Words to break a mother's heart....

[BLTtinkerbell]

WHAT? The characters are not real? Thanks for ruining it for me!

Well I'm a grown woman & yet when Pluto went to give me a hug, I had the biggest smile and hugged him back! Who says they aren't real?!
Seriously, Its all about the magic

 

[Sunshine22]

We had 4 teens with us over spring break. They couldn't wait to get their hugs and pictures with as many characters as possible! My teen DDs never tire of the magic. (They also asked the tough questions about "real" characters when they were kids).

 

[DisDad07]

I always told my kids. The day you don't believe in Santa, you can stop looking for a PRESENT from him! Same goes for MICKEY

 

[monorailmom]

We leave in just 9 days...and as our tradition, when I changed my kid's beds today, they all got their Disney sheets.

Yep, even the ones going to college when we get back.

Knowing the 'whole story' doesn't mean you can't believe in the magic.

 

[chepic]

We leave in 6 hours to drive down and my kids are tossing in bed waiting for the clock to tick down to leave.

We have had this conversation with both, and as the title says....my heart broke a little and then I smiled at them both 5 and 7 at the time (now 7/11) and said Yes he is Mickey now go jump in the pool!!!

It is all what you believe.....that is why I still tear up when they say welcome home Mrs. Picard!!!!!

Cheryl

 

[taaren]

DS5 knew last year that they weren't real, and mentioned it. That didn't stop him from smiling and giving them big hugs and being thoroughly amused by all the characters on DCL and at the character meals though. I think he likes the princesses the best, even though he knows they're not princesses, because even at his age he loves attention from pretty girls ...

The only one I'm not sure if he realized wasn't the "real" thing was the Jack Sparrow we met, but I was half convinced that it was Johnny Depp myself...

 

[jayrp]

We all gotta grow up sometimes. Smart kid.

 

[dancnorris]

If you read abount quantum physics, even the things that we all consider to be "real" (like the chair I am sitting on) are brought into question. In quantum physics, they use physics to show that concrete things in our physical world literally exist because we perceive them to exist, and the physical construct of the universe can change based solely on upon our capacity to perceive it. If you want to be blown away, go to YouTube, search for "electron double slit experiment," and watch the animated video that comes up. You will start to question reality even more than your children question the characters at WDW.

The purpose of my response is not to suggest that nothing is "real." However, I do believe there is something to the science of quantum physics. At WDW, I do not see animitronic children on Small World or a giant suffed mouse with an out-of-work college student in it. Through the magic of Disney (and the power of my imagination), I am completely transported to a place where these characters are every bit as real as you and me. I laugh with them, cry with them, and I learn from them. I experience their stories through tales of magic, excitement, and suspense. And, at the end of the day, I leave having experienced something that is far more impactful (and thus "real") than virtually anything I do or experience in the real world. Most importantly, I know that my children experience WDW the same way. When I see their eyes filled with joy and excitement, I know that they are having an experience that will change them as people and beneficially impact who they become. If that isn't "real," then I don't know what is.

This may be hard to address with a child (and I have not yet faced it myself because my oldest daughter is only 3), but I think the dilemma addressed by this thread suggests a false duality--i.e., things are either real or they are not. In reality (excuse the pun), the truth is far more complex. Our reality is what we make it...

 

[dvc4life]

This is a really sweet thread. I must say that we told our girls that if they stopped believing in the magic that the magic would stop. It is all in what you believe. And Santa still comes to our house and our girls are 19 and 16. The magic is still in their hearts, as well as in mine and my DH's. And we love to meet the characters at Disney. This past May my girls loved meeting the Star Wars Characters at DHS. In fact that is what we went for.

Also, I am a mid-40's mom and I still get all giddy when I meet Snow White. She is not real? Say it isn't so. lol. But for me the magic is still there and I just get all bubbly when we see her. Let alone me getting a picture with her. My hubby is just tickled that I get so tickled about meeting her. Silly I know.

So, for us, it is all in what you believe. And we believe in Magic!

 

[Mom B]

As to what to tell our children about Santa . . we need to tell them the truth. In the beginning we believe there is a Santa because we trust our family’s say so; soon we become too sophisticated to believe such stuff; and finally we come to realize that our family was right all along, there really is a Santa, he just happens to be more than the man in the suit.

And so it goes with Mickey, too. He is so much more than a man in a suit!

Well said!

DH always told our kids, regarding the man in red, "those who don't believe, don't receive." Never had a problem after that!

 

[disneydreaming92701]

Well said!

DH always told our kids, regarding the man in red, "those who don't believe, don't receive." Never had a problem after that!

We told our kiddos this also... ;-)

 

[Mousemom234]

I'm 50-mumble, and in my brain I know the characters are people in costume - in my heart, though, they're very, very real.

We all gotta grow up sometimes.

Growing old is mandatory - growing up is optional

 

[ToddyLu]

Tigger is DH's favorite character--the only convincing I need is to see my 48 year old, 5'8, 260#, firefighting DH gush when Tigger hugs him at the Crystal Palace. He sports his Tigger shirt there and back home. I mean Tigger's twin is at DL, but Tigger also lives at WDW...it is the only place where you can see them...that makes them the real deal.

It is like there is only one Cinderella Castle and it is at WDW...it is the real one because that is the only one there is....

If Tigger were to hug you off property--you can always know it is NOT THE REAL TIGGER.

I like my logic...

 

[ammeador2]

Last year at CP having dinner with DH, DD 6 and DS 4, it was hysterical and I had to try my best not to crack. Tigger and Pooh walk by our table and I swear it was like a light bulb went off in DS's head. He says "I figured it out!" and this was spoken with great conviction, and DH and I are asked him what did you figure out?" He replies "pooh is either a robot or a guy in a suit! I see his zipper!" (keep in mind how crowded the restaurant is) I am trying not to laugh because he is 4 and very very observant, and I finally said "Aidan, look how big pooh's head is! He must have a zipper or buttons to be able to take his shirt on and off as he would never be able to pull it over that big head of his." Aidan thought it over for a second and says "let me guess mom, tigger zips his shirt up for him!"

From The mouths of babes I tell you

 

[luv2sleep]

I actually had to tell my son that they were people dressed up in costumes. He was afraid if the characters and refused to be near them because he thought they were real. What scared him was that their heads are so large. Now that he knows they are not real he's wiling to take a picture with them.

Santa lives on because he's still magical and far away. The ones at the mall are just his older helper elves filling in for him.

My son is 5.5. I had to tell him the costume story because I finally wanted some cute pics of him with the characters.