3 Year Old Terrified of Costumed Characters

[1hero2princesses]

Well it is official. My 3 year old DD is terrified of costumed characters. The problem? We are going during free dining and have a lot of character meals. I did these because I thought the kids would enjoy them, plus I wanted buffets since DD1 is not on the plan and since we are all big eaters, this will give her a chance to have plenty of food without stealing all of ours. I also have a DS 4 (almost 5) who is very much looking forward to the characters. So what do we do? The only thing I can think of is to ply her with candy when the characters come around so DS can see them. I think DD1 likes them too. My DD3 actually has gotten much worse about this. She was hesitant about the easter bunny but now she freaks if a costumed character is in the same room. My DH is already hesitant about this trip and I am seriously worried her tantrums are going to really be a huge issue with him. Unfortunately she cries, screams shakes etc when she has a tantrum. I have tried showing her all kinds of stuff about characters but it just isn't working. I have no problem with her not going by characters I just hate to have all our meals ruined and the other kids not have a chance to see the characters. Any ideas?

 

[missmun52]

How many character meals do you have?

I would cut it down to one or two and pick them based on the kids fav. Characters. If she reacts really badly you may have to take turns taking her out which can be a pain. But subjecting her to that and letting her cry and scream would not be good for you or other fams. You never know, she may not react the same when she gets there but just go knowing you may have to leave with her.

As far as the dining plan, you get ALOT of food. ALOT. And I never really had to buy much for my son who was 18 months and almost 3 when we took him. We did buy him meals sometimes but they are like $5 or so, so doing sit down was no big deal. Also they have great buffets like boma (my fav!) that have no characters. There are places in each park where you can get your fill of characters and while the meals with them can be great I think the other kids will be just fine if you visit characters this way if all goes sour.

 

[wendyinaustin]

I totally understand what you are going through. I have a 2.8 yr old DD who is terrified of characters too. She was great on her 1 yr old birthday trip - kissed and hugged EVERY character. She said "no way" last summer when she was almost 2. We thought she would be over it by the time we go in October, but she tells us everyday she will not see Mickey, Pooh, Piglet, etc. She said she will see the princesses but not any "furry" characters.(ie covered faces) So much for a family picture with Mickey....AGAIN

Character dining is going to be challenging. I guess you could give one a try and then if it goes badly, cancel the remaining dinners. It definitely won't be fun for you or the rest of your family if she has a meltdown. My daughter freaked out in Chuck E Cheese the other day and it was not pretty.

She might surprise you and have a great time. I would just go into it prepared for the worst and hope for the best!

Maybe try out some character greetings in the parks first and see how she does. If she freaks out, I wouldn't try the dinner. Do you think she might go for the princess character dinner instead? Sort of a warm-up to the other characters? Another alternative is to split up and have either you or DH take the other kiddos - I know that wouldn't be too much fun for a family vacation.
I'm sending some pixie dust your way for it all to turn out okay. Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[LisaInNc]

You want to play your 3 year old with candy during a meal?

First off, worry less about the portions if you are on the meal plan you will have plenty of food and a seriously doubt your toddler will steal all of your food. In most cases you will have a LOT of food on your plates.

If you child is going to be traumitized by the characters, skip the meals. Save her the therapy bill later in life Seriously, your other kids will have lots of opportunities to see characters.

Don't set yourself up for a bad meal if you know ahead of time your toddler will have problems. Pick someplace you can calmly eat. The parks are hectic and tiring and you are going to want and DESERVE to eat a nice meal in relative peace! She also deserves not to be tortured while she is trying to eat.

 

[mdhkitten]

My dd was kind of the same way. Hesitant about characters at 1, then at 2 a little worse, 3 even worse. Finally at close to 4 she loved them. They could tell that she was scared and would back off. The thing is that while she was a little hesitant with them, she was completely freaked out by the Easter Bunny, Chuck E Cheese, etc. She always begs to go to CEC now but STILL freaks out about seeing him. I'm talking meltdown. Maybe she'll be like my dd and better about Disney characters although possibly hesitant. If you're at a character meal and one comes up, can one of you get up and walk her away from the table long enough for the others to see the character? They usually only stay for a minute or two and although it would be a pain, at least the other kids could see them. Also, if you do go, tell the server that she's scared and ask them to only have the characters stop by your table once, since depending on the restaurant, they can come around more than that (at least I've had that be the case.)

 

[tci1212]

Well it is official. My 3 year old DD is terrified of costumed characters. The problem? We are going during free dining and have a lot of character meals. I did these because I thought the kids would enjoy them, plus I wanted buffets since DD1 is not on the plan and since we are all big eaters, this will give her a chance to have plenty of food without stealing all of ours. I also have a DS 4 (almost 5) who is very much looking forward to the characters. So what do we do? The only thing I can think of is to ply her with candy when the characters come around so DS can see them. I think DD1 likes them too. My DD3 actually has gotten much worse about this. She was hesitant about the easter bunny but now she freaks if a costumed character is in the same room. My DH is already hesitant about this trip and I am seriously worried her tantrums are going to really be a huge issue with him. Unfortunately she cries, screams shakes etc when she has a tantrum. I have tried showing her all kinds of stuff about characters but it just isn't working. I have no problem with her not going by characters I just hate to have all our meals ruined and the other kids not have a chance to see the characters. Any ideas?

