ok..this is more of an FYI than a true disaster since the cake was going to be a surprise anyway....
I do not suggest using a confetti cake mix for a character cake. I tried this cake mix with the 'original strawberry shortcake' pan and it was way too difficult to make out the impressions. It was the first time I had used anything other than a yellow or white mix, or pound cake....but we had really pretty cake squares! 
I learned a big lesson on that one...stick to what's tried and true!
Sorry to hear that...I have used the confetti cake alot for an R2D2, truck, scooby and powerpuff cake and I guess when I put the sprinkles in I did ok because when I turned over the cake it was like I made a plain cake... it was fine.... but I also have heard the same thing that you said... but what I do with this mix is I pour the cake into the pan THEN sprinkle the sprinkles into the cake..kind of like when you do a marble cake.... I just spread the sprinkles, use a knife, or spoon to push down..... and when the cake is cut it looks almost like a magical thing that the sprinkles just stop short of the bottom/top of cake....
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