My husband and I eagerly planned the Critter’s first BIG movie experience. It would be his first time to go to a movie theater and see a movie on the big screen. His affection for Dusty Crophopper and his friends from Prop Wash Junction made Planes: Fire & Rescue a natural choice.
The Critter is just two and a half so prepping him advance was rather limited. We watched Planes again. We played with Dusty Crophopper and El Chupacabra, which were already our frequent companions. We talked about popcorn and going to a movie theater. We introduced the ideas of sitting still for a while and not talking too loud. We called it an “adventure” and planned our excursion to begin right after nap time. We were set!
The day of the movie arrived and everything, absolutely everything went off without a hitch! A good night’s sleep the night before, a great morning, a nice nap and a happy car ride to the movie theater. The Critter proudly carried his movie ticket to the very nice ticket lady and we proceeded to our theater. I even managed to get a few photos on my phone that were cute, but not high quality, to remember the experience. We tried giving the Critter his own seat but he is so little that it folded up on him! (Which was kind of funny and adorable.) So he sat happily in my lap for the entire movie.
It was basically a perfect first movie experience!
So here’s the surprise big picture – the word “rescue” is now a big deal in our house and Dusty represents something very special now.
The Critter was playing with his trains a few nights ago and I heard him make a siren sound. I asked what was happening and he excitedly responded, as he has many times since the movie “Needs wescue!” So we found Dusty and the situation was promptly remedied. We’ve had so many unexpected teaching moments, talking about rescue and helping others. This is tough age for understanding how to be kind and helpful, how to play with others, how to listen and how to get along. Any tools for exploring those concepts are so incredibly valuable, especially if they’re fun and engaging. Using Dusty to help us figure out how to connect on the Critter’s level has been a great lesson for us as first time parents.
That’s the big picture – for times when we could all use a little “wescue.” Thanks Dusty.
I was incredibly lucky to be introduced to Disney at an early age, with a Winnie the Pooh bedroom, complete with a red shag carpet (please forgive my parents, it was the 1970’s). I visited WDW as a child and clearly remember Goofy skiing up to the beach at the Polynesian Village Resort Hotel and that it was just after a dance recital, so I posed like a ballerina in almost every family shot! (My poor brother was mortified.) When we got a VCR, I became a huge fan of all the Disney shorts that were available on video watching them over and over again. However, it wasn’t until my husband and I honeymooned at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a couple of years later participated in our first runDisney event that I became a fan at a much broader level. We now have a toddler who believes the cartoon Cinderella is “momma” and I am not going to correct him! I am so lucky to be able to enjoy Disney as a couple, a runner, a daughter and a mom. Raising our little boy to be a Disney fan makes everything more magical.
