Experiences with young children and characters?

[Malisa]

My little sister is two and my mom is trying to plan out a disney trip before she turns 3 (save a little money there) next January. She doesn't like Santa Claus or adult men she hasn't met before. My mom is concerned that she will be afraid of the characters. Has anyone else had any similar experiences where their child turned out to love the characters? I know the only way to tell is to actually be there and she how she reacts to Minnie or Mickey but I just thought other people's stories would be helpful.

 

[Elmo888]

We just took DD2, and she was fine with Mickey, Minnie, and loved the princesses ("face characters" because they don't wear masks like Mickey, etc.). She was scared of the rest. Watching her at breakfast with the princesses was so sweet.

I had her watch the Disney planning video and the Sing a-long at Disneyland which as the characters. I think that these helped. I was surprised that she would go near any of the characters with masks, but she loved Mickey and Minnie.

 

[Princess Roo]

On our last trip our son was somewhat afraid of the characters. That is, he LOVED to see them from a distance, and would tell *ME* to go give them a hug, but started to freak out if they came too close to him. He is just a little shy in general.
The reason I'm telling you this, is that DS had a GREAT time at WDW, regardless! (And less time waiting in line for autographs!) There is TONS to do without spending much time with the characters, so it's not as big of a deal as it may seem.

 

[mcco5543]

2-4 year olds are trying to work out the differences between fantasy and reality. So depending where they are in that process it can be very scary to see a "pretend" person and a "real person" at the same time. AKA they know Snow White is pretend, but there is a very real person standing in front of them.

It can really scare a kid, but I have heard numerous stories of how good the characters are with being sensitive to scared kids. Usually I think they let the kids come to them. Or approach slowly. I even heard of one character who started to come toward a kid, well the kind started to cry and so the characther jumped behind a trashcan and peeked out and just waved...the kid liked that much better. Disney
Characters know little kids can be frightened and they usually are quite good. You are right, you'll never know how your child will do with characters 'till you get there but I'm sure between you being protective and the characters being sensitive it'll be a WONDERFUL TIME!!!

 

[2poohbears]

We brought our twins to WDW when they were 2 1/2 and they were afraid of the characters up close until the end of our trip. We did a the character meal at Garden Grill in Epcot at the end...I think because the restaurant is quieter than the others, the boys weren't over-stimulated and were okay. They loved playing with Mickey and Pluto at that meal! The previous poster is correct in saying the characters know to stay away if children are too afraid. We all still had a GREAT week at WDW in spite of their fear of the characters up close (from far away the kids were mesmorized and loved them). I also found their language developed a lot after the trip...I think they had so much more to talk about because of all of their experiences there and because they enjoyed it so much!

We just took them back at almost 3 1/2 years old - and they absolutely loved the characters this time. They demanded hugs from every character they got close to and their eyes lit up and smiles were HUGE for the characters this year!

My guess is if she's still afraid of Santa this Christmas, you should prepare for fear of characters at WDW. Maybe in a few months try taking her to Chuck E Cheese and see how she does with that character? Also, we watched the Disneyland Sing Along Songs video, which I think helped them get familiar with the park and characters.

 

[wrighter]

I don't think there is any real way to tell how any child will react to characters. For example, my DS3 has freaked out with Santa for the past two years, but this past December he came around a little bit. Not a ton, but a little - because the Santa was absolutely awesome. My DD1, on the other had, completely flipped out with Santa.

Jump forward 5 weeks to early February - my DS3 LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED every single character we encountered. I was flabbergasted! He ran up and hugged the very first one he saw. My DD1 was leery, but didn't freak out. She was curious about them and looked them up and down, but as long as we didn't shove her at them she was fine. We spent a great deal of time doing the character meet-n-greets and we really hadn't anticipated that.

I also agree with the PP - there is so much to do at Disney that you could avoid characters entirely and still not have enough time to do it all. Your sister will love it - your mom shouldn't be concerned at all. Just let your sis lead the way and you'll have an awesome time.

 

[all4fun]

I don't think there is any real way to tell how any child will react to characters. ....

I also agree with the PP - there is so much to do at Disney that you could avoid characters entirely and still not have enough time to do it all. Your sister will love it - your mom shouldn't be concerned at all. Just let your sis lead the way and you'll have an awesome time.

ITA with the above post. I think even if she dislikes the character interaction she will still have a great time at WDW. There is just no telling until you get there - and what bothers her NOW might not be a problem in a few months. I wouldn't let the fear she doesn't like the characters keep your mom from planning a trip. BTW, my ds has always loved the characters (he's been to WDW 6x since 13mos, he's 3yr10mos now) but he actually loves the non-face characters more than the face characters. I don't know if he just thinks of them as big stuffed animals or what...but he usually gets really shy around the face characters, esp. the male ones. Go figure!

hth.

 

[dsnymomof4]

When we took our first family trip in 2002, my youngest DD wa 18 months. She was afraid of the characters - she didn't cry, but didn't want to walk over to them and have her picture taken like other DDs. So, in most of our pictures, DH is holding her. Sometimes, she would glance over at the character to check him out, other times she would just cling to DH. When we went back 2 years later, she was still somewhat skeptical. She still wouldn't approach them by herself. She would stand with the rest of the kids without DH though. This past year, she was 5, she would run up to the characters and give them hugs! She loves them now. I think that exposure when she was younger helped her to ease into her comfort zone. So, even if your sister is afraid of the characters now, hopefully seeing them will help her get used to them and maybe on a future trip, she won't be as scared. I would just recommend not "forcing" her to do anything she's not comfortable with. Just let her take it all in and observe from a distance if that's what she needs. She will have a great time no matter what! Good luck!

 

[flynnmnstr]

Older DS loved the characters until he was about 3 1/2 then went through a short period of not liking them; last trip was when he was 4.5years. DS 2 has always loved them. Last trip we ended up changing a bunch of our ADRs so we could eat with the guys, because they loved them so much. For our upcoming trip in August we made a bunch of them again.

That being said... On the trips when DS was not into characters-- he still had a great time and could enjoy the characters by afar. PLUS no character lines!!!!

 

[write2caro]

My son was dubious at first on our last trip when he was 15 months old. We watched the Disneyland Sing Along video ahead of time, and gave him plenty of time to watch the characters from afar before approaching them. Some were scary to him from a distance so we didn't get closer. He's had a stuffed Pooh since he was a baby, and lit up when he saw Pooh from afar. As you can see, he warmed up to him quite nicely...

He was already talking a bit at that point, and kept saying "saw Pooh" for days! He's now 2yrs and told me yesterday: "Have to go to Disney World to see Pooh now"!!! I think you guys should just play it by ear... watch them from afar at first and see how she feels. Have a fun trip!!

 

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

Emily only got to meet Pooh (she was 20 months), but she did great and loved him. She's pretty adventurous and outgoing, though.