Afraid of Elsa...

[sray563]

I will be taking my four year old son to Disney World by myself during the first week in June. This will be his third trip, so he's no stranger to characters... but we might encounter a problem with Elsa and Anna.

I just asked him if he wanted to meet Queen Elsa and Princess Anna when we visit Mickey's house, and he said "Elsa will hurt me, I don't want to be cold, but I'll say hi to Anna."

Has anyone encountered older toddlers being afraid of Elsa? It hadn't even crossed my mind since she's not a masked character, but I guess some children might view her as a scary villain. I would hate to wait in a long line for him to be afraid...

 

[bjscheel]

If you're not sure, I would just skip it. No need waiting in a long line if it's not something he absolutely really wants to do. And it's probably going to be a really long line. I assume you don't have a FP.

 

[juliebug1997]

Oh, poor little guy!

Well, you could try reminding him that the only reason she hurt Anna was because she didn't know how to control her powers--that she never wanted to hurt anyone and that's why she went away. But then also maybe remind him that, in the end, she learned how to control her powers so that she doesn't hurt anyone. That she learned how to control them through love and you could ask him if would give her a hug to know that she's loved.

 

[Itinkso]

He can wave at them in the parade. Then the next time you go to MK, he may want to meet both of them. If he only remembers the scary, negative parts of the film, it would be hard to convince him otherwise.

 

[Marthasor]

IMHO, I would skip it. Why wait in a super, long line to risk your child being scared? My DS was afraid of "face characters" until he was about 4.5 years old, so I didn't even attempt meeting them or princess character meals until he was ok with them talking to him. Even now he is afraid of Crush because he is afraid he will talk to him. He is fine with characters in full costumes - Mickey, Pluto, etc.

Here's an idea. Anna and Elsa are in the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Why not try that first so he can see Anna and Elsa and see how he reacts? It would give you an opportunity to ask again if he would like to meet them. If he is still scared, I personally wouldn't do it.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

Honestly, I would skip it. PP has the same opinion as me--why would you take the chance waiting in that huge line/wasting a FP+ if there's a possibility he will be scared? If you have other children wanting to meet them, I would send DH with them and take your son to do something else at the same time.

 

[sray563]

Thanks for the advice. I think we'll skip it this trip. We can see them in the parade, and just hit the less popular characters. This will probably be the last trip that I can get away with missing characters, so I should take advantage of it!

 

[AshleeH]

Wait until next time. Lines will be shorter and FPs will be easier to get, since the newness will wear off as soon as the next popular character is released.

 

[juliebug1997]

Wait until next time. Lines will be shorter and FPs will be easier to get, since the newness will wear off as soon as the next popular character is released.

I don't know that I would truly say that. While she got moved, Rapunzel was still extremely popular after "Brave" came out.

OP,
That will probably work best for your little one. Have fun!

 

[AshleeH]

I don't know that I would truly say that. While she got moved, Rapunzel was still extremely popular after "Brave" came out.

OP,
That will probably work best for your little one. Have fun!

Extremely popular, yes, just as all the princesses are, but going insane trying to get fastpasses or wait in 3+ hour lines? That always wears off. At least to a manageable degree.

And I wouldn't compare Merida to Rapunzel as the next popular character. She draws a crowd, but since she's not marketed the same way, she's in a different category. I would say Elsa and Anna are more comparable to the crowds that Rapunzel/Flynn were drawing.

Frozen is obviously a once-in-a-generation movie, so it will always be a popular M&G, but I think if someone compares the difference in a year or two, we'll see that it's easier to get fastpasses for them than it is at this time when they're still brand new.