A cute, little, smart, Disney loving one, but a monster no less.
Tink has been getting her regular dose of Disney her whole life (just under two years). She insists on her Mickey, Minnie, Eeyore, and Ariel dolls for naps and bedtime. Her favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yesterday, after she saw a little bit of a Tinkerbell movie, she was saying, “I’m Tinkerbell.” (Well, yes, Baby, you are.) She travels like a champ and went to Walt Disney World for her first birthday and at 18 months.
So where’s the “monster” come in? Innocently enough, I sang her the theme song from Carousel of Progress, “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” a while back. She was still hooked on “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman,” and I was just wanting to sing something else. Tink loved the new song and started asking for it. It became a regular part of the bedtime routine along with “Jesus Loves Me” and “You are My Sunshine.” I kept the “Four Parks, One World” CDs in the kitchen radio, and she would get excited when her song would come on.
For our recent cross-country move, I put the CDs into the van’s changer to have a kid-friendly (and Mama-friendly for that matter) music option ready to go. I normally try to limit her TV time, but on that trip all bets were off. She watched Disney and PBS shows for 1300 miles. We didn’t really need the music much. She did ask for “Great Big Gomorrow again” a few times but no big deal.
However, on a recent trip exploring our new area, my plan of kid-friendly-calms-her-down music blew up in my face. We were stuck in traffic on the way over to the beach (crying for me, aren’t you?), and the toys and such that I could reach just weren’t working. I turned on Tink’s favorite song, and she was happy. We tried to let the CD play on to its soothing Epcot background music but shortly after the end of “GBBT,” my husband and I would hear “Great Big Gomorrow again” from the back seat. We’d restart the song, and all was well. This went on enough times that my husband finally used the repeat feature to keep the song going on a loop. After a while, I turned off the front speakers so he and I didn’t have to hear the song as clearly. Let’s just say, she insisted on listening to “GBBT” for the remainder of the trip. Yes, we could have said no, but she’s done really well with all the changes we’ve put her through in the last few weeks, and we had her way off schedule on this particular day. So we listened to “GBBT” for over 2 hours that day.
Now, any time we get in the van, that little voice from the back is asking for “Great Big Gomorrow again.” Yes, I created the monster, but I just can’t take that song much more.
Contributed by: Amy Eastman (NDM#242) Amy is the DDL Babies and Toddlers Blogger. She is also the creator of Growing Up Disney.
Amy’s love of Disney stems from a family tree firmly rooted in the Mouse. Her father’s first trip to the World was to the Welcome Center before the Magic Kingdom was completed. He filled their home and vacations with Disney magic. Herself a former College Program Cast Member, DVC Member, Disney Marathon finisher, and Disney bride, Amy has seen and done much of what Disney has to offer but she’s always longing for more. Currently a stay-at-home mother, she’s enjoying blogging with her father, brother, and some fantastic Disney friends at www.growingupdisney.com. She’s thoroughly enjoying meeting new friends and sharing Walt Disney World memories through her writing.
It could be a lot worse, it could have been It’s a Small World. 😉
what a wonderful story – my grandson loves wheels on the bus, over and over and over and over
and honestly , how many times can one yell toodles?
I love that song, and that attraction.
I agree it could have been worse, it could have been a (heaven forbid) a Barney song…. ARGH!!