Hell Froze Over Today, Thanks to Some Disney Magic
I don't know how common it is for a parent to be able to look at a child shaking in her boots and know the exact moment a phobia was born, but I can. One day Alexis thought costume-clad creatures were funny, the next she thought they were evil soul-sucking beings. In the middle of the transformation stood a tall, drunk Pirate and his unnecessary harassment of the poor kid. On the day that the Pirate scared the life out of the unsuspecting kid, Alexis installed a Creepy Creature Siren. It goes off when anything in a costume enters her 10-foot perimeter and sounds like high-pitched wailing, sobbing, and pure fear. Even Iceburgh, her absolute favorite costume-clad creature, is only fun if he's over there while she's over here and OMGAH! BACK OFF! DO NOT ENTER THE PERIMETER!
Last year when we visited Disney World, I thought we had perhaps overcome a little of that fear. In the darkness of a late-night party, Alexis momentarily conquered her phobia and shut off the Creepy Creature Siren long enough to dole out hugs to both Mickey and Minnie. Alas, it was a one-time thing, perhaps the result of some sort of inhibition destroying chemicals in the bubbles that floated down from the ceiling. The next day, she was back to hating all things costumed.
This year, the phobia was alive and well. We offered Alexis chances to meet various characters several times, and each time the result was the same. She wanted to walk up to the edge of the crowd, but she had ZERO interest in letting anything inside that 10-foot perimeter. We might have even joked that if she didn't knock off whatever annoying thing she was doing at any particular moment, we were going to make her hug Donald. Maybe. Not that we would find humor in her very real fear. Ahem.
Then today, on our last day of Disney Fun, Alexis spotted Daisy from across the way and asked to meet her. We've played this game before, so I begrudgingly stood in line, knowing that the result would be the same as it was last year.
Last year Alexis was all smiles and giggles, right up until it was her turn to give Pluto a hug. Then the Creepy Creature Siren went off and she screamed and cried and whined and generally freaked the hell out. Like, really. Lost. Her. Mind.
This year . . . well, apparently hell froze over. Why didn't anyone tell me?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
