How do characters handle awkward questions from kids?

[ariel326]

oh wait, I got the story wrong-DS asked Peter Pan where Jake was and Peter Pan said he was back in neverland at school. He pointed to Wendy and said that Wendy started a school in neverland for all the lost boys and the pirate kids and so Jake was at school. Then he told DS that even he had to go to the school and that is where he learned to read and write so he could sign autograph books.


THe next day at DHS, we saw Jake the Pirate. The first question DS asked Jake was, if he had a day off from school today. Jake at first was like, uh?, but just went with it, and started gesturing like a teacher at a board teaching something. It was pretty cute.

 

[Shannon G]

Love all these stories! My favorite character interaction, which we still talk about even though my girls were too young to remember it, is when my oldest tried to give her little sister away to Lilo. We were at DHS, when DD#1 was 2 1/2 and DD#2 was 7 months old. They had their picture taken with Lilo & Stitch, and Lilo was holding DD#2. When I stepped up to take her back, Lilo hugged her close and shook her head no. I turned to DD#1 and said "I think Lilo wants to keep Katie. Is that okay?" DD#1 just said yeah and started to walk back to her stroller, lol!

 

[afnaechiquita]

at CRT one night, we were the last family in a set to meet cinderella, and it was during the castle show/preceding wishes. while meeting cinderella, my nephew (3 at the time) was freaking out about the fireworks, shouting "big booms!" only it didn't sound like big booms, and his position by cinderella made it sound all the more inappropriate to anyone with grown ears.

she was really good though, and since we still had time to wait for our table and they hadn't brought in the next set of families, she came over and kept talking to him until we went up. by the time we got up to eat and meet the other princesses, wishes was going on, so we got "big booms!" again. the other princesses all said "oh, cinderella told us about you." it was just cute.

they really do have a good way of staying in character.

 

[figmentedpixie]

I think my favorite prince & princess interaction has to be when we went to the Christmas Party in 2012. Rapunzel & Flynn were amazing and I think we spent about ten minutes together as Flynn and I plotted to take over Snow White's Kingdom.

It all started with Rapunzel asking me where I was from and then Flynn was jealous I had a land named after me (Mary -- Maryland) so he decided he wanted Eugeneland and told Rapunzel she could have a corner of it and she just gave him this look so he quickly changed the subject by mentioning that Snow's Prince's Kingdom doesn't even have a name (Snow & her Prince were the couple right next to them and didn't have anyone with them). So then we decided that meant we could overthrow it and it kind of escalated from there.

They were hysterical and perfectly in character the whole time.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The characters are trained to handle those kinds of questions. most of them won't even bat an eyelash.

My niece met Cinderella once. The conversation went like:
Niece: Are you the REAL Cinderella?
Cinderella: Yes.
Niece: REALLY?
Cind: Yes!
Niece: Come here. I have to tell you something.
<Cinderella leans in close> My niece whispers:
Niece: The queen is BBBAAADDDDD!
Cinderella: Thank you for telling me! I'll be careful!

However, if you are ever in doubt, look at a couple of youtube videos of character interactions. Tink is very good with camera's (she looks inside the lens to see if she can see who you have trapped in there so she can wave to them).

Alice and Mad Hatter are a bit mavericks / troublemakers. Peter can be as well. They all have their own personalitities, but they are very good at dealing with young kids and keeping the magic. You'll be fine. Have no fear!

 

[rev02a]

Last September, mother and I were in line to see Tigger and Pooh. A few folks up from us was a little girl, maybe 4, who was so excited to see her favorite characters she was hopping up and down. First, she played patty cake with both of them. She was very impressed that they knew the game. Then she informed both characters that it was her birthday and they were headed back to their hotel for cake.

Tigger bounced and Pooh rubbed his tummy. Deciding that they wanted cake too, she took each of their hands and led them down the path toward the Beach Club. They didn't even pause--it was time for cake! I was so tickled! I don't have kids and so my character interactions are pretty awkward, but that was a highlight for me.

 

[Octoberbaby]

The characters are wonderful with that and always know what to do. We were having dinner at 1900 Park Fare and my son, with a very serious look on his face, told Prince Charming that Cinderella was HIS girlfriend and he was going to marry her. Prince Charming got caught off guard and fixed it very quickly. It was priceless.

