What to say to child if they ask if Mickey is wearing a costume and is someone inside?

Be honest, lying to your children no matter how good it makes you feel is never a good thing.
 
On our last visit my eldest niece was 6 and we were at Chef Mickey's for breakfast near the end of our trip. She leaned over and whispered to me "Aunt Stacy is that the real Minnie or is it a girl in a suit?" I asked her what she thought and she said "I think it's a girl in a suit because her legs are like people-girl legs" :laughing: Even if I had tried to convince her otherwise, she would have known I was lying. I told her that Mickey and Minnie and their friends had people dress-up just like them because they are so busy and can't be everywhere at once. She was good with that and never mentioned it to her younger siblings.

Since then we have talked about it again while discussing our upcoming visit (she will turn 9 a few days after our trip) and she has told me that even though she knows they're not real, it's still a lot of fun to see them and she's excited! She said in a very grown-up tone "That's why they're called characters right? Just like characters in a book! They're not real but they kinda still feel real right? I still think it's fun! But I won't tell anyone though so I don't make them upset" Neither of her younger siblings have mentioned anything (they're 7 and 4 now)

I think it depends on the child. Some kids will take info like this better than others. I know kids who might feel hurt and angry if they thought they were being lied to and some who might be quick to tell other children it's all pretend. Ultimately, you know better than anyone how your child might react to the truth. Do what you think is right for your family! Doing it the right way for the child in question can still keep the magic intact! :goodvibes
 
sunny_stace said:
Doing it the right way for the child in question can still keep the magic intact! :goodvibes
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I think this sums it up.

I don't believe in Lying to our children, however being "Elusive" can be okay. Each child is different, and I have heard/read lots of good suggestions here. Ultimately, you know your child better than any of us do, so obviously you will need to determine what is best for your children. We try not to confirm it or deny it. We let them apply the appropriate logic and come to their own conclusions.
 
I'm a big fan of not lying to kids, we let them figure it our naturally and didn't have them thinking Mickey was real st the age of about 5 or 6. We did the same with Santa.
 
DD told me they weren't "real" and I tried and tried to argue but at 7 she was having none of it...

However, we both agreed that they are the "real" deal as they are making magic by being that person and that's just amazing, so yes, you may have hugged Mickey and it may have been a different one each time, but it's still Mickey.

Though she's been reading Kingdom Keepers at the moment which is helping with keeping the magic alive.
 
I just say "I think its fun to think their real so I'm not going to try to figure it out for sure. If you find out, don't tell me!" They've never said anything more about it. I think they are just pretending for me. Regardless, it's fun for all of us.
 
My 6 and 8 year old both totally know, and they still love it.
It's fun and exciting, even if it isn't "real".
 
Pookasaurus said:
I thought our most recent trip a few weeks wouldn't be as magical for him now that he "knew" - but I was very, very wrong.
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:)

I didn't grow up with Santa etc, and I was terrified of Disney characters, so there was no chance DS was going to be brought up with the myths as anything but fun myths/stories (I do put Santa presents out, but they are in MY writing, so....). Of course, at 4 (I think) he told me I was wrong about Santa and believed for the whole year. After the year was up, he stopped. He's a funny kid.

DH loves characters and so he introduced them to DS (I'm the photographer...I don't like being in pictures with them), and even though he wasn't told they were real and even after he felt a zipper on Mickey, he still loved meeting them.

YawningDodo said:
My parents were the kind to come clean with me, though, and I think it helped build my trust in them knowing that I could ask and they'd just tell me the truth (they even broached the topic a few times, like that time I thought the robotic dinosaurs at the museum were real and was deeply confused about when/if dinosaurs had gone extinct as a result). Then again I was terrified of everything as a child, so it was probably part of a general effort to help me deal with that.
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Same type of mom. Same reason of being terrified.

Single mom, abusive dad elsewhere...the idea of a stranger male coming into our house in the middle of the night? Oh so NOT happening in my household... I really appreciate how my mom handled it all.

YawningDodo said:
You still get to play the pretend game, ....something both of you are playing together.
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Yes. My mom had myths. Presents that showed up mysteriously. Candy in baskets when she hadn't been shopping without us. Again, single mom, broke, tiny tiny house (800 sq ft)...but she MADE those occasions and I still don't know how. We didn't even have a trunk in our car! We had a proper Pinto station wagon...no trunk to hide things in! And how on earth did she afford a trip to Disneyland?

