DD4 scared of characters - HELP!

[PrincessDreams2]

We will be leaving in 6 weeks for our 1st trip to Disney, just DD4 and myself. I am pretty certain that she will be afraid of the characters we encounter (with the exception of the princessess, I think) based on previous experiences with other large costumed animals/characters we have seen (Chuckie Cheese, Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, etc) Is there anything I can do beforehand to help her ease this fear and be more comfortable? We have talked about it at length, watched the Disney vacation planning DVD a number of times, and any other shows about Disney on TV. I am just so afraid that she will freak out when we see them. Naturally, I want her experience to be positive! Any ideas out there??? Thanks!

 

[LilGMom]

I really don't know that there is anything you can do. Once there you might want to try some of the face characters (Princesses, Princes, etc.) first. Let her see other kids going up to the characters, let her know that they are nice and harmless and see if that helps.

My oldest was never afraid of the characters but my youngest (3 yr. old) wants nothing to do with them and he also won't sit for Santa or the Easter Bunny.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My daughter was also terrified of characters at this age. One of the nice things about WDW is that you can usually avoid them quite easily! She might be comfortable seeing the characters in the parades, if you try to sit back so she's not in the front row where they might approach her. You can let her see other kids going up to the characters from a distance. My daughter was fine with the princesses, Peter Pan, etc.

Teresa

 

[mommy2paris]

We bought one of the disney dvd sing alongs for our dd, who was 2 1/2 when we last traveled. Even after months of watching the videos,which she loved, and seeing the kids with characters, she still wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. We just did our best to avoid them. At first while watching the parades, she was still a little nervous, but relaxed once she realized they weren't coming any closer to her.
I must admit, it was a little disappointing though, as I was looking forward to the "happy" pics of her with the characters... We do have a few family shots with her on the outskirts, trying to get away, lol. Guess we'll laugh at those when she grows up!
Good luck, and just remember, even if she doens't end up liking them, she will still have a good time, and it is okay to be a little disappointed about it!

 

[Aliceacc]

My youngest is still frightened of Santa and the Easter Bunny at the mall... this trip could be quite an experience!!

We've only booked 2 character meals: Chef Mickey's and the Cinderella dinner at 1900 Park Faire. She has an autograph book; if she's too frightened to ask for the autograph, her brother or sister can do it for her.

It's a stage, and she'll grow out of before she graduates high school. There's no point in trying to rush it-- she'll find her own comfort zone when she's ready.

 

[mrsklamc]

I was one of 'Santa's helpers' one Christmas in college. One think that experience convinced me of is that you just can't change their opinion. They either liked Santa or hated him. I think you have taken some great steps in showing her the videos and stuff but you'll just have to play it by ear.

 

[LilGMom]

Thought I'd add a picture as to how my youngest ate most of his meal at CP last May when he was just a few weeks shy of 2 yrs. old. This wasn't his first trip or his first character meal and since he loves Pooh we thought he might have started warming up to the characters. Nope, he still wants nothing to do with them. he is very quick to say "Hi" to them but as soon as they are within five feet of him he is even quicker to say "Bye".

 

[Nicoleclaw]

DD shook like a leaf when one came up to her 2 years ago, and last year at Sesame Place. She told me (she is 4,almost 5) in April there was no way she was taking a pic with the characters. So we sat down and watched video after video of children meeting the characters on Youtube. After a couple, she was like, ok I guess you can take a pic of me with Minnie...ok, maybe Mickey, etc. She did still look alittle hesitant, and sometimes wanted me to go with her, but she did a great job overall!

 

[EthansMom]

My DS had the same problem. I know this may not be a popular idea, but I finally explained to him that the characters were just people dressed up "like Halloween". He was fine seeing them at a distance but had no desire to get an autograph or hug.

Honestly, I didn't mind missing those long lines waiting to see the characters. We did schedule a couple of character meals and DS seemed fine seeing the characters as they came around to the tables, but he still didn't want a hug or pictures.

I'd recommend letting your DD know that there will be lots of characters at the parks, but they won't bother her. Tell her to let you know if she wants to get closer to a character (for a hug, for instance). Giving her some control over the situation may help!

 

[rt2dz]

If they are afraid, they are afraid. DS#2 was terrified at 15 months when the characters got to close. We sat him on the inside of the tables at character meals and let our server and the characters know. They were great about waving at a distance—which he loved. By the end of our trip, we was really warming up and wanting to see the characters up close, giving high fives, etc., as long as they did not hug him. While he was good with the regular characters, he was never comfortable with the face characters. The Mad Hatter told us that was common—they pick one or the other to warm up to. We have never told any of our kids the characters were real, but we’ve never told them they were people dressed up. We just let nature take its course.

DS#2 continued to remain afraid of characters to age 4, including Santa. HOWEVER, on subsequent trips to WDW (we go every year), the characters were OK there. DS#3 had just turned 2 on our last trip. He, too, is terrified of big characters and Santa, and the Easter Bunny, etc., etc. Except at Disney; we went running arms open to them. My point is, just because they are scared of characters at home doesn’t mean they will be at Disney. If they are, then just follow their lead. Not wanting to be near the characters will not ruin your trip.

Oh, DS#1 was never afraid of any characters ever.

 

[cd'smom]

My DS is terrified of everything. We have decided he has a fear of the unknown. He was 4 at the time of our first trip and would cry in line for every ride (including It's a small world, after our 5th time on it I was the one crying). He was afraid of Santa and of course of the characters. We started by holding him so they were not towering over him and whoever was not holding him took the autograph book to get signed. We didn't worry about getting a good picture but just getting him close to them so he would see they are not going to try to hurt him. None of the characters ever tried to touch him or anything, most would just wave or put their hand out for him to give them 5. After seeing a couple of characters and making him at least go with us to get the autograph we ran into buzz lightyear (his favorite at the time) and that was it, he gave him a big hug and from then on we had to stand in line for every character he saw (sometimes we diverted his attention so he wouldn't see them). The only thing was that we had to make sure they did not come up behind him, Pluto did at dinner one night and it took a few minutes of Pluto playing around with him to calm him down.