Any kids scared of characters do a 180 at WDW?

[writur]

DD (almost 5) has always been scared of costumed characters. Not curl-up-in-a-ball-and-cry scared, but definitely doesn't want to be near them. Bummer that I won't have any cute photos of her with Mickey, but we'll save $$ by avoiding character meals!

Was just wondering if anyone had "success" stories of their kids being afraid in advance, but getting over the fear at WDW. And, any tips?

I'm going to bring an autograph book, in case it helps her feel more comfortable to have a prop. And we'll be watching a lot of YouTube videos of the characters leading up to the trip so that might help.

 

[akl2004]

This sounds exactly like our son. He was 4 for his first trip and was afraid of the characters. He was happy to watch them from a safe distance. My wife kept asking if he wanted to go see them and he would say no. Finally, he agreed to do a Meet and Greet in Mickey's Toon Town, I think. The first character, I forget who it was, signed the autograph book and my son waved from behind his mother. The next character was Tigger and something snapped in the boy. He ran over and gave Tigger the biggest hug, almost knocking him over backwards. So yes, we had a "success" story while there. The only tip I can give is do not force your daughter to interact with the characters. Definitely go up to them with her and hug them to show her its safe. Honestly, it just worked out for us, its not like we had a plan or a strategy. The other thing i think we did right was started out with familiar but not favorite characters. Then worked up to his favorite at the time. Good luck and enjoy yourself.

 

[momof2buffalo]

My sons seem different each year (2 and 5) terrified one year then fine the next, seems like they accept the characters when the moment is right (for them -without pressure) it is sad not getting the photos or memories to save but better to have an overall magical experience of just being there enjoying other things!

 

[amber_cntrygrl]

My oldest DS was always afraid of characters before our first trip..Chuck E. Cheese? NOPE! He'd run screaming. The mascot at the Birmingham Barons baseball game? NOPE, again. He was afraid of them all. DH and I really wanted to try CP for dinner, so I booked it, afraid that DS would scream the whole time. I figured I'd end up sitting outside with him while DH ate, but booked it anyway. Boy was I wrong! He was so excited when the first character, Eeyore, came to our table that he tackled poor Eeyore to the ground! He LOVED the Disney characters! I guess seeing them on tv so much, helped him to not be afraid of them.
Definitely watch character interactions on YouTube! Maybe that will help her see that the characters are tons of fun!

 

[TempleOT]

My kids were always timid around characters, so we ended up telling them that there are people inside them and they aren't real. At 4 1/2, my daughter was initially afraid and then warmed to them later in the trip. She was never afraid of the face chracters though, as she sees them as real. Last year, my daughter was 7 and my son was 4, and they did great with all characters, so yes, I think a turn around is possible...although probably dependent on age.

 

[kboo]

When my DD was almost 2, she was wary of the "fur" characters even though she loved all the stories of them and was fascinated by them. Then last year we took her at almost 3, and she was interested in them, but still clung to me and cried a little when we had our first breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I had visions of canceling all of our character meals .... the next night we had dinner at the Garden Grille, and since it was a more "private" character interaction, she warmed up to Chip first, and then it was like the dam had broken. She loved all the other characters that night and the rest of the trip dragged us to any character meet and greet she saw. She also stood patiently in line for an hour to meet Anna and Elsa. This upcoming trip, she wants to meet EVERYONE....

 

[writur]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm encouraged by your stories. My daughter knows the characters aren't real, she'll tell us that, but still acts scared anyway. SMH. She's very reserved in general with people (I have no fear of stranger danger with her!) so hopefully she'll warm up to the characters after seeing them for a few days. We'll have some good opportunities before our trip to practice, with the local baseball team's mascot. And, an entertainment company here brings princesses to a lot of events. Yesterday we saw Anna and Elsa; my daughter was in awe, but refused to give hugs or interact with them. But when they sang on stage, she was enthralled and so happy to see them. So maybe from a distance will be the compromise.

 

[Flynnismine]

Yep, this was my DD at 4...no way no how would she even get within 50 ft of a costumed character so I figured no pics with the fab 5 for her first trip to Disney. The first 3 days at the parks, she avoided ALL the costumed characters BUT on day 4 it all changed for her........She saw Pluto (she has a stuffed Pluto that she sleeps with every night) and ran to him throwing both arms around his neck and that was it......her fear was gone. She wanted to see Mickey, Minnie, Goof, waited in a long line to see Mr. Incredible, Woody and Buzz, danced with Rafiki at AK, and the costumed character list goes on and on and on. I ended up getting so many great photos from her first trip so it may not happen with your DD at first but give it time and she might just have that "Ah-Ha" moment thanks to the magic of Disney

 

[DaniMoon]

My son was 5 his first trip. We had no idea how he would handle the characters. Our arrival night we booked dinner at Chef Mickey. We had him sit in the booth, further from the interaction, so he wouldn't feel pressured. To our surprise and delight, he was totally in awe and amazement and hugged and did pictures and autographs. If he wouldn't have enjoyed it, I would have canceled our other character ADRs and made other plans.

 

[Stigsmom]

My daughter warmed up to certain ones- namely Minnie & Donald. We have a pic of her bawling at Minnie & Mickey last year so this is a major improvement, however she still wanted nothing to do with tall Goofy and the real people (princesses).

 

[twodogs]

My then 4 year old hated all characters, including Santa. Literally hysterical crying If they looked at her, let alone getting near them. However her first WDW trip, we saw the princesses in Fairy Tale hall the first day, and she was all-in after that. Not scared of any of them! Even fur! We did make a big deal about her picking out her autograph book ahead of the trip, so she was excited to use it. She has an older sister who has never been scared of any characters, but that had never helped little sister overcome her fear. It was a magical trip! Hope yours is the same!