Tom Cruise at the Magic Kingdom

[LongTimeLurker]

I saw them on Thursday night, actually at 1:15 Fri am, on the carousel. From my fifteen minutes of observation, he seems like an attentive, loving dad. There was no line for the carousel and they rode four times in a row (switching horses every time) with us commoners. Tom was pleasant to the few fans who approached him and he shook hands with a cast member when they were finished with the ride. He didn't seem to mind the people gawking from a distance. He smiled and made eye contact with people (including moi!) The guy is a star for a reason. He has charisma (and I am Team Katie.) It seems like they were having a great time at WDW which I think is very fortunate for Suri.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

Was he carrying his daughter around? I've never seen a picture of Suri actually 'walking'.

I saw Suri walk from the carousel to the castle at 1:15 am (Thurs night/Fri am.) Most of the people in the vicinity were aware of Tom and Suri, but everyone kept a respectful distance, so she didn't have to be carried this time. Suri looked like she was having a fun time.

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

I'm speculating? It's public record when she file divorce less than 7 weeks ago. How were you 7 weeks post??

You're speculating he's doing it because of the divorce. Maybe yes or maybe not. However, he certainly wouldn't be the first set of divorcing parents to try and buy their kids love.

 

[jharvey]

oh jeez, she's at it again....anyway, stars should not get any special treatment at all. If they do get mobbed and harrassed, I'm sorry but thats what they signed up for when they decided to persue a life of fame and fortune. They are no better then anyone else!! When they are in Disney they should do what they do in real life when there are lines: say Starbucks for instance, they send their assistant to stand in line for them and then when its their turn they come on the ride. A special VIP area in Disney so they don't have to wait in line and can get whisked in and out is total BS!!! If they go to the grocery store do they get to cut the line or have a special register just for them so they don't have to wait or get mobbed by fans? No! so Disney should be no exception. They can also wear a hat and sunglasses and if someone recognizes them they should say what Disney advised the Santa look alike to say "I am not who you think I am, please leave me alone".

That's right. And to hell with their children. Not our fault they were born to rich people. Evil 1% always beating me to the front of the line at Splash.... In all seriousness does anyone doubt this guy would be killing wdw and the celebrity if a major pile up resulted in a longer wait.

 

[nepalostparks]

Ongoing discussion here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/tom-cruise-at-the-magic-kingdom.841965/page-9#post-5059077

(EDIT: The other post was merged into this one)

 

[Hrudey3032]

Part of the sauce of this story is this is his first trip with Suri since the divorce... a significant angle completely overlooked in your comparison.

When you and your ex got divorced, did you immediately take your child on a distant long vacation the first opportunity you got?

We are talking a divorce whirl wind here..

Maybe what Suri needed was some time to be a kid at a place where kids love to be at. Her life is being turned upside down by her parents divorcing. No matter the reason for their divorce Suri is going to be affected and if Tom taking her to WDW and letting her enjoy being a kid is what it takes then so be it. When my parents split my dad took me and my brother to Florida and WDW about 2 months after the split so that would be pretty close to the same 7 weeks that Tom took Suri. While we still were affected by the divorce looming we were able to enjoy our lives and not think about it for a week. I commend Tom for taking Suri here as this is a great place for a child to forget their worries and smile again.

 

[Flip83]

Have to go against most here. Sorry, I would not normally defend a celebrity but they need the vip treatment. Some may do it because they know they can, but i would say it's mostly done because they want to enjoy their vacation in peace. Do you think all of them want that? No, they don't. They would love to be able to walk around the park with their family like all of us. (most of them lol) Yes, they chose to live this life but ya know what? They chose it and they get that special treatment. I actually read Shawn Michaels (WWE Wrestler) Twitter months ago as he was in WDW and he did NOT want to do special treatment. He went and tried to be normal and guests were ruining his experience with his family. They are on vacation, it's ashame that people can't respect that and leave them alone. His families second day and rest of the trip had vip treatment. I'm not here putting anyone down for their opinions. Do I feel they should wait in line? Sure. But it's guests that ruin the celebrities and their families trip. They have to do the vip treatment.

