No longer believing in the characters? 🥲

[clm10308]

When my son was little and thought the characters were real, he was afraid of the all and would have anything to do with them, so in any pictures we have of him with a character at that age he is mad or scared.
Kids can have just as much fun with characters in costume.

 

[sk!mom]

If it makes you feel any better, your DD is developmentally on track. She is at the end of magical thinking and living more in reasonableness- embrace and be glad. I’m more amazed when people are insistent and happy when a child beyond say 8 still believes in make believe. Not that they still play make believe but that they still actually believe.

I guess my question is "what is your goal?" I don't think you can change her mind or convince her otherwise, and you might not even convince her to meet them for her.

I would just present as we did for Santa .............. "Your sister still believes in the magic and the characters. I would really like pictures of both of you together. I'm asking you to help continue the magic for her so either join her in meeting from OR let her meet them and then you join for a few pictures of you two together. Can you help your sister have a magical visit?"

In the process of the meets you might find her stance soften.

Completely agree. The OP’s DD is at the age of increased empathy. The OP can help that grow by encouraging her to see her little sister’s perspective and to be encouraged to not ruin someone else’s experience. In my classroom of nine year olds, we say, “don’t be a spoiler.”

All of this is why I always say 5 is the perfect age to take a child to Disney for the experience the OP seems to want. Five is old enough to not be fearful since they can see that the characters are fun but still be in a magical thinking stage so that they don’t doubt.

 

[dalmatian7]

I was one of those kids that figured it out early. I don't even remember how, I just knew. I also thought as the oldest I should inform my siblings and probably classmates (sorry to everyone). I was kind of like "Young Sheldon" at that age and had no concern. I cringe now and feel so guilty. That said I think my family "forcing" me to believe instead of taking the "make magic for others" route added fuel to the fire. I just wanted to be seen as mature at that age so if someone had taken me aside and told me to help other make magic, I would have loved it.

While some of my favorite character interactions were when DD was young, we still have fun meeting Mickey and waving to any other characters we see. Our last trips have been really short so we haven't taken the time to meet characters but I am making it a "must do" to get an updated Mickey picture on our next trip.

 

[Darth Insidious]

My youngest will turn 6 just before her first trip. She told me she thinks Mickey, etc are people in suits. She has asked a few times if the princesses are the real ones or just people dressed up. I’m trying to dodge it with I don’t know or I think so but I’m a little worried she will figure it out and it will kill some of the magic. I don’t want to really lie to her with a definitive yes.

Her sister was 5 at Disney and thought they were real. Her brother was 7 and knew. He had fun with the characters but not as much as his sister did. Although he did have a blast with Buzz and Woody…

There’s a local company who does an amazing job with princesses (parties, carriage rides, etc). Like really close to Disney (if your kid could sit in a carriage while Cinderella sings to them). I think I’m going to take her to a couple more events before the trip. Keep the magic alive as long as possible. A little worried it will make Disney World less special for her but that’s probably silly.

 

[TheLyinKing]

My sister was 13 when my wife and I took her to WDW. She obviously knew that these were not the real princesses but she loved it. Still get that fuzzy feeling of nervousness and excitement. And yes, we met a LOT of princesses. Heck I'm an adult and I still like meeting characters. Especially Woody and Buzz! She may be saying all these things, but she's going to still have that twinkle in her eye when she meets the characters.

 

[Mags2002]

I am a character performer onboard DCL, previously WDW. I always have lots of kids trying to tell me I’m not really the character and try and talk to me about non-Disney things. Of course, I cannot break character so I just keep answering as my character friend. Usually we find something to talk about and kids are happy to take funny pictures. Often, even if they are resistant at first, they get swept away with the atmosphere and just go with it. If there is anything I can do to help your girls before you go, let me know!

 

[katyjeka]

I LOVE being in the parks now that our kids are older.We are finally able to eat at restaurants that are not character meals. We still hit Crystal Palace but our options have really opened up.Our girls will get pictures with the masked characters but never liked the princesses. Our girls are strange and always found them scary looking??? I never understood it. I wouldn't make a big deal of it and enjoy everything else that WDW has to offer

 

[AprilsZoo]

I don’t get the question, I go “behind the curtain “ just about every day. I see a few of them walk the same halls I do and when I say, “ hey, Mickey” and Mickey gives me a high five, I can assure you, they are real and I’m a 58 year old man and it makes me smile today just as much as it did when I was 8.
You gotta believe in the Magic, it’s real!!

When I’m in the parks and I see Mickey, or Goofy, or whoever and they wave back at me when I’m waving at them in a parade…I feel giddy and happy and excited. And like you, I’m well over 50 years old with no intellectual disabilities or the like. It’s part of the magic. There’s that “suspension of disbelief” that lets you give in to being just like a child again.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with encouraging children to have that same mindset, too. For that matter, there’s nothing wrong with believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny either. I think kids have way too much of their innocence ripped away far to early in their lives. My mother used to tell me that “whenever you stop believing in Santa, he will stop bringing you gifts.” DH & I may buy the gifts for the family… but wouldn’t you know, there’s still a gift from Santa for each of us every year.

 

[StageTek]

I haven't read the entire thread yet. Has anyone used the C.S. Lewis quote? It has always helped me with this issue.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I was never lucky enough to have been taken to Disney at age 7, but there is no way I would have believed that the characters were “real”. Even when I firmly believed in Santa I always knew that department store Santas were men in costumes, because how could he be in all those stores at once, and in any case he would have been way too busy at that time of year for that sort of thing. I would say the best thing to do is to smile conspiratorially, say “you figured it out, but let’s still pretend for your little sister!”

 

[Cynt]

We just returned from Disney with my 9 yr old niece. It was a surprise trip and her first time. We were waiting in line for Princess Tiana, who was waiting for the next family. Tiana starts a conversation with my niece and my niece melts with excitement and awe. When it was her turn with Tiana it happened again. She knows it's not real but something magical happens regardless of your age. She turned into the 5 yr old who loved to dress up as the Disney princesses. When we went to the parade she turned into that 5 year old again. I loved seeing Disney through her eyes.

 

[patm95]

My 9 YO daughter told me she thought they were not real and I said, you're very smart and probably right, but I like to pretend they are real. That seemed to satisfy her.