Help! My kids know about the "Characters"

[matt&jakesmom]

My boys (ages 9 & 7) and I were talking about WDW and the characters and they commented about the characters being in costumes and that there are people in them. My heart was broken. My boys are growing up now. I kept telling them that it was wasn't true, that it is really Mickey and Minnie. I then told them it is all in what you believe in. I asked if they "believed" in Mickey and friends and they said yes. I guess soon enough we will be having the conversation about Santa and the toothfairy.

What has anybody else said to their kids? I am sure we will be having this discussion again.

 

[J/T Gramdma]

I took my grandsons to wdw when they were 3/5 and their mother told them they were only people in the suits. but while we were down there for the next trip to actually see them waking around puts doubt in the kids minds. They were excited to see Mickey and half the time in person they were sure this was the one mickey that was real . good luck I am sorry they were told.

 

[snowsdad]

Somehow my DD7 sorta figured it out when she was 5. I think she may have seen a "beheaded" character on TV (not a Disney character, but some other show). Seeing a person's head sticking out of a costume body made her realize that Mickey, Barney, etc. were all similar. Although she isn't as enthralled nowadays with getting autographs, etc., she still loves the parks. She thinks it is cute that the "little" kids think Mickey is real - but she understands she's not to spill the beans. Also, she still adores all the princesses. (Maybe she hasn't figured them out yet!)

 

[BALAMAV]

My girls asked about that when they were 6 and 8. I told them that the ones in the suits were people in the costumes but that the ones like Cindy and Jasmine etc. are real. They went crazy they were so excited to find out they were real. Now they are 8 and 10 and still think that. They also still believe in Santa. I say keep the magic as long as they believe.
i love Disney. Brenda

 

[slo]

It's so hard sometimes to watch our children grow up.

Last year my DD (6yrs old at the time) asked me if Mickey Mouse was real. I asked her why she was asking and she said that someone at school told her that Mickey wasn't real. I looked at her straight in the eye and said, "Do you want him to be real?" and she said, "yes" and I told her, "then that's all that's important".

Eventually though she's going to realize that these characters aren't real and it's something that I've come to accept. I'm just hoping that since she see's me have so much fun with the characters that she will still have fun even though they are no longer "real" to her.

 

[jdonat]

I know that my DD's "know" that the characters are CM's inside... but they
still believe...... I know it's silly, but.. we all believe... it's part of the magic...

My absolute favorite line in a fireworks show soundtrack is from the Disneyland
fireworks previous to the current one...

"Remember, just believe!"

john

 

[Rella Bella]

My DS now 9 has known fora a long time... but whenever he gets near a character the "magic" catches him! He still hugs, poses and has to have a new autograph book every visit! He loves it! He will still stand in line for a character... but don't tell any of his friends at home!!!
He'll be almost 10 on our Dec trip... hope this hasn't changed yet!
P & PD

 

[Paisleyjane]

You know my dd is now 22, but I remember very vividly when she said about a Dumbo on a parade float: "that isn't Dumbo, that's a person in a suit!" I was crushed, but hey, I am so glad I took both of mine when they were still little enough to really believe in all the magic. I feel badly when people say, oh, we are going to wait until the kids are old enough to really enjoy it! What are they thinking? My two really enjoyed it from 9 mos. on!

 

[Philadisney]

i figured out the characters weren't 'real' on my first trip to WDW at the age of five, when i ran up to goofy and said 'hello' and he didn't say anything back. here i am two decades later, and i still get giddy whenever i am around any of the characters, just becos i *know* doesn't make them any less real to me! my parents tried too hard to keep me involved in the 'magic' - on that same trip my mother forged winnie the pooh and tigger's signatures in my autograph book - she thought i would forget that i hadn't actually met them, and that i wouldn't notice that both signatures were in her handwriting at the age of 11, i woke on christmas up to find that my parents had stomped black shoe prints all over our living room carpet while i was sleeping to convince me that santa had really been there (i had stopped believing in santa three years earlier, but hadn't told them cos i knew they'd be disappointed!). my parents were so worried but honestly, realizing that mickey and goofy and santa weren't "real" didn't make them any less wonderful to me, as the idea of them was and still is very real and important to me!

 

[huskies90]

This is an interesting post. I never in my life thought the characters were "real" (like santa being real) nor have my daughters at any time. But that hasn't stopped them (or me) from getting excited about meeting them and getting their autographs. I gave tigger (one of my favorites) a huge hug last year at the Crystal Palace and my daughters' faces light up every time they met a character. I think they are less excited to meet "face" characters like the princesses than the ones that don't talk.

By the way, I have the same reaction (for some strange reason) to school mascots and I have always wanted to be either a character or a mascot...

 

[robinb]

My boys (ages 9 & 7) and I were talking about WDW and the characters and they commented about the characters being in costumes and that there are people in them.

My (now) 6 year old knows that there are people in the costumes. She also knows there is no Santa Claus (sorry folks!) and no Easter Bunny becuase she is Jewish. She has always known as I told her as a little girl.

