character for pics and enjoyed it, and while this was cute, it's definitely not a re-do for me because of the limited interaction.

And FYI, I keep seeing people refer to the Lumiere as an "anamatronic" but you guys know it's a puppet, right? His "arms" have puppetry poles like to move his arms around.

It's still considered an anamtronic even if the mechanics are behind the scenes. There isn't a person back there operating Lumiere.

 

[RedtoGray]

I have 2 young girls (2 and 4) and they both participated. I actually enjoyed this M&G way more than the other non-experience M&Gs. And believe me, we did almost all of them. The kids got to be in a play with Belle! The picture for them was a nice extra but not the best part. The picture taking was structured and moved fast which I appreciated. Most M&Gs take forever because parents are trying to get their kids to smile or get in the perfect pose OR trying to get their camera app to work. I did see a few kids get in line to meet Belle that did not participate and there were no problems. We had the PhotoPass+ so we downloaded all of the pictures when we got home. The photos included shots throughout the play that included our kids which were great.

Disney World has always been about the experience for me. Whether it's an e-ticket or just a walk-through, it's all about the experience. The next time we go, we will probably skip the regular Belle M&Gs and just go to the cottage.

 

[Timothy_Q]

And FYI, I keep seeing people refer to the Lumiere as an "anamatronic" but you guys know it's a puppet, right?

A "puppet" means there's a human behind it making the movements. That's not the case here.

 

[brifraz]

The description from the official website sounds an awful lot like what we experienced. Not the same description as a M&G, but an experience.
Take a trip through the world of the popular Disney film Beauty and the Beast during this captivating storybook adventure in New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom park!
Your journey begins in Maurice's workshop, where an enchanted mirror becomes your doorway to an unforgettable experience. After stepping through the mirror, you'll find that you've been transported to Beast's magnificent library, where Belle and Lumière invite you to become part of a lively retelling of the "tale as old as time."
As opposed to the description of an actual meet and greet:
Join Mickey backstage at Town Square Theater! Mickey Mouse is the star of his own magic show, and in his decked-out dressing room, Mickey signs autographs and poses for photographs with his favorite fans—you!

 

[MissM]

A "puppet" means there's a human behind it making the movements. That's not the case here.

I find that hard to believe. It looked EXACTLY like a human making the movements. Has that been actually confirmed anywhere because I've actually seen the show in person. I used the word "puppet" for a reason. It's pretty hidden but I sat at a great angle and had plenty of time to watch it and it looked just like you'd expect from a person running puppet arms.

 

[danlb_2000]

I find that hard to believe. It looked EXACTLY like a human making the movements. Has that been actually confirmed anywhere because I've actually seen the show in person. I used the word "puppet" for a reason. It's pretty hidden but I sat at a great angle and had plenty of time to watch it and it looked just like you'd expect from a person running puppet arms.

Here is a video from the D23 expo where they talk about the creation of the animatronic:

 

[MissM]

Here is a video from the D23 expo where they talk about the creation of the animatronic:

Interesting, but it doesn't say it doesn't include puppetry in combination with the animatronics. They just say they used "every trick in the book" which to me, could certainly indicate inclusion of multiple sources of input/movement. *shrugs* I would believe it was wholly animatronic except having seen the puppetry-style arms in person. That makes me doubt. And it's not like Disney is known for telling guests how they do every secret or special effect anyway.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Its simple a photo buying opportunity featuring your kids. At least with the Princess Breakfasts you get something to eat.

I pity you. What a terrible attitude to have in this life. You can easily walk around seeing everything around you as potential to "extract money from you"...but that says more about YOU than it does the world around you.

This leads me to believe that money is the most important thing to you in life, since you seem inclined to protect your coins like Scrooge McDuck and are suspicious that everyone wants to take your gold from you.

How sad!

I've never once bought a Photopass photo...we always use our own cameras. We also never buy the photos on Space Mountain or wherever...we take a photo of the monitor displaying our pic and that's good enough for us. Photopass photos are there for people to buy who want them...but they are not required. As far as I understand, they will never be required for any sort of meet and greet.

So I really don't know what your problem is...but I am sure glad I don't have your attitude in life!

 

[GoofGoof]

Its simple a photo buying opportunity featuring your kids. At least with the Princess Breakfasts you get something to eat.

Doesn't this describe every meet and greet in the parks? They take your picture and give you a photopass which you can choose to buy or not. How is this one so much worse? Just curious since I haven't actually seen it yet.

 

[FigmentJedi]

There's actually a way to get your Photopass pictures off the site for free. When you learn that method, there's no worries to be had about Photopass.

 

[TubaGeek]

Nothing, except that the only guests that get to "meet" Belle, are those who participated in the re-enactment. Do if your child is shy and didn't want to join in, they won't get to actually have a picture taken with Belle. I'd categorize it more as a show, where all the performers get to take pictures afterwards, instead of a fancy M&G.

Oh, I do not like that. Not one bit.
That's what happens when bean counters get their noses into Entertainment's business, though. Now you can't even meet Belle and Beast together, and those meet and greets were FUN, and never love-and-shove. I love the attraction of the new experience, but not so much the fact that A) It's rushed, and, from what I've heard B) Now you have to pay to go to Be Our Guest just to meet Beast! It's ridiculous that they're too cheap to have him at Epcot anymore!

