Are they real or people in costumes?

[JustUsAndJellybean]

I firmly believe that I can't be certain of anything I haven't seen with my own eyes. I've never seen a person come out of a costume. And even if I had, I likely wouldn't have seen the particular character in question get into or out of their costume. So when my daughter asks if something is real, I usually tell her I'm not certain and encourage her to draw her own conclusions. I let her know that some people believe and some people don't. I tell her that it is very possible that the magic is make believe, but is always a tiny possibility that it isn't. She chooses to hold on to the small possibility.

 

[mjkacmom]

Regarding Santa, the response was and still is,

"Those that believe receive"

Now what was that question you just asked me?

Of course the down side to that is my kids are in their 20's and we still do Santa for them.

We say "if you don't believe, you don't receive." They're all teens, I still haven't admitted anything yet.

 

[stinkpickle]

9 year old DS still suspends disbelief. ..except for Star Wars characters, because he's studied the actors.

 

[North of Mouse]

If they are asking the question, they already know the answer and are just looking to you for verification. Tell the truth.

This is exactly the answer I was going to post. Trust me, it will not diminish the magic and excitement of Disney to them if they already love Disney and are happy to be there!

 

[bryanb]

When I was a kid, I had a Mickey plush and a Snoopy plush toy. To me, my toys were the "real" Mickey and Snoopy. They were the ones I played with all the time. The characters on TV, they were just stories about my "real" buddies.

Going to theme parks, I saw the walk around characters and I could play along with the characters, and simultaneously consider them part of the act. But on the ride home, my toys were the real thing coming back home with me.

I guess as a kid, the line between "pretend" and "real" wasn't that black-and-white. I knew my toys weren't actual living things, just like I think I knew there were people inside those costumes. But that didn't make the "play" any less true. Does that make sense?

 

[sunshine1]

When you look at Mickey: it isnt a person in a costume: it is Mickey Mouse.

That is the magic of Disney.

 

[isabellea]

The answer to that question is simple, its "Well, what do you think?" and then you follow their lead from there.

The fact that they asked means that they already know the answer, but they may or may not choose to suspend their disbelief. Either way, the magic will not be diminished.

My DD asked me when she was 4yo and that's what I did. She told me that Mickey and friends were people in costume but that the princesses were real because they live in the castle.

 

[mommycrawford]

My DD had not seen any Disney films when she had first gone to Disney (age 2,) which made her "want to take a picture with the old man" (Snow White"s stepmother as the old crone) and say, "I don't like the mean mother," with regards to Ursula in the Voyage of the Little Mermaid....The questions may have to do with trying to feel comfortable with them. My daughter did not know the background of these characters, so was not scared (still, thought Ursula was mean) and felt safe engaging.

Your kids are at an age where belief being questioned makes sense!...Imagine if you thought you were meeting someone who had powers to cast a spell and such: I agree that asking them what they think is a great place to start, and it is fair to say that magical things can happen, and that you guys can find out together, perhaps.

 

[aniroc192]

I love the answering the question with another question because sometimes kids think of some interesting things.

Growing up, I never got to go to Disney World till I was 18. But with Santa, I kind of knew the answer at a rather early age (I have a brother that is 4 years older than me and a sister that is 7...they slipped up a lot) although I didn't want to admit it. When I finally asked the question of "is Santa real?" my mom's answer was that Santa is a feeling and if that feeling is real, he is real. And that has always stuck with me.

Disney is too magical to walk past Mickey and Minnie as say "they're just too people in a suit."

 

[js]

I dont understand this question and answers?? What do you mean people inside????

My kids are 22 and 18 and we still say at Christmas you dont believe you dont receive. Little different but when my kids asked about the Disney characters I never said there were people inside I just said Its Disney and magical. They knew the answer but we never brong it up lol

 

[kidsgobears]

"I like to believe they're real."
"I like to believe in Santa."
or
"I like to pretend they're real"

 

[drp4video]

Mickey and the princesses and everyone are all very busy, so they sometimes ask their friends to dress up as them and take their place so they can do their very important jobs.

That's what my parents told me about Santa, anyway.

That is what we told our daughter about Santa as well. She was about 5 the first time she went to Disney Land and even though she didn't ask, I think she knew the characters were people in costumes. Santa took her a little longer lol

 

[JerseyJanice]

Of course they are real! They're the models for the cartoons.

 

[MinnieMSue]

When my daughter was young - less than 6-7 it was all real. Then we went to Crystal Palace and she noticed zippers on the back - she was horrified to find out the characters were people in costumes. But the face characters were real! Then a couple years later she figured that out too. She has always been a gullible kid lol. When she was 5 the dragon was real in Fantasmic. Then the next year she said "they don't have a real dragon anymore!?!" Reality was starting to set in but she still believed dragons were real. That really cracked me up especially considering how fake that dragon looks.

 

[cgh]

I think the thing with all of that to say is 'what do you think?' and then go with that. DS7 said that when we were at a character meal this past time and DH and I were shhhhing him. Sad when that happens.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

My DD7 is totally confounding me ... Which is probably fair because I did the whole "what do you think?" last year when she asked and when she was looking for evidence (differences in signatures, etc). I think she knows because she was not looking for evidence this year. But she said a lot of things that either mean she still believes or is playing it up for her siblings. She said that Rapunzel is lazy because she only meets at FTH but Cindy has to meet at FTH, entertain people at CRT, and go over to Epcot for Akershus. LOL. And she also really cherishes her autograph books from this year and last. But I think most likely she knows and still loves meeting them anyway.

 

[YawningDodo]

I did the Disney College Program and worked backstage, and I regularly saw things that you'd think would ruin the magic of the characters for me. When I see a character out in the park, though, they're still that character to me, doesn't even matter that I used to do Mickey's laundry and know the full details of how the costumes go together.

If the kids want to suspend disbelief and play along, they still will. I like all the responses suggesting to ask them what they think about it, or gently confirm the ruse and tell them that it's okay to still play along (and then keep playing along yourself!). I absolutely agree, too, that if they're asking they already kind of know; you can't put that genie back in the bottle and it's time to let them move forward in their understanding of the world.

 

[Reese'smom]

Maybe I'm odd or my kids are- they have NEVER thought the characters are real. They've always known that they are people dressed up. And they firmly believe in Santa. Never occurred to me to push the idea that it is really the character.

 

[Joltin Joe IV]

I'm 37 and they're still real to me when I'm there. Like Santa, it's a concept that trancends the basic notion. When I was a kid I believed Santa was a man in a red suit. When I realized the truth as an older kid I no longer felt he was "real." As an adult though I know that Santa is in fact very real, even if acting through others. Santa spreads joy and happiness, as do Mickey and friends at WDW.

Okay, so a kid isn't going to understand my very meta reasoning there, but I think it best to let kids come to their own conclusion on the matter.

This is perfectly worded, and I 100% agree. Santa and the characters ARE real. I don't believe that anyone is pretending to be anything. They are real.

 

[BayouQueen]

Odd girl out here. My kids are all grown up now, but had they asked, I would totally have told them, "Of course they're real," with the twinkle in my eye that my kids would know and recognize. The kids would know that we all know they're fake, but we're all having fun pretending.