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View Full Version : Waking up Tink strategy......



r4kids
08-29-2007, 09:24 AM
I need some help with Waking up Tink. Last year was a HORRIBLE experience. Little kids being shoved to the ground by tweens, scraps resulting, the tweens parents not caring after witnessing the event. This year I would like to take DD's 4 & 6 to try again. What is the best way to go about this? Last year we were at the rope about 5-10 mins before anyone else and my kids as well as another families child were hurt. I mostly don't want to even try but DD's would really like to go. Please help!!!!!!!!

magicman
08-29-2007, 09:54 AM
We were able to wake up Tink on a morning when they were having "Little Ones Extra Magic Hours". If you're going to be at WDW while they're offering this, it might provide a good chance for you (as the crowds are thin during the Little Ones hour).

RBrooksC
08-29-2007, 10:06 AM
Ok. Please explain... what is Waking up Tink?"

kakn7294
08-29-2007, 11:12 AM
Ok. Please explain... what is Waking up Tink?"
At Tinkerbell's Treasures, a gift shop in Fantasyland just to the left after you exit the Castle, Tinkerbell flies around the perimeter of the room (you can see the pixie dust and hear her fly by). The first person to ask (or in rare cases to be asked) in the morning can wake her up in a small ceremony.

BelleBeauty
08-29-2007, 12:42 PM
Aside from what you did before, I would just try again and hope for the best. You might want to arrive even earlier and chat with the CM at rope drop. Ask for their suggestion and they might help you out or make special accommodations for the smaller children to get to Tink's first. This has never happened for us, but it might be worth a shot.

RBrooksC
08-29-2007, 02:23 PM
If parent's are letting their children to stampede over others to get their chance to "wake Tink", that is reprehensible. Then again, one does not need a license to have a child so I guess that is to be expected. I couldn't care less if the reason the child is doing that is because it is my daughter's biggest wish in Disney to wake Tink.

To be honest, many times it is better for a child to try to do something and fail. This makes the times they succeed that much more satisfying.

Zippy_D_DooDah
08-29-2007, 02:40 PM
A co-worker of mine and his family got to wake up Tink by chance. They had early morning ADR's at CRT and finished up just as the rope dropped. They were asked to wake up Tink. It was a special moment for them as they didn't even know it was something you could do. After hearing so many horror stories about kids dashing and knocking other kids out of the way for a chance at Tink, it makes it all the better to hear a story like this where someone was in the right place at the right time, and they didn't have to fight their way into the shop.:mickey:

tinksmom02
08-29-2007, 08:46 PM
Here's my strategy...we don't even try :blush:

It sounds really cute, but for me, personally, I don't think it's worth the trouble and potential trauma.

So there'll be 3 less people fighting to do it; maybe that's help your chances!

Good luck!

LoriMistress
08-29-2007, 09:02 PM
If parent's are letting their children to stampede over others to get their chance to "wake Tink", that is reprehensible. Then again, one does not need a license to have a child so I guess that is to be expected. I couldn't care less if the reason the child is doing that is because it is my daughter's biggest wish in Disney to wake Tink.

To be honest, many times it is better for a child to try to do something and fail. This makes the times they succeed that much more satisfying.
Very well said. For you get some Disney Magic! :bar::chipdale:

TheRustyScupper
08-29-2007, 11:10 PM
. . . I couldn't care less if the reason the child is doing that is because it is my daughter's biggest wish in Disney to . . .

1) Unfortunately, MANY people feel this way.
2) It is a shame.
3) Unfortunately, we promote this attitude.
4) And they want it because
. . . my child is special
. . . my child wants it so much
. . . my father/mother/child deserves it
. . . my anniversary or my birthday
. . . my expensive vacation
5) And, we facilitate this, because we tell them how.
6) It is no wonder that folks feel an entitlement.

NOTE: I am not saying that we should not give advice, because that is our purpose, but, we should not be surprised when some take advantage or act poorly. Alas, human nature!

