Michael meets Donkey Kong

Michael wanted to do the meet and greet with Donkey Kong. He had purchased his cute little headband with the Donkey Kong and barrels on it, was wearing his Donkey Kong tshirt and his Diddy Kong jacket he got from the Nintendo store in Tokyo, so he was decked out and ready to go. I will point out that both Michael and I got pulled up so many times by staff during the day to comment about how wonderful we looked, and how much they loved my beanie and Michaels Donkey Kong fit. Even strangers pulled us up, as my beanie is very much one of a kind, and we didn't see another single Diddy Kong jacket like Michaels.

Everyone here is wearing park memorabilia and merch, or is wearing a school uniform (it's a Japan thing), so we really stand out. Plus, my coat I got from the flea market looks like it was designed in tandem with my beanie, and I have my capybara by my side that's the exact same colour, so I get comments on the full package, which is quite lovely.

Anyway, back to the man of the hour. Donkey Kong. The way it operates at Universal is that the meet and greets get photographed by Universal staff, they take 2 pictures, and then you can buy them. But no fancy DSLR pics by you. So I had to pull a sneaky and try and capture Michaels meet and greet using zoom and taking advantage of crowds. So of course someone in the line got right in my line of shooting that I had set up to be as inconspicuous as possible 🤣🤣🤣

Still, I managed to capture elements of it from the shadows and witness it for myself. I've never seen Michael as joyous and as happy as he was meeting this massive Donkey Kong. It also helped that Donkey Kong reacted more to people who were wearing Donkey Kong stuff, so Donkey Kong was as loving and excited as Michael was. So much so that he bopped Michaels headband off his head, causing lots of laughs.

It really was one of those core life moments for him. Being here, buying the merch, meeting his favourite character. It was well worth a week's salary, which is how much today had cost once we add in all the food, the photos and all the merch. I just feel delighted and privileged that I am in the position to do this so that I can witness my hubby experience a childish whimsy and magic that feels rare and so special.Read more