 

[TalkingHead]

No, you're not a troll. You're worse. You're presumptuous -- the worst of all human traits. You didn't research what it was going to be and assumed it would be something else. Do you also go into a Mexican restaurant and order the pasta primavera, and when they tell you they don't serve that do you go ballistic on them? Of course not. Or maybe you do, what do I know? Point is, you were wrong in thinking it needed to be more or something else, and now that you've been there, you're wrong to criticize. Opinion doesn't play into this. And grown men really need to stop posting on these boards, complaining about attractions that were clearly geared towards little girls. That's really embarrassing, believing every new element in the parks needs to be some high-octane e-ticket. That's what USO and IoA is for: the presumptuous juvenile. Please go there instead and enjoy less.

What a stupid comment.

 

[awoogala]

We did the attraction a couple weeks ago. Our DD (9) absolutely loved it. They take pictures of each 'performer' with Belle at the end of the show. You get a photopass for the picture, so you can choose to buy it or not just like any photopass. We also took about 20 pictures ourselves during the show (knowing how to take pictures without flash has its advantages).

The attraction is incredibly well done and we feel no pressure to buy the photopass pictures. In the group that we went through with, there were some adults without little kids who seemed to enjoy the attraction just as much as we did - one of them was chosen to be a knight in the show. The wardrobe and lumiere animatronics are exceptional and the CMs were excellent for our visit. Highly worth it and we will do it again - and it is basically a free show that you or a family member might get to be in.

Much cheaper than a Princess Breakfast and we have a lot of great memories - no need to buy any pictures.

Is it included in the photopass+? I have never purchased an attraction or meal photo before (chef mickey's), but this year we got the pp+, so I expect to have a few more! Ok, I see someone replied that it is. I get the cd every trip, and get hundreds of pics for one prepaid price on the cd, so it will work for me.

 

[networkpro]

I pity you. What a terrible attitude to have in this life. You can easily walk around seeing everything around you as potential to "extract money from you"...but that says more about YOU than it does the world around you.

This leads me to believe that money is the most important thing to you in life, since you seem inclined to protect your coins like Scrooge McDuck and are suspicious that everyone wants to take your gold from you.

How sad!

I've never once bought a Photopass photo...we always use our own cameras. We also never buy the photos on Space Mountain or wherever...we take a photo of the monitor displaying our pic and that's good enough for us. Photopass photos are there for people to buy who want them...but they are not required. As far as I understand, they will never be required for any sort of meet and greet.

So I really don't know what your problem is...but I am sure glad I don't have your attitude in life!

No let me be sad for you, I just came back from two weeks in the world staying on property where my wife and I had a blast. So you can do the math yourself and see whom is Scrooge McDuck and who is just blowing smoke. We ate at 5 different venues with character interactions, a few of the stand in a line along side of the path (Chip n Dale, and the Dwarves at Mickey Xmas) so I have a concurrent basis of which to measure it by. I'm just posting the observations from my wife of which I concur.

I have no compulsion to hoard money, I spend it to have fun and be entertained.

 

[TalkingHead]

I pity you. What a terrible attitude to have in this life. You can easily walk around seeing everything around you as potential to "extract money from you"...but that says more about YOU than it does the world around you.

This leads me to believe that money is the most important thing to you in life, since you seem inclined to protect your coins like Scrooge McDuck and are suspicious that everyone wants to take your gold from you.

How sad!

I've never once bought a Photopass photo...we always use our own cameras. We also never buy the photos on Space Mountain or wherever...we take a photo of the monitor displaying our pic and that's good enough for us. Photopass photos are there for people to buy who want them...but they are not required. As far as I understand, they will never be required for any sort of meet and greet.

So I really don't know what your problem is...but I am sure glad I don't have your attitude in life!

How I pity you! What a terrible moneygrubbing, cheapskate attitude to have towards taking pictures at Disney! You must be miserable vacationing at a place that works so hard to nickel-and-dime you everytime you turn around.

How sad!

So I really don't know what your problem is...but I am sure glad I don't have your penny-pinching attitude in life!

 

[Californian Elitist]

No let me be sad for you, I just came back from two weeks in the world staying on property where my wife and I had a blast. So you can do the math yourself and see whom is Scrooge McDuck and who is just blowing smoke. We ate at 5 different venues with character interactions, a few of the stand in a line along side of the path (Chip n Dale, and the Dwarves at Mickey Xmas) so I have a concurrent basis of which to measure it by. I'm just posting the observations from my wife of which I concur.

I have no compulsion to hoard money, I spend it to have fun and be entertained.

Pay no attention to Patricia and her humorous posts. She feels sad for everyone that may have a negative opinion about anything Disney. Don't even bother.

 

[BryceM]

I pity you. What a terrible attitude to have in this life. You can easily walk around seeing everything around you as potential to "extract money from you"...but that says more about YOU than it does the world around you.

This leads me to believe that money is the most important thing to you in life, since you seem inclined to protect your coins like Scrooge McDuck and are suspicious that everyone wants to take your gold from you.

A few days ago you destroyed my favorite park (Islands of Adventure) by saying it was just "painted concrete and tacky looking buildings". You also compared it to a local amusement park and said Universal was all around "junky".

I did not react half as bad as you just did (didn't even respond), even though it made me angry... I guess it's okay for you to attack things with negative comments but when someone else does it about anything at Disney you say the most awful things!