That does not hinder her enjoyment or magic or excitement about seeing Mickey or Minnie or Chip or Dale or Tigger one little bit. Even if she says to be, after we are away from the characters, "Mommy, there were people in those costumes, right?". I say "Yes, but wasn't it FUN!!!" and she agrees. No, the characters are not real ... but it's A-OKAY for us to "make-believe" that they are. We both do with abandon.

Don't worry about it and don't lie to your kids. They will still want to make-believe with you.

 

[robinb]

I know that my DD's "know" that the characters are CM's inside... but they
still believe...... I know it's silly, but.. we all believe... it's part of the magic...

John:

I read your post after I posted my response. As you know, our family will make-believe with your family any time . Bring on the magic!

 

[mamaprincess]

The magic is in our hearts. None of us adults think they're real but like so many have said that doesn't stop the magic from taking hold of you. My twins know none of it is "real" but it is still magical to them.

We suspend reality when we are at WDW much like when we go to a movie. So much is going on there that helps you to invest in the story, the environment. They won't be able to help but let go and let the magic happen.

 

[MulanMom2]

When we went in last year, I told my daughter before hand (then 4) that they were just people in costumes. I was afraid she would be scared of all the Character. It didn't matter though because when she saw Mickey and the Gang they were real to her and she loves them.

I also want to add that as a 30 year old Mom I waited in line to see Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore by myself while My DH and DD were waiting line to see Donald and Friends. I know there is someone inside but I love Eeyore and to me they are all real and I think that will never go away.

I will always believe!!!

 

[Sorcerer Figment]

In the words of Walt, "Too many people grow up. That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don’t remember what it’s like to be twelve years old. They patronize; they treat children as inferiors. I won’t do that. I’ll temper a story, yes. But I won’t play down, and I won’t patronize."

I completely understand your (the OP's) disappointment. However, I have to say that I'd rather a child know that is an actor than think it's a real five foot mouse, simultaneously appearing all over the world. What pains me is when someone takes this knowledge and dismisses characters as pointless.

We know that animated characters are just drawings with an actor providing a voice. Disney promotes this knowlege all the time. But does knowing Aladdin is a fictional character make his story any less interesting? There are plenty of promotional pics of Cinderella Castle being constructed, yet is it any less magical?

What makes the walk around characters, and all of WDW, so much fun is that we can suspend our disbelief and lose ourselves in fantasy. So even though the characters aren't "real" per se, they are really purchased on all kinds of merchandise. They really bring smiles to kids and adults alike. They really are the subject of a million message board threads. As the book Kingdom Keepers describes, after enough people believe in a character, they sort of become real.

As long as your kids can understand the difference between "fantasy magic" and the "real magic" the characters provide guests every day, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[lkohawaii]

I found this post to be amusing because this summer after coming home from DL and the Disney Cruise I was telling my mother how much I loved it and how I wanted to live on that Magic. I am in my mid 30's with 2 kids...my mother seriously asked me "You know they're just people in there don't you?" I thought it was funny that my mother had to question my sanity. I knew that there were people in there...but once I enter the parks...I don't think about the people and the characters are "real". Maybe that's why I love Disney so much. Too bad I live so far away. My friend and I would love to stop teaching and work in the parks. We have to refrain from going to apply for a job with Disney every time we go.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

My dd discovered this when she was only 4 years old. We were at Disney On Ice Toy Story 2, and we had rinkside seats. She was so excited and was enjoying the show when all of the sudden got real quiet. I noticed her looking really closely at the characters and then she says "Hey, wait a minute!" she turned to me with a look of total disgust and said "those are just people in costumes!"

I was stunned because she was so young, but I also felt a little proud. She is such a sharp little thing. She is eight now and we went to Disney World this summer for the first time. She was still thrilled to meet all of her favorite characters. I do kind of wish she still believed they are real. I know this is the year the truth of Santa will have to be told. I am not looking forward to it

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I found this post to be amusing because this summer after coming home from DL and the Disney Cruise I was telling my mother how much I loved it and how I wanted to live on that Magic. I am in my mid 30's with 2 kids...my mother seriously asked me "You know they're just people in there don't you?"

When my DS was 4, we were in the Towncar from MCO to the Poly. This was his 3rd trip at the time. Out of nowhere he looked at me and said, you know mom, Mickey Mouse is just a man in a costume. I was crushed. He's 7 now, and the trips are getting different now that he's older. He's more interested in the rides, vs seeing the characters. But he still loves to go to WDW, and now that we have a DD its fun to see the excitement through her eyes too. And I think I cherish it a little more, knowing that anytime those same words will come out of her mouth.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

My boys always just knew. When they asked if people were in costumes, I told them Mickey was a real cartoon and cartoons can't walk around in the real world. Now my 5 year old Jedd says "Mom maybe they will fire the guy in the Buzz Lightyear suit and I can have his job when I grow up"

 

[jann1033]

whoo!! you mean Mickey is really a person dressed up? what a spoiler!

really my kids knew they were real people when we first went (so did I) but it still is fun and i guess none of us ever think of them as real people when we see them everything about wdw is an illusion but who really thinks of that? ie on the safari ride the guide was talking about a tree and husband real impressed asked where theytranplanted it from..guide laughed and husband said oh is is concrete? guide laughed again and said something about the "magic of disney"...guess the fact you "know" it isn't real but "believe" it anyway is part of the "magic" for us