2 yr old scared! Now what???

[kenny]

My 2 yr old dd has been really excited to go to disney for the past few months. She loves cinderella, mickey and the rest of the princesses.

My wife went on the disney website last night and dd saw the halloween ad and heard the music. Scared the @#^% out of her.

Anyway, now she says she doesn't want to go to disneyworld. I tried showing her the planning video as that is not scary and she kept saying "I don't like this", over and over. We only got about 2 minutes in.

Anyway we leave in 44 days and now I have no idea what to do? Should I cancel the trip and eat the $200 penalty on the package plus $600 in airfare? I am afraid if we go she won't want to go to the park and we'll spend the entire trip at the resort.

Any suggestions?

 

[Hoopfamily]

Keep your plans and go, she's 2 she'll get over the fear once she sees the magic laid before her.

 

[Evil Queen]

I would keep trying to work the "Non scary Disney". What made her excited in the beginning? Maybe you could re-visit those things and ease her mind.

 

[msklcassidy]

Go to the "pay it forward" section and ask someone to send your daughter a postcard from her favorite character. The way it works is this.... you give a "fairy godmailer" your daughter's name, address and favorite character. They, when they are at Disney (make sure you say when you need the card), get an autograph from her favorite character and mail it to your daughter. Generally, when I do them, I say something like, Hi (insert name), I've heard your coming to see me soon and I can't wait. Be sure to come find me at (insert park) and I'll sign your autograph book. See you real soon! Love, (Insert favorite character signature).

That should work like a charm!

 

[djblu883]

lots of 2 year olds are scared until they SEE its ok by watching others at play...GO and enjoy your trip. SHe will have a good time although she won't remember it later...if she is afraid of the dark...START now playing games in the dark...find the princess or something of the like...Most of the rides are dark at some point but if she knows the stories already then she will be ok I think...at 10 months my DGD LOVED all the darkest rides...I have no clue what she will like now but from experience if you slowly expose kids to things you suspect might cause a problem and make a game of it it usually turns out with good results...kids learn fear they aren't fearful generally...my DGD now loves all the Disney Movies...Monsters INC is her fave and she is almost 2...broaden her horizons now...you will all be happier adventurers for it!!!!OH and be sure she is exposed to flashing lights and loud noises for the fireworks!!! You don't want to miss those!!!!! Have a Magical Vacation and GOD Bless!!! DJ

 

[Hope73]

My daughter of 3 who is now 6 is still terrifyed of things in a full costume. She was ok at Disney.

 

[kenny]

that's what bothers me so. She is not afraid of the dark and had no reason to be afraid of the disney halloween music. She just heard it and it freaked her out. Now the normal things that she like about disney, she doesn't like.

She just associates the "scary music" now with disney even when there is happy disney music playing. I tried showing her pictures of my wife and I with the characters from past trips. When I asked her if she wanted to take a picture with Mickey she said "no I don't like Mickey".

Before the "music" she loved mickey and would ask everyday to go to disneyworld.

Thanks for the ideas though.

 

[novdisneydreams]

Maybe if you just reassured her that you will not take her anywhere near that music she will feel better. That sort of thing helps my little one. Also promise her that if she feels even the slightest bit scared at any point while there you'll pick her up and take her right away from wherever you are. I tried that when my DS was smaller and it worked - I think it gives them a feeling of control. And chances are once she gets there she will be thrilled and forget all about being frightened ....

 

[mtemm]

honestly I would just drop it for a while. I wouldn't cancel your trip, I'd just back off of disney references for a bit. you've got a long way to go till your trip, in a month or so she may have forgotten all about what scared her. hopefully that will work.

we are going in a month with our 4 year old and our 2 year old twins, and I have no idea how they will do. I'm trying not to talk about it any more. I know its too late to go this route, but next time if southwest is an option, maybe go with them. you can cancel (and bank your ticket money for up to a year) at any time. at least I think its at any time. but that's one of the reasons we went with them.

good luck, and I hope it all cools down and works out for you.

 

[cleo]

She's 2. If you aren't going during Halloween, she isn't going to associate the 'real thing' with what she heard on the internet. Avoid MNSSHP if you ARE going during Halloween, and chances are she'll be just fine.

If you're worried about it, use statements like "We're going to Magic Kingdom!" or "Let's go see Epcot today!" and don't mention Walt Disney World, if that's what she associates with 'scary'. Avoid the Haunted Mansion this trip (she won't even see it if you route through Adventureland).

