Before you have kids, you dream of those memory-making, photo-ready moments— the birthday parties, vacations, and family reunions you see splashed all over your friends’ social media pages. Once you actually have those kids, though, you realize reality is a little . . . different.
Why? Because our adorable little ones have minds of their own, and they’re more concerned with exploring their world than recreating the picture-perfect moments we have in our heads. When we want them to be looking at the camera, they’re busy focusing on toys, on an animal, or even food!
Case in point? This adorably funny video below of a family’s Disney World dinner that’s been spreading like wildfire all over the Internet. In a battle between a Disney princess and a toddler’s dinner, a pretty unexpected victor emerged.
After all, when it comes to memory-making events, few come with as high expectations as a long-anticipated trip to a Disney theme park. And at the top of many a parent’s wish lists is watching, and grabbing a photo of, the magical encounter between their child and his or her favorite character-come-to-life.
Sometimes, though, the actual meeting between costumed character and kiddo is memorable for all the wrong reasons. Maybe the line’s too long, or the little one’s a little scared— or, as is the case with two-year-old Kaylin Hunter, it just doesn’t match up to a big bowl of macaroni-and-cheese!
Kaylin and her family were enjoying a “character meal” for Mother’s Day at Disney World, one in which their table was visited in turn by each of the ladies in Disney’s princess line-up. When Snow White approached the table, she knelt down next to Kaylin and tried to make friends, asking the little girl, “Can you smile with me? Can I see a smile?”
At least today, Kaylin’s answer is a resounding “NO!” Not that she answers with words. No, Kaylin just calmly and steadily stares at the princess, and then pretty immediately turns back to her dish of mac ‘n’ cheese. When Snow White tries to persist so that Dad can get a pretty picture, Kaylin breaks out a stony stink-eye you just have to see to believe!
So what’s going on here? Is Snow White just not a princess with whom Kaylin’s familiar? Would she do better if Tiana, Ariel or Elsa came to the table? Is Kaylin just kind of cranky?
Turns out, the answer to all of those questions is also a resounding NO! Katrell Hunter, Kaylin’s father, tells TODAY that while she loves hugging and meeting costumed characters like Mickey and Winnie the Pooh, the more human “face characters” raise her suspicions:
“If a character doesn’t look exactly like the cartoon, she has a problem with it,” Hunter, 46, told TODAY. “If it’s someone in a Tigger costume, where it looks exactly like Tigger, she loves it. If it’s someone wearing makeup and a dress, she gets weird about it.” [. . .] Snow White wasn’t the only one to get the cold shoulder.
“I took picture after picture, hoping to get a nice picture smiling with one of these characters,” said Hunter. “She kept giving each of them the same look.”
For the family, part of the hilarity was the departure from Kaylin’s usual temperament.
“My beautiful little sunshine ray of light Kaylin … has a wonderful smile, 99.9 percent of the time,” her dad explained. “She’s never making that kind of a pose, which is why it was funny to us.”
He added, “She blows kisses to strangers — hugs, kisses, and smiles, I want everyone to know that she’s a wonderfully happy baby who loves everyone most of the time.”
Well we can certainly understand that! To see Kaylin’s hysterical reaction for yourself, watch the family’s funny clip below.
What do you think of the Hunter family’s funny version of magical Disney memory? How do your children react to characters at theme parks? Do they also love their food more than pretty much anything? Share your stories with us!