Advice Needed, 4 Yr Old GS scared of Characters

[AngelaVa]

Our grandson is scared of character like Chucky Cheese and clowns, so with the trip not till Sept 2017 he will be 4 yrs old then, what can we do to help him not be scared of Mickey and others that he might meet on the trip? Thank you for your time and help!

 

[AngiTN]

Chances are he just won't be.
DGD was terrified of characters at 2 and 3. We went to a Day out with Thomas and she would go near any of the characters there. Wouldn't even look at Santa, much less go near him. Same with the Easter Bunny.
But we went to Disney when she was 3 1/2 and she never hesitated once going to any character. She loved them all.
But there's not really a good way to practice since it's pretty hard to find big costumed characters anywhere outside of Holiday time

 

[teachmedis]

I have two young children and at times both have shown an aversion to characters. I never force it, and I let them know that. Also, if they're curious but not about to go it alone I will meet the character with them, and if taking a picture I will go with them and put myself between them and the character. At least then they can look back at the pictures and say, "Yeah! I met Mickey Mouse."

 

[snowman]

DNephew was always afraid of people in costume - Easter Bunny, Santa, clowns, etc. Even the Easter before his first trip, when he was 6, he was still terrified of them. However, it seems as though Mickey and Gang were different for him. He loved Mickey right from the beginning. I think they were more like friends for him. That didn't change how he felt about Santa though.....he is 22 yo now and has still never sat on Santa's lap.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I would just try to familiarize him with any characters you want him to meet - in their costumed form. For example, for Mickey, maybe show him youtube videos of the Dream Along with Mickey show. If you have local amusement parks that have costumed characters (like a 6 Flags which may have Warner Brother characters), maybe try taking him there and see how he does. Take him to the Easter Bunny that year.

Something else I did for my nephews was create autograph books for them that were Shutterfly photo books. On the left side of the page I put pictures of their parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents with the characters. The right side of the page I left blank for the signature and to tape in a photo later. Sometimes seeing their parents/loved ones with the characters can help.

I would also think about maybe starting the character interactions with a character meal. Our DD was scared of the fur characters on this past trip, but the characters at the character meal were *so* incredibly understanding about it. They gave her space, and interacted with us - no pressure on her at all! She gradually grew a little less afraid of them as the trip went on, and I really think the character meal start had a lot to do with it. If she wasn't interested, she just kept on eating and we interacted with the character instead. She also definitely was more visibly comfortable having a barrier (in her case a high chair) between her and the character which doesn't exist at a M&G. My (at the time) 3 y/o nephew was also afraid of characters in 2013, but if he was sitting in his chair and they came up behind him for a photo, he was totally happy. He just didn't want to get out of the chair and be close to them, but felt totally fine with them standing behind him and posing for a photo.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful!

 

[Julylady]

Years ago we had the very same situation with our just turned four niece. Chuckie Cheese and our local sports mascots just freaked her out! On our first day we went to Hollywood Studios. She and I stood across the street from where Buzz was signing Autographs and taking pictures. She turned her face and clung to me but I started talking about how the kids were coming up to Buzz just to take a picture and having fun. I remember saying that Buzz was standing still and kids were going to him. After a few minutes she started watching as well. I kept telling her that we were only watching, we would not cross the street.

Next day we were in Magic Kingdom. First thing in the park is a character meet and greet. She looked freaked but I calmly said that those kids wanted a picture and look how the characters stay in the same spot and the kids go to them. We repeated this every time we passed a meet and greet. I began to ask her if she wanted to watch for a minute and sometimes she said yes. I never once mentioned her getting in a character line.

We had a Chef Mickey reservation at the end of the trip that I wasn't sure we were going to make! But each day she got a little braver. We realized that face characters didn't phase her at all! She loved Ariels grotto, Pocahontas and Mulan (although I had to ask Mushu's handler if he would mind taking a short break). We arrived at Chef Mickeys and I told her that if she didn't want a picture with the characters she could just wave at them (and we would tell the handler to skip us). When the first one came she jumped out of her chair and sat on my lap, and that's where she stayed the rest of the meal. She was fine with them coming to our table and taking a picture as long as I was holding her! Next trip, no problems and now she is 11 and LOVES Disney World!

