Best place/way for a toddler to hug Mickey?

[Phedre]

My 20 month old DD loves Mickey and every time his name is mentioned, she wraps her arms around herself and says "Hug!" She can't wait to hug him on our trip in a few weeks

However, on our last trip, we went to the Character Connection in Epcot to see Mickey and when she ran up to hug him he kind of forcefully grabbed her by the arm and turned her around for the photo op instead of hugging back. After that she was a little frightened because of what happened and didn't want anything else to do with the rest of the characters. I'm not saying that Mickey did anything wrong in any way, of course, just that she was a little scared about what happened. I know 99% of people who go to see Mickey want to make sure they get their kids in a pic with him so it's just what he usually does

Personally, I don't care if we get a decent picture or not, I just want her to get to give him a hug. Is there a place that might be a better atmosphere for hugging vs picture taking? I was thinking maybe of trying MK this time instead of Epcot where it might be less of an assembly line of characters but I'm not really familiar with the set up there. Should I just walk up to Mickey and say, Hey, I don't care about the pic, could you just give my kiddo a hug? LOL it seems awkward when I play it out in my head Any advice from people who have been through lots of the character areas would help Thanks so much!

 

[kappyfamily]

Maybe if you say to Mickey as she is about to go up to him "you know Mickey she has been waiting 6 months to give you a hug!", I bet that will do the trick!

 

[kamik86]

You may have been luck at a less busy location.

I have heard that if you go to Camp Minnie-Mickey just after a lion king show starts it is generally a very short line so he may be able to spend more time with her and not just try to get a quick picture.

 

[jrsmom]

How about a character meal?

 

[Thumperr]

I'd go to camp Minnie Mickey right after the Lion King starts, last september we got to spend 10 minutes with Mickey and Donald who showed my 3yrs old his "nephews" It was so much fun!

 

[aceys_h0ney]

Character meals are great for this. My kids could hug, high five or just goof off with the characters a lot more freely at meals then with the characters in the parks. We booked several and the kids loved seeing the characters in their different costumes also. Since we had their autographs there was no need to continue getting them so they used the time to talk to them and goof off. We had great interactions at Chef Mickey and Cape May (not sure if Mickey is at Cape May, but Goofy and Minnie were great at breakfast).

 

[PhillyMc]

I would def try a meal only cuz they do get to spend more time with you. When I told Donald he was my fav he spent well over 5 mins at our table and I got to get quite a few shots and a couple hugs in.

 

[OhThePain]

If you decide to go the character meal route, go with Garden Grill. The restaurant is pretty tame for character meals, the food is decent, but the character interaction is great. Due to the shape of the restaurant, it is not unheard of for the characters (Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale) to come by 2, 3 or even 4 times. The interaction never feels rushed like it may at some of the other character meals. It almost feels like that for those couple of minutes the characters are all yours without really having random kids come running to them.

The Character Spot at EC seems to us to be one of the more hectic meet and greet areas. The other areas like Camp Minnie-Mickey (as others have said), the animation building at DHS (Sorcerer Mickey) and the new meet and greet in MK (haven't been there yet) will all probably give you a more relaxed, less rushed meet and greet with the mouse.

 

[Eljay]

OP, do you have a Chase Disney Visa? At Innoventions West in Epcot, there is a private meet & greet opportunity with a free photo, for card holders. There is no guarantee that it will be Mickey, but chances are pretty good.

*Character Meet 'N' Greet at our Private Cardmember Location
Perk: At Walt Disney World® Resort, stop by our private location—reserved just for Cardmembers—to meet and pose with some of your favorite Disney Characters. Get a complimentary 5 x 7 photo, too!

When: Offered daily between 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM

Where to go: Innoventions West at Epcot®

What to do: Simply present your Disney Rewards Visa Card to enter the event

Why: It's one of the most unique experiences of being a Cardmember!

 

[Colleen27]

Camp Minnie-Mickey and the Magic of Animation character spots tend to be less crowded and less rushed in our experience. I think the Epcot character spot is the most rushed in-park interaction we've had anywhere, probably because the lines build so quickly.

