Over the weekend, a magical celebration took place at the world's largest indoor waterfall. The Walt Disney Company (WDC) is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year on 16 October 2023. A century ago, Walt signed a contract with M J Winkler to produce one of his first works for WDC (formerly known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, combining live actors with animation, Alice Comedies.
Disney100 Logo and Mickey statue at Jewel. Photo taken by: Clarice Nicole Lee, 15 Jan 2023
Disney Studios Singapore brought the magic to both locals and international tourists by choosing Jewel Changi Airport as the host location for this event (13 - 15 Jan 2023). Surrounded by the beautiful backdrop that is the Rain Vortex and Shiseido Forest Valley stood the giant Disney100 logo and a full silver classic Mickey statue. I wasn't invited to the media event so I only found out about this earlier in the week and rushed down on Sunday 15 Jan to catch the last day of the meet-and-greets with Mickey, Minnie and Donald! This is my review of the festivities!
(* I refer to the people attending this event as "guests". Habit from my time in Walt Disney World as a Cast Member, but I feel it brings the impression that Disney takes care of their visitors like they are guests in a hotel.)
Mickey & Minnie Meet-and-Greet Photo Op. Photo owned by: Clarice Nicole Lee, 15 Jan 2023
The Meet-and-Greets were definitely the big highlight for most guests/visitors at Jewel today - who wouldn't get excited seeing this iconic mouse and his beau? There were 4 slots for each day: 1pm, 2pm, 4pm and 5pm. Guests were told that the appearances are "randomised" depending if Minnie got her bows all perfect or if Donald had his nap already. Donald seemed to come out for the first 30mins followed by Mickey and Minnie in the 2nd half of the timeslot. We were given passes that entitled guest parties to 1 photo per pass for that session. Passes were given out 15mins before the scheduled timeslot i.e. passes for the 1pm slot were given out at 12:40pm.
Meet & Greet Pass for 1pm slot. Photo taken by: Clarice Nicole Lee, 15 Jan 2023
Ushers and Disney Studios Singapore cast members were all present and busy ensuring the crowds were managed. They ushered us forward and the announcement welcomed Mr Donald Duck himself out to greet everyone. I was so excited being the 2nd in line to hug my favourite duck, also because I was Disneybounding as him today! He even recognised my outfit and I said "Yes! I'm dressed like you today!" And before I left he even gave me a hand-kiss like the gentleman he is. (Love ya, Donald Duck)
Me with Donald Duck. Photo owned by: Clarice Nicole Lee, 15 Jan 2023
As you can probably tell, I managed to get my photo taken with both Donald Duck as well as Mickey & Minnie. All I had to do was requeue for the 2pm slot to do so. The general feedback I heard from both existing and new friends I met in the queues today was that it would have been better and more efficient if the guests were informed of when each character comes out. This way the children and adults won't be disappointed when, in attempt to get that perfect family photo, wind up meeting Donald Duck 4 times in a day but never catching a glimpse of the lovable Mickey & Minnie. I do concur with this feedback since the people who do come down for this event don't have that luxury of coming back again (even if it's 1st day) since its a limited time event and for one weekend only.
Additionally, from the responses I got from the management team when I enquired, it seemed like they were a tad frazzled/unprepared and not the most understanding when hearing our concerns. Though, from a friend's Instagram stories, I saw that crowd management was a challenge in the previous 2 days, a reasonable explanation for the morale of the team on the last day. The DisneySG team did respond positively by adding lots of cue poles to create a better queueing system on the last day in an effort to better manage the crowd.
Perhaps to retain the Disney magic, the team could focus on how to improve guest relations and ensuring that all guests are comfortable and reassured of their chances to meet the characters. Since most parties in queue were families with young children whom definitely wanted a photo with all 3 characters, and had been queuing for a long time, it would have been nice if this was taken into account as well.
Disney is known for impeccable customer service and communication. Based on my experiences in the Disney parks, providing clarity of information to guests is one way to ensure guest experience so that they can be assured of the next character appearance, show time, fireworks show, or even when the next batch of spring rolls & cookies will be out. Character meet & greets in the parks also indicate clearly which characters guests will meet. And they are stationed one after another.
(Only in the exclusive Disney Visa Cardholder Meet & Greets do they leave that element of surprise, mostly cause its just 1 character.)
Overall, I still had a lot of fun. It was so heartwarming to see Micky & Minnie and Donald again, their joy brought a lot of magic & happy memories - my heart was full!
There were also many photo spots around the Shiseido Forest Valley themed after iconic films from Disney and their franchises like Winnie the Pooh, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pixar's Inside Out and Toy Story. Some were interactive - pictured above, Tigger was up to his usual shenanigans, bouncin' - which I found to be a real nice touch!
Up by the Canopy Walk there were photo spots from Star Wars and Encanto too. However, to access the Canopy Walk for free, visitors have to dress in full Disney cosplay costumes; Disney T-shirts or Disneybound outfits did not qualify for the perk and visitors would have to pay the $6 entry ticket. My family and I were quite worn out from all the queuing, so we decided to skip those photo spots and take a rest at Starbucks.
Jewel Changi Airport Disney100 Light & Sound show. Photo taken by: Clarice Nicole Lee, 15 Jan 2023
To end off a wonderful night, a 6-minute light show featuring a final performance with Mickey and friends! The dance was adorable though I felt bad that the dancers barely had room to perform in the crowd. Mickey, Minnie and Donald stole the show, surprising visitors as they appeard at the balcony in their matching Disney100 costumes!
The lightshow on the rain vortex featured a lighthearted Disney music medley accompanied by light projections of various characters from the various franchises! My favourite (not pictured) was when they played the Marvel track from the scene in Endgame - so iconic! My only wish is the show could have been slightly longer and end off with either "The Magic is Calling" or "You Are the Magic" to have that ethereal, cherry-on-top fantasy feel that would leave the audience feeling enchanted.
Nevertheless, it was a super fun day, nothing beats hugging Mickey Mouse on home ground with the most stunning indoor waterfall in the background. You can still catch the lightshow until Apr 2023, but it will be a shorter version.
I definitely recommend families to drop by future Disney events in Singapore as they're getting noticeably better & more creative each time! It's a great way to get your Disney fix from the comforts of your home country.
Note: the writings in this article are just my opinion based on my own experience, not representative of everyone's experience at the event.
See ya real soon!
And remember your daily scoop of pixie dust! ;)
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