 

[Lisalyn]

Honestly while I believe everyone should be fairly treated...my point here is his daughter! She has already been thrown all over the news, tabloids, etc etc and you can see the fear in her face or her head being buried in one of the parents shoulders every time they are subjected to the mobs of cameras and questions....(this is another totally aggravating thing to me as both her parents make sure she is out there being exploited) -so with that said...if it was just him then yeah fine...you need to wait in line with the rest of us but with his younger daughter - no you do need special attention to protect HER and keep HER out of everyone's line of fire and cameras. In this situation in my eyes and my own opinion I'm sorry but I'd be looking out for her well-being.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Well... Suri is officially the luckiest little girl on the planet... http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20618492,00.html

 

[MeandMickey]

Tom and Suri were staying at the Grand Floridian for the week. We were also there for a few days and were at the beach pool for a few hours with them. Suri and some other children were playing together with my DD3 and DS5. Suri led my daughter around by the hand all night and they played together in the beach entry side of the pool and rode the water slide. Tom and his group rented a cabana by the pool. He actually came up to my wife and I and thanked us for letting Suri have some fun with our kids. He was really nice and down to earth. He was in the water with all of us for quite a while and was really having fun with Suri and all the other kids there. The beach pool was actually kind of private area for them as the walls were up around the this pool for the new DVC construction. They were semi-protected from any gawkers and tourists. You actually had to go into the pool area to see them there. If the walls were not up, you could see into this area quite a bit more easily. There were a couple of security officials watching over and at least two dedicated Disney staff with them. This was Friday night, August 3rd. We left the pool around 9:30 pm and they left right after us. It was a really cool experience to say the least.

 

[unkadug]

Tom and Suri were staying at the Grand Floridian for the week. We were also there for a few days and were at the beach pool for a few hours with them. Suri and some other children were playing together with my DD3 and DS5. Suri led my daughter around by the hand all night and they played together in the beach entry side of the pool and rode the water slide. Tom and his group rented a cabana by the pool. He actually came up to my wife and I and thanked us for letting Suri have some fun with our kids. He was really nice and down to earth. He was in the water with all of us for quite a while and was really having fun with Suri and all the other kids there. The beach pool was actually kind of private area for them as the walls were up around the this pool for the new DVC construction. They were semi-protected from any gawkers and tourists. You actually had to go into the pool area to see them there. If the walls were not up, you could see into this area quite a bit more easily. There were a couple of security officials watching over and at least two dedicated Disney staff with them. This was Friday night, August 3rd. We left the pool around 9:30 pm and they left right after us. It was a really cool experience to say the least.

Well that's nice to hear that he actually spoke to you. He has gotten a pretty bad rap on this thread and in the media lately.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

The guy played the vampire Lestat. For that, I will always admire him.

 

[xdan0920]

Well that's nice to hear that he actually spoke to you. He has gotten a pretty bad rap on this thread and in the media lately.

His reputation is actually that of an incredibly nice guy, and a supremely dedicated actor. But he is easily manipulated, and because of this, has become quite a bit of a lunatic when it comes to scientology.

 

[fdcfjj]

Tom and Suri were staying at the Grand Floridian for the week. We were also there for a few days and were at the beach pool for a few hours with them. Suri and some other children were playing together with my DD3 and DS5. Suri led my daughter around by the hand all night and they played together in the beach entry side of the pool and rode the water slide. Tom and his group rented a cabana by the pool. He actually came up to my wife and I and thanked us for letting Suri have some fun with our kids. He was really nice and down to earth. He was in the water with all of us for quite a while and was really having fun with Suri and all the other kids there. The beach pool was actually kind of private area for them as the walls were up around the this pool for the new DVC construction. They were semi-protected from any gawkers and tourists. You actually had to go into the pool area to see them there. If the walls were not up, you could see into this area quite a bit more easily. There were a couple of security officials watching over and at least two dedicated Disney staff with them. This was Friday night, August 3rd. We left the pool around 9:30 pm and they left right after us. It was a really cool experience to say the least.

