Anyone's child get scared facing Darth Vader?

[peekinglemer]

All my ds (turned 4 in Dec) talks about is having a chance to fight Darth Vader in HS during our return trip at the end of this month. The problem is that we saw Darth during a Star Wars special at our local zoo this past Oct. and he was scared to approach him . Anyone have (or witness) a kid get scared when the "Big Baddie" made his appearance?

 

[jemgumby]

Well I am 36 and he still freaks me out!!! There is just something about that costume!

 

[Planogirl]

Oh yes, I think that lots of kids are intimidated by Darth Vader. He's a pretty grim character.

 

[sunlover13]

My DD was picked in Sept. 08 when she was 5, almost 6. She was really into it and when Darth Vader came out, the look on her face was priceless. She ran across the stage and looked very scared. However, once she saw the other kids go up there and battle him, she was fine. When her turn came, she went up there, no problem. She was very scared when he first came out though.

 

[DVCBELLE]

He scares me!! I think I am just of the age that Darth Vader was always the MOST terrifying thing in the world to me. I remember going to see him at the zoo when I was about 8 or 9 and can't ever remember ever being that scared before or since!

My son is afraid of characters so he won't go up there - and he loves Darth Vader b/c to his generation - that's Anakin.

Now my DD was all set to do it but as soon as the guy came out and described what was going to happen - she changed her tune and wouldn't volunteer. Maybe you could go see a show and let him decide ahead of time.

I have been when it is crowded and they tend to pick the older kids that they know won't get scared. I have only seen younger kids picked when it wasn't crowded.

 

[sas_mk]

Sadly, my DS4 got scared when he was chosen.

He loved the Jedi training and was soaking it all in. He had watched it a bunch of times on YouTube and I thought he was "prepared".

Unfortunately, he was placed last in line to fight Darth Vader and the pressure got to him. The lines between fantasy and reality were blurred in his mind and he was sure he was going to let everybody down.

He watched each new Jedi fight him, but Darth Vader was not going anywhere. Nobody could defeat him. When it came time for the last Jedi (my DS) to fight Darth, he froze. After about 30 seconds and some kind coaxing from some CM's, he went up there and fought like a "real" Jedi.

He told me after, he was sure that he was not going to be able to beat Darth Vader and he was going to let the "Dark Side" take over the world. We had a long talk about "make-believe" and all was well.

Although, it was a bit traumatic at the time, it is his favorite memory from that trip and he loves looking at the pics we took.

 

[CathrynRose]

My DD was picked in Sept. 08 when she was 5, almost 6. She was really into it and when Darth Vader came out, the look on her face was priceless. She ran across the stage and looked very scared. However, once she saw the other kids go up there and battle him, she was fine. When her turn came, she went up there, no problem. She was very scared when he first came out though.

I didn't know that! (or did you say something and I forgot? Wouldn't surprise me.....)

SIDE NOTE - The first time I was there for a Star Wars weekend - I have to tell you, as a grown woman I was a little 'freaked out' by the Storm Troopers. Seriously. It sounds so ridiculous. But I grew up with them being the bad guys - and it was freaky walking into MGM, with them pacing back and forth on this thing:

 

[Liberty Belle]

I didn't know that! (or did you say something and I forgot? Wouldn't surprise me.....)

SIDE NOTE - The first time I was there for a Star Wars weekend - I have to tell you, as a grown woman I was a little 'freaked out' by the Storm Troopers. Seriously. It sounds so ridiculous. But I grew up with them being the bad guys - and it was freaky walking into MGM, with them pacing back and forth on this thing:

And don't make the mistake of pretending like you're shooting at the troopers on the roof. They'll shout, "There's another one!" and all shoot at you! lol I am NOT one who enjoys being in the spotlight and that was a little embarrassing.

One of my favorite Disney memories is when my oldest (then 11) was getting his picture taken with Darth Maul. We were standing off to the side with my littlest (then 2, almost 3) in his stroller. We'd just been to Star Tours and ds2 wanted one of the Star Wars guns, so we bought it for him as a souvenir. Darth Maul must have seen him with the gun, because after he was done getting his picture taken with ds11, he slowly walked over to ds2 with a menacing look.

Poor ds2 kept shooting the gun at him as he came closer and closer. Finally, he realized his gun must have been shooting blanks, so when Darth Maul got about a foot from him (leaned over looking into his face), my little guy threw his gun at him! It was hilarious. The crowd started laughing and one corner of Darth Maul's mouth went up like he was about to laugh, but he stopped himself.

I'll never forget that.

 

[MomtoGKC]

I let my DS 4 1/2 watch on You Tube before we went to WDW. He had no qualms about telling me, "I want to watch that, but I'm not going up there!" He loved it, too. But even when I said maybe next year when you're older he said no way!