We will be there at the same time with a screaming almost 2 yr old who is scared of everything, maybe we could dine together and with both of them screaming we won't feel everyone is looking at us, lol. . We have 3 character meals planned and we also are taking her brothers who are 3 and 4. They love the characters. Good luck!

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, When my DD was 2 and afraid of the characters it helped if I went up first and greeted/hugged/ had my pic taken with the character. This helped her feel a little more comfortable and she would then go near the character while I was holding her in my arms. Maybe you could try the SLOW approach and let her watch from your husbands arms while you take the other two children up to the character?? She also may warm up to the characters after she has been at WDW a few days and had a chance to see them, especially with so many other children so excited to be seeing them. Good Luck!! And remember this phase will pass quickly and there will be many years of character lines to stand in!! Joan

 

[mayjay]

We were there last Feb when DS was 3.5. At our first character meal he headed under the table. Luckily, for us, he didn't scream or have a tantrum. So my Mom or I told the characters that he was afraid of them, then we got our picture taken with whomever.

The characters were really good about trying to get him to come around, but knew when to stop.

good luck.

We're going back in November with DS, now 4 and DD, who will be 2.5. I'm not sure how that's going to go!

 

[CindyCharming]

I have a son that is freaked out by the characters. He is 6 now, but was 4 on our first trip. I had no idea. I had booked Chef Mickey's as our first meal, before we went to the park for his first time. He spent most of the meal under the table.

His sister, who is now 3, loves characters so it's tricky. I would second the suggestion to try a princess meal to start. My son will tolerate the princess meals. Doesn't want to talk to them or be near them, but isn't on edge.

We have done a few regular character meals by letting him know beforehand we will make sure the characters will not come near him or interact with him and that we can leave if he is not comfortable. We sit him in whatever seat is farthest from the character path. We let the waiter/ress know he's scared of them and when one of the charcters comes up we let them know too. They are very good about ignoring him.

My son is not a vocal scared kid though. Like I said, he would just hide under the table. I would probably have a backup plan if I were you. No one is going to enjoy a meal where a child is terrified out of her mind. You don't want to lose your child's trust by dragging her into a situation she is frightened of. Your other kids will have lots of opportunities to visit with characters in the parks while you take your daughter elsewhere. If a character meal is that important to them, I would have them pick one and either you or your husband can take them alone. Good luck!

 

[krismas29]

I know this is probably not the route that you want to go, but this is what happened to us in the same situation:

A few years ago, I had my two nieces (ages 9 and 2) and their 4 year old cousin at the Liberty Tree character meal when the 4 year old suddenly became terrified of the characters. She crawled under the table and just screamed every time she saw one of them - even from a distance
The characters were great - at first trying to coax her out from under the table from a distance by waving to her and offering hugs - and when that didn't work, they kept fairly far away. Anyway, as the adults were trying to comfort her, the exasperated 9 year old looked under the table and said something to the effect of "they are just people wearing costumes and masks".

I don't know why, but that did the trick. The 4 year old went from being scared to death to being the most enthusiastic character interacter in our group for the rest of the trip. I wouldn't have dreamed of doing that myself - but it worked

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Been thru it too! The characters are usually very good if you give them the sign that one's scared. Our son was ok with face characters (wouldn't get near them but wouldn't freak) but if a costume came near us, he was clutching on for dear life! We'd just shake our head no when they came near and they'd smile, hug the other kids and leave. We've also made many a trip to the buffet to "find something yummy" when the characters are nearby! Even this year at 5 1/2, he'd hug Mickey, high five Donald, but Goofy-back off!!

 

[Earstou]

Since you are going during free dining, I would call NOW and see if you can change some of your ADRs. If you wait till you are in the park, you may have trouble changing.
Also, tell the hostess before you are seated that the child is scared of characters, so they can spread the word, and possibly seat you in a more remote area. If they have booths, seat the child on the inside, with a parent on the outside, between the child and character.
Would using a small blanket or towel to "hide" under help? Your dd could "choose" when to use it, possibly making her feel better and that she has some control over the situation.
Good luck. My ds didn't like the characters when he was young so I understand. When they would turn to leave, he would try to kick them. No kicks ever connected, because he was afraid to get too close, but boy, was I glad when he finally got over that!!!!

 

[RMulieri]

This is why i think that when people with young kids schedule all character meals it's not a good idea....I would scale back if you can on the character meals( though at this point it may be hard to find anything else).The Characters are very astute and will not come to the table if your kid is under it screaming and crying in fear.Because my DD is the same way, I booked the princess breakfast only during a 7 night trip, as our character meal.I hope it all works out for you

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I'd cut back on the character interaction. My DS had always had a terror of masks, and costumes, since he was a tiny child (frightened by a neighbor wearing a pumpkin on his head when he was 1)...it persisted up until he was at least 8 years old! He finally learned how to deal with it, but it was a true phobia, which no amount of exposure or reasoning could assuage. We still took him to WDW, but we just kept the characters at a distance until he could handle it.

 

[iloveftwilderness]

I think most of us have gone through what you are about to encounter. My daughter was scared of all costumed characters that you see at the malls and other theme parks, but was completely fine with the Disney characters. Crazy! She still has major issues with clowns--she throws up whenever she sees one. I have never seen anything like it.
Anyway, I think that I would do as other posters suggested and pick a couple of character dining meals and choose none character dining for the rest.