Character Dining with a Kiddo Who's Scared of Masked Characters?

[ChanellF]

I know this sounds ridiculous. We have a 5-year-old who has always been scared of the masked characters, but I've noticed as she's gotten older, she tolerates them a bit better. Like she doesn't necessarily want to interact with them but doesn't scream in terror when around them. Anyways, we have reservations for Garden Grill for dinner with her three older cousins (12, 10, 8)--who like the characters. My question... has anyone gone to GG with a kiddo not interested? And if you indicate to the character that this particular child doesn't want to be interacted with, will they try to just interact with the older kids and let her snuggle close to mom/dad in a booth and leave her alone?

 

[momto3pirates]

We have a 6 year old with Autism. She has no interest in characters. We put the kids that want to see the characters on one side and seat her away from where they walk. We just wave them off as they come by. It’s never been an issue.

 

[TwinkleKS]

The way the booths are at GG, you can put the uninterested one in the middle and have the interested kids on the end. Your daughter won't have to leave the booth at all. She can wave to the characters if she wants to.

 

[TeacupsForever]

She should be ok. My two-year-old had no interest in characters earlier this year, so she sat on the inside part of the table at Garden Grill while my other daughter sat at the exterior seat right where they walk by. The characters would wave at the younger one, but it was pretty obvious that she didn't want them to come any closer and they respected that. They're pretty used to reading cues about how people do or don't want to be interacted with.

 

[Wild4Walt]

My niece wanted nothing to do with characters ( she was younger with yours ) so we would put her next to her parents during the character dining otherwise she would howl. The characters will probably wave but if she isn't into engaging they will just keep it to a wave or a thumbs up type thing.