Mommy Talk Show Candid Conversation with a TV Mom
I’m a bit conflicted about sharing the video of our experience at the Doc McStuffins Mobile Clinic in Atlanta. Our total experience from start to finish took almost fours. But sadly, so many of our Atlanta friends were there much longer and/or didn’t get a photo with Doc.
Watch the video, then I’ll share how parents can voice their concerns with Disney Jr., so hopefully the upcoming visits around the country will go smoother. Update: See the response from Disney Junior below.
A lovely addition to the event was that we met members of Artemis Medical Society. It’s a medical society for African American female doctors. They were so patient with the children.
Thousands of families descended on Olympic Centennial Park for the event.
Every Disney representative I met was courteous and helpful. But to say they were overwhelmed by the crowd was an understatement.
I had no idea Doc McStuffins was this wildly popular. We just started watching her DVDs and shows a few months ago. A.J. is officially smitten with her. I don’t think it has anything to do with skin color, but the fact that Doc is caring and her friends are funny. He laughs at the same episodes over and over.
Doc Mobile Tour Dates
There are at least three more upcoming Doc McStuffins Mobile Clinic events around the country for Fall 2013. Here’s the Doc McStuffins Mobile Tour Schedule:
Washington, D.C. – cancelled due to the Navy Yard shooting
Tuesday, September 17th 10:00am – 4:00pm
The Yards Park
Los Angeles, C.A.
Thursday, September 26th 10:00am – 4:00pm
The Grove
Phoenix, A.Z.
Saturday, September 28th 7:30am – 3:00pm
Confusion at Atlanta Experience
There were at least three separate lines at the Doc McStuffins Mobile Clinic Experience in Atlanta.
- A line for a wristband for an assigned entrance time.
- An entrance line to see the mobile clinic.
- A final line for a photograph with Doc McStuffins.
The wait times were several hours. Friends who arrived at 10:30 a.m. were given wrist bands and report back times for approximately 3 p.m. for entrance to the exhibit. For toddlers, that’s hard to grasp that you see Doc McStuffins pictures and promotional items everywhere, but you must come back hours later to see her!
Atlanta families, here’s a way to send your feedback to Disney Jr. via this contact page.
Dear Disney Jr.: We had fun. But I think there could be a few ways to streamline the process for future mobile clinic experiences.
- Have more than one Doc McStuffins character/costume so her 30 minute breaks can be shorter or eliminated all together.
- Have a concert with the other characters on the show to keep kids happy while they wait on line.
I stood online for more than 90 minutes A.J.’s photo with Doc. Thank God I had my Graco Jogging Stoller and his lunch packed. But we got about 45 seconds with Doc for him to hug her and take a picture.
As a parenting blogger, I was allowed to have VIP/media entrance. But at least three of my Atlanta friends waited for more than five hours to get through the experience. They all left without photos with Doc McStuffins because the line was too long and Doc left the photo booth around 4-4:30 p.m.
For parents who plan to go when the Doc Mobile tour stops in your city, pack your patience. Arrive early and plan to stand on line for awhile. Bring food for your kids to eat while you wait. If there’s a park or restaurant nearby, go there and come back to the Doc Experience at the assigned time for your wristband.
Update: Disney Junior Update
Thank you for your feedback about the “Doc Mobile.” We are glad that many of you had a wonderful time at the event and sincerely appreciate the frustration felt by those of you who did not have an enjoyable experience. We want you to know that your suggestions have been heard and we value the trust you put in our programming and related initiatives. We applaud the active role that you take in your children’s entertainment experiences, and again thank you for your feedback.
My daugther would have loved to attend but I didn’t feel like dealing with the lines, and crowds. After hearing and reading all the tweets, fb post about it. I made the right decision. All I heard was pure dissapointment in the lines, etc. I know it was free so it’s hard to complain, but you made a good suggestion – have more than one Doc for 5000 people!! But based on your video, if you were able to experience the whole thing – IT LOOKED REAL COOL!!
Love this, how absolutely fun! My little girl loves Doc!
All my kids love Doc McStuffins. I know my oldest likes her because he looks like her so she identifies with that. I really wanted them to visit the mobile clinic but once I saw it was only coming to DC and not Baltimore I knew we were not going to make that trip. Its a Tuesday (a school day) plus in the DMV area alone I know it would be a total nightmare. I love your suggestions to Disney I hope they read it and plan better.
I am a bit surprised that this was not as smooth as it could be. I would have thought Disney would have this type of thing locked down. I certainly hope it gets better as the tour goes on.