Sean Riley Taylor's Mom
08-29-2007, 11:27 PM
We tried one year and when we saw the scene at the rope drop we walked the other way. That is not the way I want to start my day in the MK. As much as my kids would love the opportunity, it is really overwhelming.

My kids love to go back to the store later in the day just to see Tink fly around the room. She does so every few minutes, At least it seems that way when we are in the store.

So, even though we don't get to wake her up, we can still enjoy the store and everything in it when it is a much calmer atmosphere. :)

BigRedDad
08-30-2007, 07:48 AM
Waking Up Tink needs to be rethought. They can organize it better by handing out little raffle tickets. 5 minutes before the rope drop, they call a number and that family gets to go through the rope to the store. The rest of the people can walk up to watch.

Any activity that would cause a child to be injured is something that has to be looked into. Can you imagine potential lawsuits from families if their child is severely injured because of this? If my DD was injured (a broken bone, stitches), there would be a quick change to their "policy" shortly after.

RBrooksC
08-30-2007, 08:00 AM
Wel, most parents are too lazy to actually parent. They would rather just let the child do whatever than say no and stick to their guns no matter what. It can be far more difficult to deal with a angry child because of a no so they would just rather just let them do what they want because it will keep them quiet and, in the short term, happy. The last I checked, the adult is supposed to set the rules and the is supposed to follow them. If a parent remembers this, the battle of wills should never be lost.

If some of these parents would realize that many of the things offered seem exciting but are as substantial as tissue paper in water, there might be less of a stampede. For the child who does this, it will barely register with them once some else exciting happens.

r4kids
08-30-2007, 08:54 AM
Thank you for the responses. I think if the opportunity presents itself great, if not, so be it. My DD's weren't hurt as bad as the other family's little girl. The girls were, 5, 3 and about 3. The girls who ran them over (they were behind us) were around 12, 13, 14. The worst part was the happiness and excitment the parents of the tweens/teens displayed, they were proud the girls got in first. I think that is the only time in all of our Disney vacations, I have ever wanted to do bodily harm to another. If Tink flies around the store all day I think we'll get in to see that instead. 22 days!!!!!!!!!

Mickey'sGirl
08-30-2007, 09:18 AM
DS got to wake Tink up last summer. We had an early ADR at the Crystal Palace, then we headed over to the ropes under the castle to wait for Fantasyland to open. He was excited and was talking about going over to the shop -- and there was a family beside us with a little girl about 10 or so -- who said "I woke her up before, I hope you have fun" and that was it. There was no pushing or shoving or anything. DS walked over when the rope dropped and we were the ONLY family in the shop. He asked the CM if he could wake Tink, and the rest is history. It was a non-EMH morning -- maybe that's the key?

murphy1
08-30-2007, 09:45 AM
I remember when you posted that last year and I thought about your family everytime we are over there in the park. The other thing I see that gets me is people just running through Main Street to get to Dumbo, we have been bumped into by so many people, b/c we were just enjoying our stroll through there and then these people are stampeding us to get to Dumbo, give me a break! We usually stop in the shop to watch her fly around and the CM showed us the dresser with the keyhole, last time. That was pretty special in itself for my kids.

MickeyMousse
08-30-2007, 10:03 AM
Waking Up Tink needs to be rethought. They can organize it better by handing out little raffle tickets. 5 minutes before the rope drop, they call a number and that family gets to go through the rope to the store. The rest of the people can walk up to watch.


I agree with the above statement by BigRedDad. :thumbsup: If CM's see that this "event" is a problem, then stop it in its tracks. Raffle it, choose someone before the rope is dropped or rope off the front of the store and choose from the crowd.

r4kids
08-30-2007, 11:14 AM
I remember when you posted that last year and I thought about your family everytime we are over there in the park. The other thing I see that gets me is people just running through Main Street to get to Dumbo, we have been bumped into by so many people, b/c we were just enjoying our stroll through there and then these people are stampeding us to get to Dumbo, give me a break! We usually stop in the shop to watch her fly around and the CM showed us the dresser with the keyhole, last time. That was pretty special in itself for my kids.


Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts. I do hate the "gotta get everything done/be first" attitude some folks have. We rode Dumbo last year peacfully during the Little One's magic hour. We tried the Tink's during the LOMH and that is when the incident happened. We are just so excited to be going back!!! We are taking some newbies with us, BIL,SIL and niece (3) nephew (1), which is great because they have never been!We are all excited to have a great vacation.

jclightchasr
08-30-2007, 12:28 PM
We were able to wake up Tink on a morning when they were having "Little Ones Extra Magic Hours". If you're going to be at WDW while they're offering this, it might provide a good chance for you (as the crowds are thin during the Little Ones hour).

When is the little ones extra magic hour and how does this work? Do you have to stay on property to take advantage of this?

r4kids
08-30-2007, 12:43 PM
It is a special time for little ones under 7 or 8, to play in Fantasyland with alot of the characters. Now you don't have to have a child and there is not an age restriction to enjoy this. It is just geared toward the littlest visitors. It is an hour before the parks open on certain days of the week. I believe it runs through Oct. 28 but someone should be along soon with more info. It is not a time for autographs and one on one photos. We really enjoy it.

PS. Yes you do have to stay on property.

FlaTinkRAMESAM
08-30-2007, 12:44 PM
When is the little ones extra magic hour and how does this work? Do you have to stay on property to take advantage of this?

It is kinda like EMH but for families of "little ones"--hence the name. There was a discussion on here somewhere over what was age appropriate for this, but I think the consensus was about 6 and under. It is for resort guests only. It takes place an hour before park opening at MK only and it is only for *most* of Fantasyland. I think I am right on all that... correct me if not!!! :o)

magicman
08-30-2007, 01:30 PM
When is the little ones extra magic hour and how does this work? Do you have to stay on property to take advantage of this?

I copied & pasted my previous thoughts on Little Ones Extra Magic Hour below. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of it.

The Little Ones Extra Magic Hour does not have an age limit. Basically, Fantasyland attractions are open 1 hour before the scheduled opening time.

We participated in Little Ones Magic Hour this last Sep AND IT WAS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.

I have a 7, 10, & 12 year old & the older ones even loved it. Characters played hide-and-seek & got into mischief. The rides had no lines (we watched Philharmagic with 10 people in the theatre). Fantasyland was fresh, clean, & totally uncrowded. This was probably the most magical hour I've ever had at the World.

You do have to be an on-site guest, but there is no age maximum to be allowed to participate.

I highly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity, utilize the Little Ones Extra Magic Hour, it is INCREDIBLE.

murphy1
08-30-2007, 01:46 PM
We are doing LOEMH for my 5 and 8 yo and then I have a breakfast at CP scheduled for 9:45, so that will give us a great morning I think.

JoRy
08-31-2007, 04:17 PM
I know it has been stated here before, but I really think the best way to make sure you can do that is to make an ADR at Crystal Palace and finish before the park officially opens. We do this everytime and it is fantastic. We walk down Main Street alone and get some great pics (DD3 even escorted a family of ducks...mother and 8 duckings...from the Emporium to Cindy's Castle). Then we have a great meal....and head over to the castle when we are finished. There have been no more then 4-5 other families at the rope there. You look behind you and see the swarm coming, but you get to be first at whatever you want to do. DS11 got to ride Peter Pan with Peter. DS7 got to ride Dumbo with the big mouse himself, and DD got to ride Pooh with Tigger. AMAZING. We did not really know about waking up Tinker Bell, but I am positive by standing there you will be able to get there first. Good luck and have fun.

JohnnyJayhawk
08-31-2007, 07:01 PM
We've woken Tink up a couple of times. The first time we were the second family to get there, but the first family invited our daughters to join theirs. The CM gave everyone certificates. The next time we were the first family, so of course we didn't hesitate in inviting a couple of other families to join us in the little ceremony. Karma.

