3yr Old and Characters

[DizneyNutz]

Hey all,

We are taking our DGS this year, he'll be almost three. He has been raised on Mickey Mouse Club House, LOVES the characters (on TV) and can name them ALL! We are however a little concerned about the "bigger than life" characters and how well he will receive them, will it be or

So, any ideas on how to introduce the little guy to the "big guys" would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

[fergie5]

Are you worried about how he will react once he sees the characters in person (i.e. be afraid)? If he is fine with other "characters" in costume (i.e. Chuck E Cheese, Easter Bunny), then he will probably be overjoyed to see the Disney characters. My son at age 2 and 3 LOVED all fuzzy, furry, costumed characters that we would see (at carnivals, Chuck E Cheese and random store promotions). He had no fear when he first saw the characters at the Magic Kingdom - it was pure ecstasy for him. Our biggest problem was holding him in line to wait his turn! We spent more time in lines to see the characters than to go on the rides. It was really cute seeing how excited he was.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I am moving this to the Families Board.

Really all kids react differently. Let him take the lead. Some want to go up and hug them, some want to only see them from a distance and some want nothing to do with them at all. The good news is that the characters have specific spots in the parks so if he is scared of them you can just go on and enjoy the rides and shows and save the Character Photos until your next trip--something to look forward to for the next time.

Please don't pressure him to hug or meet the characters if he is scared of them. He will grow out of it eventually. As PP suggested, if you can find a Chuck E Cheese or state fair or some other event with costumed characters you can have a dry run and see how he reacts so you can be prepared.

 

[brandylouwho]

Just another "each kid is different" answer and a child who may be apprehensive at first may warm up to them over the course of your vacation. If he/she is afraid, let them watch from afar. If they never warm up, try not to be upset that you didn't get those character photos and enjoy your vacation anyway. (This is the approach we took with Santa as our eldest never wanted to go by him...so no baby sitting on Santa's lap photos ever for her & she'll be 6 this year).

My eldest didn't like the face characters when we she was 2 (almost 3), but was fine with the costumed ones. A year later (at 3 1/2) she was fine with all of them.

Our other child was shy for about 2 seconds and then warmed right up to Mickey & the gang (at 19 mos old). But she is a Mickey freak/fan and had a big sister to follow & keep up with.

Have fun!

 

[PinkTink2009]

It depends. My sister-in-law brought her daughter (when our girls were not even two!) and my daughter loved them. Her daughter cried whenever they came around...maybe show her pictures before you bring go?

~Jen

 

[Steph9072]

I had the same fear about ds when we went in 07'. I tested the waters at Chucky E. Cheese. He hated Chucky E. Cheese. But when we got to WDW he loved the characters. Good luck!

 

[mhanback]

What I did with my son when he was 2 was get those Disney Sing A Long movies that have the actual characters in them. We have a Disney Beach Party, Camp Out, and the Disneyland Sing A Long. They all have all the characters interacting with kids in them and he loved them. We are now watching them again with my other DS who is now 2 for our trip in October. Both boys love watching the characters and I think it really helps them see the size of Mickey Mouse and the others!

 

[acwsmom]

We worried about our DS when we took him to WDW for the 1st time last year. He was 2 and LOVED all the characters on the Disney Channel. Gave him the Chuck E Cheese test too and knew we'd be fine when he jumped up and threw his arms around Chuck E when he saw him. When we finally made the big trip, we started at MK and saw Daisy Duck right away. We stood off to the side and waited until DS noticed her. The smile spreading across his face was the best moment of all! He loved every character he met and even knocked Goofy over when he took off running and threw himself at his legs.

On the other hand, my DD was 7 and freaked out when she saw Daisy. She spent two days hiding behind us because she was too afraid of the characters. Luckily, day 3 she found her brave heart again and never looked back!

 

[adventure_woman]

I understand. At 23 mths my DD didn't care about the characters in anyway. At 28 mths she FREAKED OUT and screamed and cried hysterically (finding this out at a character breakfast too!). Suggestions:

- Watch video on YouTube to show him them. Show face characters and fur characters.
- Do NOT schedule a character meal at the beginning of your trip - you don't know how they will react. Have a back-up for your character meal if you are doing the DDP (in case he doesn't like them).
- With my DD, we are going next week, I have tried to prepare her this time. Telling her that she doesn't have to see the characters if she doesn't want to, but mommy does want to see them. If she doesn't want to see them, she can say "No Thank You" and wave but they won't come see her. I think that is the biggest thing so far - giving her a way out if she wants. AND the way out is to NOT scream and cry!

Good luck - you never know how they will react!

 

[merlinspride]

Hi..we took our DD last year at 2.4 yo and we did a character meal everyday. I was very nervous, because my DD is a little shy. For the entire month before the trip we would look at YouTube videos of parades, the parks and especially DisneyLand Singalongs. The Disneyland singalongs are songs at the actual park, so your child can see other children around all the characters and start to see the size difference. On our first day, we went to Play N Dine with the Little Einstiens and Jo Jo's circus...I was really nervous, as I felt this was either going to make or break our trip. We went in there, and they are playing all the music from Playhouse Disney on TV. The cast members were dancing, she absolutely loved it. The first person we saw was June...DD wents nuts..in a good way...huge hug right away and then she could barely sit still looking for the other characters.

There are three Disneyland/world sing a longs, that we watch non stop. They are Disneyland Fun, Campout at WDW and Beach Party at WDW. I highly recommend these to get your little one used to seeing the in person characters. Good Luck!!!

 

[merlinspride]

One other tip, that we never thought about, but it is now a must do for our next trip. When our dd was 2.4yo at WDW last year, she freaked out on any ride she felt was in the dark. She would panice and meltdown if she thought the ride we were taking her on was too dark. For example, the Land boat ride, she felt is was too in the dark and had a MAJOR meltdown in line. Finnally decided she did want to ride it, but once we were on the boat, she started getting scared. She had a deathgrip on my neck when one very nice father, gave her a mini flashlight so that she could see. It was a miracle cure. We thanked him profusely and had to go offsite to buy her one.

Have a great trip..he will remember it for a long time. Our DD still talks about last years trip.

 

[monorailsilver]

I agree, each kid is different.

My kids-

DD#1 was 15 mo her first visit. She loved the characters but didn't like the face characters & would only go near them if we were with her or one of the non-face characters were talking to her. Her next 2 visits ages 4 & 7 she had no issues with anyone.

DS#1 (well my only ds) was 22 mo on his first visit, loved the characters but he was super shy & wouldn't go near them unless dh or I were holding him. His next visit he was just shy of 5 & had no issues with any characters. OK he didn't want pictures with the Princesses but he did let them sign his Tigger hat.

DD#2 her first visit was last year & she was 2½. She had no problems with anyone & loved them all. She could of cared less if we were there or not.

 

[tinkmom2]

My daughter was newly 3 when she saw Mickey for the first time. She had seen Santa and the Easter Bunny and had did fine with them. I guess it's all dependent on the child. My daughter "likes" everyone. Which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. I showed her videos of Mickey beforehand too. If your child doesn't want to go see Mickey or the characters be prepared for that.