Has anyone had kids who were terrified of characters???

[hmwnick]

We took our first trip to WDW last May & our 3 & 5 year old were SOOO scared of all the characters
except for one like Alice, Little Mermaid.... I guess it was their bigs heads or something?
We are planning our 2nd trip for Oct. '02 hopefully things will be different. Any suggestions?

 

[CityKid]

We took our then-four year old daughter to Hershey Park, Sesame Place, and a third amusement park in Pennsylvania two years ago. She was initially timid with even the familiar characters and she freaked out when she was surprised in the Hershey Lodge by three "character" chocolate bars! In such situations, we withdrew to a distance (how far depended on the intensity of the reaction) and let our daughter watch the other kids interact with the characters. Her words and her body language gave us the clue to when to approach.

After a while she was mixing it up with the Sesame characters and with the Bearenstein Bears.

Of course, the characters my daughter christened "those big walking chocolates" never did become her friends.

Oh yes, prepare your child for the fact that the fully costumed characters don't speak. I don't know whether a silent six foot bear is better or worse for a timid child?!?

 

[beattyfamily]

I have 2 DD's one 5 and one 20 months. The 5 year old is not afraid at all. Our first trip was when she was 2 1/2 and she loved them!

Our 20 month old's first trip was this past December 1 and she was 14 months and TERRIFIED! She would scream hysterically! We couldn't do any character meals except for Cinderella's breakfast. She wouldn't go near them. She never really warmed up to them, sorry.

We're going again this December, and I'm hoping for the best but I'm not holding my breath. A couple of weeks ago, a new store had Cookie monster and big bird and she freaked again.

We're going to Sesame Place this weekend, we'll see!

Of course, I don't have any pictures of her with Santa or the Easter bunny either!

 

[vicb]

When my DS was 3 he was only scared of "face characters" because they actually talked to him. He did fine with non'talking characters especially Chip and Dale. We did not force him to meet face characters or do a character meal with them. But we found he did enjoy seeing them from a distance in shows (one example was the Jungle Book show at AK).

You really just have to respect the individuality of kids and take your cues from how they react. If your children are still scared on this upcoming trip just bypass character meeting and don't let it spoil the fun of your trip. Good luck!

 

[LAWalz23]

We were at WDW in May, my niece's and nephew's first trip. They are 3 1/2 year old twins and they were terrified of any and all characters no matter where they were (Sesame Place, Great Adventure, birthdays, holidays, fairs) until a few months before our visit when they actually wanted to take picture with Santa (they had refused only 1 month before). My sister had Elmo for their 2nd birthday and they would not go near him, same thing with Santa 1 month later. They still think both Elmo and Santa live at Uncle Tony's house, upstairs, LOL.
Anyway, my nephew went straight up to Goofy at Chef Mickey's and asked for an autograph and took a picture with Goofy. On the other hand my niece was very afraid, only going up to Goofy with her hand tucked firmly in mine and did not really want anything to do with him. But after she met Minnie at the table, where Minnie came up to her brother first and was nice to him and gave her some time to warm up she was okay. In fact we spent most of the week chasing characters for pictures and autographs everytime the kids saw them. This is something we did not expect at all given their past history.
I guess the moral of my little story here is you never know what to expect. We really thought they might be afraid and were pleasantly surprised at the outcome. We did talk to them about having dinner with Mickey and Pooh and Breakfast with the princesses and they said that they wanted to do it, but we were prepared to ask the characters to stay at a distance if they were still shy.
I hope the next trip goes well for you. The only thing I can suggest is try to expose them to the characters as often as possible.

 

[holycow]

this problem a month or 2 ago...my DD21/2 loves the characters at home...movies, books etc...but when we went to the park and she saw Pinnochio she freaked out! I was so shocked cause he has always been her favorite! So when she wouldn't go I told her that I wanted to go and say HI to him...she was reluctant at first and then she sat on my lap. Pin was very patient with her, I was so pleased...Now when she looks at the pictures she asks wheres Pinocchio!

Holycow

 

[Kama89]

The first time we went to WDW our son was three. I wondered if this might be a problem for him. There's a video called Disneyland fun (a sing a long) that takes place in Disneyland. It shows all of the characters, singing and dancing with a group of kids. I can't tell you for sure if our DS would've had a problem without seeing the video a million and one times before we left, but I felt at the time (he's 11 now, so this was eons ago! ) that it was a real factor in him knowing what to expect. Those first few trips to WDW or DL, his favorite activity was to chase down characters for a hug and a autograph.
Good luck hmwnick! You're kids will be older by the time you go, so am sure that you'll notice a big difference because of that as well.

 

[melk]

Same problem with one of our kids. We've just adjusted and canceled our character meal reservations except for the breakfast at the castle which is all face characters. Last trip all the kids had autograph books and the one that was afraid did work up the courage to approach a couple of characters on occasion. The point is you can't push them, just let the opportunity present itself (from a distance) and let the child make the decision whether to approach or not. The afternoon parade at MK is a good opportunity at first to see the characters go by, with just a wave. Maybe by the end of the trip they'll be courageous enough for a picture or two!!

 

[MouseLover]

Not necessarily terrified, but my daughter (4yo) was scared of Captain Hook & Rafiki.

 

[clutter]

Yep. First trip - only from a distance. Second trip - within a couple feet was ok - walked up to the princesses at MVMCP, then she gave a tentative hug to eeyore. Third trip - I've got the best pictures!!!

Some kids just take longer to accept new things....

 

[CatOne]

We went in May when our daughter was a little over 2.5 years old and at first she did not like the characters. Not terrified but would only look at them from a distance and hide under her dad's arm or duck under the table otherwise. By about the third day she let Pinocchio give her a high five and she sat in her dad's lap while Alice and the MH sat beside him and I took a picture. Her favorites, according to her reaction to that same Disneyland video recommended above, Minnie, Mickey, etc. she never warmed up to. She says she is not scared anymore but we'll see when we return in Dec. The one she was most afraid of was Goofy. He is soooooo big!! We just cancelled the other character meals and let her see them from a distance. It was easier that way. Best of luck!!

Happy Day
CatOne

 

[sablair]

What a great topic.. it brings back memories! DS and DD who are 15 and 7 now were TERRIFIED!! of characters and Santa clause until they were about 3 and 4. Anything non-human had my son wailing if he even caught a glimpse of it! My sweet daughter cried and cried when we wanted her to sit on santa's lap her 2nd Christmas.. wouldnt get near him and my son even sat on his lap to try to help, but no dice! I'll never forget him doing that at 10 for his little sister and I was laughing inside remembering him and santa at 2..haha.

My youngest isnt going on our July trip to WDW, but is in Nov..... he is 18 mos now and I cant wait to see how he reacts No problems with characters yet.. mayb hes the brave one

Sheila