 

[peekinglemer]

Now why didn't I think of YOUTUBE?

I showed my ds a ton of Disney ride videos on Youtube before our last trip and it was so great for him to know what to expect ahead of time. I'm off to search for VADER!

On a side note....LOVED the stories of the little ones fighting the dark side. I was 7 when the first movie came out and I just LOVE that my ds is a STAR WARS FREAK TOOC!

 

[peekinglemer]

OK, so I went to search for Darth on Youtube and the first video I pulled up was Darth and some storm troopers dancing to Thriller. Not quite what I was looking for but it put a huge smile on my face. Even I would not be afraid of THAT version of the big meanie! hee hee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-paO8ze58vo

 

[SandrA9810]

I love that show. It's the final thing they do at the end of the day for star wars weekend. Nothing tops darth vader and thriller. I hope they do it again this year.

There's plenty of kids that get scared of the characters, no matter what age. It's always funny when boys are terrified of the princesses and then walk out with a cheesy grin and 3 kisses on their face.

 

[bumbershoot]

sas_mk, that is the sweetest story.


My son won't do the academy at DLR because he's afraid he's going to go up against Maul. Unfortunately, he's going to get older, and by the time he gets brave enough he IS going to be put up against Maul! For me, Vader was the scariest thing, couldn't imagine someone scarier...but Maul certainly is! At DLR I've seen him frighten 9-ish year old boys, and his face can get to me sometimes!

We've watched the show many times...but DS hasn't yet participated because he is too scared.

 

[3doodlebugsmom]

A few years ago when we took our kids to disney, they got picked for jedi training. A little boy about 3 years old was also picked. Now we had never seen the training before so had no expectation of what would happen. When Darth Vader came out, I never saw my kid's reactions because the 3yr old boy let out such a scream and went flying across the stage screaming the whole time. I felt bad for him, but it was funny to watch. The best part was watching the CMs trying to get the robe and light saber back from him!

 

[neatokimmo]

DV was fine from a distance at 2.5 but Ariel with a fin instead of legs scared the pee outta her.

 

[Haganfam5]

A few years ago when we took our kids to disney, they got picked for jedi training. A little boy about 3 years old was also picked. Now we had never seen the training before so had no expectation of what would happen. When Darth Vader came out, I never saw my kid's reactions because the 3yr old boy let out such a scream and went flying across the stage screaming the whole time. I felt bad for him, but it was funny to watch. The best part was watching the CMs trying to get the robe and light saber back from him!

We have a very similar story. My son was around 5 at the time and he was/still is a HUGE Star Wars fan. He could not wait for Jedi Training and even wore his Luke Skywalker shirt and belt (that I had made for him). Being a true Star Wars fan, he knew that DArth Vader was "evil" and I felt so horrible when he came out and my son started turned white and started to cry. He was escorted off the stage and did not get to complete his training. We had no idea that was going to happen or I would have explained everything to him. I cannot explain how bad I felt. Looking at it from his perspective I would have been very afraid as well. We watched the rest of the show and the next time he was picked, he did it just fine. It is a good idea to prep them so they know what's going to happen and they are not so shocked when Darth Vader appears.

 

[sunlover13]

I didn't know that! (or did you say something and I forgot? Wouldn't surprise me.....)

I can't remember if I told you or not. She got lucky that trip and got picked for Jack Sparrow's pirate tutorial at MK too. Both of these experiences were the highlight of her trip. She is very much into Star Wars now.

Here's a pic of her fighting Darth Vader.

 

[millerpjm]

My DS (age 5 1/2 at the time) was picked for Jedi Training Academy at DL. He is a HUGE Star Wars fan. He was so excited when he got picked. Alaso, he did get scared and would not take his turn to fight Darth Vader. He didn't cry - he just did not want to take his turn. The CM's were all really good about it - even gave him a couple extra chances in case he changed his mind. He still finished the training and got his certificate - and it was still one of the highlights of the trip.

 

[Ennazus8810]

We belong to the international group that does SW costuming (not at Disney, although the parades during SW weekends are usually our guys) approved by Lucas, so our daughter is pretty used to "Uncle Vader".
Here is our daughter and our good friend Dan.......

 

[jessica52877]

DS just turned 5 the first time he was picked at DLR. Darth Maul was quite creepy and was unsure of what he would think (he was in his line). He was fine with it though and had never seen the show or the characters before that (including movie) but he knew what star wars was and had lots of toys.

At about 5 1/2 he got to fight Vader and didn't mind him at all. Both times it was the highlight of his trip even though if you ask him if he wants to wait for the show he'll say no. He looked like one the littlest picked both times.