Disney
frenzy!
March 11, 2002
Have kids, will hyperventilate over cartoon characters. At least that was appeared to be at last Friday's premiere of Disney on Ice in Singapore.
By Junie Ong
Kids of all shapes and sizes ran amok at the 100th celebration of Walt Disney Magic at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. And where kids are, havoc reigns for sure.
Guess whom we spotted among the unrelenting bundles of energy that ran wild like busy worker ants? Dutiful celebrity parents who made a rare appearance with their children.
The reason of course, was to let them enjoy the next best thing, because the likelihood of these parents having a Neverland ranch on hand like Michael Jackson are frankly, not quite high. But we suspect it may just be a convenient cover for these young-at-heart adults with a hidden desire to meet the legendary mouse in real life.
The guest holding room where the rich (sponsors, of course), famous (including MediaCorp big guns like Zoe Tay and Ivy Lee) and nosy (that's us reporters) got a preview of the Disney mascots was a battlefield.
Torn between mingling with guests and other celebrity parents, and chasing
after their kids, the stars were a distracted lot that night.
Don't ask me what that is, but it must be edible since it's here, so take
a bite…
Gurmit Singh, for example, was coaxing daughter Gabrielle to have a bit of
the delicate, bite-sized sandwiches while talking to me at the same time.
"Were you about 2 years old when you went skating in California?"
Gurmit asked Gabrielle in response to my question. After thinking for a long
hard while, the decisive miss shook her head and disagreed, "No, I think
I was 1 year old". "Hmm, you sure?" asked daddy, not quite
convinced. And Gabrielle signed resignedly at her doubting Pa, "Yes…
I'm sure…"
A composed nano-second to smile for the camera before Yi Xin decided it was
time to harass daddy again Edmund Tay: Better test the cammy out first so
I'll get a perfect shot later!
Edmund Chen had the daunting challenge of managing 2-year-old daughter Yi
Xin and 13-year-old son Yi Xi without Xiang Yun, who was filming. Despite
having a maid to help out, the harried father was left sweating it out (quite
literally) as he cradled his sleepy infant while making sure Yi Xi didn't
get lost in the crowd.
Further chaos erupted when Mickey and his girlfriend Minnie made their appearance and kids and adults alike went quite berserk. It was a wild chase as the tots darted in and out for a better view of the Disney characters, while celeb mummies and daddies armed with cameras jostled for prime Kodak positions.
Check out the stars who were at Disney on Ice!
It was a futile effort as they cajoled, " Come, look here and smile,
quick!" when the youngsters were more interested in tugging at Mickey's
ears and looking anywhere else but at the camera.
Everyone's here with their kids and me too, I have…my sister!
Caught in the midst of this frenzy was Priscelia Chan and Jamie Teo, the only
single stars around. "It feels weird, I didn't expect so many kids to
be around!" exclaimed the harassed Priscelia. "At least Jamie has
a reason to be here because she's the host of the show. Everyone else has
brought their children along!" she observed belatedly, signaling at colleagues
Pan Lingling, Huang Shinan, Hong Huifang and Edmund Tay.
It'll be murder on the ice floor if I have to skate!
Just as we left the boiling madhouse for the show proper, we met Gary Yap,
another brave celeb with no kids in tow, waiting for his manager to turn up
with his tickets. And bet you didn't know this, but Gary has an unnatural
fear of falling, thanks to a bad bout of rollerblading. "I fell so hard
I'm scared of falling now and as a result, I've never tried ice skating."
Thank goodness the most difficult challenge on City Beat is trying food and not new sports.
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| Reigning Miss Singapore Universe Jamie Teo |