Characters Question

[SweetAmy31]

My ex-hubby who is not real happy about my parents and i taking the kids to Disney. (I think he's so jealous his head is going to pop off ) told my youngest son yesterday that he "shouldnt be too excited to meet the characters, cause they are only regular ppl in costumes".

My son is 5 yrs. I think it was beyond cruel to ruin that magic for him, but now how do i fix it? What do i say to my 5 yr old to make the greetings special? Or should I just blow it off and let it go?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MO Nurse]

If it was me I would wait until you get there and I bet your son will completely forget about it. If he mentions it just merely say "let's go see for ourselves" I know my girls are 12 and they had a wonderful time seeing the characters and getting autographs even though they are old enough to know the truth. Has your exhubby been to WDW? If nto then just tell your son that he's never been so "let's go find our for ourselves" if it comes to that. This is allowing your son to enjoy himself without stooping to your exes level.

I agree that it was awful for him to do that. Sorry........but what a snake

 

[anl]

I also don't think he will be thinking of that once he's there. I wouldn't make a big deal about it. He will still feel the magic!

 

[of2dbeach]

wow.. makes me wanna smack him for ya!! My 5 yr old knows theres real people in the costumes but ya know once she gets to the parks she totaly forgets and says hey mom Mickey mouse is over there and drags me over to see him.look on utube and show him things about Disney . my daughter loves looking at the rides on there.if he asks about them being people inside there I wouldnt lie but just say something like well Mickey cant be everywhere, so he has helpers like Santa does then get him a mickey ice cream bar and enjoy your day ..Sorry your ex said that. hopefully your son will get caught up in the magic and forget what dear old dad has said. have a great trip !

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

I agree with those who have said that he probably won't be thinking about that comment once you arrive. He'll be swept up in all of the Disney magic. I'm a grown woman and I am always thrilled to be standing next to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or any character I am lucky enough to encounter. I don't even think about anything that might destroy the magic of that moment. (corny...I know!) When my four-year-old met the Little Einsteins for the first time, I had tears in my eyes because she was meeting her heros. Nothing anyone could have said to me would have ruined that moment. I believe that the same will be true for your son.

Have a great time!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I gotta say, my jaw was on the floor when I read what your ex said. Why????? So mean!

Anyway - I agree with everyone else - don't make a big deal about it, and just let the magic happen when he gets there. I mean, we're adults, and we still get giddy when we see Mickey, right? And when he does go wild, make sure you get a picture of it and shove it up your ex's nose when you get home.

 

[mpls_mm]

My kids are 9 and 4 and they wholeheartedly believe in fairies and Santa and everything else. Other kids at school tell them otherwise, but I am unshakeable. There is so much magic there, they will get caught up in it. Your little guy will forget and your ex will just have to be jealous. When my ex was negative, I just told the kids he had never been and didn't know. The next year, I was feeling very big and took him along on our annual trip. He was the one angling for character autographs and pin trading.

 

[PADISFAM]

you mean it's a person in there??!!
seriously- if DS brings it up, ask him what he thinks, take your cue from there. We got the same thing about Santa when DS was 6 (older kids told him no such thing) I just explained not everyone is special enough to believe in magic

 

[Piper]

A child's belief system is so different from an adult's. I teach Pre-Kindergarten in a public school. Every year I use different books about the Gingerbread Man to teach the concept of character-same basic stories--different characters.

Then we bake a Gingerbread Man. Everyone helps put in part of the ingredients, I shape him on a large cookie sheet and we carefully put him in the oven. When we go to take him out, he's gone----run off, leaving a few crumbs behind. We go throughout the school looking for him and finally, one of the students will find where he has hidden to "rest" since he's been running so much.

Okay--last year a 7th grade boy talked his mother into bringing him back to the "meet the teacher" night that is held before school starts. The first thing he said to me was, "Remember when we baked the Gingerbread Man?" I replied that I certainly did. He then asked, "Did he really run away?" I, of course, replied that I had been with the students the whole time and I didn't see him run, but that I hadn't taken him out of the oven and other people had said they did see him. I don't know what he finally decided.

My point is that this was a 13 year old boy who remembered something that had happened to him 9 years earlier and thought it just might be real!!

 

[scjo68]

I agree with everyone else, your ds will be so charmed by the characters, he will just go with it and enjoy it. They are so good at being themselves, even I "forget" and just enjoy them. Why else would you see so many adults in line to meet them?

I suspect that lots of kids know the truth if they had to admit it- but just let themselves play along and enjoy the fantasy.

I work for a place that does children's parties, classes, etc., and sometimes I portray a character there. I am a "face" character, so easily recognizable. This session, two of my students actually know me from church. But they have been introduced to me as the character in this setting, so they just go along with it. They tell me- in both settings- that I look just like the other one, but they have yet to come right out and ask me if I'm the same person.

So relax and enjoy a great time.

BTW- I am jealous, too!- but I'll try to keep my head on!

 

[SweetAmy31]

Well I feel much better now. Im use to these types of situations with my ex causing trouble every chance he gets so usually i just sorta blow off the comment and feel i can always come back to it when i've calmed down and figured out how to approach it without making it sound like I want to beat their father with a stick.

This time I wasnt sure if I should come back to the question or let it go, and see what happens when we get there. I gather from all the great advice you have all shared that I should go with my gut and just let it go. I'm sure he'll still have a very magical time.

Thanks for the great advice and stories.

Have a magical DAY!