Wow. That's a really cool story. Thanks for sharing. He seems very nice and down to earth. He could have been a real snob, but he wasn't. Like another poster said, he's famous for a reason. Not everyone has it but most people want it.

 

[graphite1326]

Tom and Suri were staying at the Grand Floridian for the week. We were also there for a few days and were at the beach pool for a few hours with them. Suri and some other children were playing together with my DD3 and DS5. Suri led my daughter around by the hand all night and they played together in the beach entry side of the pool and rode the water slide. Tom and his group rented a cabana by the pool. He actually came up to my wife and I and thanked us for letting Suri have some fun with our kids. He was really nice and down to earth. He was in the water with all of us for quite a while and was really having fun with Suri and all the other kids there. The beach pool was actually kind of private area for them as the walls were up around the this pool for the new DVC construction. They were semi-protected from any gawkers and tourists. You actually had to go into the pool area to see them there. If the walls were not up, you could see into this area quite a bit more easily. There were a couple of security officials watching over and at least two dedicated Disney staff with them. This was Friday night, August 3rd. We left the pool around 9:30 pm and they left right after us. It was a really cool experience to say the least.

That' really cool. I hope you got some personal pictures so you can show them to your children and grandchildren when they get older.

 

[MeandMickey]

Yes, Tom was a very nice guy. He was really great with the kids and seemed genuinely into having good quality time with his daughter. He has been shooting a film in New York and had a break and wanted to spend some time with her before the summer was over and school started. I did get a few pictures with him and Suri in the pool with my kids, but did not want to bother them with other requests for posing as they were on vacation. They are followed everywhere, and I imagine it gets really old to keep posing for pictures. My wife and I did not want to intrude on their private time together. My kids are 3 and 5 so they did not realize what an experience it was. They just told us they had fun with a new friend named Suri at the pool. Ah, pure innocence. When they are older they may realize what a special thing that was.

 

[ddbowdoin]

http://hotels.about.com/b/2012/08/09/tom-cruise-and-suri-stay-at-cinderella-castle-suite.htm

the bene's of being a big willy!

 

[MattC]

Instead of presuming people are going to bother a celebrity I would have a policy that would deal with any troublesome guests after they were a problem.

I really don't think people are going to waste "Disney Park Time" on nagging a celebrity. I think the potential for a problem rests in the ego.

A little bit of a disguise should be enough to avoid attention. Color the hair and throw on some cheap glasses, big deal. Iffn' ol' Tom Cruise threw in a dash of gray nobody would suspect it was him and he would be totally incognito.

Now you also run into the problem of who "is" and "is not" an A-list celebrity for the special treatment. Have fun sorting that out.

I have seen teenage girls go nuts over seeing Steven Tyler on the preshow screen of Aerosmith. So let's drop Tom Cruise in the middle of MK and see what happens.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Perhaps he was inspecting the missiles.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Yes, Tom was a very nice guy. He was really great with the kids and seemed genuinely into having good quality time with his daughter. He has been shooting a film in New York and had a break and wanted to spend some time with her before the summer was over and school started. I did get a few pictures with him and Suri in the pool with my kids, but did not want to bother them with other requests for posing as they were on vacation. They are followed everywhere, and I imagine it gets really old to keep posing for pictures. My wife and I did not want to intrude on their private time together. My kids are 3 and 5 so they did not realize what an experience it was. They just told us they had fun with a new friend named Suri at the pool. Ah, pure innocence. When they are older they may realize what a special thing that was.

Sounds like you and your wife are class acts too, respecting him and his daughters privacy. Well done sir.