I wouldn't recommend character meals; used to be they were awesome for interaction but our last few have been even more rushed than the in-park meet & greets.

 

[Eljay]

There is a new Mickey meet & greet with FastPass access!
http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2011/04/magician_mickey_mouse_and_prin_1.html

 

[jms531]

I'm really surprised Mickey did that...When DD was 11 mo's old she was obsessed with hugging the characters and kissing them on the noses. All the characters were great about it. At Garden Grill Mickey spent a long time with DD multiple times during the dinner even making the comment that she was strong lol (she hadn't really mastered a gentle hug at that point it...her hugs came with a running start). When DD was 23 mo's her new thing was wanting to dance with the characters. At Crystal Palace Tigger spent a ton of time twirling her around and around...DD loved it!
Defnitely book a character meal, I think that's your best bet! Good luck

 

[Babbletrish]

On the whole, character interactions sure have changed since I was a kid. Instead of the glee of randomly running into completely random characters wandering around, it's more of, well, a Thing. You have to stand in line just like you do for everything else in the World.

That said, here are a few ideas:

There are leisurely character meals with lots of one-on-one interaction. The aforementioned Garden Grille in the Land is terrific, and if you go during an unusually early/late lunch you won't feel as rushed.

I remember an old tip from the Guide: it sounds a little weird, but if you're at a designated character greeting spot, it helps to hold your child up in front of the character until the character reacts. It has a lot to do with where the "eye-holes" are on the fursuits: the Ducks are stuck peering around those giant beaks for example.

 

[lynnebla]

We've had great experiences at the Magic of Disney Animation in DHS. I had a very scared 2 year old a couple of years ago & this is the only place she went up to a character and enjoyed it. Gave him a huge hug! Our 18 month old got a great hug here this year. In both cases, the photographer & Mickey welcomed the hugs and even got some great pictures. Not usually a long line either, cause it's kinda hidden.

 

[xXMyTwoPrincessesXx]

On the whole, character interactions sure have changed since I was a kid. Instead of the glee of randomly running into completely random characters wandering around, it's more of, well, a Thing. You have to stand in line just like you do for everything else in the World.

I was thinking about this the other day.. do you never randomly run into characters anymore? Or some still roam the parks?

Sorry for the slight OT qustions!

 

[lynnebla]

I was thinking about this the other day.. do you never randomly run into characters anymore? Or some still roam the parks?

Sorry for the slight OT qustions!

We actually had a great experience this year with Tiana & Prince Naveen. We were just sitting and waiting for family members to get off a ride when they walked by. They talked to my kids and were very sweet to them all, even tiptoeing because the baby was asleep. So, these kinds of interactions do still happen, you just have to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

 

[lindsmom]

However, on our last trip, we went to the Character Connection in Epcot to see Mickey and when she ran up to hug him he kind of forcefully grabbed her by the arm and turned her around for the photo op instead of hugging back.

Just a thought - as I was reading this, I was thinking of how my 20 month old runs at my husband, who instinctively grabs him around the waist to pick him up - seems like a sweet moment, but dad is really trying to protect himself from ds's concrete hard head and, shall we say, the specific spot where that head makes contact.....

Mickey may have had an uncomfortable moment recently or just before that, and was a little skittish for children of a certain height. I realize that (warning - spoiler alert) Mickey may be staffed by a petite female, but if he's a petite male that could be uncomfortable.

I agree to give Mickey the head's up - I think that with most CM's they want to have a positive experience for the children. Then again, when dealing with humans there is the small percentage of CM's that maybe should be reassigned for a little while.

 

[Phedre]

Thank you so much for all of these responses! I am a Disney Visa card member and didn't think at all about that character meet and greet they have set up for members. Before I had kids I didn't get what the big deal of a special meeting was because heck, you can see characters all over. Now it's starting to make more sense to me

I really appreciate all of the ideas for character meals and other locations too. I didn't think of a lot of these places to try but now I feel much more confident that we'll be able to figure out something that will work

Thanks guys!!