That was all the true magic. :)


I feel bad for my half-brothers and sister, who were forced by their mom to "believe" or they wouldn't get presents. They got more presents probably (when DS arrived she sent a needlepoint stocking for him that was 3 times the size of the stockings I grew up with), but not the amazement that I had for my mom, from how she did the holidays and knew who we were.


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"What do you think?" and letting it be a continued conversation is a great way to do it.
 
On our first day last December when DS was five, we were standing in line for Russel and Dug at AK. Our little guy couldn't stop talking about how excited he was to meet them. A boy in front of him turned around with a sneer and said, "You know they're just people in costumes, right?" I was appalled. My son said, "No, they're real! My mom said!" I wasn't sure how to handle it after that, but he asked their handler point blank if they were people in costume or if they were real when it was his turn, and the handler said, "Of course they're real." Hubby and I sort of thought that would be the tipping point, but he's obviously wanting to believe just for himself, as we keep asking him what he thinks when he brings it up for our upcoming trip and he keeps saying, "Everything is real at Disney." So we are going to let him take the lead, but stop outright telling him they are real and keep asking what he thinks. I do worry that he is just saying this because it's what he thinks we want to hear, or even worse, that he thinks I don't know they're costumes and doesn't want to ruin it for me (there were hints of this last trip)!
 
JustCallMeMommy said:
I would say, "What do you think?" After that, just follow his lead.

DD never believed the characters were real. She met Dora and Boots, who she loved, at age 3, and she knew the real characters were her sized while the ones she met were giant. It never spoiled any magic for her, and she still gets giddy every time she sees her current favorite, Stitch.
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Agreed. The "What do you think?" works with Santa, too.
 
My daughter is 3 and loves meeting characters. We haven't been to Disney with her but we've been to a local amusement park that has fairy tale characters...Cinderella, Rapunzel, Pinocchio, Mother Goose, etc. She realized on one visit that Pinocchio was different than on a previous visit (it was so obvious...Pinocchio was a girl that time!), and I told her the "real" Pinocchio must have had the day off so he had his friend take his place. She was perfectly fine with that. I hope to take her to Disney before she loses the belief in magic! It's funny, she's encountered several Cinderellas and hasn't even noticed, even looking at the pictures. I guess as long as it's a blond girl in a fluffy blue dress, she's convinced. Make Pinocchio an alto instead of a baritone and she notices. :)
 
Pangya: Your story reminded me about a time 2 years ago. I was standing in a line for autographs of an author when this Ilama (her book's character)come out all dressed up. The girl in front of me was scared of the character and wouldn't stop crying if it came close. The mom whispered in her ear and she stopped crying and told the kids standing in line waiting that the character was really a person with a costume. I kept on thinking if my 3 year old nephew was here and she told him the characters weren't real I'd be really upset. I don't mind if you want to tell your kid the truth but please don't ruin it for others.
 
texasgingerbread said:
Thoughts on what to say to this? They are 6. One has asked ONCE at Aulani and I told him no way, but he was 5 then. He asked why he had a zipper up his back. I told him we all have zippers in our clothes (look at your jeans). But now he's on the verge of figuring it out. Anyone have a good response?
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If a child is ready to ask those types of questions, I would 'never' lie!! There is a way to answer that will not take away their excitement - 'all' children eventually have to face the truth - they usually take it much better than some adults!! The enjoyment will not go away.

We (all), as adults, know the story about them, and we still keep the excitement, right??? Really surprised that they have believed it so far, usually children discuss such things amongst themselves about the time of kindergarten.
 
I'm not a parent and I've never been with kids, but just knowing that it is someone in costume doesn't diminish the magic. I was 16 the first time I went to WDW. I knew that they weren't "real", but the first time I met Tigger - who I stumbled upon in the back of the park, not in a photo area - I nearly cried. I had played Tigger in a first grade play, and there I was getting my picture with Tigger. It didn't matter to me that he wasn't the "real" Tigger, and I'm sure to most kids it doesn't matter either.
 
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