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Minnie Mouse?!

N

Nugun

Dec 31, 2011
224
3
Mesquite, TX
#1
So I'm gonna try and make this a short story.

My guitarist called me up with an opportunity to make a quick $50 bucks. Apparently, his girlfriends aunt is a party planner and she needed two costume models (?) to be Elmo and Mickey at a kids birthday party this upcoming Saturday. When we went to go try on the costumes she broke the news.

They decided they wanted Minnie to go with Mickey instead of Elmo. Guess who was too hefty to fit into the Minnie costume? My guitarist. Guess who wasn't? Me. I didn't have enough girth to avoid wearing the costume. So I guess I'm gonna be Minnie this weekend.

Now for advice.

Does anybody know how I can avoid frightening these children? I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but the reason I'm asking is because I am 6'3", built like an athlete (on account of military physical fitness), and have a voice so deep only dogs can hear me half the time. A bassist does not a good Minnie Mouse make.

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? HELP??? :help:
 
#3
Haha. I just think it's a bit of an interesting dilemma. Another downer though is that its gonna be at the hottest part of the day in the middle of a Texas Summer. This is going to be the most miserable Minnie Mouse these kids are going to see. :D
 
#4
As strange as it sounds, I have a decent bit of experience being a mascot.

First of all, don't worry about your voice. Neither of you should be speaking. The costume will hide your stature. Just pat the kids on the head and wave a lot. I actually got some devilish pleasure when the kids at my nephew's birthday party all ran screaming when my sister made me come out in the Barney suit.

Oh, and take a break from time to time to grab a drink of water in the shade garage or something. Temps can get up to 130 in a suit.
 
#6
Gotcha. We were also warned that some of these moms can get kind of demanding when it comes to these kids birthday parties. We're already prepared to handle these situations if they come up, but out of curiosity does anyone have any mascot horror stories regarding this?
 
#7
Some kids will love you immediately no matter what. Some kids will hate/fear you no matter what. My biggest pieces of advice: Remember your costume will make you larger than life, so subtle movements will not be picked up - i.e., when you wave at kids, wave using your whole arm, to make it more obvious what you're doing. Also, move slowly. Large animals that move quickly will frighten them.


Experience: I was the college mascot for a semester.
 
#8
Nugun said:
Haha. I just think it's a bit of an interesting dilemma. Another downer though is that its gonna be at the hottest part of the day in the middle of a Texas Summer. This is going to be the most miserable Minnie Mouse these kids are going to see. :D
Click to expand...

Yikes...yeah, I'm no stranger to Texas summers. You're a brave man, my hat's off to you (figuratively speaking) :)
 
#10
Get yourself a small helium cannister and hit it when you want to talk.

Or nitrous oxide to make the whole experience that more memorable.

And don't forget to rub up against the hot moms there in an inappropriate fashion, it's something you can treasure the memory of for years: "Dear Penthouse, I never thought I'd be writing this, but, there was this time when I was dressed up as Minnie Mouse....."
 
#11
Nugun said:
Does anybody know how I can avoid frightening these children? I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but the reason I'm asking is because I am 6'3", built like an athlete (on account of military physical fitness), and have a voice so deep only dogs can hear me half the time. A bassist does not a good Minnie Mouse make.

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? HELP??? :help:
Click to expand...

Dont speak. Often times people in those costumes dont say a word. Just wave a lot, and pose for pictures.

Nugun said:
Gotcha. We were also warned that some of these moms can get kind of demanding when it comes to these kids birthday parties. We're already prepared to handle these situations if they come up, but out of curiosity does anyone have any mascot horror stories regarding this?
Click to expand...

Demanding, like, how? Like, "why dont you come 'round back when youre through with the kids and give momma some lovin" kinda demanding? Cuz that might make this whole thing worth the effort.
 
#16
MatticusMania said:
Demanding, like, how? Like, "why dont you come 'round back when youre through with the kids and give momma some lovin" kinda demanding? Cuz that might make this whole thing worth the effort.
Click to expand...

HA. :D Unfortunately that can go either way though. And I'll have Mickey and Minnie pictures up as soon as I can afterwards seeing as the costumes are at my guitarists house right now. This should make for an interesting Saturday... Let's keep our fingers crossed here gentlemen! :D
 
#17
T-bird said:
Hi.

Having been a chipmunk on several occasions myself, all I can say that taking Your headpiece off to calm down a screaming toddler doesn't quite lower the SPL .

Regards
Sam
Click to expand...

When my daughter was almost three, the woman who ran her daycare decided it would be good to appear as the Easter Bunny. Ms Abby was normally an adorable, very sweet woman. That particular day, she was clearly a terrifying creature from the depths of Hell, based entirely on my daughter's reaction. She tried to reassure her by removing the rabbit head-piece.

You're right. It doesn't help.
 
#18
A lot of good advice in this thread. As always the denizens of TBOT are always here to help with advice and support. That's why I love this place.
So...yeah now with that out of the way, I'ma just say one last thing about this whole thing, and that's:



HAAAAHAA HAAAA Minnie Mouse!??? HAAA HAAAHAAA!!!11!!!ONEONE!!!11!!
 
#20
Alright guys, so the Minnie gig was a smashing success! I don't have pictures of the event seeing as we were too busy to take any, but I guess I can dress up one more time for you guys.

BTW, so you guys know there was a cutie pie in some orange daisy dukes, a much older sister of one of the guests attending. Apparently women think it's cute when a guy dresses drag to amuse children. Hidden quirks eh? ;)

Unfortunately though there was also one incident where one of the dads wanted to take pictures with Mickey and Minnie. Upon placing his arms around our shoulders he said "Well, Minnie sure is muscular...". I'm not sure how to feel about that, but my first reaction was negatively.
 

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