As far as strategy, there are two doors to the shop, the main door and a little one on the left side of the building (as you're facing it from the castle). Go straight for the door on the left since it is closer to where Tink is sleeping.

r4kids
09-01-2007, 10:36 AM
We had spoken to te other family beside us and all decided to go in together. We had no problem letting as many children join as possible. We went on an LOMH morning and had a ressie in Crystal Palace for breakfast. We were at the rope first, a good 10 mins before. Then the other little girls family joined us. About 5 mins before they dropped the rope the rest of the crowd joined, the rope dropped and we started to go(at a normal pace) and the kids were run over. I think mostly it was shock at first, but after hearing all the positive stories we will play it by ear. We have a CRT for 9am on a LOMH morning, so whatever happens, happens. 20 days!!!!!!!!!!!

mousetrapper
09-01-2007, 12:21 PM
I really think anytime something is promoted as "the first one there gets to do XX or get a prize" is a recipe for disaster. It should be handled differently...I'm not sure exactly what would be the best way (randomly choosing someone would have people complaining/upset too...but that's what they do when they ask kids to join the parades, etc.), but I think it brings out the worst in people when everyone's shoving to be first in line for something. At least have an age limit or something (i.e. only kids 10 or under or something).

I wouldn't be surprised if Disney stopped doing this altogether because of all the mean-spiritedness it generates.

pixiesmimi
09-01-2007, 03:07 PM
I'm glad I read this thread. I was wondering about how this works ever since I heard about it a couple of months ago. I agree that the CMs should be in control at the ropes and ask that there be some common curteousy used. If I had the tweens, I would have instructed them to give the opportunity to younger children who were ahead of them. Tweens are not being taught manners much these days, it seems. I didn't know about the rope drop. We were there this week and we went by there and I saw the dresser. I would have loved to have seen Tink flying but have been in there several times and have never seen or heard her flying around. I would love for our DGKs to be able to wake her up or at least see someone else doing it. I think just being there when it happens would be fun. It looks like the CMs could control this like they do the lines on the rides. I agree that it will stop if this happens very many times and that would be a shame. I noticed a lot of inexperienced CMs this time and it seems that they were afraid to take control of different situations.

TheRustyScupper
09-01-2007, 04:54 PM
Waking Up Tink needs to be rethought. They can organize it better by handing out little raffle tickets. 5 minutes before the rope drop, they call a number and that family gets to go through the rope to the store. The rest of the people can walk up to watch.

Any activity that would cause a child to be injured is something that has to be looked into. Can you imagine potential lawsuits from families if their child is severely injured because of this? If my DD was injured (a broken bone, stitches), there would be a quick change to their "policy" shortly after.


1) Crowd Control
. . . lotteries and such just are not practical
. . . there are too many events where people rush
. . . this includes shows/movies
2) Lawsuits
. . . the suits wouldn't be against WDW
. . . suits would probably be against the person who shoved

All this boils down to parental control and/or personal control. Unfortunately, people are people. Everyone wants that "special" vacation and think they have special rights. This NO ONE can stop.

vamaggie
09-01-2007, 06:00 PM
I think they should make "Waking up TInk" a prize for the YOMD promotion. They could pick the person based on the criteria they setup so no one gets hurt/disappointed/picked for odd reasons etc. Since they have extended the YOMD this should at least give them some time to then figure out a longer term, more civilized way to handle this.

dtootsie42
09-01-2007, 07:19 PM
If parent's are letting their children to stampede over others to get their chance to "wake Tink", that is reprehensible. Then again, one does not need a license to have a child so I guess that is to be expected. I couldn't care less if the reason the child is doing that is because it is my daughter's biggest wish in Disney to wake Tink.

To be honest, many times it is better for a child to try to do something and fail. This makes the times they succeed that much more satisfying.


Terrific post! I agree 100%....I am the mother of three daughters. One is an absolute Tink fanatic...she is now 19 and would be horrified to see any small child pushed and trampled just for the chance to wake up Tink.

We always told our girls many special things can happen at Disney but we are going to have fun and if something special happens then we will feel blessed. We never got the chance to wake up Tink but our youngest daughter was picked as Chef of the Day at Crystal Palace one year which was a great surprise and great fun!

