The world is in the throes of possibly the most successful marketing campaign of all time: Disney’s Princesses. Maddie has bought into it hook, line and sinker. If a product has a princess on it, Maddie wants it. We thought it would be fun to drive her to Disneyland (about 8 hours) to see Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. We hyped up the trip like nobody’s business, and Maddie couldn’t wait to see Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
We checked Disney’s website, and it said that Sleeping Beauty’s Castle was closed for repairs, but we didn’t think that would be a problem. Just seeing it would delight Maddie. When we got to Disneyland, we discovered what “closed for repairs” really meant. The castle was completely covered and inaccessible.
Maddie kept asking to go the Sleeping Beauty’s Castle even while we were in Disneyland. It was hard to explain that the blue monstrosity was it.
Once we returned home from the trip, Maddie helped me wash hundreds of miles of dirt and bugs off the car, as I explained to her that if you love something, you want to clean it from top to bottom. I had hoped that she’d make the connection that Mommy cleans her and Aaron from top to bottom, so Mommy must love them very much.
In addition to that, it became some comfort to Maddie that Disney must love Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, because it’s getting cleaned from top to bottom, too.
Who We Were Then
- David
- Lillian
- Maddie (3 years old)
- Aaron (1 years old)