Oh no!!!

[Sundancer UK]

I've not been - yet - but another suggestion I find works is youtube!
I was worried that my toddler would be scared of Father Christmas,and I really wanted our Santa's Grotto photo to look good, so I prepared!
Together we watched Santa on youtube, singing, reading letters to children, with Elmo, etc... I taught him a Makaton sign for Father Christmas (baby signing really helps as they can communicate it back to you) and by the time we were off to see Father Christmas, my boy was pointing out pictures and figures of him everywhere, always signing with it He was very happy to smile for our photo and the costume and beard didn't bother him one bit.

Now he's watching videos of Mickey and Donald, seeing pictures, playing with his big Donald soft toy. I've let him see clips of other small children meeting Mickey, and I've taught him the signs for mouse and duck - he loves to point them out to us all now, though he can say 'duck' too.
Hopefully this, combined with the fact that he will have his older siblings around, will mean things work out fine! Then again, it's my older children that are painfully shy - maybe he will set them an example!

I also agree to take things slow, and let the CM know if you're worried. It wont be anything they've not dealt with before and I'll bet they're fab at it.


Oh and the spray thing? Love that tip But not sure my little one will get it yet. But a friend did the same (with glitter in the water) for spraying under the bed to get rid of monsters

 

[Ava]

I know this is going to be a problem for us. DS saw the Easter Bunny on Sat and freaked out. By the end of the interaction he was blowing kisses at him, but still did not want to be closer than 10 ft away.

I can imagine my DD being the same way. She'll be just turned 2 when we go in a few weeks. We're going to try out the Easter Bunny this Saturday to see how she is with that. Last Christmas she was freaked out the first time we tried to see Santa; when we tried again a week later she didn't cry but she didn't really want to have anything to do with him. She sat on my lap & I sat next to Santa and we got a decent photo but I don't think she even looked at him, lol.

The other day she was looking at photos of my sister & I from past Disney trips, and got excited over ones of us with Pooh & Eeyore. She said, "Say hi! See 'em too!" Hahaha. We'll see how she is when they are actually in front of her though. I booked Crystal Palace breakfast but not until we'll have been there for a few days. I figure if she's freaked by the characters we can just cancel it.

 

[2binak]

Our DD didn't like characters at that age either. We walked into MK and she saw Pluto & Daisy and her face just lit up!!!!! She had been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for a few months so to her, they weren't scary characters, they were "friends" that she knew.

A few months later we were at a local museum when Elmo showed up standing behind her. She turned around and screamed her head off!!!!! She had only seen him in books & on toys so to her, he wasn't "real". It took about 2 hours of watching him from across the museum before she would actually go to him.

So my advice, have your niece watch some shows if she doesn't already watch them, to get her familiar with some of the characters.

 

[auralia]

mickey mouse club house did wonders for my dd pre first disney trip every day i let her watch an episode so then mickey was her friend from the tv... i know your not supposed to let them watch tv and all but how else will they be exposed to mickey?

 

[sweetdana]

Disney does an awesom job when kids are affraid.
My DD4 ish after waiting in line wouldnt go over to Tigger n Pooh. Pooh came over tryied to get her hand. When she refused. He and Tigger sat on the ground at her level and Tigger and Pooh gave her a high five and warmed her right up. the CM working played it all up and gave her a sticker and it worked great.

 

[MLC2002]

Disney has some Sing-A-Long videos/DVDs. One is called "Disneyland Fun- It's a Small World". The video shows characters singing songs while enjoying several park attractions at Disneyland. It is video of the park characters (not a cartoon)... so, it gives your child an idea of exactly what he'll see. It also shows them having fun on many of the same attractions you will enjoy (the video is shot at Disneyland... but my sons don't even realize its not Magic Kingdom). They also have one called "Beach Party"... very similar, characters singing songs... at various locations on Disney property. There are others, too... but these two will be best for your needs.

Sometimes kids get a little freaked because the characters are SO big and don't look like they do in the cartoons. These videos show real characters in the parks... just like you'll see on your trip. My sons loved these videos!

