Prince Caspian rides into the sunset at Hollywood Studios

Prince Caspian rides into the sunset at Hollywood Studios
From the Orlando Sentinel

Saturday marked the end of the Hollywood Studios meet-and-greet with Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia movie series. The prince was stationed in a small room adjacent to the Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian exhibit.
I had never seen his indoor meet-and-greet location (Caspian previously met guests outside near the attraction queue) so I ventured over on Friday.

The indoor set was very nicely designed, all forest-glade trees and a pretty sky in the background. And Prince Caspian was a charming host. Unfortunately the frosty weather in Orlando this week did a number on my camera battery, which died on the spot when I turned my camera on.

“Unfortunately, I cannot summon Aslan to fix it,” Caspian mused. “And I do not have Queen Susan’s horn with me.” Well, there was no need for the horn — all of Narnia was not in peril just because my camera was being balky! (The image with this post is a file Disney photo.)

If Disney ended the meet-and-greet because of a lack of visitors to the gracious prince, the fault lies partly with the promotion (or lack thereof) of the prince’s presence. Signage was rather minimal at the entrance to the attraction: there are 2 queues, one marked “and meet Prince Caspian”; the other for the attraction only.

On Friday, guests did not seem to even notice the sign for the queue leading to the prince. Most were in “theme-park-herd” mentality and were rushing to the attraction-only queue because other people were in that line, which is closer to the door.
Also curiously, the wait time was listed as shorter for the attraction-only line. Yet those people were standing outside in the cold, waiting for the doors to open, while I walked right in to see Prince Caspian — no line, no wait.
A cast member out in front, directing guests, and telling them there was no wait at all (contrary to what the sign said) to meet Prince Caspian would have gone a long way to boosting his guests. As it was, I spent a pleasant five minutes with him discussing his homeland: I’m a big fan of Narnia, having read all the books from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” on during my youth.

Though the Prince will no longer be available for photos, the attraction will continue to operate, Disney says.

What do you think? Leave your comments below

If you have some Disney news call the Disney By The Numbers
hotline at +1 407 - 374- DBTN (3286)


Support This Site

blog comments powered by Disqus