Character interaction tips for a shy girl?

[fiddlefaddle2]

Hi everyone,
I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland in October ( so soooon now! )
It's just me and my friend going (both girls in our 20s) and I'm in charge of planning everything.
My friend has always wanted to do character dining but we never have during our other trips to Disney parks. Part of the reason is because I am incredibly shy (I have social anxiety disorder).
So basically I'd like any tips you have that might help me with character interaction, maybe things I could say or tricks for shy children or anything like that.
Also at the moment we're looking at going to Goofy's Kitchen for the breakfast as my friend Claire liked the sound of the food best. We're really flexible for timing (though not TOO early ) so if you know of times it might tend to be quieter that would be great. Or if you would suggest forgetting Goofy's and going to a less popular restaurant then maybe I can try and change Claire's mind.
Thanks so much for any tips!

 

[rmom]

You could ask something that has to do with the movie they are in. The princesses get asked where her prince is. Cruella is fun, she took my daughter's bear and was going to make a coat out of it. We have gotten more of a response when we bring up someone they don't like. The speaking characters are easier to interact with then the non-speaking ones. My daughter is not shy but has communication issues - she tells them she loved them.

If you want to be one in the crowd, Goofy's is good as there is a lot going on and it is fun to watch the "show" with the kids. It is an easier place for my daughter then the other ones where she stands out.

Have a a fun trip!

 

[elaw]

Story Tellers at the GCH has a great breakfast buffet too and the characters are, as I recall, from the Brother Bear movie and chip and dale. They usually drop by your table but arent generally too intrusive.

 

[jsebsirois]

I would also say : let the characters play with you. No matter what we can say about their job, these guys know how to react to pretty much every situation!

 

[juliebug1997]

If you see Donald Duck, you tell him that Mickey Mouse is a hack--he'll probably kiss your hand.

Mickey and Donald are also very funny when you ask them why they have married their respective girlfriends.

 

[PoohsBees]

I realize it's a bit different for a grown-up... but when we went to Disney for the first time with my very standoffish toddler- I specifically booked us for all the character meals we could fit in. They are SOOOO much easier than one on ones at the character spots. The characters wander through on a set path, so you get to prepare for their arrival at your table. My daughter would squeal with excitement when she saw a favorite appear across the room (she really didn't want them close to her- so having a table as a 'shield' really helped her, she could interact a bit without fear of them touching her.)
I second what the other poster said about letting the characters do their job. They've seen it and done it all before and they are AMAZING at bringing people out of their shells. That being said...use your friend to break the ice too. Like on 'How I Met Your Mother', she can be your wing-girl and do your own variation of Barney's: "Haaaaave you met Ted?!?" for example "Hi (character name), this is my friend (your name), she's really shy but she just loves your movie/show/book....." etc. Talk about it ahead of time, so she can steer the experience in a way that would make you the most at ease. The characters will follow her lead and you will probably have some great experiences.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

If you're shy, I would recommend choosing a character meal based off the characters you would like to see the most. That way you're already familiar with the characters and have an idea about what to ask them. If you know which characters you're likely to see at a certain meal, watch their respective movies/animated shorts and take notes. I'm not kidding about the taking notes part. This could help you remember what to say to them. For instance, ask Belle what book she's reading or what kind of stories she likes.

The other thing I recommend is dress for success. Wear a shirt with your favorite character(s) on it, or a lanyard with pins of your favorite characters. This can be a great way to help break the ice.

My lanyard is full of pins from my two favorite movies, Star Wars and Sleeping Beauty. As such Goofy tried to force choke me once and just recently I had a lightsaber duel with Stitch. Minnie gets especially excited about the pin of her and Mickey dancing in the clouds as Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip, and Princess Aurora likes the same pin of Mickey and Minnie as "us." I've also had Jedi related conversations with Princess Aurora.

 

[fiddlefaddle2]

Thank you all so much!
I know it probably seems very silly for someone my age to be so anxious around costumed characters but just interacting with anyone makes me very nervous and flustered and then I get tongue tied and that just makes it worse
Rehearsing some things I can say to the characters will definately help and I'll try to find some kind of prop. I'm sure once I'm actually there and having a great time things will be easier too, I'm just a bit worried about it.
Or I could always have a couple of swift cocktails in my hotel before breakfast

 

[PinkBudgie]

You can click on the link in my sig for my "review of Goofy's Kitchen for Couples". We are not out going boisterous people and I had the same question about how character interaction would go. But I wanted to try Goofy's. We went at 7:30am and we found that time to be perfect. We had one family near us and the place was very uncrowded. I had no idea what to say to them, but they always had something to say to us. They posed with each of us for a picture and several times a family near us took a picture of us together. We had photo pass plus that trip so not only did we get the picture with Goofy at Goofy's kitchen included, we stopped to meet lots of characters in the park. We were very quick. We didn't need autographs or anything. We just said hi and the character made a coment if they were talking characters, then took a picture and left.