 

[RooRach0906]

Disney has some Sing-A-Long videos/DVDs. One is called "Disneyland Fun- It's a Small World". The video shows characters singing songs while enjoying several park attractions at Disneyland. It is video of the park characters (not a cartoon)... so, it gives your child an idea of exactly what he'll see. It also shows them having fun on many of the same attractions you will enjoy (the video is shot at Disneyland... but my sons don't even realize its not Magic Kingdom). They also have one called "Beach Party"... very similar, characters singing songs... at various locations on Disney property. There are others, too... but these two will be best for your needs.

Sometimes kids get a little freaked because the characters are SO big and don't look like they do in the cartoons. These videos show real characters in the parks... just like you'll see on your trip. My sons loved these videos!

This is what I was going to suggest as well. We are doing this for our DD(11 months), she has been watching it for a couple months now to prepare(actually she loved it so much, it broke my VHS verison I had and had to order the DVD verison). We go to MK, May 10 for the day and will be meeting Mickey as long as she is fine. Not sure when you are going, but if its after us even a few days I could log on and tell you how it goes.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

MM I'm a bit inclined to think that it was because the mascot was a wolf. There is huge difference between meeting Mickey and meeting a Wolf which is often portrayed as a bad character.

 

[amberdburke]

I have the opposite problem...my 2yo daughter always says, "It's not real" when she meets a costumed character. Hoping she gets some Disney magic in her before our trip!

 

[dragonfly08]

My 22month old was with me at my nieces soccer game today and the mascot came out in his wolf costume.....we tried to approach him and he was afraid

What can I do so that he wont be scared of Mickey and the other characters when we leave in just a couple of weeks??

I booked Crystal Palace breakfast for the 2nd morning we are there and there will be several character meals we will be eating at

You might be ok. DD #1 was terrified of Santa, but the Easter Bunny and Disney characters were never a problem. Hopefully it's just the wolf and/or the circumstances (I remember soccer games having the potential to be loud and chaotic...a character breakfast won't be quiet, but it'll be different and you'll have the characters coming more calmly to your table).

 

[NotUrsula]

Just be aware that some kids never like characters, and be prepared to deal with that possibility. Go to a m&g BEFORE you try a character meal, and if your child absolutely hates the interaction, then cancel that character meal. It is not worth ruining your expensive vacation AND your child's first memory of WDW just to try to get a photo that isn't going to happen.

DS *hates* characters. It was obvious when he wasn't quite 2, and it hasn't changed now that he's 6 feet tall. Character meals are absolutely miserable with him along, so we don't do them. Our one photo of him with Mickey shows DS threatening Mickey with a fork at the now-defunct Ice Cream Social -- for ice cream he was willing to stand his ground and stab the mouse if necessary, but you can see in his eyes that it is taking all of his courage to do it. He was 4 at the time, and I think that it was his 5th trip. (AND he knew that it was an actor in a suit; didn't make any difference in his attitude.)

 

[happytexasmom]

Just be aware that some kids never like characters, and be prepared to deal with that possibility. Go to a m&g BEFORE you try a character meal, and if your child absolutely hates the interaction, then cancel that character meal. It is not worth ruining your expensive vacation AND your child's first memory of WDW just to try to get a photo that isn't going to happen.

DS *hates* characters. It was obvious when he wasn't quite 2, and it hasn't changed now that he's 6 feet tall. Character meals are absolutely miserable with him along, so we don't do them. Our one photo of him with Mickey shows DS threatening Mickey with a fork at the now-defunct Ice Cream Social -- for ice cream he was willing to stand his ground and stab the mouse if necessary, but you can see in his eyes that it is taking all of his courage to do it. He was 4 at the time, and I think that it was his 5th trip. (AND he knew that it was an actor in a suit; didn't make any difference in his attitude.)

what a funny story
I'll be sure and hide the forks!!!

 

[CTmommyx3]

the first time my youngest went to Disney he was about 17 months maybe.
he was not into the character alone. But would go if I held him. he was not crying just wanted mommy with him!
The time he was maybe 28 months and i was thinking he would be clingy again since he hated Santa or the Easter bunny or any dressed person!
in line at Epcot he was telling me how he wanted to poke Mickey's nose to see if it was hard! I never would have believed it till it was our turn and he ran over to Mickey! he went to each one and loved it!!!
The only characters he would not go to was Tigger Pooh or eyeore!