4 yr old terrified of characters! HELP!

[kldmom2000]

I'm new here.....but not new to WDW!LOL! We're taking our first "family" trip to Disney this December w/ our 2 girls who will be 4yrs old and 26 months at the time we go. Our big problem is my oldest DD who is afraid of everything (dogs, darkness, and most of all, costumed characters!!!!) Our youngest LOVES characters so we've opted one morning to have me take my youngest to a character breakfast at our hotel (staying at the Beach Club) and my DH will take 4 yr old to a non-character breakfast.... other than that-does anyone have any tips on avoiding the characters in the parks? If Kate (the 4 yr old) even catches a glimpse of one from a distance, she goes absolutely haywire! DH is ready to cancel the trip after an incident at the apple orchard yesterday (there was a costumed Curious George there-never came near us, but Kate saw him and was so hysterical the only way we could calm her down was to bring her back to the car and leave long after the character had disappeared!) Are we getting ourselves into more than we can handle by going now? If we cancel, we lose our airfare and the tix for the Very Merry Xmas Party that we already bought. Just looking for some advice from anyone who has BTDT!!! We've been numerous times pre-child, but this is our first time going with little ones!!!! Thanks a million!!!!!

 

[BevS97]

My dd wasn't keen on characters at that age, if you can't even see a character then that might be tricky - when you are getting autographs then you have to go to a special area to meet them, but there is no guarantee that you won't see one as you are entering the parks - they tend to be outside waving to everyone.
They won't approach a scared child, and are very very good about gauging if the child wants to play, but you will see some.
Perhaps you could explain to your dd that you will see them but that she doesn't have to approach or talk to them - My dd was ok if they were far away, but wouldn't go up close. She managed character breakfasts from behind the table but wouldn't come out to say hello.

We found that dd was happier with the face characters that she could speak too - she liked Belle's story time and had a chat with Belle and that seemde to break the ice a bit and then she was a bit better, but it took most of the trip before she was really happy with them

 

[vicb]

kldmom2000, welcome to the DIS boards!

My DS had (still has) some character fears although they are not as pronounced as your DD. We have been to WDW 3 times with DS, the first he was 3 1/2, then 6, then 8.

He gets a little better each time but has never liked the "face characters". They really freak him out, I guess it is the talking and all. He also used to be really scared of "dark" rides... imagine the looks we got dragging him crying and protesting on Small World! Of course he ended up loving it.

For the most part we never forced him to interact or approach characters that he was fearful of. He could view them from afar without getting worked up. I must say Disney characters are well trained (as are their handlers) to spot children who are fearful and will not approach (except for Bert and Mary Poppins but that is another story! ).

If you go, just go with realistic expectations and don't force your DD to do things that make her feel uncomfortable. It helps me relaxe and enjoy a vacation when I just remember that it won't be my only trip to WDW, I'll be back and DS will be ready to do more things next time.... and he has!

Good luck.

 

[alloyd1170]

My 2 yr old son wasnt that bad, but he wouldnt go near Santa last Christmas. We were going to WDW in Feb and I wanted him to be comfy around the characters. I read a post on here and the tip worked great! I dont know if it will work for your little one though. Disney has some Sing Along Videos with the live characters (not cartoons) interacting with children throughout the parks. I got the WDW Beach Party, and recently the DL Small World videos. My son loves them, and the songs are catchy. I showed him the video well before our trip, and ordered the free WDW planning kit with dvd, which he also watched. When we got to WDW and he saw the castle, his face lit up! The characters that werent in the video, he would not apporach and was even still apprehensive when I held his hand or held him. The ones that were on the video, he walked right up to. He ran up to Mickey then darted away so Mickey could chase (didnt happen). We saved Chef Mickeys for check out morning and by then he was fine with the characters. Seeing other kids in the parks interact with them helped as well. They can be scary since they are so big. If this doesnt work, I dont know how you can get around WDW without seeing characters. Theyre in the parades/shows, standing around at the entrances, there are the animated ones on the rides, etc. Good luck!

alison

 

[vicb]

alloyd1170, Yes! That is so right about those videos. We had a slew of them and it does help the kids to see what to expect when they get there and to see the characters interacting with other kids. So glad you brought this up for the OP.

 

[NotUrsula]

My suggestion would be to take your child to a costume rental shop, most of them have adult Disney character costumes for rent. Tell the shop owner that your child is frightened of costumed characters and that you would like to come to the shop so that he can see how it is done, and I'll bet they let you see anything you like (as long as you don't show up at a very busy time, that is.) First let him see the kids costumes, then show him and let him touch the adult-sized ones. Once he's comfortable with the idea of a character suit, you should try on a few pieces of a suit while the child watches you do it. The idea is to make it clear that characters are just grown-ups who play dress-up.

DS used to be terrified in the same way, but after we let him see that the "characters" were just ordinary grownups in costumes, he became fine with seeing them at a distance. At 7, he's still not too comfortable with strange adults, so he doesn't want to touch them.

 

[PaulDavid's mom]

Disney has some Sing Along Videos with the live characters (not cartoons) interacting with children throughout the parks. I got the WDW Beach Party, and recently the DL Small World videos.

Where can I get some of these videos? We are taking our (then 4yr. old) in March 2006. I think these would really help him.

 

[vicb]

PaulDavid's mom,

Anywhere that sells videos/dvds. I have got them at Target and Best Buy. You can also do Amazon or other on line sellers.

There is an AK one in addition to the Beach Party and DL ones.

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

Check out your local library for the Disneyland SingAlong VHS. (this seems to be the "best" of the Character videos that are out there.)

It helped our two year old get familiar with the characters before we went on our trip.

You'll get a good laugh at the fashion - the video is a little "dated", I think it's from 1990, based on the amount of acid-washed denim.

One word of caution - the songs will STICK in your head!! FOR A LONG LONG TIME!!

Mrs. PB

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I think you are getting some wonderful ideas on ways to help your child be more comfortable around the characters. I think you also however need to be prepared for what she might do if she is truly as frightened of them as it seems. A four year old can be reasoned with so she needs to understand that you will NOT make her go near any characters and will try to keep them away from her. You will encounter a lot of them and there seems to be a great number at the MVMCP. Roll play what you will do when you see one and decide what is and is not ok. You really have to think safety here as she might dart away from you to get away from the characters. Remind her over and over that they are just people in costumes. Might spoil things for your little one but I can't see you have much choice. I love the idea of visiting the costume shop. Be aware that characters can show up ANY where.
Perhaps a small reward for tolerating characters in her sight or whatever you deam reasonable.
Good luck. Disney Magic can work wonders.


Jordan's mom

 

[alloyd1170]

I got the videos at Toys R Us and Babies R Us. I wish they had them on dvd for the car ride! My son sings along with them and his favorite is Its A Small World. He started singing it at dinner the other night. Too bad the ride will be closed when we are there in Jan. He loved it back in Feb! Another thing I noticed was that every now and then, a character would stoop down to my sons eye level in the park. This helps put them at ease as well. I wish all of them would do that, but I imagine its not an easy task with some of those costumes!

alison

 

[kldmom2000]

Thank you everyone for such great advice! Hoping like crazy the trip can be fun for ALL of us!LOL! I do appreciate everyone's thoughts and will definitely attempt some of the suggestions! Thanks again!

Tracey