character interaction in kids clubs

[aggiecruisers]

New to the forum. Just returned from 5 days in Disneyland in sunny CA. Our 4 year old DD had a horrific time. We were there two years ago and the visit was perfect, this time she cowered, trembled in fear, and cried to get away from every character with a mask. The princesses were easy, normal faces. We are scheduled on the 7-night western in the end of May, and concerned that she will fall apart at the clubs. What are your experiences with character interaction in her age group. Will the castmembers be able to separate her during the visits? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[floridaminnie]

In the kid's navigator it indicates when a character will be there, so you can either go with your child or not have your child in there at that time. You could also tell the counselors, but I'm not sure how well of a job they'll do with keeping them seperated.

 

[plutospup]

DD, now 6, fears the characters, except the Princesses. She has loved our last two cruises, despite the characters. When she is registered at the O-Club, the counselors will note that she is afraid of the characters (not uncommon in that age group). On occassions when a character makes an appearance (normally only 5-10 min) they will take DD to another area and stay with her until the character is gone. (Sometimes DW & I stop by during an "appearance"). Big thumbs up to the counselors on this one. They are very good at handling this situation.

 

[lbgraves]

I have to agree that the counselors are great with dealing with all the kid's fears in the club. DS didn't want to go up on stage for the final show. I took him for the rehersal & was prepared to stay to let him see what would go on but he ran off & played so I left to get ready for dinner. I talked to the counselors & they knew his fear of going up on stage. They told him he could sit in the front row with the ones who were leading the kids from the floor or sit next to one of his favorites on the stage and they would keep the mean cameras away from him. LOL! I didn't expect to see him on stage at all & that would have been fine, but he marched right on with his friends with a huge smile. He was so proud of himself & now wants to do it again.

 

[kcashner]

Just tell the counsellors. The scary characters don't visit the kid's area....just Mic and Min and princesses...sometimes Peter Pan. However, if they are aware of the fears, they will put your child with another group. They split the kids up when the characters come so that everyone can have a little character time. They also would allow her to hang on the fringe and only approach the characters if she wanted to.

 

[jgalecpa]

The princesses were easy, normal faces.

Kids are so funny.

Our kids loved the costumed characters and hated the ones with "normal" faces.

Go figure.

Now that they are teen age girls, the only faces they "hate" are their parents!


Jim

 

[NJ Cruisers]

jgalecpa - my DS4 is exactly the same way and has been since he first saw characters when he was one ........loves the furry type and hates ANYTHING with a real face - like the princesses.

As far as the club - my son didn't want to go to the club after the second day. He was adament about not going so we didn't send him. I asked him why and he said that Captain Hook was in the bathroom. I can't imagine they had Captin Hook visiting 3-4 year olds. Maybe it was a dream (Caption Hook was on the ship) or another kid said something to him. We never did get a chance to ask.

Diane

 

[lbgraves]

Actually, it was possible that he saw Captain Hook. I just checked the navigators for the 5-7 yos because I remembered our tablemates saying how their kids liked seeing him. That activity happened in the club while the 3-4s were in the lab watching a movie on Monday during the 7 day eastern. It's possible he was signed in at a transitional time & ended up in the club before the 3-4s returned so he saw Hook.

 

[jwann]

Alot can change with your child in 6 months. My DS went from fearing characters to loving them within 4 weeks. Who knows with them!
My suggestion - expose your child to as many "characters" as you can before your cruise. Example - we have a radio station Froggy 103 and Froggy makes appearances everywhere. I would take my child to as many "character" events as possible to "de-sensitize" them.