Introducing characters to 18 month old?

[MeyersDVM]

DD's 1 st trip will be in December. I want to introduce her to some of the characters so she might recognize them if we see them in the parks. However... we don't let her watch much tv, so I am reluctant to show lots of Disney movies, etc. She has a Pooh stuffed toy already so he is covered, but what about the rest? Are there any great books you can recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Princess Roo]

We only let DS watch 1/2 to 1 hour of TV per week when he was a year old, but we showed him Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a few times. I haven't had much luck finding board books that have the main characters. There are a few in the Bargain section at our Borders right now that have Little Einsteins, Pooh, and Cars. Another option (which we also limit with DS, but you might be interested in) is to show him on the computer. Playhouse Disney has a website or you can Google images.

 

[alloyd1170]

I know you mentioned limited tv, but I got some of the Sing Along dvds (the live ones like Beach Party at WDW, Small World at DL....). You can find them at Toys R Us and Babies R Us, possibly Target and Walmart. My kids loved them, and the songs are very catchy. Only thing is that its just the main characters (Mickey and friends, some Princesses). They make long car rides easier too.

The nice thing about these is that theyre not cartoonish which youd find in books, etc. It also shows kids interacting with the characters, just like they would in the parks. It can be so overwhelming for first timers when they realize how huge the characters are (at least 6 ft). The good ones who can, will stoop to a child's eye level. Another ice breaker is the ol' gimme 5 so you might want to practice that ahead of time. In almost all of our first character photos, I had to join my kids. Now I cant keep them in line!

 

[Yensid_MD]

Look for Golden Books as I remember there are lots of titles with Disney characters. Some you can find at used book stores. Even if you start with the main characters and then have a Character meal with those characters it will get across the concept. Also look for beginning reading books, while they are not board books they do have many of the new characters, Incredibles come to mind, they do have a story you can read to them. Then as they get older they will have them to read.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

My daughter (13 months) has two Disney ABC books. We read them fairly often as they are some of her favorites. When we went this summer she was 11 months old and recognized several of them from her nooks. She would point and grin and even said "Miey Mow" when she saw Mickey. She did great with all the characters and was not one bit scared. Hope this helps. When are you going? We will be arriving Christmas Day an dleaving on the 30th.

 

[mrsheppo]

My DD just turned one last week and she has loved watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger and Pooh on the Disney Channel. When we took her to Disneyland last week, she immediately recognized Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and the Pooh characters. She was not afraid of them at all and was so excited to get her pictures taken with them.

 

[brergnat]

Do you have a Disney Store near you? If so, go to one and just let your little one explore the PLUSH section! He will probably fall in love with at least ONE of the major characters, then you can buy him a plush to get him familiar enough so when he sees the REAL one, it'll be very exciting for him.

For some reason that I still can't figure out, our 18 month old boy is in LOVE with Mickey Mouse. He just was very drawn to MM from about 12 months old. He has not yet MET the big guy, just seen him from a distance at DL several times. As he gets more attached to his plush Mickeys and Mickeys from the playsets he has (MM Clubhouse playset that belongs to his big brother), I get more excited about what his reaction will be when he finally does meet the REAL one. Last time we saw him at Disneyland, DS's face totally lit up, but the line was about 50 people long, so we just kept walking.

Last time I was at the Disney store, my toddler walked right over to a display of character head throw pillows, grabbed the Mickey head that was nearly as big as he was and carried it over to me with the most adorable smile I have ever seen. Of course, I had to buy it for him. It's like a gigantic plush head and it's SOOOO soft and cuddly. He carries it around the house and lays down on it. It is about the size of the actual character head too!