“I have one question for everyone,” the woman behind the camera asks her 4-year-old daughter, her almost 13-month-old baby, and her husband. “Who wants to go to the Four Seasons Orlando?”
The baby's hand rises, a split second before her sister and dad. “Meeeee!” they all knock in.
That's all that happens in the TikTok video, which lasts about five seconds in total. But the so-called 'Four Seasons Orlando Baby' has captured the internet's heart with her precociousness and penchant for luxury travel, generating thousands of memes and garnering more than 34 million views.
“How does he know what the Four Seasons Orlando is?” a comment is read. “I don't even know what it looks like.” Several TikTokers have stitched together videos of their own AI renditions of the Four Seasons Orlando baby, speaking eloquently of her desire to travel there: “Oh how the heart yearns to convey to you the splendor and magnificence that is the Four Seasons Orlando ,” an AI-generated video shows the baby saying.
The massive popularity of the video has been a whirlwind for the baby's parents, Bailey and Will Wise, a pharmacist and portfolio manager based in the Tampa, Florida, area. It was also a chaotic 24 hours for her aunt, Stefanie O'Brien, who posted the video on Friday with the caption: 'If the @Four Seasons Hotels looking for a baby ambassador my niece got you.' (The baby's name, by the way, is Kate, and she's almost 13 months old; her sister, the adorable toddler in the video, is named Madelyn.)
“We don't post a lot on social media,” Bailey said Rolling rock Over the phone on Monday afternoon, as Kate cooed with admirable charm in the background. “My husband came down on Saturday morning saying, 'I just got a message. Did you know we are viral and trending?” It was a whirlwind. First it was a few thousand and then a few million views. And it's just been out of control for the last 24, 48 hours.”
According to Bailey, the video started out as a private family group chat message to convince her parents, who also live in Florida, to join them for a weekend trip to the Four Seasons Orlando. (“They hang out with the kids and we can relax a little bit,” she says. “She's a winner.”) She sent them the video, hoping the “kindness would strike,” and her mother forwarded it to her sister Stefanie, who lives in New York and works as head of business development for Belgian soccer player Thibaut Courtois. She also found it hilarious and sent it to a group of her friends before posting it on TikTok.
“Everyone thinks their own children or their own nieces and nephews are the cutest,” says Stephanie. “But my nieces are Really cute. I was watching the video and thought, “Maybe it's not just our family conversation that he would think is funny.” “I got a text at 7:30 am. from Bailey in the group chat saying, 'cause Will and my kids are going viral,' with the eye emoji,” says Stephanie.
The reaction, Bailey and Stefanie say, has been largely positive, and they've been messaging each other the resulting comments and memes. “My favorite is, 'This baby doesn't even last four seasons,'” Stephanie says with a laugh. The Four Seasons Orlando hotel even got in on the fun, pasting the original video to their TikTok page. (“Our Orlando property has seen a healthy increase in engagement and growth on their social channels, and we have our youngest fan to thank!” said a brand spokesperson Rolling rock via email.)
Located on the Walt Disney World property in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the Four Seasons Orlando is one of the most luxurious and high-end hotels not only in Disney World, but in the greater Orlando area, with a suite with a view on the lake that sleeps two adults and two children costs up to $1,860 per night.
Which begs the question: How, exactly, does this not-even-13-month-old know about the Four Seasons Orlando? There's (somewhat) a reasonable explanation: Last year, Bailey says, the family was building a house in the Tampa area and had a habit of taking their kids to a hotel as a way to escape the small space they had. “My husband and I have a work hard, play hard mentality,” she says. “And there were some fun Florida resident prices. So we thought, why not?”
The family first visited when Kate was about six months old. Obviously, it made quite an impression. “It's funny because there's only one. But we show her pictures when we're getting ready to go somewhere and try to engage our kids, see what their reaction is,” she says. “When Kate sees her sister excited, she picks it up. But she also has her own point of view. So I think he knew exactly what we were talking about.” (The hotel girls' favorite amenity? The pool and lazy river.)
While much of the commentary focused on Kate's impressive language ability at just one year old, Bailey says it never occurred to her that Kate was advanced until she saw the reaction to the video. “He says no, he says yes. He has a few words. You can talk to her to some extent.” (Most babies usually start using words somewhere between 12 and 18 months.) As for whether or not she'd have such a positive reaction to any other stimulus favorable to her, or if it's specific to the Four Seasons Orlando, Bailey swears that it is the last. “We've tried it on a number of things, and when we say Four Seasons, it always says 'Me,'” he says. “I think he knows [what she’s saying]but we cannot be too sure.”
In the meantime, the family is in contact with the Four Seasons Orlando to plan their next trip (though a spokesperson wouldn't confirm whether they contributed the family with a free stay: “Right now, we're focused on making their upcoming stay memorable,” they said. ) Children, too, enjoy their fame.
“Kate loves watching videos of herself,” Bailey says. “He'll say 'more, more' or touch the screen to scroll. He'll also press the X button on FaceTime when he's done.” A discerning luxury traveler and gadgets? That's a certified baby genius right there.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/four-seasons-baby-viral-tiktok-orlando-1235024760/