I would definitely not cancel the trip. Tots get scared of things, but don't necessarily associate an abstract (like hearing spooky music on the internet) with reality.

 

[Lynne M]

I wouldn't cancel the trip and lose all that money (and fun). Yesterday she loved Disney, today she's afraid, by next week she may well see something that changes her mind again. She's 2, she doesn't really understand what she's looking at. Doesn't know what Disney World is.

When she gets there, she's going to see a pretty castle and a bright blue sky and balloons and Mickey and lots of happy people. And hear happy music. And then she'll forget to be scared. But there's no way to make her understand that now.

I agree with the previous poster, stop trying to convince her that she wants to go. Just stop talking about it, she's liable to forget the scary music before you go. 44 days is a long, long time in a 2-year-old's world.

 

[blondeheroine]

As most of the previous posters have said, she'll move past it.

 

[Twende]

This sounds silly for an adult but it works well with kids...just rename where you are going. Tell her that since she does not want to go to Disney that you agree with her and instead you are going to the Magic Kingdom.

Then just do not talk about it a lot and let her experience the joys for herself.

 

[kenny]

Thanks. I guess you are right, stop trying to convince her that she likes disney. We are go FOR halloween though. Already have tickets to MNSSHP. Guess I should chalk those up as a loss.

Thanks again

 

[MissyPrissy]

are you kidding? she's 2...she'll get over it. Man if we let my step daughter out of everything she said she was afraid of...lord she'd live in a padded room for the rest of her life...it's DISNEY for goodness sake!!! She'll have a BLAST! I agree with the poster that said you should just drop it for a while. She'll forget about it. At the moment she is getting LOTS of attention for her fear, which will only perpetuate the problem. Don't give it any more attention and she'll be fine.

Have fun!!!!

 

[TaraPA]

If one of your concerns is that she will get on a ride or attraction & then freak out - rest assured - the CMs at Disney are trained well on how to handle this! On my DS's 4th trip suddenly he was terrified of everything - when the past 3 trips he was fine. We ended up having to leave just about every single thing within the 1st few minutes. Embarrassing, yes, but the CMs are trained to watch for this & handle it like a well oiled machine - magically a CM appeared every single time he started to freak & we were given a CM escort out the side, the back or the doors that no one even knows are there! It ws done so efficiently that not one other guest on the ride even realized we were gone. The best quick exit we made was in the streching room at HM - a CM appeared out of nowhere to help us, then in Tough to Be a Bug, Sounds Dangerous, Snow White, Pirates (just as we were getting in the boat) and the list goes on. It was a very frustrating trip - the most fun he had was in the Boneyard!! Hang in there!

 

[Hannathy]

Just say you are going on vacation have her pack a few toys get her excited about going on the airplane and drop it. She's 2, 6wks to a two year can be a complete developmental phase. Quit bringing it up! you are the adults she'll go where you go. don't show anything more on the computer or tv just say you are going away.

 

[Deb T.]

I definitely agree with the suggestions to not mention Disney or the trip for a while. Two-year olds have a relatively short attention span and 44 days can feel like a lifetime for a toddler. Go and have a wonderful time, and take the vacation one minute at a time. There's no reason to mention anything Disney related to her - just go and enjoy the plane trip, rides, characters, meals, and hotel as you would any other vacation. You can still even enjoy MNSSHP - just don't go near either of the parades if you think she will remember the "scary" music and freak out.

Good luck, and I hope your family creates many magical memories!

 

[MermaidMommy]

You've gotten a lot of good advice here, and have a lot of strategies to try out. One trick that worked with my DD when she was that age is this: when she got a bee in her bonnet about something like this, I would say "Hmmm. Maybe you're right. Mabye we shouldn't go. I'll have to think about it." And then I wouldn't say anything until she brought it up again. Miraculously, once I wasn't telling her what she needed to do she usually came around. I think at this age it's a lot about attention, as another poster said, and also about control. Let her think she's got some control over the situation, and she might decide she wants to go again after all. I think sometimes they can be so surprised that we're "changing our minds" that it shocks them out of their stubbornness a little. Notice, though, that in my conversation above I always said "maybe" -- that way I could always pull rank and say I thought about it but we're going anyway!

As for MNSSHP, once you're there and she sees that nothing is scary she'll be fine, so I would definitely plan on going.

 

[flortlebap]

44 days is a LONG time for a two year old.

Don't mention your trip for 3 weeks, she'll have forgotten by then. It would be silly to cancel when you know she'll have a good time once she gets there! How could she not? It is Disney after all...