Any tips for kids who don't believe?

[rentayenta]

I outright lie to my kids still and they are 17, 15, and almost 13. I have never admitted its just a person in a costume. And won't to them. They've been trying for years and I won't budge. They say: mom, just admit it, we know you know. I tell them I have no idea what they're talking abut and if Mickey hears them, he'll be sad.

 

[mamabellefortwo]

We always refer to them as characters (rather than people) and hope that the reality sinks in gradually and not with disappointment (as precious poster said, it's fun to meet Mickey!). We don't really talk about it but we also don't lie when they ask questions. For example, the following was a conversation with my 6 year old: " Is Mickey real?" Well, he's a real character. "Is he a mouse?" What do you think honey? "Well I think he's real but he's a character not a mouse". That same 6 year old made Mickey a picture book and was very excited to give it to him. She has not made the person-in-suit connection, but just thinks it's fun to meet the characters.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We are in that stage with her where everything we say or do is stupid anyway so it doesn't matter.

I have a 14 year-old who has decided she has accumulated more knowledge in her little finger than I have in 50+ years of life on this earth, so AMEN to that! LOL!

However, she has told me she's really looking forward to going to DL this year so she can be herself away from her friends and get photos with all the characters without worrying about what anyone will think!

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

I have a 14 year-old who has decided she has accumulated more knowledge in her little finger than I have in 50+ years of life on this earth, so AMEN to that! LOL!

However, she has told me she's really looking forward to going to DL this year so she can be herself away from her friends and get photos with all the characters without worrying about what anyone will think!

Every once in awhile they come back around and act like a kid, huh?

 

[AmericanItGirl]

The thing that makes Disney different in the suspension of belief is that the company works so darn hard at it. They really try to make sure that all of the people playing face characters have the same facial bone structure so that the actors for one character all look related. If an actor can't nail the speaking and singing voice of the face character, then there's no way they're going to be hired/retained. All actors have to be able to do the same exact autograph, so no matter who is in that costume, the signature will always be the same for one character (a great way to prove to non-believing kids that it truly is only one character, and not a bunch of different people in similar outfits).

So while it may be easy to step back and say that it's just a person in a costume, it's pretty hard to acknowledge that truth when actually at Disneyland.

 

[Kristina4109]

When my daughter was about the same age she skeptically asked about Santa Claus. I told her that Santa Claus was a wonderful, fun game that the whole world played, and not to tell any of her friends he wasn't real.

She got so into it that she snuck downstairs on Christmas morning before I was awake and put little candies in my and my husband's stocking! The whole idea that it's a super fun game really caught her imagination.

So, now she's 8 and even though she knows perfectly well that the characters are people dressed up, she insists that they are real. She loves using her imagination in this way.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

Do some kids think Mickey is real? Doesn't each Disney park feature the fact that Walt created the character? I always saw so much emphasis on the magic of imagination, I never thought my kids were supposed 'believe' in anything other than the fun we were having as family.

I didn't know this either! I will say though that I am still surprised how excited my 10-yr-od DS still gets when he meets Mickey since he's the kid who has been pointing out the wires making things "fly" and wanting to know *how* the DL magic happens since age 2.