Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and Why We’ll Be Watching on TV in 2011

Let me start by saying the The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival® was a well organized event. The Lighting Procession on Michigan Avenue was a little weak but when you have two sassy kids who are obsessed with M-i-c-k-e-y and Minnie you do what any loving parent would do and get excited right along with them!

Please note:  I am sharing our experience because we were so shocked and appalled by the behavior of people in attendance. Let this be a reminder of what NOT to do in public.

Living in the city there are so many exciting attractions, museums and events to keep your little ones busy, however these wonderful events attract hundreds and thousands of people who live outside the city.

Our night started out with much excitement and talk about Mickey and Minnie. Sassy kids asking  Will we see Daisy and Daffy? Will Pluto be there with Minnie? It was so cute.

I was excited to see Choo-Choo Soul with Genevieve live and in person as well as the Radio Disney Road Crew. What can I say, Disney is the only channel sassy kids are allowed to watch. When you start EVERY morning with these people it tends to rub off.

“All aboard the choo choo train, all aboard, all aboard, Choo Choo!” is forever ingrained in my memory!

We left our house around 3:30 pm with four adults and three kids and headed to Michigan Avenue arriving an hour and half prior to the parade start time. This meant we snagged front row spots and promptly parked our double and single strollers to intentionally prevent the masses from crushing the little ones.

All was good until about twenty minutes prior the parade when the masses started piling in. That’s when the hell began.

Listen I’m not going to lie. I hate being pushed. Crowds make me uncomfortable which means common sense would tell me to stay the heck home. Unfortunately you can’t stay home when you have kids or they would never see the world. It is a crowded place.

Let me be clear. I don’t mind crowds until people lose all sense of social skills and common courtesy. Which means pushing to the front of the line of a concert or parade and arriving 10 minutes before said function starts. Seriously get some common sense.

I generally try to teach my girls patience, empathy and kindness but on this particular evening that was not possible. And here’s why….

I could care less if you have kids that want to see. So do I! I don’t care if you drove 20 miles into the city. I left my house 2 hours prior and live 5 minutes away on foot. I don’t care if you are annoyed that I have a stroller where two people could be standing. This is how I get around town on a regular basis which means I am reducing my carbon footprint.

All these things are petty compared to the frightening situation that happened to husband and baby.

Husband decided to leave with my 1 yr old and go into Borders because she was getting antsy. I assumed he would stay put inside until the parade was over. Apparently he tried to make his way back to us and was almost crushed and assaulted by a 60 something year old man.

Altercation went down like this:

Husband: Excuse me sir may I squeeze by you? I am trying to get back to my family (while pointing to us).

Jerk: Too bad.

Husband: Sir, seriously. I’m trying to get back to my family right there (pointing to us again).

Jerk: Not my problem (then proceeds to get in husband’s face and push into him).

Does anyone really need to see a stupid light parade this badly? At that point people started pushing one another and the baby started freaking out and husband almost punched the 60 year old man. It takes a lot for him to get pissed or lose his temper so I’m going to take his word that it was pretty frightening. Thankfully he made his way out of the crowd but was forced to walk home carrying my daughter in his arms. I can tell you that carrying her for more than two blocks is no walk in the park because she weighs 23 pounds.

Needless to say that between my nightmare trying to prevent grown adults from squishing our kids and my husband’s experience trying to avoid getting crushed with the baby; we mutually agreed we will never attend another city parade.

I take that back. I’ll go if I’m sitting inside at the The Drake, Westin or Park Hyatt sipping a SassyMom™ Hot Toddy safe away from the crazy folks.

Good news is sassy kid and her sassy BFF had a great time seeing all the Disney characters which made it worthwhile (for about ten minutes).