 

[bc7ate9]

My husband and I met Belle in France on our honeymoon. She asked me if this was my prince and I told her was really more of a beast. I was surprised that she gasped and acted frightened - I was like, "Really Belle? You, of all people - scared of a beast?!"

We loved meeting the characters with our "Happily Ever After" buttons on - they ALL made a big deal out of it and made sure the PhotoPass photographers noticed and got special shots. As huge Phineas and Ferb fans, we were pretty excited when we looked at our pictures after meeting them and saw this one:

All the photographers were getting us to do kissing shots, but we had no idea they were "hearting" us!

 

[mamajo]

Once, when meeting Belle (and the other princesses nearby) I just sort of popped out with, "Your man is HOT!" She really almost lost it and had to choke, even Cinderella was having a hard time next door!! Ooops.

 

[Moonwolf]

Sometimes the characters stump ME! When Dh and I wandered up to the China pavilion in Epcot and found Mulan just hanging out in front of a practically empty pavilion we were thrilled! We never wait to meet characters...but she was just standing there with no one around. So I asked her for her autograph and a picture.

Oh I got tripped up by a character on my last trip. I was with my friend and we were talking to Aladdin and Jasmine. Aladdin asked me if I had been to the Cave of Wonders. Being to star struck (even at 24) and not really paying attention just answered yes. Aladdin then said that was funny since he thought he was the only one allowed there. That was when I finally realized what he had asked. Luckily Jasmine saved me and said maybe there's a different cave where I'm from.

 

[AliceandAriel]

A few years ago back when my kids were 7 and 3 (and no 3rd one!), we were at Goofy's Kitchen in Disneyland. I noticed that either Chip or Dale would be at the table soon, and I jokingly made a comment to DH that I knew would go over the kids' heads. My 7 year old DS heard me and thought it was a legit question. So the poor character comes over, and DS says, "How big are your nuts?" I turned 50 shades of red and wanted to hide, but Chip/Dale interpreted the question exactly as DS intended. I appreciated the grace that Chip/Dale showed by taking that at face value.

BWWWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for making me burst out laughing at work, oh that was beautiful!

 

[BeckyEsq]

We told Peter Pan we were on our honeymoon and he said "Eeww, that's for grownups!"

 

[summermac]

On our last trip, my daughter started about being scared of the masked characters. Well we were in Epcot and Marie from Aristocats and her handler were goofing around in the gift shop. The handler didn't see my daughter, Marie could barely see with the cat head on and my daughter was between Marie and the handler. And not moving, scared to death. The handler had a toy mouse that she was playing with to get Marie to chase her around the shop. Marie started "running" toward the handler but my daughter thought Marie was chasing her and FREAKED out. She got so scared that she ran to me - well a person she thought was me. She then buried her head in that person's legs and upon looking up, seeing it wasn't me COMPLETELY lost it. She literally started running circles around the gift shop screaming. Think ET here. It was the funniest thing. Marie (and her handler) felt so terrible - Marie kept burying her head and then pretended to cry. And you know what? We still talk about that. Man if I'd have had a video camera...


And a very long time (our first trip, 1998) we were in line for Jungle Cruise and were trying to decide if the person at the entrance was a real person or a mannequin. Well he must have heard us because he remained so still during the entire conversation. My dad then said, "I'll find out," and seriously grabbed the guy's nose. He still stood completely still for at least another 5 seconds and then he moved. My mom laughed so hard she almost peed her pants. We were all losing it!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We went to see princess tiana and she could not stop coughing. Seeing it was August and terribly hot I was worried and asked if she was okay. She went to get water and the handler said "she is fine just has a frog in her throat".

 

[sharonped]

OP - IMO...there is nothing your sweetie could throw at them that would make them break character. They are MASTERS at this.

My oldest was 7 at Turtle Talk with Crush. At the end Crush swam out with a bikini top wrapped around his neck. I'm pretty sure he wanted to talk about not throwing crap in the ocean that doesn't belong there. Anyway... he swims out and says "What's this?" DS YELLS out, at the top of his voice..."A BRA!!!!" The place cracked up and Crush just swam away....it was funny.

