1900 park fare & HDDR: how loud/'in your face' - worried about DD

[lilpnutmama]

I took DD4 to a "musical comedy" for kids the other day and she was scared out of her mind. the characters were very loud and 'in your face' - tons of interaction with the audience - she was totally terrified. - scared of the characters and covering her ears the whole time saying it was too loud!

It has made me rethink our tier 1 HDDR - ironically I posted worried about my 2 year old the other day but now I think my 4 year old might actually be the problem.

And then I read elsewhere about someone's kid being scared of the mad hatter at 1900 park fare - i've seen pics and he looks very much like the characters in this show I took her too. kind of clown-like.
now i am wondering about that as well!

 

[IndyClown]

I don't remember the characters really getting that up close and personal at Hoop Dee Doo. However, there is some interaction with a few tables and it sounds like you might feel more comfortable with a Tier 2 table in the back of the room or up top. You'd save a little money to boot.

 

[lilpnutmama]

I think so too, unfortunately tier 1 was all that was available!

 

[PictureJumpr]

As for the Mad Hatter, you'll probably be okay if she'll be okay with him being in the room just not necessarily paying attention to her.

We went in September with a 4-yr-old who was initially very shy around the characters. He freaked out on day one when we met Chip and Dale in the town square at MK - they are two of his three absolute favorite characters and he was trying to hide from them. He said 'they're too big...' and almost cried. (Later figured out that he didn't mean the characters were too big in general, just that Chip and Dale are supposed to be relatively tiny compared to regular-sized people... and they aren't )

The icebreaker was Piglet at Crystal Palace for lunch hours later... He was scared by Tigger and wouldn't interact with Pooh, but when Piglet came around he (Piglet) was so gentle and quiet that our kiddo relaxed and warmed up to the whole character thing. He actually cried when he thought we were going to leave before Tigger and Pooh came around again - he wanted a hug 'cause we're friends now.'

The clown-type aura around Mad Hatter may be tempered a little by the fact that he travels around the room with Alice, so hopefully your DD will be able to handle them. He certainly won't be aggressive with her if he senses that she is scared.

 

[jenjersnap]

They assign tables at HDDR based on when you reserved so, the later you reserve, the farther back you'll be in Tier 1. I think as long as you aren't at one of the tables against the stage, you'll be fine. The show itself is not a sensory overload, IMO.

I'd tell the server at 1900 PF that you don't want the Mad Hatter to stop ... or play it by ear and see how your child reacts. Both my two youngest have their skittish moments with characters but, generally, face characters they are totally okay with since they talk and aren't so ... large and furry. LOL!

Good luck!

 

[MickeyNicki]

DH and I did the 1900 PF breakfast and did not like it at all...way too crazy loud in there and DH was ready to knock out the Mad Hatter...he was just so annoying