Long story, but hopefully it gives you some ideas!

 

[Minnie222]

Let him see some you tube videos of other kids meeting characters.
And while at the park, let him see the characters at parade and shows, before the actual Meet and Greets.

Good luck, but don't force it.

 

[Julylady]

I just noticed that your trip is a year out. I would find lots of low key interactions with characters before then. One thing that I think freaked my niece out was their size. She had a little stuffed Minnie and I think she thought the Minnie in the park would be the same size.

 

[Jewel3k]

My guy was terrified, hiding under the table at Chef Mickey's and CRT, of the characters. He still doesn't want to hug or touch them at 7, but will at least look at them if they don't look at him. The thing that will help your GS the most is if you adjust your expectations of the character interactions and respect his fear. I think the getting older helps, but at 4 it didn't matter what we said or did he wasn't coming out from under the table for anyone in costume. He is better now with Santa after years of watching him from a far and will sit next to him because Santa brings him presents. We watched Santa from a distance and talked about the good things he does. Last year he decided Santa was okay enough to touch with his hand. Mickey Mouse is still not okay. He expressed an interest in Pluto, but only wants to see him from about 5 feet away. Maybe we will get lucky and he will decide he wants to hug a character this year.

 

[AngiTN]

Someone mentioned mascots above.
That is a good way to give a little exposure. As long as they aren't scary looking mascots (I've seen some pretty bad ones)
Most minor league baseball teams have mascots around. Some even have special nights and bring in others, like the San Diego Chicken.
Maybe your zoo has some. We have them out at our Aquarium every now and then.
And maybe your local college has one? They could be a face character or a fur so may be a good way to expose to both types.

 

[EagleFlyer]

My experience has been a lot like others. I had a 3 year old that was terrified of people in costume at parades and other events. Like climbing up into our arms shaking terrified. So we were concerned about her first trip to WDW but for some reason she had no fear at all with the disney characters that she knew. She ran right up to Minnie Mouse on our first day in the parks with no hesitation. And then Daisy, Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Pooh, etc after than. The only ones she didn't like were a couple of bears (maybe from Jungle Book, I can't remember who they were) that we saw in AK.

She's now 6 and still terrified of the local baseball team mascot, the walking hot dog that seems to be in every local parade, etc but shows no fear of characters at Disney.

 

[kj2mom]

My 4 year old daughter was very afraid. I had tried to do things to warm her up, went to Sesame Place a few months before, attended sporting events to see mascots etc and it was a no go. We worked on just saying " no thank you" when a character would approach so she was ready. The first few days she would put up her hand and say "no thank you Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/Tigger" but then it was her birthday and we went to Chef Mickey. Pluto was coming over and she started with her "no thank you Pluto" but he continued a little closer, again "no thank you Pluto", a little closer and she said it again.....he finally got right there to her and she posed for a somewhat strained pic. He then turned to her brother and pretended to eat his head, she laughed and laughed and from then on the character fear was gone. She is now 14 and Pluto is still her fav, we came home with a Pluto pillow pet that she uses every night.

 

[HopperFan]

I just noticed that your trip is a year out. I would find lots of low key interactions with characters before then. One thing that I think freaked my niece out was their size. She had a little stuffed Minnie and I think she thought the Minnie in the park would be the same size.

I would also try to go to an amusement park that would have some animatronics since many attractions have moving characters.

It could be a long trip if the attractions/shows are also an issue.

There are also videos of the parks with characters and you can see their size in comparison to adults. Be good to watch so that is no surprise.
YouTube is your friend on preparing one that may have issues.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

Like others said some things you can't push - my son was terrified of characters for a long time. He would tolerate real face characters but never anything in a full costume until he was much older. Not even characters he liked such as Buzz or Mr. Incredible would work.

 

[Shellyb84]

By that time, he will change so much and would hopefully be fine with it, but Youtube videos would be great and also order the Disney vacation planning dvd.