The waiting sounds terrible! I cannot imagine corralling my son for that long. So that part is definitely a bummer. But for Doc fans, I bet this was a blast once you got in!
I cannot imagine how hard it is to wait in long lines when you have little ones! I am amazed that the event had such a huge turnout and hopefully future events will go a bit smoother than this one!
So glad you shined light on the real expectations. It works for us to stop by grab a time and wristband and head back later if that is the case.
OMgoodness, my kids would have loved this! Love the picture, I bet it was so much fun! :0)
My experience was a bit different. I was in and out in an hour and a half. I too had the VIP experience like you and got in and kids walked through, danced and sang, played in the areas they had set up, walked through the bus and then took a picture with Doc. Once I took pictures and got all I needed to craft a post, we left. I had absolutely no issues and I’m not just saying that. I got there at 9 and left at 10:30 am. I also saw Maria there and she got in as well. Glad that AJ got to see the Doc though!
Kia,
I think most people didn’t arrive promptly at 9 a.m. like you did.
I also heard there were conflicting start times.
I know at least 3 moms personally who left without photos with Doc. For most kids, that’s what they want. To see her.
If I hadn’t had VIP, I don’t know how I could have kept A.J. occupied until a 3 p.m. checkin.
Check out the Disney Jr. Facebook page. There are dozens of complaints and a lot of room for improvement.
Thank you for telling both sides of the story. I’m so glad that your experience was decent (I’m not going to say great since you were in line after line for hours), however, ours was not so good. We got to Centennial Park about 11am and got a wristband to report back between 5-6pm. We let Rowan play in the fountain for a bit and then left to go get some lunch. As we were leaving, Rowan was very upset and was wondering why we were leaving without seeing Doc. I promised her that we would return at our designated time and she would be able to meet Doc then. We got back to Centennial Park about 4:30 and got into our designated line, only to find out that Doc was no longer there. I was told that the suit got too hot and couldn’t be available any longer. We did do the rest of the activities but Rowan was disappointed that she did not meet Doc. She handled it like a trooper, but there were several other kids who didn’t handle it as well as Rowan did. There were a few things that Rowan missed out on as well, the doctors that were there in the morning were no longer there in the afternoon. Also, Rowan didn’t get to wear the cool doctor coat like AJ did. She would have loved that!
I’m so sorry Amanda.
I think there’s a ton of room for improvement for future events.
I didn’t know Doc was this popular.
I’ve heard how Doc toys sell like hot cakes at Christmas too.
I hope they’re prepared for the next 3 upcoming cities.
That stinks it was too crowded. It was the same way a few years ago during the Cars 2 tour. It was hot too.
That’s what happens when you combine Disney and “free”. No way to monitor or prepare for crowds. It is a great idea and a fun event, but I think they need to sell tickets. Or do a reservation system – when it’s sold out, it’s sold out. (Amelia loves Doc McStuffins too!)
I wanted to go but dealing with two kids in lines is not my cup of tea. Hopefully they will do something again and have it better or maybe spread it out for more days.
Wow. It seemed like AJ was really engaged during the activities, but with Doc’s target audience being SO young, they should have a better game plan for entertainment, several actresses, etc. I’m sure they were floored by the response, too!
A friend went to an event in the Philadelphia area and expressed some of the things you mentioned. I wonder if Disney underestimated the popularity of Doc McStuffins? From experience running programs at my library I find that a variety of activities and LOTS OF HELPERS make things smoother.
You have more patience than I do, there is no way I could have waited for 4 hours as some folks did. The things we do for our kids! A.J. is just adorable!
It was great of you to share your experience. Often we only hear good things and in this case, there were problems and people in other cities along the tour route need to know how to prepare to have a better experience. Most of us do not want to wait more than 5 hours and then not get the thing we were waiting in line for, the photo.
Does anyone know if you can get more than one wristband? My friend and I both have a one-year-old and two-year-old (4 kids total) and one of us was going to stay home and babysit while the other picked up wristbands?
Jamie, you can post a question on the Disney Jr. Facebook page and e-mail Disney to inquire.
But that’s a great question!
This sort of thing has happened to us before. I’ve learned to show at least an hour before the actual time. Also try to let young children understand that there is possibility they won’t get to see who they want to see. Which actually sucks when the people running the event should be better prepared.
I am trying to get my daughter interested in the show. Love the concept but not the wait time. Hope Disney reads your post and implements some changes.
That is a ridiculous wait. It sounds like they did not have their act together at all. I can’t imagine doing this with babies or small children. I honestly would have left because of the baby. I REALLY hope Disney Jr tries to make this experience better for people.