Six months ago, Disney’s The Little Mermaid was not on my radar.
I mean, why should it be? I have two young BOYS. Boys who like cars, and colouring pictures of cars, and making car engine noises, and sleeping with their cars… in car pajamas, of course. So while we are well equipped with Disney Cars movies, figurines and basically anything with a Lightning McQueen image emblazoned across the front, we did not own anything princess-y. At all.
Of course, that was before THIS happened – From my post “The Most Magical Place on Earth…”
As we walked along Fantasyland, little Reid kept telling us that he wanted to see the “beautiful fish”. Confused, we tried to find Dory from Finding Nemo, and then showed him pictures of Flounder. “No, no, no!” he cried. “I want the Bootiful Fish!” he said, pointing at Ariel’s Grotto. Ah! The Little Mermaid! We journeyed under the sea and stood in a short line to meet Reid’s new favourite character. Once inside, he became bashful; putting his head down and hiding behind me. It was so enduring! His first crush – on a Princess, no less! After a little coaxing he gave her a huge hug and then sat down beside her, grinning from ear to ear. (Ryder, who’s too cool for school, was also convinced to get in the picture, though he was decidedly less impressed.) Watching Reid blush, smile and flirt was definitely a tear-jerking moment – but can you blame me? My little boy is growing up!
Well, that was that. He fell hard for Princess Ariel and wanted everything to do with the world of The Little Mermaid. (I didn’t have the heart to tell him she was already taken.) In fact, at the Art of Animation’s gift shop, my husband and I were both surprised when he walked straight to the Ariel figurine and pointed – “Her.”
And that’s when it happened. The colossally bad move on my husband’s part.
“We’ll buy you the movie when we get home!” he promised excitedly. “Then you can watch her all the time!”
I frantically made arm gestures at him, signalling to zip it, shut up, no, no, NO! There’s a little thing called the Disney Vault, and I happened to know that The Little Mermaid was securely locked inside. Translation: unless we were willing to shell out $100+ for a copy on eBay, there was no way Ariel was making it to our home. Sigh.
Well, I can only say that Reid picked a very good time to begin his infatuation – On October 1st, Disney’s The Little Mermaid: Diamond Edition will splash into homes for the very first time in Blu-ray Hi Def!
Bonus features include an All-New Music Video, Part of Her World: Jodi Benson’s Voyage To New Fantasyland, Deleted Characters and more. Translation: Reid will soon be reunited with his lady love! That’s almost as exciting as finding a “banded, bulbous snarfblatt” :)
In the meantime, thank goodness for Fisher-Price, and their Little People Disney Ariel’s Coach. It’s a HUGE hit with our little guy!
About the toy: “You’re going to love watching your little ones recreate the love story of Ariel and Eric … or create a whole new story of their own! This beautiful coach is filled with fun sounds & a song and Sebastian, who is along for the ride – press down on him to hear his song! Then roll Prince Eric & Princess Ariel along their way, and you’ll see that the seahorse that seems to “swim”! Includes Prince Eric & Princess Ariel figures with coach and seahorse.”
Now, let’s just address the elephant in the room, shall we? Yes, I know this toy is often marketed as a girl’s toy. And I know that traditionally, it’s okay for girls to love cars – but boys and dolls? Kind of frowned down upon, if you know what I mean. But the truth is, all Reid sees is his favourite character. He hears his favourite tunes. And, the seahorse carriage allows his imagination to go wild – Eric dropping Ariel off at school; Ariel driving Eric to the doctor; the stories he comes up with are downright hilarious. He loves it, and I love that he loves it.
Like, the kid is kissing the Ariel figurine. If that doesn’t show his complete devotion, I don’t know what does.
I’m positive October will be here before we know it. In the meantime, we’re happy to encourage Reid’s interest in all Disney genres – including ones with pretty little mermaids.
I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program and I receive perks as part of my affiliation.
The opinions on this blog are my own.
My God that kid is cute :) Josh loves Tinkerbell…I love the innocence :)
:) Ah, Tinkerbell is very lovable! So sweet that Josh adores her.
Reid is so adorable! He shows true devotion kissing the little Ariel figurine.
Yes he does Marissa! :)
He’s got good taste, like his daddy :)
:) At least his first crush is a Princess!
Oh my gosh – he’s adorable! The photo of him meeting her in Disney is priceless! I don’t think his smile could be any bigger. :)
He was grinning from ear to ear, for sure!
If Ariel makes him happy that is all that counts, until of course, it starts to break the bank. Our son loved Thomas the Tank Engine, we have every die cast metal train there is, hopefully one day they will be worth lots of money for us!
Hahaha I have many friends who are in the same boat! Thankfully Thomas never really made an impact on our boys – or our wallets!
Love the pictures, I never followed gender “rules” and I was not brought up that way either, I am so glad that my folks were not so strict with this
That’s awesome. I think that in the past, parents were a little more “concerned” if their kids showed a gender preference outside the norm. Now, we embrace it! Reid is so gentle with Ariel… but he also throws a lot of things and destroys our house! Guess it’s good to be well rounded :)
Oh my! That is beyond adorable! :-) His ear to ear grin is heart melting :-)
Good for you and your hubby to not look at his new crush as being ‘a girl’ thing and squashing it!
Never! As my husband says, Well, he is crushing on GIRLS after all! Hahaha!
LOL at your husband’s response!
:) Reid really tests his patience sometimes, so I think he’s prefer if he just sat down and played with dolls sometimes!
Those are the CUTEST pictures ever! He looks so so so bashful!
:) Thanks Victoria! He was a slightly unwilling model – at one point he picked up his toy and walked away, and I had to encourage him to come back!
How cute is your little boy! And the fact that he likes Ariel is adorable.
I think so too! It will be exciting to return to Disney this year.
Heart.Melted. He is beyond adorable! I think it’s great that you encourage him to play with whatever tickles his fancy. Boys that love princesses are sure to grow into men who behave like Princes and always treat women like a lady!
I LOVE THAT Yash! Indeed, Reid treats me like a princess too!
Reid is too cute. I miss that lil one.
He misses you too! We’ll have to schedule a “play date” very soon Ada! xx
That is absolutely adorable :) I laughed out loud reading about your husbands honest promise and the sad situation of the little mermaid movie being in the disney vault and the situation it presented. Glad to see there was such a great solution to in the form of a fun toy while waiting it out :)
Indeed! And thank goodness the vault re-opening is only a few months away :)
My now 17-year-old son went through a serious love affair and Little Mermaid phase when he was Reid’s age! He is not impressed when I tell that story now, though! LOL
Oh, I love that! And I can’t wait to tell that story one day too!
I am digging those shell lights
:) They’re pretty rad :)
Great picture, got to love Disney!
Hahaha, indeed!