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cal5755
09-01-2007, 09:39 PM
WOW!! First off... I just love the fact I found this site!! I only wish I had found it sooner!! There are only 13 days left before our vacation and I am learning so much here on intercot.

I never even heard of waking up tink!! It sounds like fun... but I think we will skip it this time.

I am sorry for the lil ones who got pushed and shoved.. that is horrible... and the parents of the tweens should be teaching them manners.

This is the first time we heard about littl ones extra magic hours too!! My dd's are 4 and 8 we have plans to leave dh and ds (12) at the hotel and have girl only time with nana!!

I am so greatful for this site!!

MNMS
09-01-2007, 10:05 PM
We've done it 3 times (once each in our last three trips in the last two years). Each time it seems to be worse in that it is more competitive and more people know about it. There is no good plan -- just hope you don't get push tweens or parents.

When we've been "first" we've been very considerate and included the other families in the ceremony (e.g., sharing a wand, taking pictures, etc.). We belive that it can still be special for our two girls (6 and 4) when other people share in the experience.

Unfortunately not every one (in fact most) don't share that view. Once when we were "second," the other family was SO RUDE -- they basically pretended that we did not even exist. I'm not sure how that made it more special for her daughter and we always think how our kids feel when they're second. I just don't understand how people can be so cold and selfish.

I think they should hand out a ticket to the first or first and second families at the rope and they get to wake up Tink -- that way it avoids the running, pushing and disappointment.

Since we've done it a few times, we now down play it. If we get it great; if not that's OK.

kakn7294
09-01-2007, 10:49 PM
Not to justify the behavior of the older girls who ran over the little ones to wake up Tink, but my DD is 12 and would love to wake up Tink and for that matter, so would I. There is no justifying hurting someone else in order to beat them out for the privledge. Those parents should have been in better control or at least apologized and been appalled at their kids behavior. It seems to me that the early ADR thing is probably one of the better strategies. We've never tried but are considering it for a future trip.

katzctkpt
09-02-2007, 12:25 AM
[QUOTE=BigRedDad;1402971]Waking Up Tink needs to be rethought. They can organize it better by handing out little raffle tickets. 5 minutes before the rope drop, they call a number and that family gets to go through the rope to the store. The rest of the people can walk up to watch.



I totally agree with BigRedDad. :thumbsup:

Fantasmic
09-03-2007, 09:37 AM
Personally, I'd rather that Tinkerbell stayed asleep. :thedolls:

r4kids
09-03-2007, 10:15 AM
Personally, I'd rather that Tinkerbell stayed asleep. :thedolls:


LOL

disneydeb
09-03-2007, 11:19 AM
Personally, I'd rather that Tinkerbell stayed asleep. :thedolls:


I bet Tink would like to sleep in late one day too!:mickey:

KAJUNKING
09-03-2007, 12:29 PM
i think we'll probably not worry about waking tink when we go and just take the kids to the store just to see her fly around

DizneyFreak2002
09-03-2007, 12:32 PM
Let Tink sleep... She needs her energy for when she flies from the castle before Wishes....

Sean Riley Taylor's Mom
09-03-2007, 07:27 PM
i think we'll probably not worry about waking tink when we go and just take the kids to the store just to see her fly around

:thumbsup: That is what we do!

princessM0m
09-04-2007, 11:33 AM
We are big Tink fans, but these stories are really scary and having read them I won't even consider putting my child in such a situation--it's just not worth it! If you stay for Wishes you can watch Tink fly over your head on the bridge to Tomorrowland. In addition, I would suggest that any parent create their own version of the magic. This can be very effective because it is unique to that child or children. For example, a personal invitation to a meal from a Disney character, written by Mom or Dad and delivered by a cast member, if possible. On our various trips my DD was surprised by gifts supposedly left by princesses, invitations from Mickey, and cards from the Toy Story gang. There is so much Magic to be had--why endanger your children trying to get just particular dose of it?

crltkcagle
09-06-2007, 01:37 PM
This sounds like fun but I wouldn't want my kids getting stomped on by other kids. Maybe we will just stop by the store after she is awake.