Fast forward 5 years. DS is now 12. We were at 1900 Park Fare for Cinderella and gang character dinner. Prince Charming comes to the table and my son says "So how do you get the girl?" This AMAZING CM said "Have you tried looking for a lost slipper?" Of course DS mumbles no. Charming proceeds to go to the other side of the room, pulls over Anastasia, makes DS get down on one knee. Anastasia holds her foot up and Charming makes DS take her shoe off. Then Anastasia (another FANTASTIC CM) screams "I'm engaged!" and then takes DS across the room to introduce her "new fiancé" to her mother. Lady Tremaine. It was so, so fun. The whole rest of the night Anastasia and Lady Tremaine would stop by our table and blow kisses and make jokes about when the wedding would be. Best.character.interaction.ever!

 

[Luvmyfam3]

I love reading these stories! Thanks so much for sharing!

We have had many great interactions with characters in the past! Like when Peter Pan began playing Hide & Seek with my daughters in the England garden at EPCOT. (Irritating the other people who simply wanted a picture and autograph! )

But, my favorite recent one was during our last trip. Our youngest (7) was on a "speaking British" kick. She literally spoke in a British accent for about half of our trip....literally days!!! Well, during this period of time, we were able to meet Mary Poppins at MK. I wish I had a video camera for the look Mary gave us when Mia walked up speaking to her in a bad British accent. I think she was wondering if Mia felt she needed to speak like that with her or what. But, she was very kind to Mia the whole time!

 

[cincystamper]

One of my favorite interactions was when we met Peter Pan after the Pirates & Pals cruise last December. We were last in line and had as much time as we wanted to take so I decided to ask him how he felt about how he was being portrayed on the TV show "Once Upon a Time."

Of course, they don't have TVs in Neverland, so I had to fill him in about everything. He was horrified. He said he was suspicious and then asked if Captain Hook was by any chance on this show, too. And how was HE being portrayed?

I confirmed that Captain Hook was...um....quite delightful.

Peter says "AHA - I knew it! It's pirate propaganda! Something made by pirates, trying to convince everyone that pirates are GOOD! Turn it off and never watch it again!!!!"

Best conversation ever.

 

[Tamiami]

One of my daughters, as a teen, asked Cinderella if she would mind stepping out if the shot so she could have a photo of just herself and the prince. Actually, she requested this of Snow White and one other (?) too and they politely complied. But Cinderella stood to side with an uncomfortable-looking forced smile that to this day I cannot decide if she was just being funny or if she was a little insulted. I find it hard to believe the CM would be insulted but body language seldom lies.

We had a similar situation our last trip..... We (DD19 and I) were eating breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and Alice stopped at our table. She chatted with DD about her 'badges' (pins, lol) for a bit, and then asked if she would like to have a picture taken with her. My daughter shook her head NO! LOL. I don't know what she was thinking (I'd already made her get a picture with Pooh and Tigger, and she did so happily), but Alice was NOT PLEASED. Hahaha. She was probably acting, but her initial reaction was one of shocked disbelief, lol. I, of course, made her get a picture with her to make her happy.

Same breakfast, we'd finished up, and I was looking at the bill. I had asked DD19 what she thought I should add as a tip, and she had just whispered to me, "Wellll....our waitress kinda sucked, so don't make it too high", just as the MadHatter had snuck up behind her, and she had NO IDEA he was there and I couldn't warn her in time. He leaned over and yelled, "WATCHA FIGURIN??'" right in her ear, and she screamed outloud and turned about three shades of red, LOL. Ah....good times, good times. =D

So yes, if anyone wondered, even if you're 'adults' (I use the term loosely, because I'm definitely NOT one at Disney) without any children in your party, the characters will still have a good time with you.

 

[Love Tink]

I think the interactions with (particularly the face) characters are the most unique, amazing thing about a trip to Disney parks. I am generally astonished by how these CMs commit to their roles. I can't remember a single visit to any character ever where we just got a simple photo and autograph.

I have three boys, so my favorite interactions are always with the princesses. The ladies seem to relish a chance to make little boys blush.

 

[RnbwSktles]

Last week when I met Snow White, I think she went a little out of character. Her handler (I guess) was using my iphone to take pictures and I have a Snow White case. Snow White said "Am I on your phone??" I didn't think about it until later that she probably shouldn't have known what a phone was.

However, I realize that she could easily play that one off. Thousands of people have taken her picture with a phone...I am sure someone has explained it to her by now! After all, she must know what a camera is by now.